The bout of great-power euphoria sparked by the 2014 annexation of Crimea did not last long in Russia. The Kremlin quickly realized the region’s total dependence on mainland Ukraine. Over the past 60 years, heavy capital and labor investments as well as regular water, power and fuel supplies sent from Ukraine had transformed the formerly desert-covered peninsula into a lush garden (Istpravda.com.ua, March 3, 2014). But the lack of a natural land connection between Crimea and the Russian Federation forced Moscow to find alternative ways of accessing the annexed region. As the peninsula is separated from Russia’s North Caucasus (Krasnodar …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation