Putin's Position After Crimea Holds Referendum

Crimea's highly anticipated March 16 referendum, which will determine whether the autonomous republic will join Russia, will not be the watershed moment it has been made out to be. That moment will come later, when Russian President Vladimir Putin endorses the decision, if he endorses it at all. Ultimately, it is Putin, not the Crimeans, who will decide if the standoff between his country and the West intensifies.