Putin views Ukraine as part of Russia. It goes much further back than 'The USSR'. Read his words [1] That, plus the giant hubris of the 'Empire' mindset that

Putin views Ukraine as part of Russia. It goes much further back than 'The USSR'. Read his words [1] That, plus the giant hubris of the 'Empire' mindset that he has, and frankly exists in Russian culture and there you have it. Russian Imperialism is of the fairly classical kind. 'We are Great, and Strong, Superior, and those around us are lesser, weaker, and naturally our vassals' kind of thing. It's entirely fair to be cynical about the West, and to use some degree of moral relativism, but in reality, it's very different in North America / Angloshphere + Europe than in Russia. And China. If we don't 'do something' then we can assume Taiwan is next for much the same reason. [1] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181