Russia's Soul: What Crimea Says about Putin's Future

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-visit-to-crimea-in-search-of-the-beginnings-of-a-putin-legacy-a-985536.html



President Vladimir Putin made himself immensely popular among Russians by annexing the Crimean Peninsula. But with the situation in eastern Ukraine volatile, it remains unclear how the move will ultimately be judged. A trip through Crimea provides some answers.

Russia's Soul: What Crimea Says about Putin's Future
By Matthias Schepp
August 13, 2014 – 12:31 PM

some answers.

Just as the wait in a 12-kilometer (seven-mile) traffic jam starts to become unbearable, a young hippy and the Russian national anthem provide some relief. The heat is staggering, reaching up to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) inside the cars while the white disk of the son hangs directly overhead at the Kerch Strait, which separates the Russian mainland from the Crimean peninsula.

The young woman in a halter-top jumps out of a Volkswagen stuffed with sleeping mats, backpacks and music instruments. Another woman pulls out a flute and a bearded man produces a maraca. The woman begins to dance and curious onlookers quickly gather. One of them, a retiree from Moscow, has ridden his bicycle 1,800 kilometers "to finally see Crimea." A Porsche driver from St. Petersburg is standing next to him.

Then Alexei, the fourth musician, plays the national anthem on his guitar: "Russia -- our sacred homeland, Russia -- our beloved country." The wind carries bits of the lyrics down to the ferry docks at Port Kawkas. The strait is the bottleneck through which tourists must pass to reach Crimea, now that the war has made the route through eastern Ukraine impassable.

Alexei and his friends are part of a band from Krasnodar in southern Russia. But despite their sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll look, they prove to be supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It's wonderful that the president has brought Crimea back to Russia," says Lena, the dancer.