Just one thing to add:
Also, those raids included the killing of Orthodox Christians.Until the late 18th century, Crimean Tatars maintained a massive slave trade with the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East. About 2 million slaves from Russia and Ukraine were sold over the period 1500–1700. Tatars were known for frequent, at some periods almost annual, devastating raids on the Slavic peoples to the north. In 1769 a last major Tatar raid, which took place during the Russo-Turkish War, saw the capture of 20,000 slaves.
Crimea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What's being clarified for me in this crisis is how little concern the US has for Russia's needs and interests. If I had that little concern for my friends' interests, I wouldn't have any friends.
There will be a lot of difficulties for the Crimean people but they seem to be adjusting to the new situation.
Crimea becomes more Russian by the hour - The Washington Post
But imo, this is only the beginning. I predict there will be more annexations and/or referendums happening soon.
http://news.yahoo.com/putin-approves...074249071.htmlGorbachev added that the referendum set an example for people in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, who also should decide their fate.