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How Crimea Changed After Putin’s Annexation in 2014
An Analysis of Its Demographics, Economics, Culture, & Tourism
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 after the turbulent events during the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine in 2013.
Putin took advantage of a weakened economy, divided populace, and a slow international community.
Since 2014, a lot happened. War in Donbas devastated the region for more than 8 years and now after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the future of Ukraine became even more uncertain.
In all of this, one has to wonder, how is Crimea doing?
It’s difficult to tell how Crimea is doing since February 2022. That is why this analysis will not include the recent past. Sanctions changed many of the predictions that would make anything like that possible.
But it’s worth looking at some trends leading up to the 2020s. That’s what I’ll do here.
I’ll look at:
- demographic changes
- cultural changes
- changes in tourism, &
- economic changes
Lastly, I’ll make some brief comments about our present-day predicaments and whether any future annexations in Ukraine or elsewhere are possible or likely.
Demographic Changes
When it comes to Crimea’s demography, more than 140,000 Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians have left the peninsula from 2014 to 2020. I should note, however, that we do not have entirely accurate figures because many have left and returned as well. It’s difficult to follow this migration accurately.
Crimea Tatars leave the region because Russian military forces persecute them because of their loyalty to Ukraine but also because of their religious affiliation to Islam.
Crimean Tatars and their representative body, the Mejlis, have done some impressive work to reconnect Crimea to Ukraine. Because of this, Russia declared the Mejlis an extremist organization because of the threat they pose to Russian hegemony in Crimea.
Many political leaders of the organization are not allowed access to Crimea with the threat of immediate imprisonment.
