Russia + Ukraine

choi

In chronological order.

(1) David M Herszenhorn, Russia’s Economy Worsens Even Before Sanctions Hit; Action in Crimea contributes to decline--inflation rises and growth slows. New York Times, Apr 17, 2014 (front-page top report).
www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/world ... -sanctions-hit.html

Excerpt in the window of print: Putin’s approval rating soars as the stock market drops.

Quote:

“Even before the Crimean episode, and the resulting imposition of sanctions by the West, Russia’s $2 trillion economy was suffering from stagflation, that toxic mix of stagnant growth and high inflation typically accompanied by a spike in unemployment. In Russia, joblessness remains low, but only because years of population decline have produced a shrunken, inadequate labor force.

“From a textbook perspective, the deep-rooted ills in Russia’s economy have been clear for years: The decade-long skyrocketing in energy prices that buoyed Mr Putin’s popularity has flatlined

“Given the recent turmoil, a catastrophe has been averted so far largely because the price of oil has remained stubbornly high, at nearly $110 per barrel of Brent crude on Wednesday [Apr 16, 2014], even as production steadily rises in the United States. For now, that has kept the federal budget in decent shape with still no deficit projected for the year. * * * the ruble is falling

Note: CIA World Factbook: GDP (official exchange rate):
(a) Russia $2.113 trillion (2013 est.)
(b) Taiwan $484.7 billion (2013 est.)

choi

(2) David M Herszenhorn, Away From Show of Diplomacy in Geneva, Putin Puts on a Show of His Own. New York Times, Apr 18, 2014
www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/europe/russia-ukraine.html
(“Mr Putin’s use of the historical term ‘Novorossiya,’ or ‘New Russia,’ to refer to southeastern Ukraine, which he had not emphasized previously * * * ‘It’s New Russia. Kharkiv, Lugansk, Donetsk, Odessa were not part of Ukraine in czarist times, they were transferred in 1920. Why? God knows. Then for various reasons these areas were gone, and the people stayed there. We need to encourage them to find a solution’”)

Note:
(a) Magda Teter, 22 Maps That Explain The Centuries-Long Conflict In Ukraine. TPM (, Feb 28, 2014
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/22-maps-that-explain-the-centuries-long-conflict-in-the-ukraine

The maps started in 1400; Ukraine did not emerge until 1649 (from Poland), then gobbled up by Russia in 1660. The next time Ukraine re-appeared was 1920 (as an independent nation; see (b)) but was soon incorporated into Soviet Union/
(b) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Ukraine–Central Powers)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk_(Ukraine–Central_Powers)
(signed at Brest-Litovsk, now Brest, Belarus; Ukraine was recognized as a neutral state to the Quadruple Alliance [composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria; also known as Central Powers; one of the two warring factions in World War I])

Please take notice the above treaty was signed before the end of WW I. See World War I
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
(July 28, 1914 (Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia) – Nov 11, 1918 (Armistice); section 4.5 Eastern Front: Russian Revolution)

(c) Novorossiya
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya
(Russian Empire absorbed Crimean Khanate (1449–1783); In 1922 the region was made a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic by the Bolsheviks)

The Bolsheviks’ move was, in my view, symbolic, considering Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.