So, it's all about oil, again, isn't it?

[deminks]

http://americablog.com/2014/03/new-crimean-war-vladimir-putin-peter-great-warm-water-port-russia.html

(snip)

There’s a simple fact about Russia. It’s been doomed by geography to never be a great European naval power, because of one thing. For almost the entirety of its history, it had no warm-water port and no access to the Mediterranean. The Russians have been trying to correct that problem since before the time of Peter the Great, and Peter, builder of the Russian Empire, put the attempt into overdrive (again, my paragraphing):

To improve his nation’s position on the seas, Peter sought to gain more maritime outlets. His only outlet at the time was the White Sea [click to see how far north this is] at Arkhangelsk.

The Baltic Sea was at the time controlled by Sweden in the north, while the Black Sea was controlled by the Ottoman Empire in the south. Peter attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea; to do so he would have to expel the Tatars from the surrounding areas.

(end snip)

So, Pooty-Poot needs a warm weather port for his new oil deals with Exxon. Old Cold Warriors like John McCain see a chance to fight the Crimean Wars all over again.

It's all about oil. The flow of oil must not stop. Or, at least, it must be better controlled. Dubya looked into Pooty's eyes and saw his soul, black and oily like his own.

IMHO