Ukraine (closed; covers till August 2014)

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. The fact of the matter is that Russian agitation operations, no matter their extent, would be futile if there was not already popular sentiment in their favor.

I am not so sure of the truth of this statement. I presume you are aware of mob or crowd psychology. People have been known to get caught up in the moment and do things that they would not otherwise have done, especially when lost in the apparent anonymity of a crowd. As a result things like the Kent State and Boston Massacres occur. I tend to think of popular sentiment as something very different from agitation of a crowd by a few William Jennings Bryan's, Al Sharpton's, or other gold-throated orators who are good at emotional appeals.