THE KHARKIV PACT, UKRAINE & RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS

Today, The Grandma has been reading about the Kharkiv Pact, the Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine.

Nowadays, the situation between these two nations is under a cruel and bloody war with thousans of innocent victims, as always happens in every war.

The Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, widely referred to as the Kharkiv Pact, in Ukrainian Харківський пакт or Kharkov Accords, in Russian Харьковские соглашения, was a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea was extended beyond 2017 until 2042, with an additional five-year renewal option in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas.

The agreement, signed on 21 April 2010 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries on 27 April 2010, aroused much controversy in Ukraine.

The treaty was effectively a continuation of the lease provisions that were part of the 1997 Black Sea Fleet Partition Treaty between the two states. Shortly after the regime change on 22 February 2014 and the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, Russia unilaterally terminated the treaty on 31 March 2014.

In 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty, establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them. Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases in Sevastopol to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017.

During the presidency of Victor Yushchenko (January 2005-February 2010) the Ukrainian government declared that the lease would not be extended and that the fleet would have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.

More information: Outriders

Amid several Russia-Ukraine gas disputes, including a halt of natural gas supplies to European countries, the price that Ukraine had to pay for Russian natural gas was raised in 2006 and in 2009.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, and the Energy Minister, Yuriy Boyko, were in Moscow in late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return.

Following these talks Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for natural gas it sells to Ukraine. Mid-April Ukrainian officials stated they are seeking an average price of $240-$260 per 1000 cubic metres for 2010. Ukraine paid an average of $305 in the first quarter of 2010 and $330 in the second quarter.

On 21 April 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement in which Russia agreed to a 30% drop in the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine. Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia's lease of a major naval base in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol for an additional 25 years (to 2042) with an option for a further 5-year renewal (to 2047). The agreement put a cap on the scale of price hikes; but the main unfavourable terms for Ukraine of the 2009 gas contract remained in place.

We have indeed reached an unprecedented agreement," the Russian president stated. "The rent [for the naval base] will be increased by an amount equivalent to that of the [gas price] discount.

The agreement was subject to approval by both the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments. Both parliaments ratified the agreement on 27 April 2010.

More information: Day Kyiv

Ratification in the Ukrainian parliament proved controversial, and several disturbances occurred during the process. In one incident, several eggs were thrown towards the speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn, by deputies.

On 28 March 2014, one week after the annexation of Crimea by Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted proposals to the State Duma on the termination of the legal effect of a number of Russian-Ukrainian agreements, including the 2010 Kharkiv Pact treaty and the Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet. The State Duma unanimously approved the unilateral dissolution of these Russian-Ukrainian agreements with 433 members of parliament voting on 31 March 2014.

In June 2010, Ukraine paid Gazprom around $234 per 1,000 cubic metres. However, Ukrainian consumers experienced a 50% increase on household natural gas utility prices in July 2010, a key demand of the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a $15 billion loan.

Payments increased annually since then: in August 2011, Ukraine paid Russia $350 per 1,000 cubic metres; in November 2011, it paid $400 per 1,000 cubic meters; and in January 2013, it paid $430 per 1,000 cubic metres.

In August 2011, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated that Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds, compared with 2010, by 2016.

The treaty allowed Russia to station a limited number of troops in Crimea, 25,000 maximum.

In summer of 2014, the General Prosecutor of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Viktor Yanukovych on several charges.

More information: The Guardian

On the day I became Soviet leader, in March 1985,
I had a special meeting with the leaders
of the Warsaw Pact countries and told them:
'You are independent, and we are independent.
You are responsible for your policies,
we are responsible for ours.
We will not intervene in your affairs, I promise you.

Mikhail Gorbachev

FREDEN I STOLBOVA, PEACE BETWEEN RUSSIA & SWEDEN

After the recent news about Russia and Ukrania, The Grandma has been reading about the Treaty of Stolbovo, a treaty between the Russian Tsardom and the Swedish Empire that was signed on a day like today in 1617.

The Treaty of Stolbovo, in Swedish Freden i Stolbova, was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (Ingermanländska kriget), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617. After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from Sweden and Russia met at the now-derelict village of Stolbovo, south of Lake Ladoga, now in Volkhovsky District.

The meeting took place on 9 March [O.S. 27 February] 1617. From the outset, Sweden had gone into the negotiations with very high ambitions and hopes of fulfilling the old dream of making all Russian trade pass through Swedish territory. As a consequence of that ambition, the Swedes originally demanded far-reaching territorial gains into western Russia, including the important northern port of Arkhangelsk.

However, King James I of England sent a delegation to mediate, and the United Provinces did the same, mostly to ensure that Arkhangelsk did not fall into Swedish hands, which would have made the extensive trade between Western Europe and Russia far more difficult.

