Russia's Annexation of Crimea [UPSC Notes]

The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation took place in 2014 in the aftermath of the Ukrainian Revolution. Why did Russia annex Crimea? Why is Crimea important for Russia? How is the Crimean annexation by Russia related to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war? Read on for answers to all these questions and more. This is an important topic for the UPSC IAS Exam IR segment.

Russia’s Invasion of Crimea

Crimea was internationally recognised as part of Ukraine before Russia illegally occupied it. A referendum was held in Crimea in which the majority of people expressed their will to become a part of the Russian Federation. The authenticity of this referendum was largely questioned by the international community. 

Source: BBC.com

Importance of Crimea

Crimea is located at a strategic location surrounded by the sea on three sides of its border. This allows Crimea to have proper connectivity with the rest of the world. 

• The Russian mainland has no access to the open sea on the south west side of their continent. Thus gaining hegemony over Crimea would enable the Russian government to have access to the Mediterranean Sea throughout the year. 
• Looking at the importance of the Crimean peninsula, Moscow has opened a bridge connecting Crimea to Russia over the Strait of Kerch. 

Effect of Crimean Annexation: 

• Russia always wanted to have firm control over Crimea and wanted to gain this territory to undo the mistake of 1954. In 1954 Crimea was transferred to Ukraine by the then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. 
  • Crimea had been a part of Russia from 1783 when Russia under the Tsar had annexed it from the Ottoman Empire after a decade of defeating it.
• Moscow saw the agreement of 1954 as a major mistake and always had an intention to get its territory back. It was in 2014 that Russia organised a referendum and laid a claim over Crimea. 
• This referendum by Russia was largely seen by the west as unfair and manipulated. 
• As a result of this, the western European countries along with the USA lobbied to oust Russia from G7 countries of which Russia was a major power. Various sanctions both political and economic were imposed on Russia to force her to reverse her decision. 
  • Prior to 2014 when Russia was outed from the grouping, it was called G8. Russia’s removal made it the G7.
• Russian control over Crimea changed the balance of power in favour of Russia and provided them the tactical ground to carry out their exercise. 

Why did Russia annex Crimea?

• One of the major arguments forwarded by the Russian government was that most of the people in the Crimean peninsula are of Russian origin and they expressed a desire to be part of the Russian Federation. Nearly 60% of the Crimean population is of Russian origin. 
• Access to the Crimean peninsula would provide Russia access to the sea which would facilitate round-the-clock trade and commerce. 
• Further, there was a growing apprehension that NATO was trying to expand its area of influence in eastern Europe. This was seen by the Russian government as a symbol of threat from a strategic point of view. 
• At the time of annexation of Crimea, Ukraine was not part of NATO, hence NATO countries could not take military action against Russia, which provided an additional advantage to Russia. 
• There was also a suspicion within Russia that Ukraine is getting closer to the western European countries, which in the long run could make it difficult for Russia to gain control over the seas for trade purposes.
• Moreover, control over Crimea gives Moscow continuing access to the naval base at Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. 
  • The Black Sea occupies a very important place for Russia in defending its territory. It is capable of providing oversight capability to Russia. 

India’s Response to the Crimean Annexation

India did not condemn Russia for the annexation and also abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly’s resolution condemning the territory’s secession from Ukraine. This was seen to be due to the time-tested friendship between India and Russia. Officially, the government stated that it hoped for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and even went on to say that there were legitimate Russian and other interests involved.

Conclusion: Annexing Crimea was a well-planned strategy of Russia, that had anticipated a crisis like this in advance. Now, it is providing additional ground to the Russian military to establish control over Ukraine in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

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