Firn,

I wonder what your take is on this Economist article from several days ago measuring government spending and ethnolinguistic diversity. The focus is of course on Scotland, but I'm also wondering how many of the same issues are applicable to Ukraine's internal conditions. I don't have the data to point out where Ukraine (or Russia) falls on the linked chart.

Also - since we're talking about separatism, why do you think Scotland's movement for independence gained mainstream legitimacy while the same of ethnic Russians in Crimea and Donbas did not (even before direct Russian intervention)? This seems like both a political (is it legitimate?) and institutional (can it be resolved peacefully through the mechanisms of government?) problem.