With Ukraine and Crimea in the news these days, I thought it might be useful to search out a few things about the history of Crimea, and a bit of context about what's going on and why it's going on.
So I started searching. In this case, the world news is big and complicated, and I need to make some sense out of what's happening in this part of the world.
If you're like me, you probably remember (from your high school history) a bit about the Crimean War, and something about the "Big Three" meeting there near the end of World War II, but I certainly didn't know much more than that. I knew Ukraine is a big agricultural region and has a fair bit of industry... but while I could point out Ukraine on the map, I didn't exactly know where Crimea was.
I started to bone up a bit on the region. And this bit of personal research leads to today's search challenges. The first is fairly straightforward, the second is a bit more complicated, the third is just fun, and the fourth can take an unbounded amount of time.
Things I found while reading about Ukraine and Crimea:
1. In the news reports I kept seeing this symbol on Ukrainian buildings and military installations. How long has it been the symbol of Ukraine? What does it signify?
2. One of the oddities in the news coverage was that the "unknown forces" were often seen wearing a distinctive style of ski hat that pulls down over the face. This is common enough, but what's odd is that it's named after a city in Crimea. What is this kind of cap/ski mask called? What is the name of the town it's named after? (And for extra points, what connection does this have with Alfred, Lord Tennyson??)
3. Crimea has also had a couple of ports that are of military interest. For a long time, the former Soviet Union had many submarines stationed there. Can you find out if there are still any Russian subs in the Black Sea? If so, what are their names and what class of sub might they be? (This is for you, Gary Ray!)
4. The Russians argue that they care about Crimea because of its large Russian population. That makes sense, but that also sounds like a bit of a cover story. What military importance does Crimea have for Russia? (Be careful when searching for this; we want to know the current reason for its significance, not the historically interesting strategic value.)
As always, please let us know HOW you found the answer to these challenges.
Remember that you really don't have to do them all! Just do the challenges as long as you're having fun with them.
Note: Since I'm traveling for the next couple of days, I might not get to writing up my answer on Friday. I'll try, but vagaries of winter travel in the US might make it hard. Stay tuned. If I don't get an answer out by Friday, I'll certainly get to it over the weekend and post next Monday.
Search on!
So I started searching. In this case, the world news is big and complicated, and I need to make some sense out of what's happening in this part of the world.
If you're like me, you probably remember (from your high school history) a bit about the Crimean War, and something about the "Big Three" meeting there near the end of World War II, but I certainly didn't know much more than that. I knew Ukraine is a big agricultural region and has a fair bit of industry... but while I could point out Ukraine on the map, I didn't exactly know where Crimea was.
I started to bone up a bit on the region. And this bit of personal research leads to today's search challenges. The first is fairly straightforward, the second is a bit more complicated, the third is just fun, and the fourth can take an unbounded amount of time.
Things I found while reading about Ukraine and Crimea:
1. In the news reports I kept seeing this symbol on Ukrainian buildings and military installations. How long has it been the symbol of Ukraine? What does it signify?
2. One of the oddities in the news coverage was that the "unknown forces" were often seen wearing a distinctive style of ski hat that pulls down over the face. This is common enough, but what's odd is that it's named after a city in Crimea. What is this kind of cap/ski mask called? What is the name of the town it's named after? (And for extra points, what connection does this have with Alfred, Lord Tennyson??)
3. Crimea has also had a couple of ports that are of military interest. For a long time, the former Soviet Union had many submarines stationed there. Can you find out if there are still any Russian subs in the Black Sea? If so, what are their names and what class of sub might they be? (This is for you, Gary Ray!)
4. The Russians argue that they care about Crimea because of its large Russian population. That makes sense, but that also sounds like a bit of a cover story. What military importance does Crimea have for Russia? (Be careful when searching for this; we want to know the current reason for its significance, not the historically interesting strategic value.)
As always, please let us know HOW you found the answer to these challenges.
Remember that you really don't have to do them all! Just do the challenges as long as you're having fun with them.
Note: Since I'm traveling for the next couple of days, I might not get to writing up my answer on Friday. I'll try, but vagaries of winter travel in the US might make it hard. Stay tuned. If I don't get an answer out by Friday, I'll certainly get to it over the weekend and post next Monday.
Search on!
Even though i'm from Ukraine i want to point about other thing, that's pretty interesting topic nowadays.
ReplyDeleteHow to find what you need when so much propaganda in the Internet?
For example, russian Wikipedia and Google News (Russia) are two most advanced mechanisms of filter and collect information and they'd failed it at russian part of the network. With whole this russian mass media machine everything has failed..
