1. Russian and Ukrainian Relations: An Examination of the History of the
Crisis in the Crimea
By:
Kyle Cogar
HIS 556
The Diplomacy of the Nuclear Age
Prof. Krosby

2. 4/26/2014
Russian and Ukrainian Relations: An Examination of the History of
the Crisis in the Crimea
Russia, still a dominant force on the European and Asian continent even after the fall of
the Soviet Union, remains a country with great influence in Eastern European politics. This area
of the world is a hotbed for increasingly tense political situations whether it was the wars with
Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s to Russia's continued involvement with Belarus despite
the latter's view by other European nations as a dictatorship, the last remaining one in Europe1
.
For the purpose of this paper, I will focus and discuss on Russia's involvement in Ukraine from
the country's time under the Soviet Union to the crisis currently afflicting the largest country
geographically on the European continent. This particular crisis is the seizing by Russia of the
area around the Crimean Sea in Eastern Ukraine, an area populated by Pro-Russian citizens
although, as I will elaborate on later, this is not the first time that there has been a crisis in the
Crimea involving Russia and Ukraine.
On February 20, 2014, Ukrainian citizens, acting against the government's newly
instated anti-protest laws, began filling the streets once again to protest the rule of the then-
current president Viktor Yanukovych2
and it is after this particular date that the situation in
Ukraine progresses rapidly. The protests in Ukraine over the increasing level of government
control began late in 2013 when several thousand people organized themselves at Kiev's
central square to protest what they perceived as widespread abuse of power within the
government and a failure to increase trade relations with the European Union3
. The protesters,
1
"Europe's "last dictator" Goes to the polls in Belarus." BBC News World, January 17, 2010.
2
"EU Imposes Ukraine Sanctions After Deadly Kiev Clashes." BBC News World, February 20, 2014.
3
Ibid.
2

3. in favor of stronger relations with Western Europe, argued that the Ukrainian government's
hesitation to build stronger ties with the EU was a result of the government, specifically the
administration of Yanukovych, wanting to increase their friendship with Russia. The Ukrainian
government, a longtime ally of Russia4
, favored joining, or at least showing support for, the
Eurasian Economic Community Customs Union, a group made up of Belarus, Russia, and
Kazakhstan, all former members of the Soviet Union.
In response to the ongoing protests against the government and the harsh attempts of
suppression against the protesters by the Ukrainian police, the European Union began passing
sanctions against in an attempt to force a more peaceful resolution between the government
and the protesters5
. However, these sanctions would accomplish little as the protests continued
and the violence escalated. In less than a week, over five hundred people were injured in
clashes with the police and seventy five people, including police, were believed to have been
killed. On February 22, a key supporter of the protests and the former prime minister of
Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko was released from and immediately began campaigning for
increased support for the protesters, for an end to the violence between the protesters and the
Ukrainian police, and for justice to be brought upon Yanukoyvch in response to what were
considered tyrannical actions, namely the passing of the anti-protest laws and her own
imprisonment6
. However, it would be nearly impossible for Yanukoyvch to be brought to court
as the day Tymoshenko was released, the former President was removed from power by the
4
"Why is Ukraine in Turmoil." BBC News World, February 22, 2014.
5
"EU Imposes Ukraine Sanctions After Deadly Kiev Clashes." BBC News World, February 20, 2014.
6
"Ukraine ex-PM Tymoshenko Calls for Protests to Continue." BBC News World, February 23, 2014.
3

4. Ukrainian Parliament7
. Yanukoyvch, a longtime ally and supporter of Russia and of the president
Vladimir Putin, fled Ukraine shortly after his removal from power only to reappear
several days later in Russia claiming that the reason for fleeing was not due to his removal from
power but because of the fact that his life was being threatened8
.
The day in which Yanukoyvch was sighted in Russia, troops using Russian military
weaponry and vehicles seized a Ukrainian airport in the Crimean region. Although a small
firefight occurred between the supposed Russian military and the Ukrainian troops guarding
the Kirovsky airport, the attacking troops managed to completely disable the airport and then
to occupy it. This would be only the first airport seized by forces believed to be Russian military
as they were riding in vehicles with Russian plates and the fact that Russian Orthodox priests
were sighted with the troops9
. Everywhere that the troops went, they were showered with
support by Pro-Russian citizens, people waving Russian flags and signs proclaiming their
admiration for the troops and their belief that the Crimean region is part of Russia.
During the last days of February, the unknown troops moved swiftly through the Crimea
seizing airports and towns full of Russian supporters10
. The well-armed troops encountered little
resistance as they spread throughout the Crimea. By February 29, the troops had completely
seized the main roads leading into Ukraine, preventing the involvement of anti-Russian forces
from outside the occupied region and effectively closing the border between the two areas. The
unknown troops, by seizing the airports in the Crimea and claiming them for Russia, had also
closed the airspace in the region in which they were occupying11
. The post-Yanukovych
7
Ibid.
8
"Ukrainian ex-leader Viktor Yanukovych Vows Fightback." BBC News World, February 28, 2014.
9
"Russia and Ukraine: Edging Closer to War." The Economist, March 1, 2014.
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid.
4

