Crimea, la encrucijada de su historia

Abstract

Russian policy of fait accompli has been imposed in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that has been annexed by Moscow last March. In this document we do a general and short overview of the history of Crimea and the events that led to its union to Russia. After, our focus will be its geostrategic importance, particularly for Moscow. The Russian Fleet of the Black Sea based in Sevastopol plays a determining role. But probably one of the most interesting elements of our analysis is the potential richness of gas and oil under the waters Moscow owns now due to the annexation. This factor has not been until now very much taken into consideration and it could have been crucial for the decision of Russia although it denies it.