Dmytro -- Can you contact me via email? I'd love to talk with you about this, and see if we can't come up with a solution. (Or at least a very interesting SRS post on this topic.)
DeleteThanks.
Good Morning, Dr. Russell, fellow SearchResearchers
ReplyDeleteSearched:
Symbol with Google Search.
Coat of arms
[Ukraine coat of arms history ]
THE TRIDENT IS IN FACT AN ANCIENT UKRAINIAN SYMBOL History of the trident.
[ukraine trident unknown facts]
Geographical center of Europe. Major producer of grain. Borsch. One of the first constitutions of de world (1710). Ukraine owns a quarter of fertile black soil of the world. Arabat Spit. «Shchedryk» (Carol of the bells).Many more data.
The State Coat of Arms of Ukraine
Carol of the Bells
For question number 2.
Your image adding Crimea hat.
Hat Clothing
[Balaclava AROUND(3) Alfred Lord Tennyson]
Charge of the Light Brigade
Answers
1. In the news reports I kept seeing this symbol on Ukrainian buildings and military installations. How long has it been the symbol of Ukraine? What does it signify?
A: The Trident has been known as a symbol of power in Central Ukraine since the 6th century.
Adopted on 19 february 1992. As a national symbol in 1917 and on March 22, 1918, adopted as a coat of arms.
Trident Signify: the triune God on earth and heaven. Represents of the seal-trident of Vladimir the Great
2. One of the oddities in the news coverage was that the "unknown forces" were often seen wearing a distinctive style of ski hat that pulls down over the face. This is common enough, but what's odd is that it's named after a city in Crimea. What is this kind of cap/ski mask called? What is the name of the town it's named after? (And for extra points, what connection does this have with Alfred, Lord Tennyson??)
A: Balaclava. Name comes from town "Balaklava" in Crimea.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, remember the events of the Battle of Balaclava (October 25, 1854), with the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade." Poem
I will post the answers for questions 3 and 4 in another post.
Never know when I'm going to run out of room so I'm going to break my answers into one reply for each of the four.
ReplyDelete1. I right-clicked on the image and selected Search Google for this image (feature of the Chrome browser.) Google said the best guess was Ukraine coat of arms and had the Wikipedia page for it. Coat of
arms of Ukraine
Small coat of arms adopted February 19, 1992.
The coat of arms is a blue shield with a trident or tryzub meaning three teeth. It symbolizes the religious trinity of God on earth and in heaven.
Ah ha! That's a good solution. (I always forget about the right-click-on-image method. For Mac people, it's Control+click.)
Delete2. Owning and wearing one of these helped (it's been cold here.)
ReplyDeleteSearched [ balaclava crimea ]. The SERP offered a corrected spelling for the city Balaklava in Ukraine as well as links to ski mask balaclava.
What is this kind of cap/ski mask called? balaclava
What is the name of the town it's named after? Balaklava now part Sevastopol.
And for extra points, what connection does this have with Alfred, Lord Tennyson?? Searched [ "Alfred Lord Tennyson" balaclava ] to The Charge of the Light Brigade This was a charge during the Battle of Balaclava that Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about six weeks after the charge. The poem has the same name as this battle increment.
ReplyDeletetrans from Russian
refed site:
Cynogendog
a possible source?:
livejournal
where I was headed before the Dmytro/Crimea/Ukraine diversion:
know this is off topic, but given your location and information foraging knowledge/skills… and all the free time you have have on your hands… and it is March…
(a little background search sound - The Nashville Teens)
as fate would have it, you are in the "polar vortex" of the final pieces of the billion dollar Buffett bracket I've almost assembled - just finished
plugging in the S Cardinals - but need to know where the last 4 pieces you are surrounded by go???
Tobacco Road/ Research Triangle - the Naismith ball
Tuffy, the Tamaskan - NCState, Raliegh
Tar Heels/Dorset Sheep - UNC@Chapel Hill
interesting NCS/UNC sheep nexus
"les Diables Bleus" in Durham
ADVANCED MASCOTOLOGY
Demon Deacons, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Arnold - WF alum
I'd be more than happy to toss a few million your way for any helpful (read [correct]) data/input you could supply
or steer me to! btw; word is Watson has gone rouge and is spitting out reams of brackets in the hope of buying her/his
freedom from IBM and there are reports of large, unexplainable power surges coming from some undisclosed server
installations in Bluffdale that may be bracket related… can't help but wonder if the Plex is participating - just as a challenge
exercise, given Ms. Mayer's participation… a little Mountain View/Sunnyvale good natured rivalry…
maybe not as off topic as I thought… like the Ukrainian situation, all about power and $$$$. All very maddening and not easily assuaged… even with information of
any slant, credibility or flavor. (e.g.; see: out of Serbia or Goo translation)
if you were still about… Sunday looks like a spectacular day to explore…
Grandfather Mountain; Calloway Peak (5,964 ft.), Attic Window Peak (5,949 ft.), MacRae Peak (5,844 ft.), and Linville Peak (5,295 ft.) -
travel on, searching!
almost forgot -
Handknitting
"K", Charge of the Light Brigade
1.