5. government has frequently criticized these attacks on the region of the Crimea claimed by
Ukraine. Shortly after the seizure of the ports by the unknown
soldiers, the Ukrainian government began issuing threats towards Russia, in particular the
military forces stationed in the Crimea claiming that what was occurring in the Crimea were
hostile acts and if they continued then they would be viewed as acts of war and subject to
retaliation12
. The response by the Russian government, specifically Putin, was that the troops
were not Russian and, therefore, Russia was committing any wrongful act because the troops,
as previously stated, did not belong to Russia. Russia followed up this denial of involvement
with the passing of an act inside the Federal Assembly allowing Putin to mobilize troops and to
begin with the occupation and possible seizure of the Crimea13
.
By the time this act was passed, Russian authorities had begun seizing control of the
radio and television airwaves within the Crimea and had begun spreading Pro-Russian
propaganda throughout the area spouting claims that those in Ukraine who supported
Tymoshenko were fascists and even anti-semites who had betrayed the true government that
was led by Yanukovych. The propaganda being circulated among the Crimean Ukrainians also
laid blame on the United States, as they were accused of showing support for the so-called neo-
fascists in control of the government14
. This would not be the only attempt by Russia to spread
influence among the citizens in the Crimea. Members of the Russian military were reported to
have been going to groups of Ukrainian soldiers in the Crimea that were hesitant in showing
12
"Ukraine, the Beginning of the End." The Economist, March 8, 2014.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
5

6. support for Russia and threatening those groups of soldiers with blackmail or even physical
assault towards the Ukrainian soldiers and their families15
. According to The Economist, the
groups of soldiers "remained calm" and "the vast majority refusing to budge"16
despite Russian
threats towards them. In the wake of the increasing violence in the Crimea, Putin has, despite
the call for troops, repeatedly denied the involvement of Russia, insisting that the incoming
troops and the troops already present in the Crimea were not Russian military but were
supporters of Russia and of Russian control of the Crimea.
The Ukrainian government, already on strained terms with the Russian government,
began in early March with appealing to the Russian government to extradite Yanukovych back
to Ukraine in order to face charges of abuse of power and with several counts of mass murder
although it has not been elaborated on who exactly Yanukovych could be accused of
murdering17
. However, with the rising threat of violence in the Crimea, it seems as if
Yanukovych will not be extradited to Ukraine any time soon. By the time the Ukrainian
government released the aforementioned news, the Interior Minister of Ukraine, Arsen Avakov,
released a statement saying that he considers everything occurring in the Crimea as a direct act
of war and an act of invasion of Ukraine. This statement by Avakov was considered shocking as
he was the first government official to come right out and say that what is happening in the
Crimea region is an act of invasion and war18
. In the wake of Avakov's comments and the
strained relations between the Russian and Ukrainian government, Russia began denying
Ukraine financial support, an act that could potentially cripple the country. After the removal of
15
Ibid.
16
"Ukraine, the Beginning of the End." The Economist, March 8, 2014.
17
"Ukrainian ex-leader Viktor Yanukovych Vows Fightback." BBC News World, February 28, 2014.
18
Ibid.
6

