What if we bought some land in Crimea after the war is over?

[CumbrianLefty]

Brilliant idea, can't see any possible drawbacks at all.

[CumbrianLefty]

Well yes, because he had the 100% backing of one of the world's two superpowers.

[CumbrianLefty]

Why don't we just nuke the whole world? Then there won't be anyone left to threaten us.

"The operation was a great success, but the patient died".

[CumbrianLefty]

I agree to an extent. Forcibly breaking up Germany wasn't feasible after either World War, and IMO the same is true of Russia now (as opposed to bits flaking off its edges, perhaps)

This ties in with the current discussion on nationalism in another recent thread.

[CumbrianLefty]

I agree to an extent. Forcibly breaking up Germany wasn't feasible after either World War

It happened all the same. Even if you disregard East and West Germany, the lands lost elsewhere which weren't previously annexed by the Nazis were quite significant. Some of the areas which were annexed by the Nazis would likely have voted for annexation at the time (Austria), and they were broken off, too.

With both Germany and Russia I am referring to the "core" nation, not peripheral bits.

Yes there was the division of the former from around 1950-90, but that was a product of the Cold War - it was not the original intention of the Allies come the end of WW2.