ReplyDeleteI first looked up [symbol of Ukraine], then went to images:
http://www.htns.ca/paintedrooms/viewprop.php?showsite=100
The symbol is described as "Ukrainian national symbol, the Trident," I then entered that as a search term.
I then went to WIKI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ukraine
"The state coat of arms of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Державний Герб України) or commonly the Tryzub (Ukrainian: Тризуб, "trident") is the national coat of arms of Ukraine, featuring the same colors found on the Ukrainian flag; a blue shield with gold trident, called the tryzub, which means "three teeth."
It means the triune God on earth and in heaven."
"The history of the trident symbol as featured in the current Ukrainian coat of arms is more than 1000 years old."
2.
I recognize that cap.
From Wiki [balaclava]
"A balaclava /ˌbæləˈklɑːvə/, also known as a balaclava helmet or ski mask. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea,Ukraine."
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the famous poem Charge of the Light Brigade
Wiki [Charge of the Light Brigade]
"The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War.The assault ended with very high British casualties and no decisive gains."
"The events are best remembered as the subject of the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Published just six weeks after the event, its lines emphasize the valour of the cavalry in bravely carrying out their orders, regardless of the obvious outcome."
3. Subs in Black sea (This is for you, Gary Ray!)
It is an honor to be selected as an inspiration for a question. Dan Russell knows me from his first Power Searching class, I am a US Navy Nuclear Submarine veteran. Thanks Dan.
I searched for [still any Russian subs in the Black Sea]
From the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.
http://www.stripes.com/news/analysts-black-sea-port-in-ukraine-still-key-to-russia-s-naval-interests-1.270904
"The Black Sea Fleet remains the smallest of Russia’s four fleets, and one whose aging ships limit its capabilities. Of the fleet’s 25 ships, 19 are corvettes and patrol craft, according to an analysis by Christian Le Mière, Le Mière also counts two destroyers, a pair of frigates, a cruiser and a diesel-electric submarine."
So one submarine a diesel electric. Searched [Black Sea Fleet] and Wiki says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Fleet#247th_Independent_Submarine_Division
That one sub is the "Russian submarine B-871 Alrosa is a diesel-electric Kilo-classsubmarine that joined the Soviet Fleet in 1990 and is active with the Russian Black Sea Fleet as of 2011."
It has a Wiki page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_B-871
4. Military importance.
M first search term was [what is current significance of Russia in Crimea]
Turns out there are already two entries in WIKI for this crises (Wiki has a lot of answers today)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine
Some of the causes of this are listed as: (WIKI)
• Opposition to the Euromaidan movement
• Opposition to the Yatsenyuk Government
• The Verkhovna Rada's vote on 23 February to repeal language law, which was incorrectly modelled by the previous government on the European Charter of Minority (rare/disappearing) languages and used as a positive discrimination instrument to expand the usage of Russian language
Being an old Navy man I tend to think it is that Black Sea port in Sevastopol for the Russian Navy, the only warm water port that Russia has, plus :
“Russians make up 70% of the city's population of 340,000.”
I have not taken part in these terrific search research quizzes for a while and I must say I missed doing them.
Great educational search on current events today Dan. Thanks
I thought I would look up a little more information about the Russian submarine, the Alrosa B-871.
DeleteI first looked at the references on the Wiki page for the Alrosa and found the Russian Navy site.
http://rusnavy.com/nowadays/strength/submarines/b-871/
From that web page:
"The sub was laid down on May 17, 1988 at Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard (Nizhny Novgorod); launched on September 10, 1989; commissioned on December 30, 1990; obtained the name in January 2004 in honor of JSC Alrosa taken the sub under patronage on September 19, 1997."
I wondered about that name, it seems that the submarine is named after a diamond mining conglomerate. Search term [JSC Alrosa]
"ALROSA – is the Russian group of diamond mining companies, which has the leading role in the world diamond mining by volume. ALROSA is engaged in the exploration, mining, manufacture and sale of diamonds."
This would be like General Motors paying for part of the cost of one of our submarines and then the submarine being named, The General Motors.
There is a long and storied history for this boat on the rusnavy.com web site. Some of the highlights:
MILESTONES
In Dec 1991 - March 1992 the submarine was on patrol.
