Instytut Europy Środkowej | ul. Niecała 5, 20-080 Lublin, Polska | +48 81 532 29 07 | biuro@ies.lublin.pl | SMS 661 677 007
Abstract:
The incorporation of the Crimea into the Russian Federation caused an unprecedented increase of tensions in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in the relations between Russia and the USA and the EU. The decision taken by the Russian authorities produced repercussions of equal importance in Russia itself. The annexation of the Crimea was received with great enthusiasm by the Russian public opinion. The majority of Russians accepted the arguments in favor of the actions taken towards the integration of the Crimea with Russia, along with the attitude of support for opposing Western criticism and economic pressure, and agreed to blame the West for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. From the perspective of Russian internal politics, the incorporation of the Crimea meant an enormous increase of public legitimization. It reversed the negative trend in the public evaluation of Vladimir Putin’s rule and the direction of state development which started back in 2010.
