In all honesty, having Crimea leave Ukraine will be a bit of a double edged sword for Russia. If Crimea becomes a part of Russia, then Russia becomes stronger because they have some certainty as to the Fleet home base in Sevastopol. However, it also means that elections in the Ukraine would loose a large Russian voter bloc, strengthening the pro-western bloc in that country. If Putin gains Crimea, he may end up losing Ukraine as a whole. In this case, strengthening Russia will end up weakening Russia. Putin is in a weak scenario with the former head of state being toppled. All he can do now is make sure his fleet's position is secured, return Crimea to Ukraine, and hope he can rig the next election in the same way he did after the "Orange Revolution".
What does Russia really gain in security with the taking of Crimea, if it results in it's rivals could gain an ally in Ukraine?
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