The Myth of "Russian Crimea": Same Playbook, Different Century

In 2014, Russia seized Crimea. The main message Moscow used to communicate to its domestic audience, and the one it kept presenting as a great victory, was simple: "Crimea is ours", meaning it was, and is, Russia's.

But the truth is, this message, this claim, does not reflect the full historical reality. Throughout its history, the peninsula was home to many different peoples who knew this land, cared for it, and understood its history, unique character, and nature.

We take a closer look at patterns the Kremlin has repeated many times, proving that Crimea has always been a part of a much longer history of Russian imperial expansion - one in which methods vary, but the ambitions and goals remain remarkably familiar.

Crimea: a story that began long before the Russian Empire

For many centuries, the Crimean Peninsula was home to many peoples: Cimmerians, Taurians, Scythians, Greeks, Sarmatians, Goths, Alans, Khazars, Kypchaks, as well as Genoese and Venetian traders.

Crimean Karaites and Krymchaks developed their distinct identities in Crimea, enriching the peninsula's cultural and spiritual heritage. 

The Crimean Tatars developed their own political institutions, culture, and identity. In the fifteenth century, they established the Crimean Khanate - an independent state with its own ruling dynasty, government, military, and diplomatic relations.

The Crimean Khanate existed for more than three centuries, until the Russian Empire annexed Crimea in 1783.

However, Russia had been interfering in the peninsula's affairs long before that.

Here are some patterns the Kremlin follows: interfering in local politics, manipulating history, and reshaping populations. 

Divide and conquer

• 18th century: Russia secured the Crimean Khanate's formal independence from the Ottoman Empire, increased its interference in the khanate's affairs, and later annexed Crimea in 1783. Crimea mattered to the Russian Empire way more than a territory on the map. It sought to expand its holdings southward, gain reliable access to the Black Sea, and strengthen its position in its rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. 
• At the end of the 20th century, Russia once again sought to exploit Crimea's special political status and disputes over its autonomy to strengthen its influence. Crimea remained part of Ukraine, but pro-Russian political forces repeatedly called for broader powers for the peninsula and closer ties with Russia.
• In 2014, Russia occupied the peninsula.

Military force under the cover of political arguments

• 18th century: The Russian Empire used political and religious arguments to justify its growing intervention in Crimea. Claims about protecting Christians helped frame Russian involvement as a necessary intervention, while military pressure and interference in the Crimean Khanate's internal affairs weakened its independence and paved the way for annexation in 1783.
• 1944: The Soviet regime justified the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars by accusing the entire people of collaborating with Nazi Germany and betraying the Soviet state. Although some individuals did collaborate with German occupation forces, collective punishment of an entire people was unjustifiable. Crimean Tatars also served in the Red Army and participated in the partisan resistance. The accusations became the official pretext for deporting the population en masse and at once.

According to Soviet NKVD records, 191 044 Crimean Tatars were expelled from Crimea. The Crimean Tatar national movement's own census estimated the number at 423 100. The figures differ substantially, reflecting a major discrepancy between official Soviet records and the national movement's estimates.

• 2014:  Russia used the political crisis as a pretext to justify its intervention. On 27 February, armed personnel seized the Crimean parliament and government buildings, paving the way for Russia to take control of the peninsula and illegally annex it. Once again, claims of protection and political necessity were used to legitimise military force and territorial expansion.

Changing who lives there to change to whom the land belongs

• 18th century: After the Russian conquest, some Crimean Tatars left for the Ottoman Empire. Earlier, in 1778, the Russian authorities forcibly resettled Christian communities from Crimea, including Greeks and Armenians.
• 20th century: In 1944, the Soviet authorities deported the Crimean Tatars, and people from other regions of the USSR were settled on the peninsula.
• Since 2014: Russia's occupation has driven many Ukrainian citizens, including Crimean Tatars, from the peninsula, while Russian citizens have been relocated there. These movements affected Crimea's demographic composition. At the same time, repression of Crimean Tatar leaders, pro-Ukrainian activists and others opposing the occupation has made it increasingly difficult for local communities to preserve their identity and openly resist Russian rule.

To claim a territory is to claim its history

• 18th century: The empire viewed the conquest of Crimea as a natural expansion of its territory and as empowering the statehood.
• 20th century: After the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, any traces of their presence were suppressed or humiliated, names and titles were changed, and the peninsula's history was reinterpreted within a Soviet framework.
• Since 2014: Russian propaganda portrays Crimea as "historically Russian" and uses this claim to justify the occupation.

Take resources and use what has already been built

• 18th century: Control over Crimea gave the Russian Empire strategic advantages, access to the Black Sea, and opportunities to expand its military presence.
• 20th century: After the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, new residents moved into abandoned homes and gained access to farms and businesses built by previous generations. Often, these newcomers had neither the ability nor the desire to improve or maintain what had been built and created before them.
• Since 2014: The occupation is accompanied by the establishment of Russian control over the territory, property, and infrastructure. Businesses, companies, and assets that existed before the occupation have been seized or expropriated. What had been built and developed over decades has been taken. Crimea has been used as a full-fledged military base for waging war against Ukraine. 

Turn a conquest into a symbol of national greatness

• 18th century: Russia annexed Crimea as part of its imperial expansion.
• 20th century: During the Soviet era, Crimea, especially Sevastopol and its role in World War II, became a powerful symbol of military heroism, sacrifice, and victory. Soviet commemorations emphasised the peninsula's role in defeating Nazi Germany, embedding Crimea in the mythology of Soviet military glory. 
• 2014: The slogan "Crimea is ours" turned the occupation into a symbol of Putin's political victory and the restoration of Russia's supposedly former greatness.

Russia has changed some tactics, but repeatedly sought to establish control over Crimea: through political interference, demographic change, the appropriation of history, and ultimately military force. Once control over the peninsula had been established, it was justified with political arguments and Russia's own version of history.

The slogan "Crimea is ours" continues an older imperial narrative that presents territorial expansion as historical justice and conquest as a national victory. This narrative helps the Kremlin justify its claims to other countries' territories and turn the seizure of land into a symbol of Russia's greatness, diverting attention from its domestic problems and failures.

Same playbook. Different century. Same imperial ambition.