A Resurgent Russia Stirs Anxiety in Ukraine, Torn by Fear and Fraternal Bonds

A Resurgent Russia Stirs Anxiety in Ukraine, Torn by Fear and Fraternal Bonds

www.nytimes.com

KIEV, Ukraine — For 18 years now the countries along the border with the former Soviet Union have cherished their democracies, all made possible from the simple premise that the days of Russian dominance were over.

The events in Georgia over the past week have made them rethink that idea. Poland announced Thursday that it had reached a deal to base American missile interceptors on its territory, after months of talks. But then a Russian general went so far as to say that Poland might draw Russian retaliation, sending new shudders through the region.

The sense of alarm may be greatest in Ukraine. Since the Orange Revolution in 2004, when the pro-Western Viktor A. Yushchenko came to power after widespread protests, Ukraine has been a thorn in Moscow’s side, though perhaps not as sharp as the outspoken Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Georgia, Poland and the Ukraine?

Can the Russians stamp out democracy, and reconstitute the former Soviet Union without causing a world war?



www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Something from the above article that may be missed if no one reads the full report:

“We’re the next,” said Tanya Mydruk, 22, an office assistant who lives in Kiev, the capital. “Sooner or later our president is going to say or do something that goes too far and then it will start.”

There is growing fear in the Ukraine, is it justified?

After seeing what has transpired in Georgia, and the threats made to Poland, combined with the history between Russia and the Ukraine, I would say it is.

But can the Russians pull it off unchallenged by the west?

[edit on 16-8-2008 by The_Alarmist2012]

reply to post by The_Alarmist2012


Good they need to get in there and clean up that Russian made mess. Russia can have that nuclear wasteland as far as I'm concerned. Most of them are loyal to Russia anyway. Its nice to have Ukraine on our side but Russia needs to clean that place up, Not that they would if they had it anyway.

Putin is another tyrant and needs to go.

Ukraine and Poland - we talk about 100 000 000 people in both countries. Poland is a member of NATO and would get unlimited support. Ukraine has nuclear weapons too , so what would Russia gain from making trouble ?

an interesting link here : Rank Order - GDP (purchasing power parity) below

www.cia.gov...



so, the GDP of Russia is 7 times smaller than the one of EU or US , regardless of the large reserves of energy etc.



and here is the list with the Military expenditures - percent of GDP

www.cia.gov...


according to my calculations, US spends almost 7x times more money on Military than Russia. I guess this says something about the capacity of EU and US to adapt their industry if necessary..


and here is a llittle video with how the production work is done in US/EU :
video EU/US

so why would Russia "go for it" ? i guess everything will be fine!

the russian work here:

Google Video Link

[edit on 17-8-2008 by sty]

Originally posted by sty
an interesting link here : Rank Order - GDP (purchasing power parity) below

so, the GDP of Russia is 7 times smaller than the one of EU or US , regardless of the large reserves of energy etc.

A more accurate measure would be to use nominal GDP. In that instance, the US equals 27.5% of the worlds GDP, Russia, 2.5% of world GDP.

and here is the list with the Military expenditures - percent of GDP

according to my calculations, US spends almost 7x times more money on Military than Russia. I guess this says something about the capacity of EU and US to adapt their industry if necessary..

Having not looked at your sources, I can tell you that the US actually accounts for 48% of all the worlds military expenditures. Additionally, the US spends 20% more then the entire EU combined

.


[edit on 17-8-2008 by West Coast]