7. Yanukovych and the ongoing protests, Ukraine has been unable to begin recovering financially
and with the refusal of aide from Russia, an estimated $15 billion, Ukraine may have difficulty
with remaining a stable country.
As discussed previously, Putin had gained the approval of the Russian government to
organize and deploy troops into the Crimea. By March 1, Russian troops officially sanctioned to
be in Ukraine numbered over seven thousand, and with the number of troops already in
Ukraine, the number was at nearly eight thousand soldiers19
. As Russian soldiers began moving
into the Ukraine, protesters turned their attention away from the government and towards the
Russians. The protesters, earlier united in their efforts, now split into two different factions,
those who supported Russia and those who were against Russia. Clashes between Pro-
Ukrainian forces and Pro-Russian groups led to clashes in several cities outside of the Crimea,
including the capital, Kiev. Many of the Pro-Russians even tried to remove the Ukrainian flag
and replace it with the traditional Russian flag in government buildings and then to occupy the
buildings. Outside of the Crimea, these attempts to undermine Ukraine were a failure20
.
In the Crimea, however, the situation between the Russians and the Ukrainians has
consistently worsened. By March 2, a new government had been appointed in Crimea, all with
Russian backed politicians, with the Pro-Russian prime minister urging for the continued
involvement of the Russian troops. Putin, contradicting previous statements that the troops in
Ukraine were not Russian, assured the Russian and Ukrainian citizens that the Russian military
was occupying the Crimea region just to protect Pro-Russian citizens, a move seen by some,
such as the Interior Minister of Ukraine, as a direct act of invasion. In a further contradiction of
19
"Russian Parliament Approves Troop Deployment in Ukraine." BBC News World, March 1, 2014.
20
Ibid.
7

8. Putin's statements, the Russian troops were now beginning to show signs of increased
aggression towards the Ukrainians as they repeatedly threatened to use force to remove any
Pro-Ukrainian supporter or any member from the Ukrainian military from the Crimea. The
Russian military urged the Ukrainian military to either defect or surrender lest they should face
the superior Russians in combat21
.
By March 8, the newly installed Crimean government had rejected any notion of
rejoining with Ukraine. Instead, the Pro-Russian group repeatedly urged Russia to allow the
group to join the Russian Federation. The population in Crimea, they argue, are either Russian
or descended from Russians and would rather be part of the Federation than part of Ukraine22
.
However, the Ukrainian government still refused to recognize the Crimean government as a
legitimate group and continued to act as if the region was still governed by them. In the
Ukrainian government's eyes, the country could not afford to be broken any more than it
already was and needed the support of the Ukrainian citizens in the Crimea23
.
After the declaration of the Crimean government to join the Russian Federation, the
Russian military, still active in the region, continued to support their efforts and to delay any
interference from the Ukrainian government. They accomplished this through the building of
roadblocks on roads connecting mainland Ukraine with the Crimea and through the blockading
of the Crimean harbors24
. By March 8, Russian forces had swelled to over twenty thousand
soldiers, all of whom now in complete control of the Crimean region. The U.S. government,
21
"Russia "Demands Surrender" of Ukraine's Crimea Forces." BBC News World, March 3, 2014.
22
"Ukraine Crisis: Crimea Parliament Asks to Join Russia." BBC News World, March 8, 2014.
23
Ibid.
24
Ibid.
8

9. seeking to avoid a conflict with Russia, urged the Russian troops to withdraw, otherwise the
U.S. would impose sanctions and visa bans on Russian citizen25
. Russia responded to the threat
with a threat of their own, promising future interactions between the two countries would be
very strained if the sanctions were carried out. However, the U.S. are not the only ones
threatening sanctions against Russia as the European Union has issued similar threats, although
they have yet to be carried26
out.
On March 16, 2014, the majority of citizens of Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and
to join the Russian Federation in a move that was considered illegal by Western nations. The
Western nations, specifically the U.S. and those in the European Union, also refused to
recognize the vote an official act. Russia seemingly ignored these protests as they continued to
work with the Crimean government to help them break away from the Ukraine27
. Two days
after the vote, the Crimean government officially applied to be a part of the Russian Federation
despite the fact that they were still recognized as being part of Ukraine by the U.S. The Crimean
government took their goal of joining Russia to the next step by refusing to acknowledge any of
Ukraine's laws and by the move to adopt Russian laws and Russian currency in the region28
,
resulting in another action criticized by the Western nations and decried as illegal and not
recognized in the international community. The West continued to criticize the Crimean
government as they believed that the vote to join Russia was initiated at gunpoint by the
Russian soldiers, although the Crimean government claimed that it was false. Regardless the
truth behind the vote, the decision was made on March 18 by Russia to begin the annexation of
25
"Ukraine Crisis: Russia Warns US against "hasty" sanctions." BBC News World, March 8, 2014.
26
Ibid.
27
"Crimea Referendum: Voters Back "Russian Union"." BBC News World, March 16, 2014.
28
"Crimean Parliament Formally Applies to Join Russia." BBC News World, March 17, 2014.
9

