# Would it be better if the Crimea rejoined Russia? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010 "2014-03-06T14:13:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/21 "2014-03-08T19:26:41Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I don’t speak any Slavic language, but [Republika Srpska Krajina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbian_Krajina) means something like the Republic of the Serbian Frontier, no? Cool. Now we know that Ukraine means “frontier” in Serbian. Why Ukrainians decided to name their country in Serbian is a puzzle though. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/22 "2014-03-08T19:34:21Z")
Ok - there is a Russian word “okraina” which kinda denotes the “boonies” - edge of the city. So maybe there is something to the word “Ukraina” (Ukraine) having that kind of flavor. But it is kinda silly to say Ukrainians resent the name of their country because it may denote remoteness. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/23 "2014-03-08T19:37:22Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Slavic “krai” means edge, end in physical sense (edge of a sheet of paper, for example) and “region” in geographical sense. “Ukraine” does not mean “border” in any language I know. So you’re accepting that it means the edge. So what would you call the edge of a country? The geographical region where one country stops and another country begins? Starts with a b and rhymes with order. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/24 "2014-03-08T19:43:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So you’re accepting that it means the edge. Not in geographical sense. “Kray” is a region. Like in Russia - “Primorsky Kray”, “Altaysky Kray”, “Permsky Kray”. It’s like saying that in the US, “state” means border because some of them are remote. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/25 "2014-03-08T19:45:42Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Cool. Now we know that Ukraine means “frontier” in Serbian. Why Ukrainians decided to name their country in Serbian is a puzzle though. Don’t be obtuse. You know exactly the point I was making. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/26 "2014-03-08T23:07:37Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Not in geographical sense. “Kray” is a region. Like in Russia - “Primorsky Kray”, “Altaysky Kray”, “Permsky Kray”. It’s like saying that in the US, “state” means border because some of them are remote. The [primary meaning](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9) of край in Russian is border. Region is one of its secondary meanings. The same order is true in Belarusian and Bulgarian: a kray is a border first and a region second. The only language where the order is reversed is Ukrainian; there the main meaning of kray is a place and the meaning of a kray being a border is secondary - which is not surprising given the issue Ukrainians have with their country being thought of as just the border of Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/27 "2014-03-09T02:20:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The [primary meaning](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9) of край in Russian is border. It is “border” or “end” as in “end of a piece of cloth”. In geographical sense, “край” never means border. You don’t even speak Russian. Why would you insist on this nonsense? ---
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010/28 "2014-03-11T06:46:10Z")
You and Mr. Nemo are grasping at straws and not considering the larger issue. SECSTATE Kerry has declined to meet with with Putin because there are “unanswered questions” submitted by the former at an earlier date. The US, The UK and Russia are signatories to the 1994 Budapest Accord. Not Germany, not France, not Canada and not NATO. Justice delayed is justice denied. The Ukrainian border with Russia is very much our business now. Regardless of Crimea military events, we should push for an ECONOMIC settlement and agreement between Ukrainia and Russia. A de facto agreement in exchange for the Crimea annexation: 1. A 10 year GAZPROM supply of gas for all industries at the current level of usage. 2. A 5 year residential free gas allotment to the government in order to carry the Ukraine residents thru the next 5 winters at current level of usage. 3. A Ukrainian Naval base in Crimea on the same basis as the US naval base in Cuba, for 100 years or in perpetuity. 4. A free trade agreement guaranteeing duty free status for all Ukrainian products and services in the Russian Federation for 10 years. A de jure treaty and nonaggression pact can follow a de facto economic settlement over Crimea. Cheers, Singanas 3-11-14 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-better-if-the-crimea-rejoined-russia/683010.md?page=1)