On March 13, 1992 part of the crew swore the oath to Ukraine and captured the submarine. Further developments were suppressed by executive officer I.F. Leukhin.
Since 1992 till 1996 the sub had not sailed off due to deficiency of storage batteries.
On May 22, 1996 after installation of storage batteries the sub joined constant alert force.
In Aug-Sept 1996 the sub excellently performed patrol tasks.
In 1997 the submarine joined Black Sea Fleet under the treaty with Ukraine; on June 12, 1997 the St. Andrew's flag was hoisted over the sub.
In 1997-2007 the crew five times won Navy Commander's Prize for torpedo attack of surface ships unit.
In 1998-1999 the submarine was under repair at Sevastopol Ship Repair Plant No. 13.
On November 21, 2009 the sub was carrying out training tasks at the Black Sea 150 km [≈ length of the Suez Canal] off Sukhumi when engine trouble made her to return to base urgently.
Since August 21 through September 21, 2012 the submarine being escorted by Baltic Fleet's rescue tug SB-921 carried out long-range passage from Kronshtadt (Baltic Sea) to Sevastopol (Black Sea) after scheduled repair.
Here is a more recent article from Rusnavy.com
Crew of Alrosa prepares for Submariners' Day, March 19.
Source: Rusnavy.com
Crewmen of the Russian Navy's best diesel submarine Alrosa will celebrate the Submariners' Day in intensive preparations for the Bold Monarch 2011 joint naval exercise to be held off Spain.
The sub was placed in wet dock of Black Sea Fleet (BSF) 13th Ship Repair Plant late in Jan 2011.
According to BSF Submarine Division Commander Capt 1 rank Anatoly Varochkin, quality repair is essential for successful cruise, because the submarine is about to pass the Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits, the Aegean, the Ionian, and the Mediterranean seas for the first time in her service life.
Now it is a rush period for Alrosa crew. Everyone is at work, but most of all – engineering department headed by experienced officer Capt 3 rank Nikolai Kulik. His right-hand man is engine officer Capt Lt Alexander Lukianchuk. Petty officers Dmitry Fomenko, Alexander Glybovsky, Alexander Skobelev work with sleeves rolled up; other sailors have also much work to do.
Recall that the submarine has been under patronage of JSC Alrosa and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for 13 years. Many social issues were resolved with the patrons' assistance. They improved living conditions and established good sport facilities which were a good contribution to the fourth Navy Commander's Prize recently won by Alrosa."
So we know the history and the names of some of the crew members on this submarine. Amazing.
A large Russian language site http://www.alrosa.net/ that has lots of information and pictures of the small diesel-electric boat for you submarine fans.
message from the future - 2016 plans -
ReplyDeleteserp
Varshavyanka-class, "Black Holes"
BSF (not the GWF of recent search activity)
Novorossiyk info
NNB, wikimapia
the U.S. response:
yellow submarine
yellow submarine
жовтий підводний човен
a little fleshing out on Novorossiysk, port & submarine:
DeleteThe Novorossiysk belongs to the Varshavyanka-class (Project 636)
video
BBC, drummerettes & priests
new Russian subs
Kilo sunset Project 636 Varshavyanka
priest
from:
voices from Russia
no disrespect to GRayR & the U.S. Submarine Service with my "yellow submarine links" - trying for a bit of levity… but the future looks murky & Tom Clancy has left port and sometimes the oceans can get quite small.
HfRO
3. Image search [ mapping the russian fleet black sea ] figuring a graphic might be helpful. I used the search tools to limit the results to the past week. In SERP were a couple of tweet images calling it the "Black Sea Fleet."
ReplyDelete[ black sea fleet submarines ] to Wikipedia Black Sea Fleet It listed one submarine active - | Diesel Attack Submarine | Alrosa (B-871) | Kilo | 1990 | Sevastopol| Active, only Kilo class submarine with a pump-jet propulsion system.
Followed a link from the Wikipedia article's external links labeled Unofficial Site. On that site there is a link Black Sea Fleet 2014 . That actually lists 2 subs. The DPL"Alrosa" and DPL "B-380".
Double checking, I searched [ black sea DPL "B-380" ] and limited it to the last week. Found this blog post from yesterday that also lists two submarines. B-871 Alrosa and B-380 Svyatoy Knyaz Georgy.
Going back to my search [ black sea fleet submarines ] limiting it to last week shows a news story in Stars and Stripes from March 3, 2014 Analysts: Black Sea port in Ukraine still key to Russia's naval interests saying only one submarine "Le Mière also counts two destroyers, a pair of frigates, a cruiser and a diesel-electric submarine."
