Every once in a while we have to remind ourselves of the motto that governs Allegra’s operations: our Academic Slow Food Manifesto. What can we say – except that there are simply so many compelling themes and fantastic scholars whose work we have been privileged to feature that taking things slow is not that easy.
Yet simultaneously we realize that the volume of our posts has grown so great that following all of them feels difficult – on occasion even for us at the editorial board. Consequently for the next two weeks we want to slow things down and re-visit a theme that has grown, sadly, increasingly compelling over the past year. We refer to the crises of the Ukraine and Russia.
Looking back it feels difficult to imagine that, indeed, this entire crises only commenced an ample year ago, as now new worrying accounts pour in on an almost weekly basis. What is going on – and just how worried about Russia should we be?
We begin our discussion by revisiting posts that appeared at allegralaboratory.net in spring 2014 – posts motivated by our desire to offer alternative insights into world events making global headlines.
Tomorrow we revisit Judith Beyer’s post ‘Which Constitution? What Order? Constitutional Politics in Ukraine’ that was first published at Allegra in March 2014. The post considers the Ukrainian situation from the viewpoint of constitutional order, discussing how constitution-making has historically been the main legal tool (and a highly contested one) used for dealing with political transformation. As she compellingly asks: given all the amendments and new versions that have been introduced of the Ukrainian constitution, indeed, which constitutional order has been addressed in the crisis?
On Wednesday we feature Elizabeth De Luca’s post ‘Returning to Crimea’. Elizabeth DeLuca reflects on the status of Tatar minorities in Crimea under Russian occupation and on their long struggle for political recognition. How has the Ukrainian crises impacted this struggle?
On Thursday we revisit the post by Karoline Follis & Lidia Kuzemska ‘The Euro in ‘Euromaidan’, in Hindsight’. Follis and Kuzemska discuss the vote by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in April 2014 which condemned Russia and showed support to the new government of Ukraine by suspending the voting rights of the Russian delegation. It is difficult to see these acts as anything other than merely symbolic support, and it is from this vantage point that they revisit the significance of the ‘Euro’ in Euromaidan.
We conclude this first REDUX week into the Ukraine & Russia with post-soviet nostalgia via Daniel Gallegos’ AVMoFA entry featuring Kazakh Delights; delights that have very different connotations today than at the time when they first appeared at Allegra.
We set these two weeks off with this timeline of the Ukraine crises compiled by our very own Manager of Things & Stuff Ninnu Koskenalho. The timeline features a detailed summary of the events last spring, reminding us of just what happened in the early days of this crises.
Next week we continue be revisiting posts that focus explicitly on Russia from last fall and this spring. We hope that jointly these posts will help all of us to get a better understanding of just what is going on with this crises – and why.
However, vowing to take it slow or not, this would hardly be Allegra if there weren’t a few other surprises – reviews and what-not – forthcoming this week also. So do stay tuned in!
UKRAINE TIMELINE
In its mission to promote anthropology’s societal relavance, Allegra has launched a discussion with the insights of specialists of the region into the current Ukrainian situation. In this mission we joined forces with a virtual roundtable with Anthropoliteia – Part 1 and Part 2. Here is a short recap of the main events is in order – just WHAT is going in with this crises, and WHEN has everything started concretely?!
With this goal in mind we have summarised the events into a timeline, starting with November 21, 2013 – summarising all the joint wisdom by the Allegra & Anthropoliteia ‘Ukraine teams’ and constructed with wonderful diligence by Allegra’s very own Ninnu Koskenalho!
The backstory for the crisis in Ukraine begins with Russia’s historical affinity with the Crimean peninsula, and with the power politics of Ukrainian leaders Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko. The current crisis is seen to have begun late last year, when political decisions sparked protests that quickly grew in size. As with the Arab Spring, the iconic location of the protests is the Independence Square, Maidan Nezalezhnost, in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev
2013
November 21
President Yanukovych’s cabinet abandons an agreement on closer trade ties with EU, instead seeking closer co-operation with Russia. Ukrainian MPs also reject a bill to allow Yulia Tymoshenko to leave the country. Small protests start and comparisons with the Orange Revolution begin.
November 24
Over 100,000 people gather in Kiev to protest President Yanukovych’s rejection of an agreement that would strengthen trade with the European Union. Police launch first raid on protesters, arresting 35. Images of injured demonstrators raise the international profile of the protests.
