Somoene needs to tell Vladimir Putin he is the President of the Russian Federation....
....and not the Premier of the Soviet Union or the Czar of the Russian Empire.
The country that he governs technically dates back only to 1991. At its inception and throughout most of its history, the Russian Federation never controlled Crimea or South Ossetia.
And given that we're supposed to be living in a post-imperialistic world (and yes, I know some people in our own country haven't gotten that memo, but that tu quoque stuff isn't going to fly here given that I'm assuming none of us here at DU are imperialists), stoking up historical arguments trying to justify the seizure of land that only belonged to your country in past imperialistic incarnations is just...well....antiquated.
But Vladimir, Vladimir, Vladimir, you go out and say things like this, and it's like you really do wish for the days of the czars that you yourself never were:
http://mashable.com/2015/03/18/moscow-crimea-anniversary/
MOSCOW — Tens of thousands of Russians swarmed central Moscow on Wednesday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea.
At a Red Square rally dubbed "We Are Together," the rowdy crowd sang, danced and chanted "Sevastopol! Crimea! Russia!" and "Glory to Russia!" as the country's top musical acts performed. President Vladimir Putin also delivered an address in which he took the opportunity to tell Kiev in so many words, hey, I took your land, but no hard feelings.
"I have always believed that Russians and Ukrainians are one people," Putin said. "I still think so."
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"And what Ukrainians think really does not matter because their army is not as big as mine." OK. He did not actually say the latter but he was thinking it. 
