Now that the Kremlin has provoked the most far reaching economic sanctions seen since the Cold War's end due tis mischief making in the Ukraine and its all too evident attempts to cover up the circumstances of the shoot down of MH17, it is worth noting that at the end of the day if it dislikes these sanctions, then it has only itself to blame.

The first part was trying to prevent Yanukovych's fall from power by a justifiably outraged Ukrainian populace incensed by not just his tyrannical rule but his self evident venality(witness the palatial living quarters of the ousted President which were far more than could ever have been accumulated on his official salary).

The second part was playing with the fires of separatism in the Eastern Ukraine

(all right I admit that the East has always been more Russified than the rest of the Ukraine having dwelt under the Czars but cultural autonomy is NOT the same as political separatism) and the seizure of the Crimea-a blatant violation of the principle of not altering borders by force(full disclosure: my ancestral homeland of Guyana has a long standing border dispute with neighboring Venezuela; following Putin's logic what is to stop Caracas from seizure of the disputed part? Ditto for the Falklands Islands- or Las Malvinas as Buenos Aires insists on referring to them much to annoyance of both the islanders and British public opinion). I have long been of the view that those politicians who play with the fires of religious, racial and political extremism for the sake of narrow partisan advantage usually end up getting badly-and deservedly so-burned(pace the Tea Party and the GOP in the 2012 Presidential elections and quite possibly David Cameron and the Eurosceptics( both UKIP and his own backbenchers)).

Thirdly having irresponsibly fanned(tacitly or otherwise) the flames of extremism, it was inevitable that when the "rebels"( whom most regard as regular armed forces personnel of the Russian Federation or at least direct the "rebels") shot down a Malaysian Flight, the Kremlin repeated demonstratably fanciful claims that they had nothing to do with it( claims that thankfully mercifully few out side some isolated left wing websites and online magazines tke seriously never mind an unholy alliance of right wingers such as Pat Buchanan and the likes of Stephen F.Cohen and Katrina van den heuvel( husband and wife and commentator and editor of the US liberal weekly "The Nation"respectively).

The sanctions may not bring Putin's regime crashing down -but much like Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's definition of being black in the "Jim Crow" Deep South- are "a damned inconvenience"

He is now faced with equally unpalatable choices- either back down and risk being viciously attacked by extreme Russian nationalists furious over the "loss " of "our Ukraine" and press ahead and risk even more painful sanctions.

Since he provoked the whole damn business anyway, forgive me if I am somewhat less than sympathetic!

Anybody think as I do?

Terry