Mikalai Statkevich: Imperial psychosis of Russia pushes Ukraine to NATO

A political prisoner continues to watch the situation in the neighbouring countries.

The website of the politician publishes extracts from Mikalai Statkevich's letters about the events in Ukraine:

“I think Yanukovych was unlucky to have too a big country. Ukraine is too large to privatise the whole country at once. He had to do it part by part. But the process is not invisible, especially when you have independent television. The Ukrainians got angry. If Ukraine were five times as small as it is, he would privatise it completely and no ordinary people would notice it. If he jailed thieves, who want to steal something in 'his' country, people would even praise him saying he is a a good man struggling against corruption.”

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“The Russian threat can unite Ukraine. I think the imperial psychosis can drive the Ukrainians to NATO. Imperial ambitions of our eastern neighbours sometimes resemble a mental disorder, something like drug addiction.”

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“I watch the events in Ukraine. I've just heard the Crimean 'government' decided to join Russia. It would be interesting to see a reaction of the Kremlin. As I understand, they wanted a sort of South Ossetia, but now they have either to tell their 'Goblin' to get off and lose face in the eyes of hot Russian 'patriots', or to take Crimea, with the ground access blocked, and get hostile united Ukraine and economic and political sanctions from the West that will create huge problems for the West's supplier of raw materials. That's the result of their plays with weapons.”