Misc

Question 1

Name of the operation aimed at ousting Assad by supporting Syrian rebels

Answer 1

Timber Sycamore

Question 2

Why is Ukraine particularly important to Russia?

Answer 2

• shared history (Russian state originated in Kiev)
• large ethnic Russian contingent in the East
• proximity to Moscow (NATO forces here would be intolerable)
• Russia’s only warm water port is in Sevastopol, and a pro-West Ukraine would be capable of denying them access to it (US policy-makers have previously advocated doing just this)

Question 3

When was the Social National Party (later Svoboda) founded, and what Ukrainian nationalist/fascist group is it descended from?

Answer 3

1991
The OUN

Question 4

Briefly describe the 90s Russia-Ukraine non-violent dispute over Crimea.

Answer 4

Crimea had been a Russian territory for centuries, and was gifted to Ukraine by Krushchev. It was majority ethnic Russian, but after the fall of the USSR it remained part of Ukraine, but with a degree of independence from the govt in Kiev, and Russia retained access to Sevastopol on lease.

Throughout the 90s, the people of the Crimea and their governments tended to prefer closer relations with Russia, and the govt in Kiev nixed several attempts to legally reify those closer relations.