DISINFO: Accusing Russia of annexing Crimea is ignoring its historical rights to the peninsula
SUMMARY
Accusing Russia of annexing Crimea is ignoring its historical rights to the peninsula and the opinion of the vast majority of the Crimean population.
RESPONSE
A recurring disinformation claim attempting to legitimise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media, denying Ukraine's legitimate right to the peninsula. Crimea has a very long and complicated history with many peoples living there.
Crimea became part of the Russian Empire as a result of the Russo-Turkish war (1768-1774). In 1921, the peninsula ended up in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR. It became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954. Pro-Kremlin commentators and outlets say it was a gift from the then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of what Soviet ideology called “the reunification of Ukraine and Russia.” However, the reasons were probably economic rather than emotional. The Crimean peninsula has a land border with Ukraine, but it is separated from mainland Russia by sea. By attaching Crimea to Ukraine, the Soviet leaders aimed at developing the region, whose economy was more connected to Ukraine than to Russia.
As explained by Andreas Umland, since the dissolution of the USSR, Russia recognised Crimea as part of Ukraine in two important legal documents: the tripartite 1991 Russian-Ukrainian-Belarusian Belavezha Accords and the bilateral 2003 Russian-Ukrainian Border Treaty. Read the entire paper titled “Whom does Crimea Belong to? Russia’s Annexation of the Ukrainian Peninsula and the Question of Historical Justice” here.
Additionally, accusing Russia of illegally annexing Crimes is not ignoring the opinion of the vast majority of the Crimean population. The so-called referendum announced on 27 February 2014, and held on t16 March 2014, was organised hastily and at gunpoint following the covert invasion of “little green men” and barring impartial observers from entering the peninsula.
No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 17 December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.
The European Union does not recognise and continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law, which remains a challenge to the international security order. In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. In June 2021, the European Council decided to renew the sanctions introduced in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation until 23 June 2022.
Similar cases claimed that: Crimea's return to Russia restored historical justice; a historical fact: Crimea is Russian; Crimea was and will always be Russian; Historical Crimean Russian land returned.