So there seems to be conflicting reports as to whether there are 1 or 2 subs currently there but we are searching an active and ever changing story.
1. In the news reports I kept seeing this symbol on Ukrainian buildings and military installations. How long has it been the symbol of Ukraine? What does it signify?
ReplyDeleteImage search leads straight to Wikipedia. It is the small Coat of Arms of Ukraine adopted 19 February 1992 so it has been the symbol oj Ukraine for 2014-1992 = 22 years. THey call it tryzub meaning three teeth. They represent the triune god on earth and in heaven. THe symbol in the middle probably depicts a stylized falcon. The colours were specially chosen blue and yellow being the only colours pussy cats can see [true].
2. One of the oddities in the news coverage was that the "unknown forces" were often seen wearing a distinctive style of ski hat that pulls down over the face. This is common enough, but what's odd is that it's named after a city in Crimea. What is this kind of cap/ski mask called? What is the name of the town it's named after? (And for extra points, what connection does this have with Alfred, Lord Tennyson??)
It is the balaclava [which I just knew] Named for the place Balaklava. But they were not so named until long after the Crimean War mid 1850s. THe troops had originally thought they were going to have lots of real baklava so did not pack enough winter gear for Balaklava. They became very ill so Nurse Nightingale went to help. Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" describing the actions of the Light Cavalry Brigade of 700 men and horses in charging the Russian line “Half a league half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred:”. Balaclava-wearing sympathisers of Pussy Riot were arrested in Marseille, France in August 2012
3. Crimea has also had a couple of ports that are of military interest. For a long time, the former Soviet Union had many submarines stationed there. Can you find out if there are still any Russian subs in the Black Sea? If so, what are their names and what class of sub might they be?
http://www.stripes.com/ THe Stars and Stripes quotes analyst Christian Le Mière, a researcher with the International Institute for Strategic Studies who notes there is 1 Russian diesel-electric submarine in the Black Sea Fleet. Wikipedia under Black Sea Fleet notes that the sole sub is #554 Diesel Attack Submarine named Alrosa (B-871) Kilo class built 1990; status is Active, only Kilo class submarine with a pump-jet propulsion system. That was too easy Gary.
4. The Russians argue that they care about Crimea because of its large Russian population. That makes sense, but that also sounds like a bit of a cover story. What military importance does Crimea have for Russia? (Be careful when searching for this; we want to know the current reason for its significance, not the historically interesting strategic value.)
Stars and Stripes again: Although Russia continues to construct a navy base in its own territory in Novorossisk, near Sochi, analysts agree that Sevastopol remains the navy’s preferred base in the Black Sea region because of its size, location and infrastructure.
“It’s hard to speculate on motivations, but it may be that one of the main reasons for the (events) in Crimea was, legitimately or not, they thought they might lose the base in Sevastopol,” said Dmitry Gorenburg, who researches Russian military reform at the CNA Corporation, an analysis group.
That was a really interesting 15 minutes
jon
Part One -
ReplyDeleteI avoided news coverage so I chose to begin with Wikipedia (#1) is a starting point to get informed. I didn’t use Russian or Ukrainian languages (didn’t see them listed) so for the time being my search is English based.
Answer # 1
On 22 March 1918, the Central Rada (parliament) adopted it as the coat of arms of the short-lived Ukrainian People’s Republic (#2) which came after the Russian October Revolution of 1917 when independently the west declared statehood Western Ukrainian People's Republic (#3) before the annexation of the Austro-Hungarian land. Currently it’s recognized as declaration of independence or freedom but its history and meanings goes back more than 1000 years in history.
Answer #2
Being Canadian I know the ski cap with facial coverage as a balaclava so it was an easy search to find a city in Ukraine known as Balaklava. The link to Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem The Charge of the Light Brigrade (#4) was as I just learned in Spanish by some Spaniards “Esta chupado” (piece of cake).
Answer #3
As of early 2013 , "Alrosa" is the only battle-Russian submarine in the Black Sea. Based in Sevastopol Crimea it is the second largest port in Ukraine. “The geographic location and navigation conditions of the city's harbours make Sevastopol a strategically important naval point.”
The Alrosa (#5)
is battle ready.It is in the 247th Independent Submarine Division and described as #554 Diesel Attack Submarine known as Alrosa (B-871), Class Kilo, since 1990 with status Active. It is the only Kilo class submarine with a pump-jet propulsion system.
Answer #4
Need to do more indepth search and will post later. It was a good topic for my coffee buddies today (all males & knew a lot more about this than myself). They gave me lots of information to follow up on.
