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The '''Near abroad''' in the post-[[Cold War]] era is the [[Russia]]n term applied to former [[Soviet]] Republics which the [[Russian Federation]] considers its [[sphere of influence]].  Just as the [[United Kingdom]] would never allow [[Dublin]] harbor or the [[United States]] allow Acapulco to be used as a non-allied naval base despite existing on [[sovereign]] territory outside the UK or US, so too does the Russian Federation consider efforts to turn [[Sevastopol]] in the [[Crimea]] on the [[Black Sea]] into a [[NATO]] base as a vital [[national security]] threat.

The '''Near abroad''' in the post-[[Cold War]] era is the [[Russia]]n term applied to former [[Soviet]] Republics which the [[Russian Federation]] considers its [[sphere of influence]].  Just as the [[United Kingdom]] would never allow [[Dublin]] harbor or the [[United States]] allow Acapulco to be used as a non-allied naval base despite existing on [[sovereign]] territory outside the UK or US, so too does the Russian Federation consider efforts to turn [[Sevastopol]] in the [[Crimea]] on the [[Black Sea]] into a [[NATO]] base as a vital [[national security]] threat.

[[Samuel Huntington]] wrote in 1995 in his ''[[Clash of Civilizations]]'' after the demise of the Soviet Union,

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] wrote in 1995 in his ''[[Clash of Civilizations]]'' after the demise of the Soviet Union,

{{quotebox-float| the restraint of Russian and Ukrainian leaders prevented this issue from generating violence, and the election two months later of the pro-Russian [[Kuchma]] as Ukrainian president undermined the Crimean thrust for secession.

{{quotebox-float| the restraint of Russian and Ukrainian leaders prevented this issue from generating violence, and the election two months later of the pro-Russian [[Kuchma]] as Ukrainian president undermined the Crimean thrust for secession.