se re-payments. Diversification was not happening rapidly enough to help them cope. Many feared that their debts will become so large, that no matter what diversification occurred, it will be too late, thus making is almost impossible to repay what they have borrowed. The economic transition occurring in Russia has also led to political strife. Diplomatic relations between many of the republics and the Russian nation have been drastically reduced, if not completely severed. Ukraine, and Georgia have officially laid out in their constitution that they will have no formal ties with their Soviet past (McLelland 108). The Ukraine was fortunate to border one of the only Soviet access points to a large body of water; the Black Sea. It was from this port that the former Soviet Union established one of it's larger naval divisions, known as the Black Sea Fleet. Consisting of over 1700 warships of various sizes (McLelland 63), this fleet was one of the most dreaded in the world. Aboard those ships, there were approximately 430 thousand employed operational personnel (McLelland 66). Indirectly, in areas such as food production, and maintenance staff at the shipyards, there were approximately 15 thousand people employed (McLelland 66). When the dissolution occurred, the Russian government declared that the Black Sea would fall under its permanent control. To the newly formed Republic of Ukraine, this was very alarming. To lose the Black Sea would mean to lose all the jobs that were directly or indirectly associated with it. Knowing that the upcoming years may be harsh in terms of economics, the Ukraine was not readily willing to accept a sharp blow to it's employed ...