November 30
The Berkut (special police unit) are instructed to violently clear the Maidan of the student protesters. Among the injured are students, bystanders, and members of the media. Tens of thousands of citizens come to the Maidan. Public support grows for pro-EU anti-government protesters as images of them bloodied by the police crackdown spread online and in the media.
December 1
The Maidan is occupied by about 300,000 protestors. The City Hall is seized by activists. An immense tent city springs up, and grows in numbers throughout December. University professors, doctors and church leaders are followed home on a regular basis by undercover Berkut or police. Some are awakened in the middle of the night by loud knocking on their door, followed by verbal threats.
December 11
A second Berkut raid in the night has people coming to the center from all over Kiev. Taxi drivers announce that all trips to Maidan will be fare-less, something they will continue to do in the future.
December 17
Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to buy 15 billion dollars of Ukrainian debt, and to reduce the price of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine by about a third.
2014
January 1
The occupation in Maidan continues into January. A Council of the Maidan is elected and significantly avoids being dominated by the political opposition. Maidan is taking its place as an independent social and political force.
January 16
Parliament passes restrictive anti-protest laws that made it illegal to wear helmets and block public buildings. They are quickly condemned as “draconian”, and citizens don helmets, as well anything that looks like a helmet, in defiance of the law.
In response to the Parliament’s passing the laws, protests gradually (until the 19th, when they erupt with a new force) increase. On January 17 Yanukovych signs the laws, but they are not published until a few days after, which creates a situation of uncertainty for protesters.
January 19
Following a call of Automaidan leaders, protesters peacefully march on the Parliament building in order force MPs to cancel the laws. In Hrushevskoho street, they are blocked by a Berkut cordon. Violent skirmishes start between protesters and the police; street fights in Hrushevskoho street will continue for almost a month.
January 21
On a night/early morning if Jan 21, activists Serhiy Lutsenko and Yuriy Verbytsky are kidnapped from a Kyiv hospital. Lutsenko, who is found later that day out of Kyiv, reports being detained, interrogated and tortured together with Verbytskyi by a group of unknown people.
January 22
Three protesters die after being shot with live ammunition. There are also reports of a person being thrown from the arch over the stadium, but no official report of the death. Dmytro Bulatov, activist and leader of the protest group AutoMaidan, disappears amid violent protests.
January 23
The body of Yuriy Verbytsky is found with marks of torture. Torture and physical intimidation by police targeting people coming to and from Maidan square are reported. Protesters begin storming regional government offices in western Ukraine.
Two protestors die of gunshot wounds as clashes turn deadly for the first time.
January 26
In Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, where Euromaidan previously had a marginal support, relatively large-scale protests against the killings of activists are violently suppressed by Berkut reportedly helped by hired thugs. Thugs ( ‘titushky’ ) and militias (e.g. Oplot militia in Kharkiv), allegedly commanded by the police, acted alongside Berkut to provoke unrest during the entire course of Euromaidan.
January 28
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resignes. Yanukovych offers the post to one of the opposition leaders, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who refuses. The parliament annuls the anti-protest law.
January 29
After a consultation with protesters at Maidan, parliamentary opposition was forced to reject the conditions and passed an amnesty bill promising to drop charges against all those arrested in unrest if protesters leave government buildings. Opposition rejects conditions.
January 31
Opposition activist Dmytro Bulatov found outside Kiev after being’detained for 8 days and tortured by unknown people in a manner consistent with kidnappings of Lutsenko and Verbytsky’
February 6
An explosive device detonates in the Trade Union House, one of the supply bases of Maidan. Two protesters are severely injured.
February 16
All 234 protesters arrested since December are released. Kiev city hall, occupied since 1 December, is abandoned by demonstrators, along with other public buildings in regions.
February 18
18 people die in clashes between Maidan and Berkut, including seven police, and hundreds more wounded. Violence begins when protesters attack police lines after the parliament stalls in passing constitutional reform to limit presidential powers. Protesters take back government buildings. Some 25,000 protesters are encircled in Independence Square.
The Opposition puts forth a bill to change back to a mixed Parliamentary/Presidential system. The Speaker of the House does not register the amendment, thus preventing it from being debated in Parliament. The Opposition question the Speaker’s manoeuvre. Yanukovych calls for a truce and at the same time, for anti-terrorism measures (ie. free reign on violence) to be taken against disruptive forces.
