Looks a bit more than just an ethnic unrest

According to the piece, published in Washington Post, Russia's interests in Ukraine are much more serious than just overwhelming desire to protect the poor Russians there.


I actually recommend the opinion of Lilia Shevtsova for an insight.

Just like all of his predecessors, Putin supports the empire. Just like them, he probably believes that Russia can survive only as an empire rather than as a normal nation state.

According to Shevtsova, postmodern Europe, with its emphasis on treaties, soft power, and negotiations, has proven utterly feckless when it comes to bringing the Kremlin to heel.

The Russian elite is plugged into the Western economy and its financial system. That is why the West is helpless when it comes to containing Russia. So far, the Western governments haven’t shown any willingness to inflict financial or other kind of pain on themselves.