Alarm in Ukraine as Putin Puts Russian Troops on Alert

Reuters ^ | Wednesday, February 26, 2014 | Alessandra Prentice and Richard Balmforth

[kristinn]

President Vladimir Putin put Russian combat troops on high alert for a drill on Wednesday, the Kremlin's most powerful gesture yet after days of sabre rattling since its ally Viktor Yanukovich was toppled as president of Ukraine.

Thousands of ethnic Russians, who form the majority in Ukraine's Crimea region, demonstrated for independence for the peninsula that hosts part of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet. They scuffled with rival demonstrators, mainly from the Tatar minority, who support the new authorities in Kiev.

With the political turmoil hammering Ukraine's economy, the hryvnia currency tumbled 4 percent on Wednesday, with ripples spreading to Russia where the rouble fell to five-year lows and bank shares took a hit.

Ukraine's central bank, which has been rapidly burning its hard currency reserves to protect the hryvnia, said it has abandoned a managed exchange rate policy in favor of a flexible currency, a senior official told CNBC TV

Moscow also denounced what it described as the rise of "nationalist and neo-fascist sentiment" in the country's mainly Ukrainian-speaking western areas, where it said Russian speakers were being deprived of rights. It has repeatedly expressed concern for the safety of Russian citizens in Ukraine.

"In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at 1400 (0500 ET) today," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.

[no-to-illegals]

Thank you kabar ... my sincerest respect.

[no-to-illegals]

Any thought gleeaikin?

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

[no-to-illegals]

Ukraine gently weeps.

[SADMILLIE]

These rebels are “omestic terrorists” and will be crushed by Putin. Obama would totally support that.

[metmom]

Couldn’t see that one coming......

[annalex]

In the Ukrainian Census in 2001, 248,200 reported that they are Crimean Tatars.[8] Of these, 243,400 lived in Crimea.[9] In addition, 1,800 Crimean Tatars lived in the city of Sevastopol,[8] which lies on the Crimean peninsula but has a special status.

As of 2012, there are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Ukraine and about 300,000 of them are Crimean Tatars.[1]

About 150,000 remain in exile in Central Asia, mainly in Uzbekistan. The official number of Crimean Tatars in Turkey is 150,000; some claims are as high as 6,000,000, which would presumably indicate all Turks with at least some Crimean Tatar blood.

Wikipedia 1

And also

According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, there are an estimated 456,000 Muslims in Ukraine.[15] In the Crimea, the Ukrainian Muslims make up to 12% of the population. A major part of the south steppes of modern Ukraine at a certain period of time belonged to the Turkic peoples, most of whom were Muslims since the fall of the Khazar Khanate.

The Crimean Tatars are the only indigenous Muslim ethnic group in the country.

Wikipedia 2

Population of Ukraine is 45.59 million (2012) so they are about 1 percent. However, they are mostly in Crimea, so percentages their make them a sizable and a single largest minority:

Percentage of Crimean Tatars by region in Crimea
according to 2001 Ukrainian census

Note that the Orthodox (of whichever patriarchate) is, so to say, the default confession; their numbers are probably grossly inflated compared to if you were to take active religious practice into account.

But infiltration of Muslim fighters from the neighboring North Caucasus regions is possible. They are obviously not counted by any census. After the Chechnya wars, they would be happy to volunteer for any anti-Russian cause.

[annalex]

Pretty picture.

From the moment of its independence, Ukraine executes practically difficult work on repatriation of the Crimean people and on its social integration in the Ukrainian society.

Kyiv Post

From the larger version of the article:

Ukrainian government is interested in engagement of the international community to the resolution of a problem related to the integration of the Crimean population and hopes both advisory and financial help. So, Ukrainian leadership has intiated negotiations with the government of Turkey as to the possibility on building of three large industrial zones on Crimean peninsula.

At the same time, Crimean leaders try to express their unreasonable discontent with a progress in implementation of government programs and state funds allocated to help the repatriated population. Thus they don’t try to take into account Ukrainian and international economic realities. Moreover, recently leaders of Crimean médjlis have tried desperately to internationalize a problem of the Crimean tatars attracting attention of the international community to it, and also involving the European and international organizations. In the middle of September Kiev witnessed the next meeting of médjlis leadership with representatives of diplomatic missions and the international organisations. So, in August, 2010 in course of national assembly of the Crimean people, médjlis leaders initiated holding of «The International forum on restoration of the rights of the Crimean people» with wide participation of the international institutions. According to experts, initiating the given action, Crimean leaders try to draw thus to themselves attention of the international public, and on this background to rise own political rating in a context forthcoming parliamentary elections.

[...]

As to the 10th United States National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, the problem of Crimean Tatar people is one of the most complicated on the post-Soviet area and should be solved by international community. Official Kiev expressed complete support to idea of carrying out of International forum on restoration of the rights of Crimean Tatar people, fairly counting, that carrying out of such large-scale action will allow Ukraine to make utilize international experience and develop ways of decision of problems on restoration of historical justice, maintenance of rights and freedom, culture development, maintenance of language and originality of repatriated Crimean Tatar people.

