Left aside
Overseas and Europe is proving their ignorance about Eastern-Europe once again in their full extent.
Journalists do the same job as well.
Every child who knows how to handle a search engine can be taught, only by Wikipedia, significant more information about Крим / Крым (Crimea).
The peninsula owns the status of an autonomous republic, meaning that there are only a few certain departments which they have to negotiate with Kiew. They own the status of a state within the state - and can all whoever they want for help.
That they actually belong to the Ukraine can be considered a result of the breakdown of the Soviet Union.
As they began forming the independent states, sharply it could be avoided to have a referendum who the peninsula wanted to belong to.
The reason why this was nessecary is Crimea once belonged to Russia. In 1954 under Хрущёв (Khrushchev) it was decided that the peninsula may be associated to the Ukraine - the explanations of reasons vary at this point.
Хрущёв could never be able to guess that once is going to be a border between the Ukraine and Russia, so this once was nothing more than a formality (also since Севастополь - Sevastopol - already then was the haven for Russia's fleet in the Black Sea).
So, concluding, people weren't asked if they wanted to be Ukrainians or Russians.
In the past, this also may not have been of importance as the Soviet Union existed, but now as the winds turned in Kiew and the expected future government doesn't represent what politics and people on Crimea identify with anymore (or to put it more drastic: seem to have a certain detestation against anything Russian), the story awakens again and leads to conflict.
Actually the status of Crimea as an autonomous republic in the Ukraine already was a settled compromise to avoid them splitting off in the 90s.
[Spoiler (click to open)]So, if any Western politician tries to accuse Putin of illegetimate action, he should first grab a history book and do his homework. You can like this guy who learned his ways in the secret service and in the East German Stasi or not; but pulling out some backgrounds you can start to get unsure if he's only the bad guy.
[Spoiler (click to open)]As it's said: Crimea can call whoever he wants for help.
Journalists do the same job as well.
Every child who knows how to handle a search engine can be taught, only by Wikipedia, significant more information about Крим / Крым (Crimea).
The peninsula owns the status of an autonomous republic, meaning that there are only a few certain departments which they have to negotiate with Kiew. They own the status of a state within the state - and can all whoever they want for help.
That they actually belong to the Ukraine can be considered a result of the breakdown of the Soviet Union.
As they began forming the independent states, sharply it could be avoided to have a referendum who the peninsula wanted to belong to.
The reason why this was nessecary is Crimea once belonged to Russia. In 1954 under Хрущёв (Khrushchev) it was decided that the peninsula may be associated to the Ukraine - the explanations of reasons vary at this point.
Хрущёв could never be able to guess that once is going to be a border between the Ukraine and Russia, so this once was nothing more than a formality (also since Севастополь - Sevastopol - already then was the haven for Russia's fleet in the Black Sea).
So, concluding, people weren't asked if they wanted to be Ukrainians or Russians.
In the past, this also may not have been of importance as the Soviet Union existed, but now as the winds turned in Kiew and the expected future government doesn't represent what politics and people on Crimea identify with anymore (or to put it more drastic: seem to have a certain detestation against anything Russian), the story awakens again and leads to conflict.
Actually the status of Crimea as an autonomous republic in the Ukraine already was a settled compromise to avoid them splitting off in the 90s.
[Spoiler (click to open)]So, if any Western politician tries to accuse Putin of illegetimate action, he should first grab a history book and do his homework. You can like this guy who learned his ways in the secret service and in the East German Stasi or not; but pulling out some backgrounds you can start to get unsure if he's only the bad guy.
[Spoiler (click to open)]As it's said: Crimea can call whoever he wants for help.