Russian Parliament Agrees to Get What It Wants

It’s the thug’s version of legal niceties:

“We will respect the historic choice of the people of Crimea,” said State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin at a meeting with the Crimean delegation and top Russian lawmakers.

“We support the free and democratic choice of the population of Crimea,” he added in comments broadcast on state television.

Naryshkin said the move was linked to the need to ensure the “rights and freedom of citizens and simply protect human life” in Crimea, amid Ukraine’s turmoil after the fall of president Viktor Yanukovych.

Masked Russian troops on the trouble peninsula are there to make sure the vote goes off without any unexpected hitches.