Arkhangelsk did not change hands in the resulting treaty, partly because of the Dutch and the English efforts but mostly because Russia finally managed to unite under Tsar Michael I of Russia.

As word reached Russia that the Swedish war against Poland might soon be over, the Russians really became serious in the negotiations to avoid Sweden's renewal of the war effort on only one front.

More information: Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library

The Kingdom of England was officially credited with brokering the peace through its mediator, John Mericke (c.1559-1638/9), but the Dutch efforts were also very important. After the war, the leader of the Dutch delegation, Reinoud van Brederode (1567–1633), was granted the title of baron and given the barony of Wesenberg (Rakvere) in Estonia by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

In the resulting peace treaty, the Russian tsar and Swedish king agreed to the following terms:

-Sweden gained the province of Kexholm in Karelia and the province of Ingria, including the fortress of Nöteborg, now Shlisselburg, Russia.

-Russia renounced all claims to Estonia and Livonia and would pay Sweden war indemnities of 20,000 rubles.

-Novgorod and other Swedish territorial gains during the war would be returned to Russia.

-Sweden had the right to keep all spoils of war collected before 20 November 1616.

-The city of Gdov was to remain in Swedish hands until the peace had been confirmed and the borders fully established.

-Sweden recognised Michael Romanov as the rightful Russian tsar and ended further Swedish claims in the Russian throne.

-Russia was allowed free trade at normal trade tariffs, which ensured that Sweden would not completely cripple Russia.

-Russia was allowed to establish merchant houses in Stockholm, Reval (Tallinn) and Viborg, and Sweden was allowed to establish merchant houses in Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow.

More information: Baltic Worlds

When the peace treaty is signed,
the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family.
It's just starting.

Karl Marlantes

THE TREATY OF ILI, RUSSIAN EMPIRE & QIN DINASTY

After the recent news about Russia and Ukrania, The Grandma has been reading about the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, a treaty between the Russian Empire and the Qing dynasty that was signed on a day like today in 1881.

The Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) in Chinese 聖彼得堡條約, also known as Treaty of Ili, in Chinese 伊犁條約, was a treaty between the Russian Empire and the Qing dynasty that was signed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 24 February [O.S. 12 February] 1881.

It provided for the return to China of the eastern part of the Ili Basin region, also known as Zhetysu, which had been occupied by Russia since 1871 during the Dungan Revolt.

During the Russian conquest of Turkestan, Russia gained control of eastern Kazakhstan up to the current Chinese border.

During the Dungan Revolt, China lost control of much of its western territory, and power passed to various factions.

In 1871, Russia occupied the Ili territory. There was talk of permanent annexation, but Saint Petersburg declared that it was occupying the territory to protect its citizens. Chinese authority in Xinjiang was re-established by 1877. Wanyan Chonghou was sent to Russia to negotiate.

In September 1879, he concluded the Treaty of Livadia. Russia would retain the Tekes valley at the southwest end of the Ili Valley and passes over the mountains to the Tarim Basin. China would pay 5 million rubles, and various trade concessions were made. In January 1880 Chonghou returned to Peking and was greeted with indignation. He was declared to have betrayed his country and was arrested and then sentenced to death.

Zeng Jize was appointed as the new ambassador. Russia refused to negotiate unless Chonghou was released, and it was backed by the other powers.

In August 1880 Chonghou was released, and negotiations resumed.

More information: Britannica

The Treaty of Saint Petersburg was concluded on 24 February [O.S. 12 February] 1881 and ratified within six months. Two years later (March 1883), Russia evacuated the province. There were some minor border problems, and a final protocol was signed on 31 October [O.S. 19 October] 1883.

Russia was represented by Nicholas de Giers, the head of the Asiatic Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry (he would become Minister in 1882), and by Eugene Bützow, Russia's ambassador in China.

The Treaty of Saint Petersburg was perceived as a huge loss and step backward by many in Russia, such as by Minister of War Dmitry Milyutin and the notable military commander Aleksei Brusilov.

Several thousand Dungan (Hui) and Taranchi (Uyghur) families made use of the treaty to move to Russian-controlled territory, today's south-eastern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan. While some of them soon returned to China, most stayed in Russian domains, and their descendants have lived in Kazakhstan and Northern Kyrgyzstan ever since.

The border between the two empires set by Article 7 of the treaty remains the border between Kazakhstan and China.

The Qing dynasty forced Russia to hand over disputed territory in the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) in what was seen as a diplomatic victory against Russia.

More information: Chikyu

Russia acknowledged that Qing China potentially posed a serious military threat. Mass media in the West then portrayed China as a rising military power because of its modernization programs and as a major threat to the Western world. They even invoked fears that China would manage to conquer western colonies like Australia.

