Crimea Under Occupation
The Militarization of Crimea as a Pan-European Threat and NATO Response. Third Edition
21 August 2021
The contents of the revised report: The Reality of the Militarization of Crimea / ... The Build-Up of Coastal and Naval Missile Capabilities in Occupied Crimea/ The Crimean Military-Industrial and Service Base of the Occupying Force Grouping/ ... The Restoration of the Crimean Nuclear Infrastructure/ The Size and Composition of the Force Grouping in Crimea/ NATO's Black Sea Dilemma/ Occupied Crimea in the Syrian War/ ... NATO's Naval Presence in the Black Sea in 2014-2021/ Current Naval Trends and Forecasts
«Migration weapons»: the replacement of the Crimean population with Russian
11 July 2021
Summarising the statistics, calculations, and estimates outlined above, we can conclude that during the years of the occupation, the population of the peninsula, including Sevastopol, has increased by at least 700 thousand – 1 million people due to external migration. The de facto population of the Crimean Peninsula is at least 3 million people compared with 2,3 million people before the occupation...
Illegal Visits to Crimean Ports by Foreign Merchant Ships (Except Russian Ones) in 2020
15 March 2021
While in 2014, the first year of the occupation of Crimea and the year of the imposition of sanctions, 85 vessels violated them, later the number of violators declined annually, and in 2020, there were only 11 such vessels, i.e. their number had decreased eightfold. The impossibility of legal maritime export and import due to sanctions has rendered the whole port industry of occupied Crimea unnecessary for the economy.
How the Sanctions Work. The Defense Industry of the Occupied Crimea
22 January 2021
The occupied Crimea has become a base for troops and armaments, an important logistical point in the Russian military operations in Syria, and a convenient locale for much of the military-industrial complex formed with the captured Ukrainian enterprises.
Closure of the Black Sea in October, 2020
17 November 2020
The Monitoring Group of the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies, BlackSeaNews and Maidan of Foreign Affairs reports about closure of the various areas of the Black Sea in October, 2020.
The Commercial Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources
25 October 2020
Prior to the occupation of Crimea, Russia harvested about 30 thousand tonnes of biological resources in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. That was the combined landings volume of the enterprises in Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast, Stavropol Krai, Volgograd Oblast, and the Republic of Adygea.
The "Trophy Economy". Militarization as a Factor of Industrial Growth
25 October 2020
As early as 4 April 2014, at an ad-hoc meeting of the Collegium of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced his intention to provide the industry of the occupied peninsula with state defence orders, emphasizing the importance of «using the manufacturing and technological potential of the Crimean defence industry effectively».
The Crimean Budget. Small Business. Salaries and Pensions
25 October 2020
After 2015, it became clear that the regime of international sanctions and the blockade of the occupied peninsula by mainland Ukraine made not only the economic development but also financial self-sufficiency of Crimea and Sevastopol impossible. Since then, the analysis of the budgets of Sevastopol and "the Republic of Crimea" has lost its economic sense. The basis and, at the same time, the main intrigue of the annual budgeting in Crimea are the same – the size of the subsidies from the Russian Federation.
The Banking System and Investment in Crimea: What is Really Happening on the Occupied Peninsula
20 October 2020
The state of the banking system of Crimea and the real nature of investment in the occupied territory indicates that under international sanctions Crimea by definition cannot become attractive for investors. It has been and will remain a financial burden for the budget of the occupying power.
The Crimean "Trophy Economy". The Sale of Ukrainian Property
03 October 2020
Since the first months of the annexation of Crimea, the attitude towards property rights on the occupied peninsula has been defined by the general logic of the territory seized to be used as a military base, or what we refer to as the "trophy economy". The latter is characterized not only by gross violations of the legal norms established in the civilized world but by the complete neglect thereof.
The "Trophy Economy". The Development of the Stolen Ukrainian Black Sea Shelf
02 October 2020
On 17 March 2014, Chornomornaftohaz was expropriated by the Crimean collaborators. Its offshore facilities continued to work under the round-the-clock guard by the Russian special operations forces and naval ships of the RF’s Black Sea Fleet.
The Occupied Crimean Tourism
01 October 2020
After the occupation and ensuing militarization of the peninsula, tourism ceased to be a priority industry of the Crimean economy in terms of budget and investment. Under sanctions, Crimea has become a resort for Russian tourists only. It should be kept in mind, however, that the official estimates of the current number of tourists in Crimea provided by the occupation government are merely a propaganda tool and are overstated by a factor of 2 or 3.
Occupied Crimea. Exports and Imports in 2014-2020
30 September 2020
The main imports to Crimea are ilmenite (the chemical raw material for the production of titanium dioxide at the Crimean Titan plant in Armiansk, northern Crimea) and construction materials. Part of the ilmenite is also imported through transshipment in order to circumvent sanctions.
The Replacement of the Population of Crimea: How Many Colonizers Have Actually Moved to the Peninsula
29 August 2020
It has already become well known that the main goal of the special operation to seize the Crimean peninsula in February 2014 was to restore the function of the "unsinkable aircraft carrier of the empire" in the middle of the Black Sea. The analysis of the demographic trends on the peninsula for almost seven years of the occupation will allow us to understand whether those intentions have been realized and in what way.
Back in the USSR. The Reverse Restructuring of the Crimean Economy
28 August 2020
The socio-economic situation in Crimea after the occupation and illegal annexation by the Russian Federation is characterized by a rapid return to the Soviet era, ranging from the sectoral structure of the economy to the standards of accounting and reporting and social services for the population.