Local Responses to the Contested Border in Northern Crimea

A. A. Gritsenko () and M. V. Zotova ()
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A. A. Gritsenko: Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
M. V. Zotova: Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences

Regional Research of Russia, 2022, vol. 12, issue 4, 589-599

Abstract: Abstract— This article analyses the situation in Crimea, which de facto seceded from Ukraine and joined Russia in 2014 following a local referendum, the results of which are not recognised by the international community. It focuses on the everyday life of the local population, which has been forced to adapt to the emergence of the contested border between Russia and Ukraine; the related breakdown of political and economic interactions between Crimea and Ukraine; and the region’s transition to new geopolitical, economic, and legal conditions. Based on field research, expert interviews, and six focus groups in two small border cities of Northern Crimea, we specifically address the meaning of the de facto border for local residents. By considering perceptions of Ukraine and its regional neighbours, cross-border practices, and social relations, we discuss how people assess these changes and view the border. Our research, firstly, shows that residents of Northern Crimea attach great importance to the protective function of the new border. Echoing mainstream Russian media, they portray Ukraine as a hostile state that threatens Crimeans. Secondly, the residents claim that the emergence of the border has given people hope for improved living standards and well-being. Despite the still-ambiguous balance of costs and benefits in border cities, the local residents are overwhelmingly pro-Russian and expect Russia’s support in the future. Thirdly, for Crimean residents, the border has also become a significant obstacle to communication with those in Ukraine. Neighbours across the border are not yet perceived as “other.” In this sense, Crimean residents do not accept the border and would like to see Crimea and Ukraine once again united.

Keywords: border; social representations; mobility; non-recognition; Northern Crimea; Ukraine; Russia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1134/S2079970522700150

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