Crimea Land and Border Dispute
A brief account of the history and present of the Russo-Ukrainian border in Crimea
Introduction
The Crimean Peninsula is of significant strategic importance as it dominates the trade routes of the Black Sea. Formerly part of the Russian Empire, and fought over in 1848-53 between Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and Russia, the Crimea was allocated to Ukraine in the 1917 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk after Russian withdrawal from World War I. Five years later, Ukraine became the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and was absorbed by the Soviet Union, effectively returning both de jure and de facto sovereignty of the Crimea to Moscow. In 1954, as an act of friendship and cooperation, Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev issued a decree that transferred the ownership of Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR. Despite the gesture, effective sovereignty remained in the hands of the Russian Soviets. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Ukraine gained legitimate sovereignty over the region until its disputed annexation by Russia in 2014.
Crimea
The Crimean Peninsula
Disputed Border
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014, fences dividing the two countries have been built by Russia to “protect the peninsula’s population from Kiev’s crazy antics.” This is an example of a hard border between two nations.
Kerch
The Kerch Strait represents the current recognized border between Russia and Ukraine. Before Russia’s annexation of the peninsula, Moscow held sovereignty east of the strait while Kiev controlled territories to its west.
Armyansk
As a city along the de-facto, demarcated border of Russia and Ukraine, Armyansk is heavily fortified. In 2016, Russia increased its military presence in Armyansk significantly, increasing tension between the two nations.
Sevastapool
As the birthplace of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and awarded the title of “Hero City” during WWII, the Crimean city of Sevastopol is regarded by many Russians as an “inalienable” part of their nation and its history.
This historical map demonstrates that in 1989 the Crimea "belonged" to the Ukrainian S.S.R. before the collapse of the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). Yet, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Ukraine enjoyed true de facto control of the region. Following Russia's annexation of the Crimea in 2014, Ukraine remains the de jure owner as shown in the modern map on the left, despite losing de facto sovereignty. These maps highlight the new (disputed) Russo-Ukrainian border as not yet delineated.
The Border Today & Relevant Disputes
Prior to the Russian annexation of the Crimea in 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the “sufferings” of millions of ethnic Russians inhabiting the peninsula. According to the president, multiple censuses demonstrated longstanding desires among the Crimean population to reunite with Russia. Furthermore, Putin stated that an overwhelming majority of the Russian population (92%) was in favor of annexation, many angered by how the “ethnic population [in Crimea and Sevastopol] was in peril.” While Russia justified its claim for annexation under the claims of protecting the Russian majority in Crimea and respecting the desires of the Crimeans, experts have voiced other opinions to the perceived “land grab” by the Russian government.
Donbass War Status as of 2015 from Wikipedia by Niele.
- Published in 2017, an article by lawyer Thomas D. Grant illustrates the disputes surrounding the legality of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula. While acknowledging how the Crimean institutions “signed an agreement on the admission of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation,” Grant further explains that the Russian justification of its annexation under “international treaty” lacked sufficient footing. In claiming that the Republic of Crimea possessed the UN allotted right to self-government, Russian officials must assume that Crimea fit one of the two circumstances.
- The Republic of Crimea must be an independent, sovereign state.
- The Republic of Crimea was not a self-governing state and that the wills of its people have been largely overlooked by its government.
Under Ukrainian law, however, Crimea did not possess the right to request annexation from a foreign power. Furthermore, since Crimea has long been recognized as a self-governing territory, the right to self-government according to UN protocols did not apply.
Demarcation and Securitization
In March 2014, new checkpoints and border security were established by both nations at the administrative border line alongside barbed wire and other security barriers. Demarcation, we argue, happened in 2014 immediately following the annexation. An example of Russia’s demarcation of its newly annexed territory is its act of flying the Russian flag on the Monument of Sunken Ships in Sevastopol. Erected in 1905, the monument marked the 50th anniversary of the Crimean War of 1853 against Britain and France. Sevastopol, in the eyes of many Russians, embodied centuries of Russian struggles and heroism, in which its cultural and historical importance renders it impossible to be controlled by a foreign state.
Russian Invasion of Crimea in 2014, David Miller, Russia's Crimea Conquest.
Map of Military Movement
This map shows the movement of Russian military forces in the first months of 2014. The securitization of the Crimea by Russia, we argue, was done simultaneously with its demarcation. This is mainly because the Russian annexation of the Crimea was tied closely with militaristic means. Furthermore, as of September 2021, Russian military presence in the peninsula, according to Ukraine, has reached 40,000 personnelle. While the United States declined to give an official account of Russia’s military presence, American Press secretary John Kirby claimed to have noticed a general increase of troops present along the Russo-Ukrainian border.
The Border Today Through the Lens of Demographics
Although still under dispute and not formally recognized by the international community, the current Russo-Ukrainian border in Crimea is silently being enforced according to the Russian agenda. We provide an explanation of this trend through examining the demographics of Crimea. In a census conducted in 2014, the port city of Sevastopol had a majority Russian population of 81.07% while that of Ukraine was merely 14.15%. Census conducted that same year revealed that Russians represented approximately 68% of the population in Crimea while that of Ukraine represented 15.7%. Backed by these numbers, Putin’s annexation of Crimea, although deemed illegal by many, appealed to a majority of Russians both living domestically and in the peninsula.
Conclusion
Since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014, the new Russo-Ukrainian border has been clearly demarcated by checkpoints, obstacles, and flags. Due to the militaristic nature of Crimean annexation, both the demarcation and securitization of the new Russo-Ukrainian border occurred simultaneously in March of 2014. Furthermore, as the conflict has continued to persist until the present day, a formal delimitation of the border has not been achieved. Currently, Russia retains de-facto sovereignty of the Crimea while the 1954 decree grants the Ukraine continued de-jure ownership of the peninsula in the eyes of the international community. Today, the border remains contested. Delineation cannot be achieved until the fighting is replaced by either effective bilateral diplomacy, which seems far away, or an extremely unlikely powerful international intervention.
