Crimea

Abstract

The accelerated integration of Crimea into Russia's state system illuminates the overall sociopolitical process in Russia. The process was largely improved, with various agencies each pursuing its own course of action. Some were formed on the basis of existing Ukrainian institutions, while others were created de novo. In some cases, locals were given senior positions, while in others the top posts were assigned to appointees from other regions who had no previous ties to Crimea. Overall, Moscow was careful to take into account local factors, such as the role of the Crimean Tatar population. The situation remains fluid, with many state institutions still subject to modification.

Notes

English translation © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, from the Russian text © 2015 “Kontrapunkt.” “Krym: prevrashchenie ukrainskogo poluostrova v rossiiskii ostrov,” Kontrapunkt, 2015, no. 1, pp. 1–12. Translated by Peter Golub.

^1. “The Sociopolitical Mood of the People of Crimea.” A study conducted by GfK Ukraine commissioned by Berta Communications, supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for the project, Free Crime, February 4, 2015 (http://gfk.com/ua/documents/presentations/gfk_report_freecrimea.pdf) (all URLs accessed September 2, 2015).

^2. N. Gavrileva, “Rossiia prishla v Krym nadolgo navsegda” (interview with N. Vodozerov, presiding first deputy to the president of the Crimean Federal District) Milli Firka. Krymsie tatary, July 14, 2014 (http://milli-firka.org/content/DBAGHHJB/language/russian#sthash.VwC3YTLz.dpuf).

^3. “Politburo 2.0 i post-krymskaia Rossiia.” Abbreviated version. Minchenko Consulting, October 22, 2014 (http://minchenko.ru/netcat_files/File/Politburo%20October%202014.pdf).

^4. The list of regional patrons and their Crimean vassals includes: Tatarstan (Bakhchisaray district), Bashkortostan (Belogorsk district), Voronezh region (Dzhankoy district), Belgorod region (Kirov region), Rostov region (Krasnogvardeyskiy district), Kaluga region (Krasnoperekopsky district), Krasnodar krai (Leninsky district), Vladimir region (Nizhnegorskii district), Moscow region (Pervomaisky district), Volgograd region (Razdolnensky district), Samara region (Saki district), Leningrad region (Simferopol district), Lipetsk region (Soviet district), Tyumen region (Chernomorskii district), Tula region (the city of Kerch), Moscow (Sevastopol). According to government decree, senior officials are instructed to provide methodological and financial assistance to ensure the proper functioning of public utilities and social services. They are likewise to make monthly reports.

^5. See “Trudnosti perekhoda nas ne pugaiut” (interview with O. Belavintsev, presidential envoy to the Crimean Federal District), Federal Press, December 9, 2014 (http://fedpress.ru/news/polit_vlast/reviews/1418141353-oleg-belaventsev-trudnosti-perekhoda-nas-ne-pugayut).

^6. I. Petrov, “Krymskoe YFSB vozglavil chekist, zachistivshii Bashkiriiu ot ekstremistov,” PBK, April 9, 2014 (http://top.rbc.ru/society/09/04/2014/916644.shtml).

^7. “Federal'naia sluzhba bezopasnosti sdelala v Krymu kadrovye rotatsii,” Crimiea.kz, September 2, 2014 (http://crimea.kz/116476-Federal-naya-sluzhba-bezopasnosti-sdelala-v-Krymu-kadrovye-rotacii.html).

^8. Radionov himself gives mixed explanations as to how and why he became acting head of the court, saying that he had been appointed by Aksyonov, but also adding that his predecessor, Valery Chernobuk, disappeared for a week and a half during a crucial juncture. See D. Romanov, “Spravedlivost’ eto kompromiss kotoryi sud'ia vyskazyvaet ot imeni gosudarstva” (interview with I. Radionov, acting head of the Court of Appeals of Crimea), Pravo.ru, April 11, 2014 (http://pravo.ru/review/view/104005/).

^* See the Chronology that accompanies this article.—Ed. Note.

^9. “The Ministry of Crimean Affairs Is Dissolved by Presidential decree,” President of Russia, July 15, 2015 (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/49998).

