Crimea, an old quarrel between Russia and Ukraine

Text by: Anastasia Becchio

7 min

Subject of the Russian Federation for Moscow, territory illegally annexed for Kiev, Crimea returned to the Russian fold following Maidan's pro-European revolution, after a referendum not recognized by the international community.

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“  Krim nach  ”, “  The Crimea is ours  ”: the slogan will have strongly marked the year 2014 in Russia. He left his mark in conversations, on social networks and in the media. Even if the patriotic impulse then aroused by the event has now subsided somewhat, each March 18 is officially celebrated in Russia as “  the day of the reunification of Crimea with Russia  ”.

On the night of February 27, 2014, less than a week after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's flight from Kiev following Maidan's pro-European uprising, armed men seized the buildings of the Supreme Council and the government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, predominantly Russian-speaking. White-blue-red flags are hoisted on the buildings. After having publicly denied it, Vladimir Poutine will end up recognizing that these “  little green men  ” without insignia, also nicknamed “  the polite men  ” were indeed Russian soldiers. On March 16, despite protests from Ukraine and the international community, the new masters of the peninsula hold a referendum. According to official results, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% of voters in Sevastopol voted to join Russia. Under Ukrainian and international law, this election was illegal and took place in the absence of international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Kiev supporters, who stayed behind, boycotted the ballot. Russia has brandished the Charter of the United Nations and the right of peoples to self-determination.

In the process, the Duma adopted the law on the accession of the Crimean peninsula to Russia and Vladimir Poutine congratulated himself on the fact that "  Russia (had) returned to its home port  ".

Cradle of Holy Russia

Moscow and Kiev consider their nation's history to be intimately linked to Crimea. Even though the place and date are still debated, official Russian history holds that it was in the city of Chersonesus, in the southwest of the peninsula, that Saint Vladimir was baptized in 988, before to convert all of pagan Russia to Christianity. But Ukraine claims, in the same way, the heritage of the great prince of Kiev. Just as revered in Ukraine as in Russia, his portrait still appears on the 1 hryvnia banknotes , the Ukrainian currency.

Over the centuries, the Black Sea Peninsula has changed hands often. It was under the rule of Mongol khans, vassals of the Ottoman Empire when, at the end of the 18th century, it was conquered by the armies of Catherine II of Russia. In the second half of the 19th century, Crimea became a holiday resort for the Russian aristocracy. Emperor Alexander II built the palace of Livadia, in the southern tip of the peninsula, where the imperial families will regularly come to rest. In 1945, the palace will host the Yalta conference.

It was not until 1954 that Nikita Khrushchev decided to offer Crimea to the Socialist Republic of Ukraine, to celebrate the tercentenary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. At the time, the transfer of sovereignty was not of great importance, since Ukraine was integrated into the USSR. The situation is complicated with the breakup of the Soviet empire, with the independence of Ukraine in 1991. From a simple administrative demarcation, the border separating the latter from its big neighbor takes the status of international border. The question then arises of the fleet stationed in Sebastopol . An agreement was finally found in 1997: the Russian navy obtained 83% of the warships against 17% for the Ukraine. Moscow then benefits from a twenty-year lease for its ships in the Crimea, for an annual rent of 100 million dollars. After years of tensions, the agreement was extended under the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych in 2010: Russian ships in the port of Sevastopol benefit from a lease until 2042, in return Russia agrees to a significant discount on gas sold to Ukraine.

Near stranger

At the start of 2014, Maidan's pro-European revolution in Kiev and Viktor Yanukovych's flight to Russia were a game-changer. The Kremlin rejects the idea of ​​seeing extraregional actors interfering in its "  near abroad  " which it considers its zone of natural influence. Moscow also fears the questioning of the agreement for its Black Sea fleet, worries about a rapprochement of Kiev with NATO, while seeing an opportunity to reconquer this peninsula which offers it, moreover, the control of the Kerch Strait, the only passage to the Sea of ​​Azov. This strait is also crucial for Kiev, as it allows entry into this sea, where there are several Ukrainian ports that are very important for the country. Four and a half years after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, a serious military confrontation took place there: the Russian coast guard forcibly intercepted three Ukrainian navy ships in the Black Sea, injuring three sailors in their edge.

► To read also: Crimea, a region apart

After the annexation of Crimea, Moscow's top priority is to connect the peninsula to the mainland, the entire life of the peninsula being organized around the land route connecting it to mainland Ukraine, essential in particular for water supply. and electricity. To limit electricity shortages and reduce dependence on Ukraine, Russia quickly put in submarine cables and built thermal power plants. The construction of the bridge over the Kerch Strait, entrusted to the company of the Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, close to Vladimir Poutine, begins in May 2015, to be completed on May 15, 2018. The work, long 19 km, is inaugurated by the Russian President himself. In July 2019, a railway line was opened there.

Kerch Bridge

The Kiev authorities consider this bridge illegal under international law. They filed a complaint against Russia for violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Ukrainian prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings concerning the construction of the structure. In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly condemned the opening of the bridge.

This work allows the Russians to strengthen their hold on the Sea of ​​Azov. The main span of the bridge is between 33 and 35 meters above sea level, which Ukrainian maritime authorities say prevents many ships from passing under the building safely. Since the annexation of Crimea and the construction of this bridge, Ukrainian maritime traffic in the Sea of ​​Azov has been greatly reduced. Traffic at the Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk has been halved.

By reclaiming Crimea, Russia has tripled its maritime zone in the Black Sea and enlarged its land territory by 27,000 km². Since 2014, according to official figures, 1% of the population - above all the Crimean Tatars and citizens whose fate was closely linked to Ukraine - left the peninsula. The region has been the subject of large grants from the Russian state. But if pensions have been increased, the population is also facing soaring prices.

The annexation of Crimea de facto created a new border at the level of the Isthmus of Perekop, the only passage from the mainland, transforming part of this narrow strip of land into no man's land . Russia has established 3 checkpoints there (Perekok, Armiansk and Djankoi). Ukraine, for its part, has established a border regime in the area and deployed its border guards there. No serious armed incident has been recorded at this new border in recent years.

The Ukrainian leaders, Petro Poroshenko and his successor Volodymyr Zelensky have promised to return Crimea to Ukraine, but their means are limited. Kiev has brought proceedings against Moscow in the European Court of Human Rights. Ukrainian investors in Crimea have also initiated a number of investment arbitrations.

The question of belonging to the peninsula also remains open to the international community. The United States, Canada, the European Union, which regularly extend the sanctions imposed from March 2014 on Russian political leaders, but also Russian finance, armaments and energy companies.

The Kremlin, on the other hand, considers the matter settled once and for all. One of the measures of the constitutional reform adopted in June prohibits any alienation of the territory of the Russian Federation: an explicit means of making any possible surrender of Crimea to Ukraine unconstitutional.

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• Russia
• Ukraine
• Disputed territories