February 19
Police fire grenades into the building where Maidan organisers were based. People die in the flames.
February 20
Kiev sees its worst day of violence for almost 70 years. At least 102 people are killed in 48 hours. Video shows uniformed snipers firing at protesters holding makeshift shields. Snipers are shooting people who cross the perimeter of the Maidan; people are shot in the head, chest, and neck. Shots are aimed at medics as they rescue and carry out the wounded. Over 500 people are wounded.Snipers, reportedly belonging to the Ukrainian Security Service’s (SBU) ‘Alfa’ special forces, shot at Berkut as well.
February 21
After hours of negotiations brokered by EU foreign ministers, President Yanukovych signs a compromise deal with opposition leaders. They agree upon early presidential elections and a return to the mixed Presidential/Parliamentary constitution. Maidan is sceptical. They demand Yanukovich’s immediate resignation and the arrest of all those implicated in the deaths on Maidan. Yanukovych refuses to resign.
The elite Berkut police unit, blamed for deaths of protesters, is disbanded. By next morning, the entire city has been vacated by police and special forces, leaving barricades, trucks, and even food and mattresses behind.
February 22
Yanukovych disappears, and protesters take control of presidential administration buildings. Parliament, now controlled by the opposition, claims the right to rule. Parliament commences to pass laws rolling back most of the repressive measures implemented under Yanukovych. Yulia Tymoshenko is freed from jail. May 25 is set for fresh presidential elections.
Yanukovych appears on TV, stating that he was ousted by a coup d’état. Russia supports this, and regional leadership in Kharkiv and Crimea support the Russian narrative, arguing that events in Kyiv have overturned a democratically elected government.
February 23
Parliament names speaker Olexander Turchynov as interim president.
Protests between pro-Yanukovych/Russia supporters and pro-Maidan supporters erupt in Kharkiv and Crimea. The Kharkiv regional governor states that Yanukovych was too soft on the demonstrations and should have shot them all.
February 24
Ukraine’s interim government draws up a warrant for Yanukovich’s arrest, and the acting president warns of the dangers of separatism. Meanwhile, people continue in Maidan community organised groups to occupy Maidan.
A senior officer of the elite police unit verifies protestors’ claims of the sniper activity by someone dressed in a Berkut uniform. He states that the sniper(s) were shooting at both protestors and the police and points to a “third force”.
February 25
Pro-Russian Aleksey Chaly is appointed Sevastopol’s de facto mayor as rallies in Crimea continue.
February 26
Crimean Tatars supporting the new Kiev administration clash with pro-Russia protesters in the region. Opposition forces negotiate a new unity government to be headed by Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister. Members of the proposed government appear before demonstrators. Members of the cabinet are presented for approval to the people continuing to protest and stay in Maidan, prior to the formal presentation in the Parliament on the 27th.
Russian troops near border with Ukraine are put on alert and drilled for “combat readiness”.
February 27
Yanukovych is granted refuge in Russia. In Simferopol, pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings. Yanukovych issues a statement through Russian media, saying he is still the legitimate president.
Armed men encircle the Crimean Parliament, chanting in support of Russia. The Crimean Parliament dismisses the government of the Autonomous Republic and elects Sergei Aksyonov Prime Minister. Aksyonov is the head of the small Russian Unity party and has long called for Crimea’s annexation by Russia.
February 28
Armed men in unmarked combat fatigues seize Simferopol International Airport and a military airfield in Sevestopol. The interim Ukrainian government accuses Russia of aggression.
United Nations Security Council holds an emergency closed-door session to discuss the situation in Crimea. The United States warns Russia of militarily intervening in Ukraine.
Yanukovich holds a press conference in southern Russia. Speaking in Russian, he claims his status as president and says he opposes any military intervention or division of Ukraine. He accuses the interim government of a coup, and apologises to his country for failing to stabilise the situation.
Russia claims military movements in Crimea are in line with previous agreements to protect its fleet position in the Black Sea.
March 1
Pro-Russian demonstrations are held in several cities outside Crimea. Any pro-Ukrainian protesters are removed by unmarked officers. Russia supporters in the South and East are being told by Russian news sources that they will be exterminated by the Ukrainian government.
