SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — The revolutionary upheaval in Ukraine’s faraway capital has awakened the separatist dreams of ethnic Russians living here on the Crimean Peninsula, where on Thursday pro-Russia gunmen who occupied the regional parliament building were met with an outpouring of support.
EuroMaidan Revolution
Washington Post: Pro-Russian separatists flex muscle in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula
Pro-Russian protesters hold Russian flags as they rally in front of the Crimean parliament in Simferopol on February 27, 2014. Ukraine's ousted pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych emerged defiant on February 27 from five days in hiding as the country's new leaders issued a blunt warning to Russia against any aggression on the volatile Crimean peninsula. Anxious Western governments voiced fears about the \"dangerous\" situation in Crimea after dozens of pro-Kremlin gunmen in combat fatigues seized government buildings in the autonomous republic and pleaded with Moscow not to escalate tensions. AFP PHOTO / VASILIY BATANOV
