The International Spectator - Putin may pay dearly for Crimea gambit
Russian military intervention in Ukraine is a gambit by President Vladimir Putin that has far-reaching global consequences and harbours risks for the Kremlin that may well outweigh the benefits, analysts said Monday.
The shock request by Putin and rapid parliamentary approval to use military force in Ukraine at the weekend will rally domestic patriotism but may ultimately cripple Russia’s economy and drive the country into isolation worse than during the Cold War, they said.
“It’s the most serious crisis in modern Russia since 1991, there has been no similar situation,” said political analyst Alexei Makarkin, referring to the year the USSR collapsed.
Unlike in Soviet times, when the country had a closed economy, Russia is now fully integrated into the global markets and likely sanctions will be “catastrophic,” he said.
Pro-Kremlin pundits and state media have presented intervention as a gesture of solidarity with Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
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Russian military intervention in Ukraine is a gambit by President Vladimir Putin that has far-reaching global consequences and harbours risks for the Kremlin that may well outweigh the benefits, analysts said Monday.
The shock request by Putin and rapid parliamentary approval to use military force in Ukraine at the weekend will rally domestic patriotism but may ultimately cripple Russia’s economy and drive the country into isolation worse than during the Cold War, they said.
“It’s the most serious crisis in modern Russia since 1991, there has been no similar situation,” said political analyst Alexei Makarkin, referring to the year the USSR collapsed.
Unlike in Soviet times, when the country had a closed economy, Russia is now fully integrated into the global markets and likely sanctions will be “catastrophic,” he said.
Pro-Kremlin pundits and state media have presented intervention as a gesture of solidarity with Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Click here to read rest of article.