Russia’s Parliament approves a request by President Vladimir Putin to use Russian forces across Ukraine. In response, Ukraine’s acting President Olexander Turchynov puts his army on full alert. Putin says Moscow reserves the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers in Ukraine. Russian forces take over Crimea. Armed check points are set up across the peninsula. Barack Obama tells Putin to pull forces back to bases.
March 2
Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Yatsenyuk says Russia has effectively declared war. So far, no shots are fired as Russia continues to claim they are there at the request of the rightful, democratically elected President Yanukovych to protect Russian citizens. Ukrainian troops are barricaded into their military base in a standoff with Russian troops outside of Simferopol. Kiev has ordered them not to fire the first shot. The US says Russia is in control of Crimea.
March 3
“Black Monday” on Russian stock markets as reports suggest Russia’s military had issued a deadline for Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender. The reports are later denied. Russia’s UN envoy says toppled President Yanukovych had asked the Russian president in writing for use of force.
NATO says Moscow is threatening peace and security in Europe and claims that Russia said it would not help stabilize the situation.
March 4
Putin gives his first public statement to the crisis, saying that Russia will not recognise the outcome of upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine if the current terror continues. He denies that new Russian troops were sent to Crimea. He also says that Yanukovich’s political career has ended, but stands by Russian ‘humanitarian intervention’ in Crimea. Putin says his country reserves the right to use all means to protect its citizens in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces fire warning shots on unarmed Ukrainian soldiers marching towards an airbase in Sevastopol.
March 5
US Secretary of State John Kerry seeks to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers. However, Sergey Lavrov refuses to talk to his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, and warns against Western support of what Moscow views as a Ukrainian coup, saying that could encourage government takeovers elsewhere.
Meanwhile, NATO announces a full review of its cooperation with Russia. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sends 35 unarmed military personnel to Ukraine for “providing an objective assessment of facts on the ground.”
The EU freezes the assets of 18 people held responsible for misappropriating state funds in Ukraine, echoing similar actions in Switzerland and Austria. Russia suggests it will meet any sanctions imposed by Western governments with a tough response, and Putin warns that measures could incur serious mutual damage.
March 6
Crimea’s parliament votes to join Russia and schedules a referendum for 16 March. Hours later, the city council of Sevastopol in Crimea announces joining Russia immediately.
Warnings and threats of sanctions have been issued by the USA, EU, Canada and others. EU leaders have frozen talks on visa-free travel with Russia and threatened asset freezes and economic sanctions if there is a stalemate or if the situation in Ukraine gets worse.
March 7
Ukraine offers talks with Russia over Crimea, but on the condition that the Kreml withdraws troops from the autonomous republic. Meanwhile, top Russian politicians meet Crimea’s delegation with standing ovation and express their support for the region’s aspirations of joining Russia.
Russia says it will support Crimea if the region votes to leave Ukraine. Russia’s state gas company Gazprom warns Kiev that its gas supply might be cut off.
The referendum of March 16th depends on the pro-Russian support from the Crimean Tatars. The Tatar community is unanimous in its backing for the government in Kyiv and announces it will boycott any referendum on joining Russia.
In Sevestapol, journalists are reported to have been beaten by Pro-Russian groups. Armed men confiscate Associated Press equipment.
March 8
US and France warn of “new measures” against Russia if it does not withdraw its forces from Ukraine. Warning shots are fired to prevent an unarmed international military observer mission from entering Crimea. Russian forces become increasingly aggressive towards Ukrainian troops trapped in bases.
March 9
Yatsenyuk vows Ukraine would not give “an inch” of its territory to Russia during a rally celebrating 200 years since the birth of national hero and poet Taras Shevchenko as rival rallies in Sevastopol lead to violence.
Trains have been diverted from reaching Crimea. Travel is stopped and journalists attempting to enter the Crimean peninsula are stopped, searched and intimidated by unidentified men in military uniforms. There are numerous stories circulating about journalists who have gone to Crimea and are now are missing.
March 10
Armed men seize a military hospital in Simferopol.
The only legal troops on Crimean soil are the Russian army. Crimea has closed its airspace to commercial flights. NATO announces it will start reconnaissance flights over Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in neighboring Ukraine where Russian forces have taken control of Crimea.