^10. See “Korruptsiia schitaetsia uzhe neprilichnoi” (interview with O. Savelyev, minister of the Ministry of Crimean Affairs), Novosti, July 12, 2015 (http://novosti-krim.ru/intervyu/13373-oleg-savelev-korrupciya-schitaetsya-uzhe-neprilichnoy-intervyu.html).

^11. From an interview with Savelyev in May 2014: “The Ministry of Crimean Affairs is a government tool for addressing the unprecedented challenges of integrating Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation. Over the past twenty-three years, significant differences in legal systems and approaches to state development have evolved. Our task is multilevel and will take a significant amount of time. Today, the transitional government is working on mending the gaps that occur at the infrastructural, financial, and energy levels, because the entire life-support system of Crimea for many years has been tied to our Ukrainian partners… [We are trying] to turn over a new leaf, and make things not just as in Russia, but much better than in Russia. In order for us to implement the most innovative administrative methods, we need to remove or rather not create those administrative barriers that we have been fighting in Russia for many years. In recent years [in Russia], we have accumulated experience in deregulating the economy, and this has produced a significant effect. Here we would like not to repeat, but to create new administrative methods. One of our main tools is the establishment of a special legal and economic regime, which for the time being we can call ‘the special economic zone.’ “Oleg Savelyev: Krym prevratitsia v ekonomicheskii ‘gorod-sad’ blagodaria novym tekhnologiam gosupravleniia” (interview with O. Savelyev, head of the Ministry of Crimean Affairs), Kryminform, May 11, 2014 (http://c-inform.info/interviews/id/43).

^12. A. Sambros. “Kadry reshaiut Krym kak stroitsia kadrovaia politika Moskvy na poluostrove,” Carnegie.ru, July 30, 2015 (http://carnegie.ru/2015/06/30/ru-60556/ibad).

^13. See “Vstrecha s predstaviteliami krymskikh tatar,” President of Russia, May 16, 2014. (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/21028).

^14. “Mezhdlis gotovil krovavyi konflikt v Krymu” (interview with V. Abduraimovy, leader of the People's Party Milli Firka), Milli Firka, Krymskie tatary, March 22, 2014 (http://milli-firka.org/c/DBAGGJKG#sthash.ZRpb52Oe.dpuf).

^15. On April 14, 2015, Alexey Chaly, head of the Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol said at a briefing that the city “needs a normal, effective Public Chamber, and not a load of pseudo-public organizations that are managed by outsiders who know nothing of Sevastopol, and are ignorant of its traditions.” See A. Kononov, “Chalyi mechtaet ob Obshchestvennoi palate Sevastopolia bez prishel'tsev,” Politnavigator, April 14, 2015 (http://politnavigator.net/po-mneniyu-chalogo-bylo-by-khorosho-esli-by-obshhestvennaya-palata-sevastopolya-sostoyala-iz-odnikh-mestnykh-a-eshhe-luchshe-esli-by-takaya-palata-voobshhe-byla.html).

^16. V. Raychenko, “V Obshchestvennuiu palatu Sevastopolia voidut patrioty s piatiletnim tsenzom osedlosti,” Politnavigator, July 30, 2015 (http://politnavigator.net/v-obshhestvennuyu-palatu-sevastopolya-vojjdut-patrioty-s-pyatiletnim-cenzom-osedlosti.html).

^17. According to the institute's web site (http://ripc.at.ua), the rating of Crimean politicians is calculated on the basis of a survey of experts. In 2014, RIPC interviewed thirty-one Crimean political scientists, journalists, sociologists, political consultants, and political analysts. The criteria taken into account were the following: lobbying capabilities, professional activity, business impact, presence in the information field, social activity, charisma, kinship, and resource base.

^18. For more on the Kremlin's politics regarding regional government officials, see N. Petrov, “Ot federatsii korporatsii k federatsii regionov,” Pro et Contra, 2012. vol. 16, no. 4–5 (www.carnegie.ru/proetcontra/?fa = 50662&lang = ru); N. Petrov. “Who Is Running the Russian Regions,” in Russia as a Network State, ed. Vadim Kononenko and Arkady Moshes (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) pp. 81–112.

^19. E. Shul'man, “Poluostrov iskliuchenii,” Kommersant, March 17, 2015 (www.kommersant.ru/doc/2688488).