Moscow has moved fast to bring Crimea into the fold after Ukraine's Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich, fled Kiev on February 21 after signing a deal with his opponents intended to end three months of anti-government protests. Yanukovich had set off the protests with his decision in November to spurn political and trade deals with the European Union and instead seek closer ties with Moscow.
After such a bitter defeat for Putin, a chance of gaining something out of the crisis emerged in Crimea, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based. less