Russian opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky speaks to students in Kyiv Polytechnic University. He says Russia is ruining its longstanding friendship with Ukraine by its aggressive and pro-separatist actions in Crimea.
March 11
The EU proposes a package of trade liberalization measures to support Ukraine’s economy, offering Ukraine trade incentives worth nearly 500 million euros. Crimean regional parliament adopts a “declaration of independence”. Ukrainian MPs ask the US and UK to use all measures, including military, to stop Russia’s aggression.
March 12
Obama meets with Yatsenyuk at the White House in a show of support for the new Ukrainian government and declares the US would “completely reject” the Crimea referendum.
The Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine claims Russia has deployed more than 80,000 troops close to the border. Russian Defense quickly denies this. Reporters Without Borders issues a warning that media are being targeted throughout Crimea.
Foreign diplomatic talks continue. The G–7 leaders issued a letter calling on the Russian Federation “to cease all efforts to change the status of Crimea contrary to Ukrainian law and in violation of international law.” They state that they will not recognize the referendum: it will have no legal effect.
March 13
Ukraine’s parliament votes to create a 60,00-strong National Guard to defend the country.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns Moscow of potentially “massive” long-term economic and political damage. Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Czhemilev calls for a referendum boycott and NATO intervention to avert a “massacre”.
Demonstrations continue, some turning violent. One demonstrator is killed, many on both sides injured.
March 14
Diplomatic efforts before the referendum fail in London, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with US counterpart John Kerry amid threats of sanctions against Russia if it annexes Crimea. Lavrov insists that “there is no need for an international structure in dealing with Russian-Ukrainian relations.”
In preparation for Sunday’s referendum, the residents of Crimea receive blank invitations for the referendum, which do not contain either names of the voter or polling stations or territorial district numbers.
March 15
UN Security Council members vote overwhelmingly in support of a draft resolution condemning an upcoming referendum on the future of Crimea as illegal. Russia vetoes the action and China abstains. Claims that Russian troops have landed on a strip of land in the southeast between Crimea and the mainland.
50,000 people march in central Moscow against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. People are being promised free food if they come out to vote in favour of Russian ‘protection’. Two people are killed in clashes in Kharkiv.
March 16
The referendum takes place in Crimea. Official results say 97% of voters back a proposal to join Russia. The freedom of the vote is a matter of debate. The referendum is said to have offered no option that would have maintained Crimea’s current status of limited autonomy from the Ukrainian government.
The turnout in Crimea was announced to a total 81.36% of the voter population. The head of the referendum commission announces that 1,250,426 people voted. Once Sevastopol is included in the total, 1,724,563 people will have voted. At the end of last year, the population of Sevastopol stood at 385,462 persons. Therefore, 123% of Sevastopol citizens voted to join Russia.
March 17
The EU and US impose travel bans and asset freezes on several officials from Russia and Ukraine over the Crimea referendum. Putin approves a decree recognizing Crimea as an independent state. Local assembly chief says Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea must switch sides or leave.
March 18
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses parliament, defending Moscow’s actions on Crimea. He denies that events in Crimea amounted to Russian aggression, saying there had been no shots fired and no casualties. Putin then then signs a bill to absorb the Crimean peninsula into the Russian Federation.
The West, China and Japan, among other nations, have refused to recognize the annexation of Crimea, stating that Russia is isolating itself.
Kiev says the conflict has reached a “military stage” after a Ukrainian soldier was shot and killed by unidentified, masked gunmen who stormed a military base in Simferopol – the first such death in the region since pro-Russian forces took over in late February. Crimea’s pro-Kremlin police department says a member of the local self-defense forces was also killed in the same incident.
March 19
150 civilians break through to Ukraine’s naval headquarters in Sevastopol without using violence. The pro-Russian crowd rips down the Ukrainian flag and replaces it with a Russian one.
Ukraine starts drawing up plans to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea, after pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases and detained the Ukrainian navy chief in an unknown location. Ukraine also decides to leave the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance, and will ask the United Nations to declare Crimea a demilitarized zone.
OSCE is reported to decide within the next 24 hours whether they will have a monitoring mission in Ukraine. With the exception of Russia, all OSCE member countries agree to a mission of 100 experts sent to monitor the political situation in Crimea.
