A blast of the past from Wikipedia, on a national scale:
The live-coverage of the Russian invasion of the Crimea does certainly fit in many areas the blue print rather well.1979: Soviet intervention
The Soviet intervention
On October 31, 1979 Soviet informants to the Afghan Armed Forces who were under orders from the inner circle of advisors under Soviet premier Brezhnev, relayed information for them to undergo maintenance cycles for their tanks and other crucial equipment. Meanwhile, telecommunications links to areas outside of Kabul were severed, isolating the capital. With a deteriorating security situation, large numbers of Soviet Airborne Forces joined stationed ground troops and began to land in Kabul on December 25. Simultaneously, Amin moved the offices of the president to the Tajbeg Palace, believing this location to be more secure from possible threats. According to Colonel General Tukharinov and Merimsky, Amin was fully informed of the military movements, having requested Soviet military assistance to northern Afghanistan on December 17.[65][66] His brother and General Dmitry Chiangov met with the commander of the 40th Army before Soviet troops entered the country, to work out initial routes and locations for Soviet troops.[65]
On December 27, 1979, 700 Soviet troops dressed in Afghan uniforms, including KGB and GRU special forces officers from the Alpha Group and Zenith Group, occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in Kabul, including their primary target – the Tajbeg Presidential Palace. That operation began at 19:00 hr., when the KGB-led Soviet Zenith Group destroyed Kabul's communications hub, paralyzing Afghan military command. At 19:15, the assault on Tajbeg Palace began; as planned, president Hafizullah Amin was killed. Simultaneously, other objectives were occupied (e.g. the Ministry of Interior at 19:15). The operation was fully complete by the morning of December 28, 1979.
The Soviet military command at Termez, Uzbek SSR, announced on Radio Kabul that Afghanistan had been liberated from Amin's rule. According to the Soviet Politburo they were complying with the 1978 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborliness and Amin had been "executed by a tribunal for his crimes" by the Afghan Revolutionary Central Committee. That committee then elected as head of government former Deputy Prime Minister Babrak Karmal, who had been demoted to the relatively insignificant post of ambassador to Czechoslovakia following the Khalq takeover, and that it had requested Soviet military assistance.[67]
Obviously it is only and always those fascist bandits which create 'instability':Mr Aksyonov's election has not been approved by the new authorities in Kiev, who traditionally appoint the prime minister of Crimea, in consultation with the regional parliament.
"I appeal to the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to provide assistance in ensuring peace and tranquillity on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," Mr Aksyonov said in a statement.
He went on to announce that he was taking control of security in Crimea "on a temporary basis".
"All commanders are to obey only my orders and instructions," Mr Aksyonov said. "I ask all those who refuse to do so to resign."
Looking at some of the pictures of roadblocks in the Crimea I'm quite certain that Russia is pushing to arm local ethnic Russians, ideally with some military background, to get a decent local militia or 'self-defense squads'Unknown armed men from Kiev have tried to seize the Crimean Interior Ministry overnight, and there were several injuries in that attack, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Thanks to the decisive action of self-defense squads, the attempt to seize the building of the Interior Ministry was derailed. This attempt confirms the intention of prominent political circles in Kiev to destabilize the situation on the peninsula,” the statement added.
Moscow is very concerned with the latest developments in Crimea and thinks any further escalation would be irresponsible, the ministry added.
going. So far a good amount of boxes have been ticked off.
1. Insertion of SF by air and land to take over the buildings of the government, airports, ports, TV & Radio stations, Internet hubs, roads and strategic crossings.
2. Movement of regular troops into the Ukrainian region with a slight ethnic Russian majority
3. Pledges for help by the local leader of the party of the Russian-speakers which also controlled the parliament.
4. Reports about counter-revolutionary, ah sorry, fascist attacks on the legitimate leadership of the Crimea
5. A propaganda offensive by the Russian media and parliament to put all the blame on the West and all those nasty 'fascist bandits'
6. A unquestioned leader, named Putin, which is officially silent while playing over the telephone a different political game towards the West.
... we will see which boxes follow. Will we see a heavy brigade rolling out of Sevastopol?
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