Russia doesn't *need* Crimea. Russia *wants* Crimea.

[Igel]

15. The Tatars aren't native.

They're just immigrants that arrived a lot earlier than the Russians.

Of course, Slavs had been there earlier. Arabs gave them hell, with all the raids for capturing slaves. Slav, slave, same origin (with a possible serendipitous overlap with a name the Slavs called themselves).

Greeks were there before them.

Let's not forget the Sarmatians, related to the Persians, who were there before the Greeks.

Or the Scythians. Whatever language they spoke.

And whoever was there for the thousands of years before them.


Greed has many forms. In a way, I'm greedy. I like learning stuff. Others are greedy for fame. Or prestige. Some just want money. Or land.

Putin's a nationalist, first and foremost. Hearing him decry fascists is like listening to a Brit say how horrible a New Zealand accent is and saying, "Abominable accent, why can't they speak English?"