re: #229 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Crimea is a bit of a case unto itself.

Historically, it was part of Russia, it was simply “given” to the Ukrainian SSR by Nikita Khruschev for administrative purposes in the 1950’s because it was isolated by land from the rest of the Russian SSR.

Something that mattered very little back then, it was all one big happy Soviet family.

Russia does have a certain claim to it, but that does not mean that the way they went about asserting that claim (militarily occupying it and then holding a “referendum” on it
was proper and in line with international law.

It was 1954, I believe, and Khrushchev “gifted” the administration of the Crimea to Ukraine as a sort of commemoration of some Ukrainian revolt or other (?) in 1654. Of course, under the Soviet Union, “administrative” borders meant much less than they do now (especially as Ukraine is independent).