A Quarter of a Century on from the Soviet Era: Reflections on Russian Doctrinal Responses to the Annexation of Crimea
A Quarter of a Century on from the Soviet Era: Reflections on Russian Doctrinal Responses to the Annexation of Crimea

Author(s): Maria Issaeva
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; Crimea; annexation; reunification; Russia; USSR; use of force; intervention;self-determination; territorial integrity; sovereignty; public international law; Russian approaches to int
Summary/Abstract: This article is intended to give a reader a broader view of the post-Crimean academic discussion within Russia. The justifications offered by Russia for its actions in Crimea in 2014 were met with scepticism by the international community and international lawyers across various jurisdictions. Among Russian international legal scholars there were almost no critical voices willing to assess Crimea’s annexation as at least questionable under international law. Rather, these scholars, in their overwhelming majority, spoke or wrote on the matter in feverish defence of Russia’s actions. Some international scholars who study ‘Russian’ approaches to international law or come across them as part of their research seem prepared to justify the striking unity of perspective among Russian academic international lawyers by reference to the historically authoritarian nature of the Russian state. This article counters arguments of such would-be deference, suggesting that Russian academia be looked at by reference to the emerging standard of the international legal profession.

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