7 March 2014, 09:36

According the Russian newspaper “Vedomosti”, Russia needs to invest 3 billion dollars per year to ensure that Crimea reaches the Russian Federation’s standards by 2025. However, Russians are not going to allocate such an amount, especially if it accedes to the RF.

Why do Russians insist on accession of Crimea to Russia? There are two answers. The first answer, a standard one: in order to bargain with the West afterwards. However, it is unlikely that Putin is interested in such bargaining. As Saakashvili justly pointed out, Putin simply does not believe that the West will apply any sanctions against him. The second answer is more pragmatic: he is no longer interested in creating quasi-states which can, at least sometimes, put a spoke in the wheel. Putin is still upset with Ossetia’s refusal to hold a referendum regarding the accession to the Russian Federation. The President of…