PUTINISM ROUNDUP
Ukraine Forces and Pro-Russian
Militants Battle Over Local Police Station – New York Times
US Tries to Help Ukraine, Reassure Allies Without Riling Russia - Wall
Street Journal
NATO images purport to show Russia 'ready
for combat' on Ukrainian border – Christian Science Monitor
Russia Plotting for
Ukrainian Influence, Not Invasion, Analysts Say – New York Times
Putinism got Crimea delivered to Russia after six decades of a former Russian
dictator ‘gifting’ the region to Ukraine.
And this ‘nationalist’ act of the
self-serving ultranationalist Vladimir Putin was more than enough to surge his popularity.
But as the international affairs analysts say - only delivering Crimea is not
going to be helpful for Putin on the question of Ukraine
and Russia’s
interest in the country.
An active control over the
politics of Ukraine is a
must for Putinism if Putin wants to remain as popular, as he is now, something,
that would be a lethal tool to silence the voice of his opponents in Russia.
A Western control of Ukraine
including the European countries is a saleable and lucrative prospect to incite
the nationalist feelings for Putinism. Also, strategically - the US looking into the courtyard of Russia - it would be a compromising position for
Russia.
The masses’ desire of imperialist
growth created Adolf Hitler. Putinism, too, harbours something like that, a
Eurasian vision of a Russia
centric geopolitical chunk.
Without Ukraine, that vision is as bogus as the claims
of Russia
being a democratic country.
And so, after taking over Crimea,
as expected, Putinism is on the job to create situations to remain influential
in Ukraine.
‘Russia
looks ready for combat’, ‘pro-Russian Ukrainians seize buildings, violence
grows’, or ‘Russian acts to increase or remain influential in Ukraine, but not aimed at invading the country’ –
these points and counterpoints tell what was already in Putinism’s scheme of
things when it started for Crimea.
And the spineless response the
world community showed in handling the Crimean crisis was enough to push Putin
to graduate to the next phase of his scheming immediately after the Crimea victory.
Putinism would do all to sabotage
the Ukrainian Presidential elections due on May 25 and so, the violent clashes
are going to increase in frequency and scale. Like a puppet government Ukraine had so far, Russia would do all to achieve
that.