COUP IN KYIV?

I was mainly interested in the expanding Russian military and how it possibly ties in with its interest in Crimea. Or maybe not, might be a bit of a stretch.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 plane attacks on US cities, Moscow said it had no objections to the US and its allies using Central Asia for deployment and transit of troops and cargo to neighbouring Afghanistan.

But the Kremlin has since become wary of the foreign military presence in its former imperial backyard.

Kyrgyzstan, a mainly Muslim nation of 5.5 million, remains poor and volatile after violent revolts that have deposed two presidents since 2005. It lies on a drug-trafficking route out of Afghanistan and next door to China, which is boosting its economic ties with resource-rich Central Asia.(Reuters)

After his election in 2011, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev assured Moscow the US air base would be shut. In December 2012 he ratified a deal leasing the base to Russia for 15 years from January 2017, after Moscow agreed to write off some $500 million of Kyrgyz debts. The agreement can be automatically extended for five years after its expiry

Energy independence is the first step.

Crimean Tartars - whose ties to the region pre-dates Russia's 18th century conquest - say they distrust Moscow's intentions considering past history dating back to imperial times and more recently the 20th century when Crimean Tartars were deported to Central Asia.
As pro-Russia soldiers continue to occupy towns across Crimea, leaders among the ethnic minority have begun mobilizing their own unarmed field patrols to prevent escalation or inter-ethnic conflict.
[...]
The main fear many people in Crimea voice, is that that agent provocateurs working for pro-Russia nationalists or Kremlin security services, could launch attacks used to justify Russian military intervention.
[...]
Relations between ethnic Tartars and local Ukrainians and Russians have been good up till now, says Ahtem Chiygoz, head of the local Mejlis, the traditional council established for Crimean Tartars since they returned to this region from their exile in Central Asia.

"People of different nationalities who live here would never do such a thing it could only come from elsewhere," Chiygoz said. "We are expecting according to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's plan, [that what could happen is that ] groups of people [posing as] Crimean Tartars [could start] attacking ethnic Russian families -or the opposite."
[...]
And as Crimea's de facto authorities push for a referendum on independence for March 16 - just 10 days from the date of the announcement - there are fears that political tensions could shatter the communal peace that's held in this region since the Second World War.

China's instinct is to stand by its strategic partner, but Russia's intervention in Ukraine's Crimea appears to violate China's principle of strict state sovereignty.

I suppose the 1% is going to have pay a little more on caviar

I suppose the 1% is going to have pay a little more on caviar. I have never eaten it in my life and have little desire to do so.

[...] ... Alaskan fisherman caught approximately 600,000 tons of pink salmon, with an average caviar yield of about 24,000 tons.
“Since there’s little interest in caviar in America, a large amount will be exported — particularly to Russia,” the institute’s director, Mikhail Glubokovsky, said. In the expert’s opinion, this indicates that the price for caviar might decline even further, meaning neither producers nor processors will be able to achieve a satisfactory margin.

In the meanwhile,

China to Russia: You're putting us in a tight spot

Quote:

China's instinct is to stand by its strategic partner, but Russia's intervention in Ukraine's Crimea appears to violate China's principle of strict state sovereignty.

Pro-Russian soldiers are reported to have stormed a Ukrainian military base outside the Crimean city of Sevastopol, before withdrawing soon afterwards.

A BBC correspondent saw two lorries from Russia's Black Sea Fleet outside the gates, surrounded by armed men.

But no shots are believed to have been fired, and the assailants and lorries reportedly left after "negotiations".

Troops wearing Russian uniform without insignia have blockaded bases since taking control of Crimea last week.

Some military installations and other buildings in the peninsula have been taken over, but both sides have so far held their fire.

Journalists beaten

On Friday evening, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported that about 100 Ukrainian personnel were stationed at missile defence base A2355.

Citing a duty officer and Ukraine's defence ministry, the agency said a lorry had rammed open the gates of the facility and about 20 "attackers" had entered, throwing stun grenades.

The Ukrainian troops immediately barricaded themselves inside a building and their commander began negotiations before any shots were fired, it added.

The BBC's Christian Fraser, who visited the scene, said the gates did not appear to have been driven through, and there was no sign that the base had been seized.

There were two military lorries with Russian number plates outside the gates, surrounded by irregular soldiers and a very hostile crowd of pro-Russian demonstrators, our correspondent adds.

Two journalists who attempted to take photographs were beaten badly.

Later, a Ukrainian officer told a Daily Telegraph journalist that the stand-off had ended after the "talks", and that the Russian lorries and about 30 to 60 Russians troops had withdrawn.

The incident comes hours after Russian parliamentarians gave a standing ovation to a delegation of pro-Moscow politicians from Crimea, promising support if they wanted to become part of Russia.

Russian forces backed by reportedly aggressive irregular militias held positions outside Ukrainian bases and at key border posts.