“Russia was not just robbed — it was robbed in broad daylight.” That’s how Vladimir Putin described Crimea’s history as part of Ukraine. And today, at least according to his treaty signing, Russian has taken Crimea back.

+ Christopher Dickey explains why Putin did it: “The bitterness in his narrative was palpable as he described more than two decades of humiliation at the hands of American and European governments that treated his country like a second- or even third-rate power. For him and for many of his people, whatever their other rationales may be, winning back Crimea is about winning back pride.”

+ Crimea is “a region that has huge significance in the Russian psyche.” BBC on the Crimea of Russia’s imagination