Helping to clear a few things up

The Ukraine story has me absolutely befuddled. There is clearly a lot of history between among Russia, the Soviet Union, Crimea, and Ukraine, a lot of history about which I don't have even the remotest bit of knowledge. I had to ask a fellow teacher on Thursday to confirm my memories that there was at some point a Crimean War.

Leave it to John Green to clear up some of my confusion...



...and to NPR to help clear up some of the rest.

• Behind Ukraine's Political Strife: One Big Utility Bill
• Ukraine's Economy Was In Trouble Before Its Crisis With Russia
• Crisis With Russia Propels Ukrainian Nationalism

I am, as always, thankful for NPR's in-depth coverage of news stories.