Does Ethnicity Matter? Russia, Ukraine, and the Crimean Peninsula (1954-2022)

Abstract

In 1954, the Soviet government announced the transfer of the Crimean Peninsula to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Neither Russia nor Ukraine could have predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union less than four decades after the transfer, but it was consequential in determining the fate of Crimea. Over the past seventy years, Crimea has been in Soviet Ukraine, independent Ukraine, and illegally occupied by the Russian Federation. During these periods, the three main ethnic groups were the Russians, Ukrainians, and Crimean Tatars. In my research, I examine how the different ethnic groups in Crimea have created a Crimean identity that doesn't represent any official nationalism. I argue that Crimea has a unique regional consciousness that is not solely Russian, Ukrainian, or Crimean Tatar. The research is broken down into three time periods: Crimea in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1954-1990), Crimea in independent Ukraine (1991-2013), and Crimea under Russian occupation (2014-2022). During each of these periods, Crimea developed as part of the larger state (Soviet Union, Ukraine, and Russia) and also evolved independently as a region. My goal is to create a narrative that is not Russian, Ukrainian, or Crimean Tatar-centric by exploring the role of ethnicity, history, and culture in creating a regional consciousness in Crimea.