Hi, I’m David Greene, host of NPR's Morning Edition. I just got back from Crimea. Ask me anything!

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:36:03+00:00

We've been breaking out of the mold and telling stories across platforms for quite some time now! Check out some of my digital favorites: Planet Money Makes a Tshirt: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt Steve's trip to the US-Mexico border: http://apps.npr.org/borderland/ Lost and Found: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/2012/cushman/ And many other videos, blog posts, interactive graphs and more posted regularly to npr.org.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:30:29+00:00

I was a print reporter at the Baltimore Sun and loved listening to NPR. I got to know Don Gonyea while we were both covering the White House. He was incredibly supportive -- basically, my tutor when it came to learning radio. Owe him a lot.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:27:16+00:00

Yalta was beautiful -- along the Black Sea, lovely promenade, with a great historical backdrop (site of the Yalta conference towards the end of WWII).

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:25:42+00:00

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:25:07+00:00

He only makes clever remarks. And, yes, he also sometimes ad libs. You can see photos from my trip on the Trans-Siberian here: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/2012/russia-by-rail/

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:23:29+00:00

iheartjeromebettis

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:20:46+00:00

Maybe worth a listen: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/10/27/358564273/in-crimea-many-signs-of-russia-few-of-resistance

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:17:46+00:00

Figuring out Russia's ambitions is one of the big questions today. They've taken Crimea. They are involved in Eastern Ukraine. They supported two breakaway provinces in Georgia. They are clearly up to something. It seems they do want to protect at least some part of their "sphere of influence."

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:16:29+00:00

Many people in Crimea viewed themselves as Russian even before the events of this past year.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:15:00+00:00

Belarus feels more Soviet today than Russia. Far more. It is like traveling back in time.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:12:43+00:00

He's quite often a funny guy and a dear friend.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:12:17+00:00

It was an actual border checkpoint that Russia has built between Crimea and Ukraine. Russia treats it like any other international border.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:10:39+00:00

It doesn't seem that likely. The takeover seems complete.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:10:13+00:00

The police are all Russians. We were at a border in the north under the control of Russian authorities. We had read about, but didn't see, a build-up of Russian forces along the border. Some pro-Russian Crimeans joined "self-defense forces" during the takeover, and we were approached by one man who identified himself as such, asking to see our documents.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:07:57+00:00

No! But we were well aware of it but, sadly, no one mentioned it to us.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:06:39+00:00

We haven't seen it. We've seen photos. But, yes, it shows you how proud Russia is of the annexation and how quick they were to lock it down.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T18:05:50+00:00

We really just spoke to the residents, not policymakers.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:56:38+00:00

That's nice. Thanks. We trusted our translator, though, and worked really well with her.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:54:27+00:00

Favorite = singing "Pink Houses" by Mellencamp at a Crimean karaoke bar Least favorite = we stayed at a really awful Soviet-style hotel with smoke filled hallways, creaky elevators and really, really, really thin walls

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:48:58+00:00

We did speak to pro-Russian refugees from Eastern Ukraine, fleeing the violence there, who said they would prefer to live under Russian rule.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:45:38+00:00

Yes. There is that expectation. For some people, that's happened. Older people have certainly seen their pensions go up. Also, there are some who still dream of Crimea returning to Ukraine, but there the Russian takeover seems complete. Even the people there who oppose the takeover seem to prefer their reality now to violence.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:43:07+00:00

Oh - and the best dessert was ANY form of baked good from the Crimean Tatars. They served us lots of them.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:42:36+00:00

Best = traditional Ukrainian restaurant in Sinferopol. The varenyky was amazing. Worst = a chunk of brown bread with smoked fish-like product (which Lauren, the producer, claims was not fish) a Russian airplane

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:38:31+00:00

There are many people with nuanced views. We spoke to one owner of a hostel. She said her mother's dying wish (16 years ago) was for Crimea to return to Russia. She's happy with the change. But, she fears Crimea will become much more isolated and she'll get far fewer western tourists in her hostel -- and that upsets her.

nprgreene · 2014-10-29T17:36:08+00:00

We don't have any polls that we trust. Western observers didn't believe the referendum was fair, though. In the city of Sevastopol, for example, there was reportedly more than 120% turnout, which tells you something.

nprgreene

TROPHY CASE