Putting Chechen Lessons to Good Use in Ukraine

The stand Mr. Putin now finds himself taking over the escalating crisis in Ukraine puts Moscow in the position it sought to annihilate in Chechnya. Pro-Russian militants in the eastern Ukraine are now freedom fighters protecting the region from Kyiv’s oppressive rule. The militants’ devotion to Russia rather than Ukraine is a legitimate reflection of their historic allegiance. Moscow’s pledge to support their efforts to break up the country is a valid reflection of its legitimate interest in the security of fellow Russians. Western powers sympathetic to Ukraine are outsiders meddling in its domestic affairs, at the risk of sparking a civil war. In any case, says Putin, the government in Kyiv is illegitimate, having come to power through non-democratic means. For an example of real democracy, we’re offered the recently seized region of Crimea.