Seraphim Hanisch
The DuranTue, 21 Aug 2018 12:35 UTC
A piece featured The Duran about two weeks ago noted that the Crimean "takeover", as it is called by the West, is anything but a descent into the darkness of live under the evil overlord President Vladimir Putin.
As a matter of fact, the (real) referendum and vote that was taken in 2014 has not been redone, nor have the people in Crimea expressed any regret over rejoining the Russian Federation.Yes, "rejoining." Crimea was "given" to Ukraine by the General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Nikita Kruschev in 1954.
However, it was part of Russia from the time of the Russian defeat of the Ottomans in the late 18th century. In Russia, as in Westernism-infected Ukraine, the fate and status of Crimea is a hot topic.
Russians often are heard to say things like "Crimea is Russia. It was always Russia!" - which is not exactly true. But
it is true that the peninsula was part of the Russian Empire for well over 160 years when it was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR by Kruschev. The Ukrainian claims take more liberties with history still. Ethnically, the peninsula is primarily populated by Russian people.
The Ukrainians' own claims about the peninsula and the aid given by the West (which has its own motives about this place) has provided a convenient set of alibis to lead the world into concluding that Crimea was "invaded" by Russian forces working clandestinely. This of course infers that the people in Crimea are under the thumb of those horrible Russian leaders,
especially that evil guy, Vladimir Putin.
However, reality shows a different tale. There has never been a protest over the rejoining to Russia, even though live got hard for the Crimean people for a bit when Ukraine cut their energy lines. Alternative journalists such as Peter Phillips have repeatedly done interviews of the Crimean people and they all express great satisfaction with the decision of the republic to rejoin the Russian Federation as a federal subject.
This report from Vesti News tells the story further as the peninsula continues to recover from years of poor upkeep under the Ukrainian government and they tell the story of how this strategic republic is becoming a symbol and "star" of the New Russia. Watch below:
Comment: Russian authorities have also presented plans for transforming Crimea into a major cultural capital, as Reuters
reports:
"Staff of the Hermitage Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum are involved in the creation of [a new cultural] complex," Golodets said.
"The central (building) will be an exhibition center and a permanent exposition of the world's artistic masterpieces, currently located in these museums," she said.
The project aims to transform the city into a cultural capital, the minister said, adding that this was particularly important considering rising numbers of tourists to the area.
Since the auto section of the bridge linking Crimea to Russia's transport network was unveiled in May, it has been used by 1.5 million tourists, Golodets said.
While the bridge linking Crimea to Russia's transport network has brought in millions of tourists, plans to connect the Crimean economy with
Turkey, Syria and
Iran are also moving ahead at a blistering pace. RT reports:
US-sanctioned Iran is interested in doing business with Russia's Crimea, according to the authorities from the Russian region, which is also facing sanctions from Washington and Brussels.
The trade route would connect Crimea's ports with Iran's Caspian coast via the Volga-Don Canal, Georgy Muradov, Crimea's permanent representative under the Russian president told Izvestiya. [...]
The connection between Crimea and Iran could be part of a much larger project. Moscow and Tehran have long been interested in developing the North-South transport corridor. Part of it will go along the western coast of the Caspian Sea from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan.
The North-South corridor, when built, is expected to significantly reduce the time for cargo transport from India to Central Asia and Russia. At present, it takes about 40 days to ship goods from Mumbai in India to Moscow. The new route will be able to cut this time to 14 days. The price will also be cheaper than shipping goods through the traditional Suez Canal.
Crimean authorities are also planning to boost trade relations with Syria, another US-sanctioned country.
Also see:
Comment: Russian authorities have also presented plans for transforming Crimea into a major cultural capital, as Reuters reports: While the bridge linking Crimea to Russia's transport network has brought in millions of tourists, plans to connect the Crimean economy with Turkey, Syria and Iran are also moving ahead at a blistering pace. RT reports: Also see: