An interesting development ..... the Nationalist Party President of Bosnia, Milorad Dodic has said it cannot join in EU sanctions imposed on Russia. Milorad Dodik told European Council President Charles Michel on Friday that Bosnia needs to maintain neutrality and not join EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Dodik, is a Serb member of the country’s crazy three-man inter-ethnic presidency that evolved at the late 90s end of hostilities in the Balkans.
Not a big deal in the big scheme of things but I've mentioned up thread that the emergence of "clans" (ostensibly ethnic Ukrainians and Russians) in the Donbas region of Ukraine wanting their particular agendas advanced as they try to assert political control brings to mind the very tenuous political situation in the Balkans. Historically, the only guy to somewhat unite the many ethnic groups in this part of the world was Tito, a dominating figure and autocrat. Russian history is rife with disputes involving the Slaves of western Russian and Ukraine.
This is a really good account of Ukraine's changing boarders over 5 centuries. The hypothesis is that Putin is stupidly overturning what Lenin fully understood about Ukraine - make it larger, not smaller. In short: a smaller Ukraine is a pro-Western Ukraine. If Putin wants his largest Slavic neighbor to be aligned with its geopolitical aims, he should take a page out of Lenin’s playbook and Make Ukraine Greater Again. Removing predominantly Russophone and Russophile regions from Ukraine (the Donbas region connecting through Odessa to Crimea) will create a geopolitical paradox for Russia: the more of Ukraine Russia absorbs, the smaller the chance of what remains of Ukraine ever being Moscow-friendly again.
Not a big deal in the big scheme of things but I've mentioned up thread that the emergence of "clans" (ostensibly ethnic Ukrainians and Russians) in the Donbas region of Ukraine wanting their particular agendas advanced as they try to assert political control brings to mind the very tenuous political situation in the Balkans. Historically, the only guy to somewhat unite the many ethnic groups in this part of the world was Tito, a dominating figure and autocrat. Russian history is rife with disputes involving the Slaves of western Russian and Ukraine.
This is a really good account of Ukraine's changing boarders over 5 centuries. The hypothesis is that Putin is stupidly overturning what Lenin fully understood about Ukraine - make it larger, not smaller. In short: a smaller Ukraine is a pro-Western Ukraine. If Putin wants his largest Slavic neighbor to be aligned with its geopolitical aims, he should take a page out of Lenin’s playbook and Make Ukraine Greater Again. Removing predominantly Russophone and Russophile regions from Ukraine (the Donbas region connecting through Odessa to Crimea) will create a geopolitical paradox for Russia: the more of Ukraine Russia absorbs, the smaller the chance of what remains of Ukraine ever being Moscow-friendly again.
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