Links
#1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis
#2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ukraine
#3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_after_the_Russian_Revolution
#4 http://www.nationalcenter.org/ChargeoftheLightBrigade.html
#5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_B-871
Part Two
DeleteI begin by searching Google Ukraine(#1) and I found a few government sites and other sites written in Ukrainian but not what I want. I checkout blogs covering the crisis. The blog Discovery Magazine (#2) Discovery Magazine gives me some articles and names that may give me more information. It confirms the single submarine and the significance of the port for Russia to retain access to one of its three ocean access points.
AtMashable (#3) I find a primer on history of the Russia, Ukraine, Crimea and the current crisis. It looks like a good place to get a feel for the history and what’s happening now. They even throw in Hollywood (Crimson Tide) to give a bit of everything. My thoughts are if you wanted to get more facts you need to sift through these sites then you would compare these various references to find supporting facts to come to one’s own conclusion.
Mashable suggests this latest event began on Nov. 21, 2013, when now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned a free-trade agreement with the European Union, choosing Russia. Spurred by then-imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a Facebook post by journalist and activist Mustafa Nayem and activists on social media led to thousands descending on Kiev’s Independence Square.
Reporting out of Australia we hear a different point of view in a report to the UN suggesting the ousted President had called on Russia “under threat of oppression… for Putin to use his armed forces to restore peace and defend the people of Ukraine”.
The United Nations of Ukraine(#4) UN reports that “the unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine is not to be called into question.”
There are some cool heads such as the Ukrainian commander that led 300 unarmed men to a checkpoint to discuss the situation or at least deal with an ultimatum. What I found interesting is the number of journalists at the event and how fast this information was known worldwide.
And then a brave/foolish woman working for Russia Today TV (#5) condemning Putin’s action. You can watch the video and I guess time will tell if she made the right decision.
Google’s Eric Scmidt (#6) suggests the internet may make censorship impossible but that is unlikely with today’s events. There is more transparency but to what degree.
#1 https://google.com.ua/
#2http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/2014/03/02/crimea-seen-satellite-images/#.Uxfb50tX_Ww
#3 http://mashable.com/2014/03/05/what-is-happening-in-ukraine/
#4 http://www.un.org.ua/
#5 http://americablog.com/2014/03/russian-state-media-host-blasts-russian-invasion-ukraine-video.html
#6 http://cbsnews.com/news/googles-eric-schmidt-internet-could-make-censorship-impossible/
B-871 Alrosa, commissioned in 1990 - interesting find Rosemary.
DeleteKronstadt led to:
CoMG
Hero City - The Great Patriotic War left a mark we don't fully understand or appreciate
a different Russian Alrosa:
АЛРОСА
"Never let the weeds get higher
Than the garden
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind"
Dr. Tom Waits
another diamond version
a case could be made that the Ukrainians don't owe the Russians anything… this kinda squared all debts…
Чорнобиль
1986, Ukrainian SSR
Part Three
DeleteI decided that I wanted to look at a couple of nearby countries that could be affected by the Ukrainian conflict. First that comes to mind is Poland neighbors to the west(#1). Poland’s role is a balancing act so as not to provoke the Russian Bear but sympathize with any ethnic group that ‘appears’ to be threatened.
Georgian(#2) Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili just in February 2014 urged Ukraine to consider following Georgia’s path of integration with the West. I doubt Russia would have been pleased to hear about these discussions. And another reference to how this crisis started. “ we see unrest erupted in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovich abandoned a proposed trade pact with the EU in November and turned instead toward Moscow, which offered loans and cheaper supplies of natural gas.”
#1 http://www.dw.de/polands-fear-of-the-russian-bear/a-17472541
#2 http://www.businessinsider.com/r-georgia-pm-says-he-hopes-ukraine-will-choose-europe-2014-25#ixzz2vC0qZ73w
… now, having read your Part Two, I have to say, well searched, organized, cogent and concise - enjoyed reviewing it, thank you for the example!
DeleteHave been partial toThe Atlantic's analysis of China in the past and am encouraged to see thoughtful work from them on this subject too.
Used your Goo/Ukraine link to turn this up - always like a nice group picture…
Black Sea Seamen
BSF
Project 877V-B-871-ALROSA, post 2003
old Gorky
No. 112
Searched for questions 3 and 4.
ReplyDelete[Crimea Ports] [Crimea Military ports]
5 Key Facts About Crimea
The Black Sea Fleet remains the smallest of Russia’s four fleets
[Sevastopol fleet]
[Sevastopol fleet intext:submarines]
Russian Black Sea Fleet to receive 6 new diesel subs
Black Sea Fleet 2014
Analysts: Black Sea port in Ukraine still key to Russia's naval interests
[Warm Water Port]
3. Crimea has also had a couple of ports that are of military interest. For a long time, the former Soviet Union had many submarines stationed there. Can you find out if there are still any Russian subs in the Black Sea? If so, what are their names and what class of sub might they be? (This is for you, Gary Ray!)
