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But Sevastopol is leased to the Black Sea Fleet for another 30 or so years, so not chance of losing that base.

This is a phenomenal piece of propaganda; http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/why-there-will-be-war-in-ukraine/495740.html Looks like Goebbels left his mark in the east.

The Turks still have the right to close the straits, that could cause the Russians a few issues. I suspect the reality of any further intervention into Ukraine, would lead to Poland asking for NATO forces to protect their borders, so having NATO troops closer to Russia than in a long time.

Fairly irrelevant, but I was in the Crimea last summer. In Yalta we found a Lutheran church. The priest was the son the pastor of this church when Stalin deported his family to Siberia, on the basis they were German. The now priest was born in Siberia, but when the Soviet Union collapsed he head...

The Crimea War that we ultimately achieved our aims in and got the Tsar back under control. The casualties in the Charge of the Light Brigade were nowhere near as high as the poem and press reports. Horses were lost and men missed roll call that night as they were still retrieving their saddles...

I am not sure that is the case, yes they are Russian in origin in the east, but they see more of a future by being western leaning. It is a fairly right wing country (often the case with one that has been the junior partner in an empire), so nationalism is high.

How can anyone justify that Russia has a right to be in the Crimea, on the basis that it is backing Russian ethnics, who have chosen in the 90's to be Ukranian rather than Russian, is beyond me. Russia is not respecting the rights of Ukrainian sovereignty, pure and simple. If the Crimea wants...

Exactly. How can people say he is a legitimate leader when he has consolidated power by changing the constitution and essentially removing any checks on his power. It is no longer a democratic presidency out there.

There is also the issue that it is not an easy region to take. The Germans had real issues taking Sevastopol in 41/42 and the Russians lost around 200k taking it back in 44/45.

Yugoslavia was a created country due to the Treaty of Versailles. It resulted in several nations that hated each other falling under one umbrella and then through in different religions. Factor in that one world war had started due to actions in that region, it was never going to end well...

The more I am reading, most of the country is anti the constitutional changes the government pushed through. Presuming this Government gets thrown out, the problems could then kick in, as there will be disagreements as to what direction the place goes.

That was a tactic. Hence when you go to the Baltics (Riga in particular) the places are full of Russians, who in many cases have refused citizenship of the country they now find themselves in, but really were not born in Russian and so do not go home. In the Crimea, most cars had a Russian...

You mean the pro-Russian East and pro-Europe (was Poland) West.

Unless they go in by sea, it is a fair land ride from Russia to the Crimea. I suspect they would not put troops in, there will be a lot of sabre rattling from Moscow, but it is not like interfering in Georgia, too many NATO countries too close to the Ukraine for Moscow to run the risk of all...

They already have the Black Sea Fleet sitting in Sevastopol.

The Government may have been elected, but they have changed the constitution to concentrate power with the president, in effect creating a dictatorship. This is essentially one of the reasons for the protests.

I suspect not. Russia interfering in Georgia is one thing, rolling into the Ukraine and essentially creating a border with the EU would cause several issues.

You tend to find that the west of the country see's itself as more European (was Poland) and the East is drawn to Russia. I was in the Crimea in the summer and this is full of ethnic Russians to the point it is autonomous from Ukraine and the port of Sevastopol is still leased to the Russians.