The United States and the Borders. There have been tons of strife and strife in Europe's second largest country and while the news presents us with all these ideas about what's going on there, the truth, as it always is, is much more complex. The recent unrest in Ukraine has brought to mind many of the problems of the Cold War. Russia annexes the Crimean Peninsula to Ukraine, frightening Western powers, especially the United States, into the old Soviet policy of containment and using all means to cast negative criticism on the "bloc of the East", thus preventing the spread of its influence. Although the United States and current NATO and European Union policies toward the Eastern Bloc have attempted to contain this strong autocratic style of government, the conflicts caused in these disputed lands are worth it. Are they worth it? and should this aggressive relationship between Western allies and Russia continue this cold battle of ideals. This seemingly endless conflict with Russia and the foreign policy issues that accompany it have lasted for nearly a century and trace their roots as far back to the original Russian Empire as they do throughout much of the world and modern history as we know it. Both Russia and America were expansionist nations with messianic complexes, and many in both nations believed that they possessed a unique mission in history. From the beginning of the 18th century to the end of the 17th century, Russia acted primarily as an imperialist state, under Peter the Great and, with the defeat of Sweden and numerous other clashes, expanded into many places of Asia and Eastern Europe. The “They” were the ultimate race and are destined to right the wrongs of others and follow crooked paths. Except for a brief interval in 1917, due to the... middle of article ...... published by the University of Toronto Press in association with the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies , 1988. Print.12. Curran, John. “The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Explained.” The Huffington Post March 3, 2014: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johncurran/russian-ukrainian-conflict-explained_b_4909192.html, online magazine.13. "Ukrainian police storm main kyiv protest camp". BBC News.http://web.archive.org/web/20140218200551/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26249330, February 18, 2014. Online news article.14. Fisherman, Max. “The three main reasons why protests have resumed in Ukraine.” The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/18/the-trois-big-reasons-that-protests-reignited-in-ukraine/February 18, 201415. “Why is Ukraine in turmoil? BBC News, Europe BBC News, February 22, 2014. Web.. . .