A Ukraine Miscellany (VI): Mackinder's Pivot, Bucha, and Crimea

By demanding Russian rubles as the means of payment, Putin is attempting to 'blackmail' the European nations that still rely upon Russian gas. At least this is the argument we've been presented with by the mainstream media in the West. This is not only an unfair charge, it's incoherent.

Putin's Apologia and the Post-Cold War Russian Narrative

The text of Putin's 18 March speech can be found at this link:

http://praguepost.com/eu-news/37854-full-text-of-putin-s-speech-on-crimea

Very interesting. His arguments are pretty sound and logical and they are in line with what some have been saying since the 1990's.

Our media will not report any of this. Dare anyone ask why?