In 2014 former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich was being investigated by Parliament for graft. This was following years of protests. Yanukovich’s party had been accused of voter intimidation and vote rigging by the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe.

Over half of the ministers appointed by Yanukovich where from Donbas, a region filled with ethnic Russians. These men were staffed as police, tax collectors and in the judiciary. In 2013 46% of the Ukraine budget for social and economic development was going to Donbas.

The EU had been in negotiations with Ukraine to establish a free trade agreement. Russian President for life Vlad Putin pressured Ukraine against signing the deal. He instituted bans on Ukraine imports. Yanukovich announced he was pulling out of the EU trade deal and attributed his decision to Russian coercion and blackmail. This sparked a mass Ukraine uprising known as the Euromaiden protests. Thousands of protesters occupied Independence Square.

Yanukovich sent his special police, the Berkut, to threaten and attack the protesters. The most deadly days were 18 to 20 February when police snipers fired on protesters. More than 100 people were killed and 2,500 injured. The death toll included 108 protesters and 13 police officers.

On February 21 Parliament met and dissolved the government. They instituted an interim government and set new elections. The vote was 386 – 0 to reinstate the original Constitution of Ukraine that would grant more power to the legislature and reign in the president. Yanukovich fled Ukraine that night.

Yanukovich’s property contained a private zoo, underground shooting range, 18-hole golf course, tennis, and bowling. Documents recovered from Yanukovych’s compound show among other expenses $800 medical treatment for fish, $14,500 spent on tablecloths, and a nearly 42 million dollar order for light fixtures. When the former president departed, 35 cars and seven motorbikes were left behind. Kyiv’s District Court seized 27 vintage cars in 2016 from the fleet stationed at Mezhyhirya, some worth more than $US 1 million. WIkipedia

On the 27th of February pro-Russian gunmen seized the Crimean government buildings. Thousands of Crimean Tartars came to protest in support of the Euromaiden movement. The Parliament, while occupied by these gunmen, voted to replace their prime minister with Russian politician Sergey Aksyonov. Over the next couple of weeks, Russian troops in unmarked uniforms seized the airport, port, and other important places in Crimea. Russian regular forces began taking over the region, formally annexing it on the 18th of March – less than a month after Yanukovich’s ouster.

Former President Barrack Obama was criticized for his weak response to the Russian annexation of Crimea (NPR). That criticism is still being levied today. Political statements were made and sanctions were levied against the Russian Federation. None of this got Vlad to pull his forces out. In Obama’s defense in 2014 no one considered Russia to be an enemy. Also foremost on the President’s mind were the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq he had inherited from Bush Jr.

In hindsight this emboldened Vlad Putin and his gods. He really thought no one would come to the aid of Ukraine or any Baltic State. He also thought he would steam roll the smaller nation with ease. Appeasement has once again proven to be a costly miscalculation.

How some people of the alt right characterize these events as a threat to Russian sovereignty is obviously the result of continued Russian influence in US social media. People seem to have forgotten about 2016.

Related:

• Amid Russia crisis, Pentagon nominee criticizes Obama response to Crimea Defense News
• Obama defends 2014 Crimea response… The Hill
• Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter Nature.com
• Inside Russia’s Social Media War on America Time