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The Ukrainian political party known as the "pro-Russian party" is called "The Party of Regions".
It runs candidates in each of the 225 Ukrainian voting districts that are responsive to the issues that are important to that region.
In the Obalasts around Moldova the issue of the relationship between Ukraine and Moldova is important. Russia has invested heavily in influencing political opinion in Moldova and independent polling now indicates EU membership would likely fail if put to a vote in Moldova. A Russian army just inside, or just outside, Moldova might influence when, and if, Moldova holds a vote. EU elites would prefer that the common people not have the power to kill EU membership, just like the adoption of the EU treaty did not allow a vote by the people.
Russia has many different options for coming out of the crisis with one, or more wins, but abandoning the concerns of it's supporters in these Obalasts is not one of the win scenarios. Russia also has many options for failure - Ukraine is a huge country - invading is one thing - winning the hearts and minds of enough people to hold it, is another.
Map showing which Obalasts are in play, for the "Party of Regions", and which are not:
This link, immediately below, is a bigger Version of the below picture:
http://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q78 ... ad0dd4.png
The link, immediately above, is a bigger Version of the above picture:
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This link, immediately below, is a bigger Version of the above picture:
http://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q78 ... ad0dd4.png
The link, immediately above, is a bigger Version of the previous picture:
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