"The Soviet Union fell apart. Things developed so swiftly that few people realized how truly dramatic those events and their consequences would be. ...It was only when the Crimea ended up as part of a different country that Russia realized that it had not only been robbed but plundered. ...And what about the Russian state? What about Russia? It humbly accepted the situation. This country was going through such hard times then that, realistically, it was incapable of defending its interests."