10. the Crimean region. Putin, apparently seeking a quick annexation of the area, presented the
move to the Russian parliament along with a bill that, if approved, would result in the
annexation of area into Russia29
. Along with the bill, Putin also delivered a press conference in
which he claimed that Crimea was the rightful possession of Russia and that the region was and
always will be a part of Russia and of the Russian people30
. The Ukrainian government, wishing
not to break up the county and desperate to keep the Crimea, issued a statement promising the
citizens of the region any freedom that they wanted in exchange for not seceding to Russia. This
move was a failure on the part of the Ukrainian government as the Crimea was officially
absorbed into Russia and no longer part of Ukraine.
Although the Crimea was now officially part of Russia, the violence did not stop and
neither did the troops. Shortly after the annexation of the Crimea, Russian troops seized control
of all of the Ukrainian military's naval bases within the Crimea, forcing out the soldiers still
occupying the bases. The remaining soldiers within the Ukraine were ordered to withdraw by
the Ukrainian government on March 22 as the Crimea was now completely overwhelmed by
Russia and they could no longer control their bases in the region and the fact that the Pro-
Ukraine troops were constantly receiving threats from the occupying Russians and to avoid
bloodshed, the soldiers were just ordered to withdraw into mainland Ukraine31
.
As a result of the Russian acquirement of the Crimea, the EU and the U.S. continued to
voice support for the Ukrainian government and their criticism of Russia and by March 24, had
begun imposing sanctions on Russian and Crimean officials in retaliation for their actions.
Russia seemed not to be threatened the sanctions as they continued to incorporate Crimea into
29
"Russia's President Putin Moves Toward Annexing Crimea." BBC News World, March 18, 2014.
30
Ibid.
31
"Ukrainian Forces Withdraw From Crimea." BBC News World, March 24, 2014.
10

11. Russian society32
. The actions of the Ukrainian government, however, looked to have more of
an effect on life in the Crimea. Before the annexation of the Crimea, the Ukrainian government
had threatened to disable the water and electricity to the Crimea if it was absorbed by Russia.
Now that the area was under Russian control, the Crimean people found themselves without
water or electricity as the region's utilities had been disabled by the Ukrainian government.
By late April, it began to look as if the situation in the Crimea had begun to stabilize.
Russia, in a move to appease Western leaders, agreed to begin the removal of Russian military
forces from government buildings in Eastern Ukraine to decrease tensions in the area33
. The
Russian government, after the beginning of the removal of their troops, sought to move
towards a more peaceful resolution to the situation in the Crimea in partnership with the
Ukrainian government. However, despite the move towards a more peaceful resolution to the
crisis and a lessened Russian influence on Ukrainian politics, violence continues in the area
between Pro-Russian and Pro-Ukrainian groups in Eastern Ukraine34
and the Russian
government, as of April 28, is still criticized by the U.S. government as being too involved with
Ukrainian politics and as of the aforementioned date, sanctions against influential Russian and
Crimean are still being upheld to penalize Russia for their involvement in the Crimean Crisis35
.
As previously mentioned in my paper, I briefly discussed Russia's past involvement
within Ukrainian politics and for the remainder of this paper I will discuss Russian, or Soviet
32
Ibid.
33
"Ukraine Crisis: Deal to "de-escalate" Agreed in Geneva." BBC News World, April 17, 2014.
34
"Ukraine Crisis: Russia Alarmed over US-Nato Military Move." BBC News World, April 29, 2014.
35
Ibid.
11

12. Union, and Ukrainian relations from 1920-1950s as it is during this time frame that events
transpired that would later influence the Crimean Crisis.
By 1924, Joseph Stalin had become the unchallenged ruler of the Soviet Union. In order
to maintain power within the USSR and communist-controlled countries within Eastern Europe,
Stalin had sought to establish officials within those countries who would support and follow
him36
. Ukraine, however, proved to be a difficult area to control. Ukrainian communists, eager
for independence and for complete control of their own affairs fought against Stalin's attempts
at installing Soviet-backed politicians as they felt that they should be able to choose who led
their country37
. For the moment, their efforts to resist Stalinist influence worked as Pro-
Ukrainian members were elected to government positions. However, there would be retaliation
for their actions as the Soviet Union withdrew aide to the county and forcibly removed all of
the grain in storage. As a result of the Soviet Union's actions and of the fact that the Ukrainian
farmers had failed to grow new crops, the country had begun to experience a drought, one that
would last over a year and result in the deaths of almost eight million people38
between 1932
and 1933.
By the 1930s, Stalin, seeking to further consolidate power within the USSR and within
Soviet supported countries within Eastern Europe, began a series of purges within those areas
to remove any opposition, proven or otherwise. Among the areas afflicted was Ukraine,
specifically the Ukrainian government39
. By 1938, over a hundred members of the Ukrainian
parliament had been eliminated by Stalin's purges and replaced with Stalinist supporters. The
36
Roman Szporluk, Russia, Ukraine, and the Breakup of the Soviet Union. (Stanford, California, 2000), p. 8.
37
Ibid, p. 9-10.
38
Clarence A. Manning, Ukraine Under the Soviets. (New York City, New York, 1953), p. 92-95.
39
Szporluk, p. 11.
12

