Protests in Moscow

The Associated Press is reporting that tens of thousands of Russians were in the streets of Moscow protesting on the eve of the referendum in Crimea.   These are actually against their own government for its military-backing of the referendum

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters marched in central Moscow Saturday, a day before a Kremlin-backed referendum in Crimea on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

Russia has already established control over Crimea, and is threatening to move into the eastern regions of Ukraine as well.    The sizable protest in Russia that is cracking down on protest seems significant.   Not that it can stop the referendum today or have any significant influence over the course of events in the near future.

But it may be one more indication that Putin's increasingly thuggish and dictatorial directions are not going to be tolerated without protest.   One young man said:  "I love Ukraine -- it's Putin who needs war and an empire, not me."

It does make you wonder what Putin is thinking.  It has been suggested that what Putin wants is to restore the old Soviet Union.  He poured unprecedented billioins into the Olympics to show Russia to the world, hoping to refurbish an image -- and weeks later he invades another sovereign state that is reversing any good will he built up on the world stage.

We need an ally in Russia -- for dealing with Iran and Syria, at the least.  Russia is important and could be even moreso.    But Putin seems to need to flaunt his power at the West, rather than build a partnership.

Ralph