... for the Kremlin, potentially calling for the unilateral termination of the Kharkov Agreement by Kiev[2]. On March 16, a referendum arranged by the self-proclaimed Crimean authorities resulted in 96,77% of people voting in favor of the integration of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation[3]. The absorption of Crimea became effective on March 18, after President Vladimir Putin had signed with Crimean leaders an agreement later ratified by the Council of the Federation and then the Russian Duma. This vote opened the path ...
... Novorossiysk provides the fleet with another point of basing, particularly relevant for the submarines which activities would be more difficult to be monitored by NATO vessels than if they were based in Sevastopol[13]. Actually, Novorossiysk provides Russia with the ability to not put ‘all the eggs in the same basket’ (i.e. Sevastopol), while developing maintenance infrastructures in Crimea. Indeed, in May 2014, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that it would develop three Crimean shipyards: Zaliv (Kertch), More (Feodossia) and Sevastopol maritime plant (Sevastopol)[14]. Each of these three plants has its specialization: ...
... gas tanker ships, More has specialized in building small and medium amphibious vessels. The modernization of Sevmorzavod will be furthermore important since Russia intends to transfer the bulk of modern ships and support vessels from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol. The money has already started to flow into Crimea: the Russian Minister of Defense placed a 5 billion rubles (US $143 million) order at a Crimean shipyard last April[19].
The annexation of Crimea has given a major impetus to Russia’s plans for the development and the modernization of the Black Sea ...
... Russia’s economy of the seizure of Crimea, the Kremlin’s policy still enjoys fair support from the population. According to a survey carried out by the Russian institute Levada in June 2014, the number of people supporting the integration of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation has increased from 28% in March to more than 40% in June[16].
Crimea’s integration to the Russian Federation will require major investments and is likely to hamper Russia’s economy and growth in the short term. After the ...