13. Soviets would also forcibly relocate Russian citizens to Ukraine to disguise the number of
people killed during the Purges. Ukraine would remain a self-governed state but one controlled
by the Soviet Union. They now had to give the Soviet Union a portion of crops raised and had to
pay a tax to the Soviet government40
.
By 1941, Soviet involvement within Ukraine had come to a temporary end with the
German occupation of Eastern Europe. Despite the fact that the Ukrainians had fought
alongside the Germans during World War II, life would not improve under the Nazi regime as
they would be just as harsh as the Soviets were. Post World-War II, Ukraine would be in
desperate need of aide from the USSR as the war had left the country devastated41
. The USSR,
seeking to reestablish control of Ukraine, initiated another series of Purges, this time to remove
anyone who had sided with the Nazis during WWII. Following the purges, Ukraine, along with
other Soviet republics, were granted aide as a result of the Soviets' five year plan42
, an act
designed to rebuild the USSR and improve the economy following WWII.
The most significant involvement in Ukrainian-Soviet relations, one that would greatly
influence the current Crimean Crisis, came in 1954. Before World War II, the Crimea was it's
own state with the USSR. However, Post-World War II, the region was absorbed into Russia,
removing it's independence. Crimea was a region both before and after the War that, as in
contemporary times, had more of a Russian identity then a Ukrainian one due to the larger
presence, mostly through forced relocation, of Russian people within the region43
.
By 1954, Nikita Khrushchev had taken over as First Secretary of the Soviet Union
40
Manning, p. 147-149.
41
Ibid, p. 189-192.
42
Ibid, p. 192-196.
43
Roman Solchanyk, Ukraine and Russia: The Post-Soviet Transition. (Lanham, Maryland, 2001). p. 164-165.
13

14. communist party. However, due it his seemingly progressive views, Khrushchev was not a
leader nationally supported within the Soviet Union. Khrushchev, in a move to gather support
from Ukrainian communists for his position of power, gifted the Crimean region to Ukraine in a
decree that transferred all control of the region from the Soviet Republic to Ukraine44
. Despite
the widespread approval from the Ukrainian communists, the move was widely criticized by
opponents of Khrushchev as a move that was illegal and one that gave an area of Russian-
speaking people to Ukraine, resulting in strained relations between the inhabitants of the
Crimea and the citizens of Ukraine, exacerbated by the Ukrainian government's stationing of
their naval fleet in the region.
The move by Khrushchev to transfer the Crimea to Ukraine resulted in decades of
tension between the Russia and Ukraine as the Russians believed that the Crimea was their
rightful possession and should not be a part of Ukraine, a feeling that continued into 1990s
even after the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the region would remain a focal point in
Russian-Ukrainian relations and a part of the Ukraine until 2014 and it is my belief that had
Khrushchev not given the Crimea to Ukraine that tensions between the Soviets and Ukrainians
would not exist and the conflict currently taking place in the region between Russia and Ukraine
would not be as tense as it currently is.
44
Ibid, p. 166.
14

15. Bibliography
BBC News World.
The Economist.
Manning, Clarence A., Ukraine Under the Soviets. (New York City, New York, 1953) 92-95. 147-
149. 189-196.
Marples, David R. Heroes and Villains: Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine.
Budapest: Central European UP, 2007. Ebrary. Web.
Solchanyk, Roman, Ukraine and Russia: The Post-Soviet Transition. (Lanham, Maryland, 2001).
p. 164-166.
Szporluk, Roman, Russia, Ukraine, and the Breakup of the Soviet Union. (Stanford, California,
2000), p. 8-11.
15