A: One submarine. Submarine B-871 ("Alrosa")
Project 877V / Kilo class diesel-electric submarine.
Submarine
4. The Russians argue that they care about Crimea because of its large Russian population. That makes sense, but that also sounds like a bit of a cover story. What military importance does Crimea have for Russia? (Be careful when searching for this; we want to know the current reason for its significance, not the historically interesting strategic value.)
A. Sevastapol Port. They have contract until 2042, but for what I read, they think that the port can be lost for them. Also important is that Crimea looks they prefer to be Russian than Ukrainian. Finally, the Geographical point of this country is very important.
Put simply, site mentions, without a naval base in Crimea Russia is finished as a global military power. Source: Why Russia and Ukraine wants it?
Finally, I really hope they can find a solution and peace be on the two countries and Crimea.
a blast from the past: Sydney -
ReplyDeletecloud
March 5th, Sydney
also AU - 3/6
DeleteDarwin Harbour
source:
BFS
from President Putin's playlist:
sjbe
better sound -
both sides
(also see/hear Wichita Gas Lineman & The Night They Drove Old Kiev Down)
Back to #4 Here is Neil Macdonald's brilliant analysis of what's going down:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-ukraine-crisis-through-the-whimsy-of-international-law-1.2559980
jon
4. [ russian stake crimea ] Search tool limited to past week.
ReplyDeleteWill Crimea be a repeat of Georgia war? Probably not, but Russia’s stakes are higher
[ russia interests in crimea ] Search tool limited to past week.
Russian invasion of Crimea in no one’s interest
[ russia protect interests in crimea ] Advanced search limited to the past week and region Ukraine.
All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion shows support for Russia's steps to defend Russian in Crimea
While the protection of its' Black Sea Fleet is mentioned as one of Russia's interests in the area, the articles that I have read tend to mention the people in the area that are considered ethnically Russian as the main interest. Whether this is emotional spin by Russia is still something that I would not rule out.
Google Images:
ReplyDeletehttps://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pRJZhkRKowE/Uxc_2s4-JKI/AAAAAAAAY6E/x-W1xy0hdOc/s1600/Ukraine-emblem.jpeg
No results.
Search by image:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ukraine
"It represents the triune God on earth and in heaven."
"The trident was not thought of as a national symbol until 1917...On 22 March 1918, the Central Rada (parliament) adopted it as the coat of arms of the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic."
However:
"The history of the trident symbol as featured in the current Ukrainian coat of arms is more than 1000 years old. The first known archeological and historical evidence of this symbol can be found on the seals of the Rurik dynasty. The tryzub was stamped on the gold and silver coins issued by Prince Volodymer the Great (980–1015), who might have inherited the symbol from his ancestors (such as Sviatoslav I Igorevich) as a dynastic coat of arms...."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rurik_dynasty
"The Rurikid dynasty was founded in 862 by Rurik, a Varangian prince."
["ski mask" crimea]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_(clothing)
"The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea, Ukraine."
"During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather."
["ski mask" crimea tennyson]
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/03/03/285290426/from-weapons-to-fashion-crimea-s-indelible-mark-on-history
"Poetry: Alfred Tennyson wrote about a doomed British cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaclava:
"Into the valley of Death
"Rode the six hundred."
Yes, The Charge of the Light Brigade.
[russia "black sea fleet" submarines]
http://www.stripes.com/news/analysts-black-sea-port-in-ukraine-still-key-to-russia-s-naval-interests-1.270904
"The Black Sea Fleet remains the smallest of Russia’s four fleets, and one whose aging ships limit its capabilities. Of the fleet’s 25 ships, 19 are corvettes and patrol craft, according to an analysis by Christian Le Mière, a researcher with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Le Mière also counts two destroyers, a pair of frigates, a cruiser and a diesel-electric submarine."
["Christian Le Mière" "black sea fleet"]
"...Kilo-class submarine based in Sevastopol..."
"...Six advanced Kilo-class submarines are on order to be delivered to the BSF..."
["kilo-class submarine" "black sea fleet"]
http://www.alrosa.net/eng/
It's named "Alrosa".
[crimea russia strategic]
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/putins-playbook-the-strategy-behind-russias-takeover-of-crimea/284154/
Naval base still vital militarily.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1f749b24-9f8c-11e3-b6c7-00144feab7de.html#axzz2ukkBMvrh
Sevastopol naval base still very important to Russia (for example, they used it and their Black Sea Fleet in their 2008 rape of Georgia), and even though their lease extends to at least 2042 and they can extend it beyond that they're concerned about losing access to it if an unfriendly government takes over in Kiev.
