Russian President Vladimir Putin just arrived in newly-acquired Crimea to take part in Victory Day celebrations, which are held to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

This week Russia unveiled a massive commemorative coin marking the annexation, and it is apparently part of a series called "The Gatherer of Russian Lands."

That name has a dark subtext given the fact that Putin believes the fall of the Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century" and is actively destabilizing south and east Ukraine (which he calls Novorussia or New Russia).

On Sunday, Russian-backed rebels plan in east Ukraine are holding a referendum to secede from Ukraine, and getting their way would make them politically and economically dependent on the former KGB colonel.