The Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014

The relationship between Russia and the Ukraine has been complex for many reasons over several decades (Korostelina, 2004). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the tensions within this relationship were exacerbated by contrasting and contested identities between the Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian separatists (Minescu, Hagendoorn and Poppe, 2008), both residing within Ukrainian borders. Nowhere…