Ahead of Crimea's Sunday referendum, an analysis of border disputes

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Ahead of Crimea's Sunday referendum, an analysis of border disputes
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Oh, what a difference a month makes, writes Greg Myre as part of a crash course on how a country changes its borders.

Disputed peninsula Crimea, a part of Ukraine last month, is now a day and a referendum vote away from seceding to join Russia. Legality and Western warnings aside, "this is the first time since 1945 when a great power has changed, or is about to change, Europe's borders by force," Josef Joffe, editor of German newspaper Die Zeit, told NPR.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.