In 1880, massive amounts of military equipment and rifles were shipped via boats to China from Antwerp, as China purchased torpedoes, artillery, and 260,260 modern rifles from Europe.

Russian military observer D. V. Putiatia visited China in 1888 and found that in Northeastern China (Manchuria) along the Chinese-Russian border, the Chinese soldiers were potentially able to become adept at European tactics under certain circumstances and were armed with modern weapons like Krupp artillery, Winchester carbines, and Mauser rifles.

Compared to Russian-controlled areas, more benefits were given to the Muslim Kirghiz (Kazakhs) in the Chinese-controlled areas. Russian settlers fought against the Muslim nomadic Kirghiz, which led the Russians to believe that the Kirghiz would be a liability in any conflict against China. The Muslim Kirghiz were sure that in a war, China would defeat Russia.

Russian sinologists, the Russian media, the threat of internal rebellion, the pariah status inflicted by the Congress of Berlin, and the negative state of the Russian economy all led Russia to concede and to negotiate with China in Saint Petersburg and to return most of Ili to China.

According to Chatham House sources, the Tajikistan part of Pamirs were more or less transferred during this treaty, and incorporated into what is now Tajikistan, with remaining parts such as Taxkorgan valley staying in Chinese hands.

China has historic claim to Pamir Mountains as Chinese land and is mentioned in millennia old texts as fabled realms, in addition being part of Qing lands, although exactly which land hasn't been clarified nor given official importance.

More information: SAGE Journals

 The secret of politics?

Make a good treaty with Russia.

Otto von Bismarck

THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION, GEOPOLITICAL UNION

Today a new year has started and The Grandma hopes it will be better than the last one. She has done the typical things of every January. She has listened to the New Year Concert from Vienna and she has watched the ski jumps of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. After this, she has been reading about latest news about Brexit and new ones about the development of another great geopolitics structure, the EurasianEconomic Union, that comes into effect on a day like today in 2015.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an economic union of states located in Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and Central Asia.

The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on 1 January 2015.

Treaties aiming for Armenia's and Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union were signed on 9 October and 23 December 2014, respectively. Armenia's accession treaty came into force on 2 January 2015. Kyrgyzstan's accession treaty came into effect on 6 August 2015. It participated in the EAEU from the day of its establishment as an acceding state.

The Eurasian Economic Union has an integrated single market of 180 million people and a gross domestic product of over Int$5 trillion. 

The EAEU encourages the free movement of goods and services, and provides for common policies in the macroeconomic sphere, transport, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition and antitrust regulation. Provisions for a single currency and greater integration are envisioned for the future.

More information: Geopolitica

The union operates through supranational and intergovernmental institutions. The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is the supreme body of the Union, consisting of the Heads of the Member States. The second level of intergovernmental institutions is represented by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, consisting of the Heads of the governments of member states. The day-to-day work of the EAEU is done through the Eurasian Economic Commission, the executive body of the Union. There is also a judicial body -the Court of the EAEU.

In the 1990s, Russia and the Central Asian republics were weakened economically and faced declines in GDP. The member states of the union underwent economic reforms and privatisation.

The process of Eurasian integration began immediately after the break-up of the Soviet Union. When the USSR began to fall in 1991, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia of the founding republics signed the Belavezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring that the Soviet Union would cease to exist and proclaimed the Commonwealth of Independent States in its place.

To promote further economic integration and more cooperation, in 2000 Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) which Uzbekistan joined in 2006. The treaty established a common market for its member states. The Eurasian Economic Community was modelled on the European Economic Community. The two had a comparable population size of 171 million and 169 million, respectively.

A Treaty on a Single Economic Space by Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine was signed in 2003 and ratified in 2004, but the process was stalled after the Orange revolution.

In 2007, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement to create a Customs Union between the three countries.

The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia now the Eurasian Customs Union came into existence on 1 January 2010. The Customs Union's priorities were the elimination of intra-bloc tariffs, establishing a common external tariff policy and the elimination of non-tariff barriers. It was launched as a first step towards forming a broader single market inspired by the European Union, with the objective of forming an alliance between former Soviet states. The member states planned to continue with economic integration and were set to remove all customs borders between each other after July 2011.

On 1 January 2012, the three states established the Eurasian Economic Space which ensures the effective functioning of a single market for goods, services, capital and labour, and to establish coherent industrial, transport, energy and agricultural policies.

On 29 May 2014, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia signed the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, which came into effect on 1 January 2015.

More information: The Guardian

Every piece of geopolitical strife that's happening
in the world today is revolved around energy,
either trying to grab resources or people
using resources to fund radical groups.

Mark Ruffalo