March 20
EU leaders gathered in Brussels condemn Russia’s “annexation” of Crimea and extend the list of individuals targeted for sanctions. The US also extends sanctions.
Angela Merkel states ‘the G8 doesn’t exist anymore, not the summit nor the format’. The upcoming G8 meeting in Sochi has been cancelled. The UN is deploying a 34-member human rights monitoring mission to Ukraine. Britain, Sweden and East European countries are pushing for arms sales to Russia to be halted.
The government in Ukraine demands the release of the naval commander and a number of pro-Ukraine activists previously detained in Crimea. In Kiev, the parliament adopts a resolution that states that it will never recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and will fight for the ‘liberation’.
March 21
Ukrainian troops have been deployed to Ukrainian border with Russia. The European Commission produces its final verdict on the Crimean Referendum, stating that the referendum to join part of the Russian Federation is unconstitutional. Ukraine says it will never accept loss of Crimea while Moscow signs a bill to formally annex the peninsula.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk signs the political association agreement with the EU at a summit of the bloc’s leaders. This is the same agreement that Yanukovych had backed out of last November in favour of a $15 billion bail-out from Russia.
March 22
Soldiers take control of Ukrainian air base in Belbek, as Novofedorovka naval base is seized by pro-Russian activists. A journalist and Ukrainian solider reported to be injured. About 100 Ukrainian troops were forced from their Novofyodorovka base, also in Crimea. Russia seized a Ukrainian submarine.
Crimea celebrates joining Russia. In Kiev, Yatseniuk said Ukraine would need energy from the European Union to protect it from repercussions of its standoff with Moscow, on which it depends for over half its oil and gas.
The Right Sector declared as a political party. The party incorporates other nationalist groups of the Ukrainian National Assembly to support Dmitry Yarosh for elections in May 2014. The Ukrainian National Assembly, now Right Sector, shares political views with the British National Party, the National Front in France, Golden Dawn in Greece and National Democratic Party in Germany.
March 23
About 189 military sites in Crimea are now under the control of Russian troops. Obama calls an emergency G7 meeting, excluding Russia, to be held as an off-shoot to Monday’s G8 nuclear security summit.
Thousands of people rallied in Maidan to march for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and against Russian invasion. The crowd unveiled a huge Crimea Tatar flag blended with a Ukrainian flag. NATO’s top military commander stated concern that Russia’s presence in Eastern Ukraine posed a threat to Moldova’s mainly Russian-speaking separatist Transdniestria region.German Defense Minister called for greater NATO backing of the Baltic states.
An emergency meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers was held to work on new laws to stabilize the situation and reduce corruption. The three main tasks of the government now are fighting “corruption, illegal weapons and thuggery”.
March 24
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations, meeting without Russia, agree to hold their own summit this year instead of attending a planned G8 meeting, due to have taken place June 4-5, in Sochi, along the Black Sea coast from Crimea, and to suspend their participation in the G8 until Russia changes course. They warn Moscow it faces damaging economic sanctions if President Putin takes further action to destabilise Ukraine following the seizure of Crimea.
Ukrainska Pravda reported that on May 9, 2014, a new law takes effect in the Russian Federation that criminalizes public calls for violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. The law (Federal Law of the Russian Federation No 433-FZ) was approved in Russia late last year, but now will impact discussions on the status of Crimea.
March 25
Interim President Turchynov orders troops to withdraw from Crimea after Russia seized and annexed the peninsula. Turchynov tells legislators that both servicemen and their families would now be relocated to the mainland.
Prime Minister Yatsenyuk announces that a new Constitution of Ukraine will be presented to Parliament on April 15. The new constitution will include a large package of reforms. Parliament insists that with this constitutional change there must be substantial reform of local governments.
March 26
Interim President Turchynov fires the Permanent Representative of the President in the Crimea, Sergey Kunitsyn, for ‘improper performance of duties’. Six of the Ukrainian officers kidnapped in Crimea are set free.
The World Bank forecasts that if Putin continues to escalate the situation, Russian GDP will drop by 1.8% in 2014 (compared to the 1.3% growth in 2013).
Sources:
Warm thanks to Maria Jose for editorial assistance!
“What is going on – and just how worried about Russia should we be?”
I am also a bit worried about Ukraine. Just sayin’.