So what's a nation like Russia to do, when historically, the desire for warm water ports is a critical necessity?  Czarist Russia recognized that as did the USSR.  The Crimea port of Sevastopol fulfilled that need, and the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, so confident of the success of the communist state, presented the Crimea to Soviet Ukraine in1954.  When the USSR collapsed, an independent Ukraine kept the Crimea and the Sevastopol port.Speculation can be made that the Russia government knew, sooner or later, a new home would have to be found for Black Sea Fleet.  The $93-million-a-year lease with the Ukraine for the use of the Sevastopol port facilities is up in 2017.  The Ukraine westward tilt only accelerated with Russia's invasion of Georgia and a membership in NATO is, no doubt, looking more attractive.  Of course, in Russia, "Nationalist Russian politicians regularly suggest that Moscow should reclaim Sevastopol -- or even all of Crimea --...(Read Full Post)