The Crimean Tatars: destiny of the people in destiny of Ukraine

[mac_truck]

I’m especially liking the guy that keeps posting - over multiple threads - that the Ukrainian protestors are “Neo-Nazis”. Sometimes, he drops the “neo”... Nice try... a little disinformatziya...

Are you two jagoffs pretending there aren't any Trizubs taking part in the Maidan or Wulfangels supplying protester 'muscle' on the streets of Kiev?

Lol...

[annalex]

On a meeting in Sympheropol tartars chant "Down with the Gang! Glory to Ukraine! Ukraine!

Source(Russian) They succeeded,-- the access to the Crimean local parliament was blocked, the vote on the separatist question did not take place.

[cunning_fish]

>>As to the 10th United States National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, the problem of Crimean Tatar people is one of the most complicated on the post-Soviet area and should be solved by international community. Official Kiev expressed complete support to idea of carrying out of International forum on restoration of the rights of Crimean Tatar people, fairly counting, that carrying out of such large-scale action will allow Ukraine to make utilize international experience and develop ways of decision of problems on restoration of historical justice, maintenance of rights and freedom, culture development, maintenance of language and originality of repatriated Crimean Tatar people.<<

LOL. With all these Communist and Nazi problem all they need in Ukraine is to encourage Muslims to join the battle.

[05 Mustang GT Rocks]

Putin trol. The vodka is in the cabinet.

[Cronos]

many are still atheists. There are some Tartar Moslems

But anyway, this is not a case of ethnicity v/s ethnicity --> Ruthenians and Muscowites are ethnically nearly the same. It's more about a way of thought/life -- you can compare the differences to that of the Czechs and Slovaks (not completely, but similar) -- the Ukrainians never developed a centralised mono-culture like their Russian or Polish neighbors.

[Cronos]

I doubt the wider Moslem world would help the Ukrainians against the Russians. The Ukrainians are descendants of Cossacks who were the ones who did much of the "dirty work" against Tartars, Circassians etc.

Also, Ukrainians wouldn't support Tartars against Russians.

[annalex]

That article is pre-Maidan. It shows that not only the Western Ukraine but also the Tartars in the Crimea were supporting the Maidan, though perhaps not for the same reasons. Naturally, federalization of Ukraine benefits the EU and it benefits Putin, as Ukraine is too large to be swallowed whole by any side.

[NFHale]

“....Are you two jagoffs pretending there aren’t...”

There may be a few of them in the mix. But to just blanket them all as Neo-nazis is stupid.

“Jagoffs”???
Evidently we insulted you personally somewhere in the mix???

[annalex]

It's more about a way of thought/life

I believe, that is the right way to look at it. The Russians, even conservative, anti-Soviet Russians, used to think in ethnic terms, viewing Ukraine too close ethnically to ever break off. They viewed the 1991 referendum as somehow aberrant. The Maidan stunned them. Some now call for Czechoslovakia-style armed invasion, putting their anti-Sovietism on the back burner.

Indeed: Ukraine as a whole, more so in the West but also in the East, is making a civilizational choice for Europe. It is not the Europe of regulated cheese and tomatoes, not the Europe celebrating homosexuality, but the Europe of Charlemagne, Aquinas and Beethoven. The feel that with Russian Federation sucking them into some kind of Asiatic swamp, the time is now or never.

I doubt the wider Moslem world would help the Ukrainians against the Russians.

Islam exists in two modes: when they are distant minority they whine and appeal to our best instincts of compassion; then when the numbers are right, they pull the Kalashnikovs out. At this point, at least, the Tartars are used tactically by Kiev, as a backstop in case Crimea really decides to secede. If Putin were smarter, he could use them too, as an example of Ukraine's multi-ethnicity, and call for federalization. An ethnically Russian federal constituent republic of Donbass inside Ukraine is really the most he can achieve, perhaps at the price of seeing the Crimea run by the Tarter Mejlis.

By the way, Kadyrov -- the Chechen leader -- is supporting the Russians, whom he "loves dearly", although it is possible that he was not sober at the time.

[05 Mustang GT Rocks]

It is almost 6:00 PM in Moscow now. Vodka time. The troll is probably passed out. He’ll be back on tonight when it’s morning in Russia and he has sobered up somewhat after a couple of beers.

[mac_truck]

There may be a few of them in the mix. But to just blanket them all as Neo-nazis is stupid.

No, stupid is pretending they aren't in the mix at all when there is ample evidence that ultra-nationalist militants were driving the entire Maidan protest from January 19th forward.

[NFHale]

“...No, stupid is pretending they aren’t in the mix at all...”

Said it in simple English: To blanket them ALL as Neo-Nazis is stupid.

As in collectively. As in the entirety of the protestors. As in the majority of them.

Better?