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

Best meal you had on your assignment? Worst?

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

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

Are people there generally content and think the issue is basically over, or is there uneasiness with the new norm?

A lot of people are really content with Russian rule, especially pensioners, who have seen their government retirement go up. But there is still a quiet pro-Ukrainian opposition, including among the Crimean Tatar ethnic minority. But it's pretty dangerous to be outspoken about your views if you're against the annexation.

I'm really curious about this as well. I remember hearing reports from places like Iraq where people were happy to see the dictator power removed, but longed for the days of peace and quiet. Are people upset with the change but wanting to go back to "normal"?

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.

Do you think that having an interpreter with you affected the honesty of the answers you received from the people you interviewed? Did you ever think you were missing out on some sort of nuance by not speaking Russian?

(I'm not knocking on your language skills in any way - I'm just curious, plus I think it's awesome that you're willing to do such extensive field work in a country where you don't always know what's being said)

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

1. I know you just took a trip on the Trans-Siberian railroad and wondered if there are pics?

2. I love Morning Edition--you and Steve make a great pair (and everyone else is great as well). Does he ad-lib his cheesy, sometimes clever remarks (like when you pause for station/show ID)? He does sometimes seem to genuinely catch you all off guard.

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/

Is there still a strong Russian military presence in cities other than Sevastopol? If so, how is this impacting daily life?

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.

Which polls can be trusted as to the "will of the people"?

Are the majority of Crimeans truly in support of Russia's government? Or has there been evidence of vote-tampering?

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.

Why is basically every statement of yours CIA-approved talking points? Have you every made a statement on air that the CIA wouldn't 100% agree with? E.g. have you ever described the coup that took place in Maidan as "unfair?"

That sort of reporting is the very reason I stopped donating to WBUR, congrats.

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

What's Belarus like? If you had to guess, how much longer will it last a dictatorship?

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

As someone who has spent a lot of time in Russia, do you think that the annexation of Crimea is the beginning of Russia reclaiming it's former soviet territory?

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."

Was any of your reporting material subject to review by local authorities before you left the country?

No.

What was your favorite part of the trip? What was your least favorite?

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

How did you get your start with NPR?

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.

Hi David! Thanks for the AMA! Does there seem to be any scenario under which Crimea could be returned to Ukrainian rule?

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

I kept hearing from numerous news reports that many in Crimea felt that by "re-joining" Russia that their economic lives would improve. Did you hear the same thing?

And if so, is there a real risk that if things DON'T get better there and Ukraine starts to grow due to their new relationship with the EU, that things could get ugly?

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.

Did anyone in Crimea mention the Steven Segal concert?

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

You've talked about how many of the people seem fairly happy with the way things turned out, although there does seem to be discontent. Did people there ever express a desire or hope that other parts of Ukraine would be annexed by Russia?

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

Hi David! Love listening to NPR. Last fall I even became a sustaining member with my local station.

If you were to have made a reddit account during college, what username do you think you might've come up with?

iheartjeromebettis

I was wondering where you had gone! So glad you are back, and without too much damage.

I have been hearing through various articles and reports that the "West" refuses to acknowledge the new boundaries created by this annexation. Does refusal hold any ground to making those permanent changes? Will the map be changed? How and where are these kinds of discussions being had as far as acceptance that this may be a permanent state of affairs. Are the governments involved in any talks about what the future holds for that area?

We really just spoke to the residents, not policymakers.

In your Morning Edition piece on Monday?, you mentioned going through a check point, mainly emphasizing how it was a display of a more powerful Russian government. Was that the only purpose of the checkpoint that you perceived? Did you hear any stories of others getting stopped and/or delayed because, say they are Tatar and note Russian?

I'm also loving all the NPR AMA's.

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

What do you think of the new Russia coin commemorating the annexation? Looks snazzy. They were quick to mint that.

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.

Thanks David, I really enjoy your work. Is Steve Inskeep a funny guy outside of the studio? He slips some pretty funny stuff in from time to time.

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

Did you get a sense of how many people in Crimea viewed themselves as Russian, how many viewed themselves as Ukrainian, and how many didn't think about it that much?

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

Thanks so much for doing this AMA. What was your favorite location to visit in Crimea? Are is any one "behind the scenes" story from your time in Crimea that you'd like share but we won't be hearing about in your reporting?

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

How do you see the evolution of “radio” as a medium of story telling given the rapid proliferation of online documentary style news reporting a la Vice News, etc. It seems that even the big names like CNN are taking a more story-like approach to content delivery (with shows by Anthony Bourdain & Lisa Ling, etc), something that NPR does very well. Do you foresee NPR breaking out of the “radio” mode into other mediums in the near or far future?

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.