HISTORY OF CRIMEA

1. Context

Harkening back to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Zelenskyy asserted that peace “must be lasting” and “not like it was years ago”. “Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022,” Zelenskyy said.

2. The Origins of Crimea

The Crimean Peninsula, situated between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, has historically been prized for its fertile soil and strategically located ports. In antiquity, it was referred to as Tauris or Taurida by the Greeks, later falling under the control of the Romans, Genoese merchants, and for a short period, the Kievan Rus—the medieval polity considered the forerunner of present-day Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
By the 13th century, Crimea was absorbed into the Mongol Golden Horde and eventually developed into the Crimean Khanate, ruled by the Crimean Tatars—an Islamic community now recognised as the indigenous people of the region. The very name “Crimea” derives from the Tatar term “krym,” meaning rock fortress

3. Timeline of Crimea

In 1475, the Ottoman Empire took control of the Crimean Khanate, though the Crimean Tatars continued to flourish in the region. Nearly three centuries later, in 1774, the Ottomans were defeated by Catherine the Great of Russia.
Although Crimea was formally declared independent, it effectively remained under Russian influence.
By 1783, the peninsula was fully absorbed into the Russian Empire, leading many Tatars to migrate to Ottoman territories.
The region soon became a theatre of conflict, most notably during the Crimean War (1853–1856), which pitted Russia against Britain and France.
Moving into the 20th century, Crimean Tatars set up their own Parliament, a step rejected by the Bolsheviks following their rise under Vladimir Lenin.
In 1918, the Bolsheviks defeated the Tatars and proclaimed the short-lived Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic, taking its name from ancient Greek references to the area. Soon after, Ukrainian forces backed by Germany expelled the Bolsheviks.
By 1921, Crimea was reorganised as the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the largest constituent of the USSR.
During World War II (1941–1944), Nazi Germany occupied Crimea until the Soviet Union regained control. Following this, Crimea was downgraded to an oblast, and Joseph Stalin ordered the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars, accusing them of Nazi collaboration.
Over 200,000 Tatars were expelled, primarily to Central Asia—most settling in Uzbekistan. Ukrainian sources claim that nearly 46% of those deported perished during this forced exile.
In 1954, Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev transferred Crimea from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (UkrSSR). By this point, according to scholar Doris Wydra’s 2003 study The Crimea Conundrum, around 90% of the population was ethnically Russian.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine emerged as an independent nation, and Crimea was granted autonomous status following a referendum.
This also enabled the gradual return of Crimean Tatars, a process that had begun in the late 1980s.
By 2001, as noted in Multilingualism in Post-Soviet Countries, Tatars comprised 12% of Crimea’s population, while Russians made up 58% and Ukrainians 24%.
Finally, in 2014, under President Vladimir Putin, Russia annexed Crimea, ending its official status as part of Ukraine and sparking an ongoing geopolitical conflict

4. Annexation of Crimea in 2014

In 2013, Ukraine was shaken by massive demonstrations that came to be known as the Euromaidan Revolution. Large crowds filled Kyiv’s central square to oppose President Viktor Yanukovych, who was supported by Moscow, after he declined to sign an agreement that would have deepened Ukraine’s trade and political ties with the European Union.
By February 2014, Yanukovych had fled the country, and the Ukrainian Parliament appointed an acting president in his place.
Sensing its weakening grip on Ukraine, Russia swiftly moved to seize control of Crimea.
In February, Russian forces expanded their presence on the peninsula, occupying key installations, including the Crimean Parliament. Soon after, the Parliament—under Russian influence—conducted a referendum, claiming that 97% of voters supported joining Russia.
Within days, President Vladimir Putin, citing the referendum outcome, signed an agreement incorporating Crimea into Russia.
The Kremlin defended the annexation, arguing that it corrected the “historical mistake” of Crimea’s 1954 transfer to Ukraine. Russia also emphasised its cultural and linguistic connections with the peninsula, where the majority of residents spoke Russian.
Yet, according to Eleanor Knott, Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics, her fieldwork in Crimea (2012–2013) showed that while many locals saw themselves as ethnically Russian, they did not strongly associate with Russian political or cultural life.
Most considered their primary identity to be “Crimean,” and younger generations often viewed themselves as Ukrainian citizens.
The annexation was met with strong international condemnation, particularly from the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations, with critics alleging that the referendum had been manipulated.
In response, Putin issued sharp warnings to the West, invoking Russia’s nuclear arsenal and threatening full-scale war should Ukraine attempt to reclaim Crimea by force

5. Crimea in the Present Times

Most of the international community, reaffirmed by a 2014 UN General Assembly resolution, continues to regard Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine.
Traditionally, the United States has upheld this position. However, former President Donald Trump has increasingly distanced himself from it.
Posting on Truth Social, just a day before his scheduled meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump remarked: “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
Crimea’s annexation by Russia occurred during Barack Obama’s presidency in 2014. At that time, Obama declined to provide Ukraine with lethal military aid.
In a speech delivered on March 26, 2014, he emphasised that “The United States and NATO do not seek any conflict with Russia… Now is not the time for bluster. There are no easy answers, no military solution.”
Later, in a 2023 interview with CNN, Obama explained that back in 2014 there had been “some sympathy to the view that Russia was representing its interests” in Crimea, especially given the presence of pro-Russian sympathisers within Ukraine’s Parliament.
He added that alongside then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he had worked to unite European leaders to impose sanctions on Moscow in order to deter further advances into Donbas.
Trump’s more recent comments followed a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which ended without any breakthrough on halting the war in Ukraine. Still, the meeting suggested a shift in Trump’s outlook.
Whereas he had earlier warned Putin of “severe consequences” if a ceasefire was not agreed upon, he now described a peace settlement as the “best way” to end the conflict.
Placing responsibility on Ukraine, Trump asserted that Zelenskyy could end the war almost immediately if he chose to, though he could also continue fighting

For Prelims: Ukraine, USSR, Russia-Ukraine War, Commonwealth of Independent States, Rus' land, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsarist policy of Russification, Ottoman empires,

For Mains:

1. Discuss the evolution of Ukraine and critically analyse factors that led to Russia's war on Ukraine. (250 Words)

2. What is The tsarist policy of Russification Discuss the rise and fall of the USSR. (250 Words)

Source: Indianexpress

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HISTORY OF CRIMEA

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