Publication

This commentary examines the cost and benefits Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 has brought about for both Moscow and the annexed territory. The authors suggest that the annexation has brought Russian authorities significant dividends, particulaly in the domestic arena, and provided Russia with strategic benefits. However, they also suggest that the integration of Crimea into Russia will be a complex and costly process, one that will be made even more difficult by a deteriorating economic situation in the country that has been aggravated by US and EU sanctions following the annexation.