Ukraine, Russia, and the Question of Crimea

Abstract

The Crimean question developed as one of the major crises of the post-Soviet period among the two largest Slavic states of the former Soviet Union. It is an issue with several dimensions: the historical background; the case of the Crimean Tatars as an ipso facto aboriginal population deported en masse toward the end of the Second World War; the military-strategic question, with Crimea as the base for the Black Sea Fleet; economic and social developments; and the legality of the 1954 transfer of the peninsula from the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) to Ukraine in 1954.

After the Crimea crisis: Employee discrimination in Russia and Ukraine

“…After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Crimea remained an autonomous state within the jurisdiction of Ukraine. This status was supported by a referendum in December 1991 [33]. In 1992 the Crimean government, lead by the pro-Soviet Republican Movement of Crimea, declared independence, which was later annulled by the Ukrainian government.…”

Ethnonationalism or a Financial-Criminal Incentive Structure? Explaining Elite Support in Crimea for Russia’s Annexation

“…In part, this failure was because the secession movement, though led by Yurii Meshkov, was itself divided on its goals (Sasse 2007). So was Crimea's society divided on how Crimea should be governed and by whom (Marples and Duke 1995). Lacking popular support inhibited the movement from broader mobilization, and there were few incentives in this environment to overcome their ideological differences.…”

Territorial Autonomy as a Tool of Minority Accommodation in the Post‐Soviet Space: The Cases of Ukraine and Moldova

“…The Russian Empire annexed the Crimean peninsula, which was the core of the Crimean Khanate, in 1783, by which time the territory was predominantly inhabited by Crimean Tatars. Since then, because of emigration by Crimean Tatars and the settlement of Russians and other ethnicities, the demographic composition has changed and Crimean Tatars have become a numerical minority (Bowring ; Marples and Duke ; Williams ). Nevertheless, in 1921, after the Bolshevik takeover, Crimea became an autonomous republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and after 1922 it was also part of the USSR.…”

“…In 1944, up to 200,000 Crimean Tatars (who constituted approximately 19% of the Crimean population before World War II) were deported to Soviet Central Asia, and in 1945 the peninsula lost its autonomous status. Finally, in 1954 it was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic by a decision of the USSR supreme authorities (Marples and Duke ).…”

“…In January 1991, the Crimean majority voted for the restoration of the peninsula's position as an autonomous republic within the USSR, and the Ukrainian Supreme Council (the republic's legislature) shortly afterwards approved this decision. Both the Crimean and Ukrainian authorities acknowledged that Crimea was a constituent part of Ukraine, and a slight majority of the Crimean population upheld Ukraine's independence at the all‐Ukrainian referendum of 1 December 1991 (Marples and Duke :271 – 273; Sasse :132 – 136). There then followed a long period of political turbulence and strife in relations between Kyiv and Simferopol (the capital of Crimea), but the political tensions fell short of real moves towards secession, violent clashes, or an escalation towards ethnic conflict.…”