Russian Occupiers in Crimea have Done Nothing but ‘Lie and Steal,’ Moscow Analyst Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 19 – Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Moscow Near East Institute says that Ukraine and Turkey have created some problems for Russian-occupied Crimea but that “the main fault lies on the Crimean Administration itself” which for 18 months has “only lied, stolen and failed to act.”

            While his attacks on the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Ukraine and Turkey are completely consistent with the Kremlin’s line – he says, for example that “Dzhemilyev and Chubarov are not Crimean Tatars but absolutely pro-Turkish politicians” – his criticism of the occupation authorities in Crimea is anything but (eadaily.com/news/2015/12/17/evgeniy-satanovskiy-o-vlastyah-kryma-oni-poltora-goda-tolko-vrali-vorovali-i-bezdelnichali).

            Satanovsky says that the Russian authorities in Crimea suffer from “a serious case of idiotism.”  It isn’t Turkey that is guilty of the fact that “nothing has been done about water and electricity” on the peninsula. Rather, it is the Crimean leadership itself which has done nothing but “lie, steal and failed to act.”

            He says that the bureaucrats in this administration “do not understand that the Ukrainian period in Crimea is already finished, that they are now Russians, and that they must live and work according to Russian laws.”

            Turkish agents “are not alone in being behind diversionary actions,” Satanovsky says. So too are “Crimean bureaucrats.” Their approach to land tenure arrangements, for example, suggests that they see enemies everywhere;” and that just makes the situation worse.

            The Moscow commentator’s words are important because they suggest that many in the Russian capital now view the occupation regime in Crimea itself as a problem that must be addressed possibly by a purge of existing cadres.  Taking such a step, however, might call into question the popularity of the “Crimea is Ours” view.

            But Satanovsky’s comments also suggest that at least some in the Russian elite are beginning to recognize that the occupation of Crimea has involved far more costs than they anticipated or want – and that in the future, they must be prepared to double or quit lest the situation on the Ukrainian peninsula deteriorate further.