Ukraine - Russia / Crimea
Ukraine’s inability to pay for the oil and gas it needed enabled the Russians to apply pressure, culminating in a cutoff of gas supplies in 2006 when Ukraine refused to pay a price closer to market value. Though the dispute was quickly resolved, it highlighted EU dependence on Russian energy supplies, because the same pipelines supply both Ukraine and western Europe.
Sharp disputes arose over the Crimea. In 1954 it had been transferred from Russian to Ukrainian control. Its Tatar inhabitants had been deported to central Asia in 1945; after Stalin’s death many tried to return home, but found no welcome. In 1991, 75% of its population of 2.7 million was Russian; the 1990s saw the return of 200,000 Tatars from central Asia. Ukraine granted Crimea autonomy; but its parliament called for independence – which would really mean a return to rule by Russia. In particular, Russia wanted control of the Sevastopol naval base (the objective of the Franco-British forces in the Crimean War of 1853–6). The former Soviet Black Sea fl eet lay there – rusting – while Russia contested Ukraine’s demand for a share of it. This was gained in 1997, when Ukraine agreed to a twenty-year Russian lease of the naval base.
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