Steinlight
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- Jan 30, 2014
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A Poland Ukraine Union at this point would be very unlikely, considering the antagonism between Poles and western Ukrainians due to ethnic strife and atrocities on both sides during World War Two.Your assessment that it is better to be in a union with Russia is a bit off. Russia has no industry (except military hardware) that is able to compete internationally. The revenues that the country enjoys are largely based on the sale of raw materials and petroleum products and are controlled by a select few friends of Putin. Much of the country's wealth is being siphoned off by these same cronies. Corruption at every level in Russia is endemic and nothing points to that changing.
Regarding the Eurasian Union that seems to be Putin's ambition to mask a renewal of the old Soviet Union, former Soviet Bloc countries are not rushing to join for a very simple reason - this Union favors Russia at the expense of other member nations.
The Ukraine will be bled dry by Russia if given an opportubity to do so. Given the choice Ukrainians will be significantly better off working with other European nations than it would be working with Russia.
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You act as though having an abundance of natural resources and minerals is a weakness. Unless the whole world moves to windmills tomorrow, Russia will remain a strong and growing economy. LNG is the future, and eventually it will overtake oil as it is cleaner burning and cheaper overall. Russia has an abundance of LNG. So as the west becomes less dependent on Middle Eastern Oil, they(Europe) will grow in dependence on Russian LNG.
Also, a strong energy sector results in growth in other sectors of the domestic economy. Having a strong natural resource base, a strong energy sector, is the foundation for a strong economy. This is exemplified by the fact that since 1999, when Putin came into power, Russia has seen positive economic growth every year(minus 2009) due to an strong energy sector.
GDP growth (annual %) | Data | Table
Income disparities are on the rise in Europe and the US as well, corruption is rampant in the West as well(just look at the multi-trillion dollar banker bailouts)I don't really see your point there.
Also, Ukraine's corruption levels are on par with Nigeria or the Central African Republic. Not only is it the most corrupt state in Europe, but one of the most corrupt in the world. They are far more corrupt than Russia. So saying certain sections of Ukraine oppose Russia due to it's supposed corruption is laughable.
Which nations don't want to trade with Russia in the former Soviet Bloc? Can you list them?
Ukraine is being bled dry by the EU and IMF, already if that is your concern. Russia would not have impose austerity measures in their debt deal.
Ukraine Welcomes IMF Austerity Regime - Forbes
Ukraine parliament passes austerity bill required by IMF ? RT News
17 December 2013 Ukrainian?Russian action plan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I think that's it. The chances of the Ukraine doing a Poland or Czech Republic turnaround are very slim imo. It's cultural. And that strikes me as both interesting and sad, because once, maybe 150 years ago, there was some thought that a Poland Ukraine union would create a nation large enough to survive the Bear and German Empire.
Funny thing is, Western Ukraine(Galicia) was part of Poland and Austria for hundreds of years(ruled by Austrian and Polish Lords, along with Ukrainian Catholics), thus developing a catholic and more central european character, different from the rest of Ukraine. Funny thing is that separate character led eventually to an antagonism against not only the Russians and eastern Ukrainians, but the Poles.