Free Republic

Nina Moreyeva, a Moscow resident who lives on a pension, doesn't agree with the widespread perception in the West that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been too muscular in his actions in Ukraine. Quite the opposite. She believes Russia had the right to annex the Ukrainian territory of Crimea – even if it meant going to war with Kiev. "Crimea is deep in our history," she says. "I have never accepted that it was given to Ukraine" by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954. Nor is she worried about the West imposing sanctions. "Russia shouldn't be under anyone's thumb,"...

Russia will only recognize a new Ukrainian government after nationwide elections have been held. But they must not take place in the same "atmosphere of terror" that was created by the abrupt overthrow of Yanukovych in Kiev ten days ago. Putin added the intriguing suggestion that Ukrainians might escape from their present impasse by rewriting their national charter. "Frankly, they should adopt a new constitution through a referendum so that all citizens of Ukraine feel engagement in that process, have an input on the formation of the new principles of how their nation should function." A new constitution for Ukraine,...