Why Eastern Ukraine Will Not Follow Crimea To Moscow -- Sabra Ayres, Christian Science Monitor
The gravitational pull of Russia is being challenged amid generational change and a renewed sense that Ukraine is home.
Sergei Nakonechniy was sitting in a cafe in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk when a middle-aged woman rose from a nearby table and stormed toward him. She pointed to his camouflage jacket, which bore the insignia of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army – a controversial World War II anti-Soviet movement.
“Your fascist badges and uniforms are provoking the whole conflict in this country,” she shouted at the pro-Ukraine activist and journalism student. “All of our problems are because of you and your fascist friends from western Ukraine. You should be ashamed!
With Crimea effectively part of Russia, if perhaps not legally, Mr. Nakonechniy and other residents of Ukraine’s pro-Russian eastern regions are now the new focus in the battle for the future of this country of about 46 million. But Donetsk and the industrialized region around it, known as the Donbass, are less likely to follow Crimea’s example due to an array of constraining factors – not least among them a generational divide between youths like Nakonechniy and their parents who still harbor an affinity for Russia.
Read more ....
My Comment: I say that it is touch and go right now in eastern Ukraine. The interim Ukraine government's anti-Russian laws have seriously exacerbated the situation, but the fear is the economy. My aunt lives in Kharkiv, and she has been receiving her pension intermittently. I suspect that her case is not an isolated one, and she (like all of her neighbors) are worried about the future. If the economy tailspins into a recession (or worse) .... and unemployment increases .... I expect tensions to increase and calls to join the Russian Federation in the believe that this will help will continue to escalate. After that .... anything is possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment