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@sir_arthur_strebe-grebling wrote:

The people of Crimea vote to leave Ukraine without anyone else having a say, and the rest of the world condemns the action and imposes sanctions.

 

The people of Scotland are given a vote to leave the United Kingdom without anyone else having a say ...

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I'm sure you can see the difference!

There's a very big difference between a referendum to create autonomy between two countries who have previously coexisted as "one" than a third country intervening and taking over one of the two countries... not sure I would want to be governed by the French!!!

On the one hand Putin doesn't acknowledge the newly formed Ukraine government but never the less he puts Russian/pro Russian troops on the ground to secure the Crimea which is illegal, he blocks the port so that Ukraine ships cannot enter or leave along with blocking the use of the airport. Within days the local Crimea autonomous "government" are able to mount an illegal referendum where 95% of the people vote to become part of Russia again. The voting figures are no doubt rigged ( no International observers present) as Ukrainians and tartars, who make up about 35% of the population, were afraid to vote in fear of Russian reprisals. 

Crimea is part of Ukraine and therefore part of the treaty singed in 1954 by Ukraine Russia, USA and UK and it is the Ukraine government who should have been asked for a referendum by Crimea, not Russia. 

Putin has behaved like a dictator and an invader.

The Scottish parliament approached Westminster and ASKED to have a referendum. Westminster agreed they could, that's democracy and over a period of 18 months or so, not less than 2 weeks as in Ukraine. I imagine other Scots who don't live in Scotland won't have a vote because they aren't resident there. You can't vote for anything unless you are a resident. Same with Ukraine, so same with Scotland.