RUSSIA-GLOBAL WATER
The treaty of Kucuk kaynarca, signed on July 21, 1774, by the Russian and Ottoman empires after the 1768-74 war between the two powers was one of the most consequential treaties for the global balance of power in the 18th century-it marked the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the arrival of the Russians, under Catherine the Great, as a major power in the Black sea region. As part of the treaty, Russia got access to the Black Sea through the Kerch and Azov seaports.
In 1783 nine years after the treaty was signed, Prince Grigory Potemkin, a Grand Admiral in the imperial Russian army and a favourite of Empress Catherine annexed the Crimean Peninsula to protect its Christians amidst violent clashes between Christians and Crimean Tatars.
The annexation gave Russia seamless access to the Black sea’s warm waters, helping its rise as a naval power.
GEO-ECONOMIC REASONSAfter the invasion of Ukraine, Russia further tightened its hold over the Black sea. Russia has taken the entire Sea of Azov coast and more port cities in the south and south-east |
WHY BLACK SEA IMPORTANT
Russia‘s northern ports are in the Arctic ocean, which restricts its outreach to the world. Its gateway to the global waters is the Black sea, which opens into the Mediterranean Sea through the Turkey-controlled Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits. So for a geopolitical reason, it is imperative for Moscow to retain its holdover of the Black sea to remain an influential naval power
The Black sea is also a vital economic artery for Russia to export its hydrocarbons and grains to Turkey and Asian markets.
During the Soviet period, Russia had dominated the Black sea, which was then dubbed by many the’ soviet lake’. Ukraine and Georgia were soviet republics. Bulgaria and Romania, two other Black sea basin states, were part of the soviet led Eastern bloc.
The only country that was out of the Soviet sphere in the Black Sea region during the cold war was Turkey’s control over Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits, the 1936 Montreux convention ensures that Russia and other Black sea countries get access to the straits so that they can seamlessly move both commercial and military vessels in and out of the waters.
But the balance of power in the Black sea would shift in favour of NATO after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Bulgaria and Romania became NATO members in 2004.
Ukraine and Georgia were offered membership in 2008. If they had also joined NATO; Russia would face an arc of NATO coast in its gateway to global waters.
But in 2008, Russia made a military intervention in Georgia, practically ending the country’s NATO dream. And in 2014, by annexing Crimea, Russia did not only derail Ukraine’s NATO plans but also reasserted its hold over its southern waters.