All this took me c 25 minutes.
This infographic published today by The Guardian gives a visual for what I posted above for part 4 regarding the ethnic makeup of the Ukraine. It also displays the Russian Military forces in the Crimean region.
ReplyDeleteThe Military Imbalance in Russia and Ukraine
I did notice that I made a mistake in answering part 4. I did it as "Russia's general interest in the area" and didn't go back to specific part of "Military importance." My bad.
For question #1) saved image and then uploaded to google images and found it was the symbol for the Ukraine. From Wikipedia we found this symbol was adopted in 1992 from an article in Wikipedia. We also searched google books for Ukrainian coat of arms and found a book entitled Ukraine by Andrew Evans, Massimiliano Di Pasqual. They had some more information about the seal. They claim it is a symbol for Poseidon and the sea and it was used originally by Prince Vladimir who reigned around the year 1000. During bursts of independence in 1918 and 1939 the symbol was used to signify independence. It was formally adopted in 1992 as the symbol for the Ukraine. During the late Soviet period nationalist demonstrators would show the trident symbol using their 3 middle fingers held apart as a sign of solidarity.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2)
Anne and I started out with the second question. Found answer on a blog post: http://adamtschorn.blogspot.com/2013/11/project-cubbins-hat-187-mommas.html
Got here by doing search query "alfred lord tennyson" ski hat
The blogpost was the 6th result. By reading the short summary under each result quickly saw that this had some useful information. In the post I found the information that this protective garment came to be known as a balaclava because of its use in the 1854 Battle of Balaclava -- which not only included the infamous cavalry charge immortalized by Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade,"
Then double checked by doing a search for balaclava crimea and confirmed that Balaklava is a city in the Crimean Pennisula. Balaklava is a former city on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. according to Wikipedia article.
So answers for #2 -balaclava is the name of the hat. It is named after the city
For question #3) Did a search on google for Russian subs stationed black sea and found in the Stars and Strips news http://www.stripes.com/news/analysts-black-sea-port-in-ukraine-still-key-to-russia-s-naval-interests-1.270904 we found that they have one diesel-electric sub according to Christian Le Mière, a researcher with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. But doing a little more digging we found that Rianovosti, a Russian news agency reported in Jan. "A St. Petersburg shipyard said Wednesday it will float out in May the second of six Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarines to be delivered to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the next two years.
The much anticipated delivery of the submarines, dubbed “black holes in the ocean” by the US Navy because they are nearly undetectable when submerged, is a key part of Russia’s naval strategy in the Mediterranean, where Moscow has recently deployed a permanent task force consisting of some 10 surface ships."
So answer for this question is one sub right now but in May sub # 2 will arrive with 4 more to follow.
Question #4) according to Gideon Rachman, an analyst for The Financial Times with an expertise in American and European foreign policy the region is important for Russia so that it has positioning power to keep it a global power. According to Rachman, Russia can no longer use a base in Syria because of the conflicts going on in that country, so the position of Sevastopol as a base here makes it even more important. He also contends it is the "most" Russian part of the Ukraine.
I decided to do an Advanced Search in Russia and in the Russian language over the past month. Interesting we get a different perspective. http://anti-global.ru/english/crimea-lawmakers-adopt-motion-to-join-russia/
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Crimea is concerned about recent discussions that suggest Ukraine should lean more towards
the West (NATO or EU). This may have created fear about what would happen to Crimea who has had the Russian Bear protecting them and their interests. I added this result to point out that we can use Advanced Search and switch to other regions and languages.
Thanks for that reminder, Rosemary. I'll be sure to bring this up the solution I post. Nice.
DeleteThrough Georgian media we get a report from James Brooke James Brooke is the Russia/CIS bureau chief for Voice of America that provides more depth and gives us some ideas about what Putin's activities during the Olympics. Interesting article.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=11951
was curious about the UPA reference by Brooke - extensive wiki post -
DeleteUPA, referenced in Brooke article
artwork with insignia
Brooke, in Moscow since 2010
wiki/Brooke
… not to get too "doomsday-ie" about it - from a different era -
EoD (warning: images on the graphic side)
Rosemary, followed your "anti-global" link and found this - kinda interesting perspective from ten tears ago (also a reminder of how quickly things change while remaining the same.)
ReplyDeleteThe Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale
also this, from a past voice:
Kissinger, Henry A., yesterday
…meanwhile, on the ground…ah, I mean water…
Donuzlav lake