Ukraine crisis: Is Putin justified in annexing Crimea?

President Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex Crimea on Tuesday, prompted Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to declare the move as “ theft on an international scale.” Many have claimed that the Russian intervention in Crimea, is direct a result of Putin’s  imperial ambitions and would  destabilise Europe. However, Putin’s address of the Russian parliament on Tuesday made it clear that he had his share of reasons for his intervention. [caption id=“attachment_564792” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vladimir Putin: Reuters[/caption] A portion of Putin’s speech was dedicated to pointing out western hypocrisy, especially since 2000. Foreign Policy in a piece titled “Sorry, Putin isn’t crazy” lists reasons for the Russian leader’s suspicion of the west clear. It says: The West, and especially the United States, needs to acknowledge that the invasions and changes of regime they have carried out have done nothing to dispel notions that they seek world hegemony, and have convinced Putin that he is locked in a struggle not only for Russian dominance in its near-abroad, but for the future of his government – and even, possibly, for his life. They have targeted authoritarian rulers in the past, and suspecting them of doing so now makes eminent sense; Putin is taking history’s lesson to heart. This is no mere call for a reexamination of the US history of robust interventions across the globe, interventions of which the Russian leader is no doubt a student. In his speech justifying the annexation of Crimea, Putin also referred to the Soviet split and its impact on Russians as one of the reasons. “Millions of Russians went to sleep in one country and woke up living abroad, as a national minority in former republics of the union. The Russian people became one of the biggest, if not the biggest, split-up nation in the world,” he  said. Protecting Russian’s living in former Soviet nations like Ukraine has been Moscow’s stance since the beginning of the crisis, which has since led to sanctions from western powers, including  suspension from the G8. Some even term it one of the worst standoffs between the west and Russia since the Cold War. Read more  here.