Putin digging in his heels over the 'Federalization' of Ukraine.

In my blog entry of 1st January, 2016, I wrote that,

"Putin simply cannot withdraw all his Russian forces, armaments, and rebel-proxies from eastern Ukraine since it would signal a complete failure on his part in the eyes of the Russian people.
.............
As Ryan Faith so succinctly puts it,

"A lot has been written about why Putin may have gotten involved in Ukraine's Donbass region following the Great Crimean Heist of 2014.

For starters, there's the slightly messianic vision of Putin as Protector of All Russians. He's been making increasingly louder noises about Moscow's responsibility to safeguard the various ethnic Russians scattered throughout the post-Soviet republics. (Vice News: December 31, 2015) (my emphasis)

So, will Putin fulfill the letter and the spirit of Minsk2, the day after these elections are held in the rebel-held territories of eastern Ukraine?

As the old saying goes, "Pigs will fly!" (blog)

Paragraph 9 of the Minsk2 protocols specify that,

"Restore control of the state border to the Ukrainian government in the whole conflict zone, which has to start on the first day after the local election and end after the full political regulation (local elections in particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts based on the law of Ukraine and Constitutional reform) by the end of 2015, on the condition of fulfillment of Point 11 – in consultations and in agreement with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group." (Wikipedia) (my emphasis)

It is Paragraph 11 of Minsk2 that, from the very creation of the Minsk2 protocols, identifies Minsk2 as Putin's protocols.

"Constitutional reform in Ukraine, with a new constitution to come into effect by the end of 2015, the key element of which is decentralisation (taking into account peculiarities of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, agreed with representatives of these districts), and also approval of permanent legislation on the special status of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in accordance with the measures spelt out in the attached footnote,by the end of 2015." (ibid Wikipedia) (my emphasis)

Even more significant in identifying Putin's fingerprints all over Minsk2 are some of the details that were attached to paragraph 11.

The following measures are to be included in the Ukrainian law "On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts":

• Participation of local self-government in the appointment of the heads of prosecutors' offices and courts in the particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts
• The state will provide support for the socio-economic development of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts
• Assistance from central executive bodies for cross-border cooperation by particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts with regions of the Russian Federation
• The freedom to create people's militia units by decision of local councils to maintain public order in particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (ibid Wikipedia) (my emphasis)

 Is it therefore any wonder that Putin is now demanding that,

"..changes to the Ukrainian constitution should be permanent, as is stipulated in the Minsk agreements."? (UNIAN : 11.01.2016) (my emphasis)


In Putin's recent Bild interview (January 5, 2015, in Sochi), where he justifies his annexation of Crimea, he also,

"...  blames Ukraine for failing to give autonomy to its eastern regions ...

The Bild's 28 hundred-word write-up on Putin is accompanied by a 5-minute YouTube clip of the interview higlights where the Russian president blames Ukraine for failing to give autonomy to its eastern regions, as per the ceasefire declaration agreed to in Minsk during February 2015. " (UT :  Jan. 11, 2016) (my emphasis) (UT clip below)

As Putin so categorically states in his Bild interview,

"BILD: But one cannot simply challenge European state borders.

Putin: For me, it is not borders and state territories that matter, but people’s fortunes." (ibid Bild) (my emphasis)

Youtube clip of Bild interview : Video with German sub-titles

As Ryan Faith informed us before this Bild interview,

"He's been making increasingly louder noises about Moscow's responsibility to safeguard the various ethnic Russians scattered throughout the post-Soviet republics." (ibid Ryan Faith)

We should not forget the words of the former president of Ukraine, Leonid Kutchma, during the first Maidan uprising in 2004.

Putin hinted in 2004 at clearing Maidan with tanks, notwithstanding that many people would have died, including children.

Putin has not forgotten his failure to get Yanukovich elected as president of Ukraine in 2004, notwithstanding the evident fraud perpetrated by Yanukovich during those elections.

As Stalin once said,

"The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do." (BrainyQuote)


And Putin has resuscitated Stalin as a figure to be admired and emulated.

As Carol J. Williams (right) of the Los Angeles Times explains,

"Stalin's 29-year reign, generally seen by Russians in recent years as a dark and bloody chapter in the nation's history, has lately been applauded by Putin and his supporters as the foundation on which the great Soviet superpower was built." (Los Angeles Times : June 11, 2015)

Putin's current demand that,

"changes to the Ukrainian constitution should be permanent, as is stipulated in the Minsk agreements." (ibid UNIAN)

should therefore come as no surprise.

Putin is simply demanding payback for his failures during the first Ukrainian uprising that ultimately led to Maidan 1 and the ultimate election victory of Victor Yushenko to the presidency of Ukraine in 2004. 

Let it also not be forgotten that Putin recently,

" ...  [appointed] permanent member of the Security Council Boris Gryzlov (left)  the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian Federation in the Contact Group on Settling the Situation in Ukraine." (President of Russia : December 26, 2015) (my italics),

the very same Boris Gryslov who also failed in getting the EU representatives to accept the fraudulent election of Yanukovich to the Ukrainian presidency in 2004.

(to be continued)