Forbes: "At some point, the West will have to recognize Crimea’s right to self rule"

"The U.S and European Union may want to save Crimeans from themselves. But the Crimeans are happy right where they are. One year after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea, poll after poll shows that the locals there — be they Ukrainians, ethnic Russians or Tartars — are all in agreement: life with Russia is better than life with Ukraine," Kenneth Rapoza, a contributor to Forbes Magazine writes. "At some point, the West will have to recognize Crimea’s right to self rule. Unless we are all to believe that the locals polled by Gallup and GfK were done so with FSB bogey men standing by with guns in their hands," his article reads. Rapoza also reports that "the Gallup and GfK polls show a deeply divided Ukraine. The division of political allegiances ultimately threatens Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Only 19% in the east and 26.8% in the southeast think Ukraine should join the European Union, while 84.2% in the west believe Ukraine is a natural fit with the E.U..  Nearly 60% in the north agree that E.U. is the place to be, and just under half in the center part of the country want E.U. integration."

"Russia Rebounds, Despite Sanctions," an article by Matthew A. Winkler on Bloomberg View reads. According to the author, investors are beginning to favor Russia, the ruble is stabilizing. At the same time, Russia business also appears to be on the rebound with 78 % of Russian companies showing greater annual sales growth than their global peers. "One possible reason for the growth? Sanctions. With foreign goods unavailable, Russians had to choose homegrown products and services," the article reads.