When Russia Gave Crimea to Ukraine

One of the only times Russia would give land back to Ukraine and why they’re now trying to claim it back

Russian troops blocking the Ukrainian military base in Perevalne during the Crimean Crisis of 2014. Source: Wikicommons

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the newly established Russian Federation has been attempting to regain some of the regions it lost as a result of the disintegration.
The most important of these territories has to be Crimea.
Due to Russia’s unique geographic makeup, it lacks any warm seaports, which are essential for maintaining a strong fleet. Vladimir Putin, the current president, looked to Crimea for a warm harbor.

Ukraine did not, however, always own Crimea. The port area has a long history of changing hands between rulers of the surrounding lands. The territory was dominated by a number of factions including Mongols, Tartars, Ukrainians, Russians, and even Romanians at times. Today, we’ll look at one of the most important shifts in the international community that occurred more than 60 years ago and continues to have an impact today.

The Ukrainian SSR

Украiнська Радянська Соціалістична Респyбліка (Translated: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) was one of the 15 Soviet Socialist Republics that made up the USSR. Created in 1919, the republic was conceived as…