geopoliticalfutures.com [PDF] · #geopolitics
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
- But annexation meant that Moscow would have to govern, and in that regard it faced some unique challenges. For one, it had to keep Crimea independent of Ukrainian utilities and provide the peninsula, with which it is not connected by land, with its own. It achieved as much shortly thereafter, laying cables in the Sea of Azov to provide Crimea with communications and energy. But it was never able to provide it with water, a problem that culminated in 2020. Ukraine had been meeting about 85 percent of Crimea’s water needs through the North Crimean Canal, which runs from the Dnieper River, but abruptly stopped to induce Russia to end the occupation. Climate change compounded the problem. Over the past few years, low rainfall in the Black Sea region has affected just about every area, but none more so than Crimea. 2020 was consequently the driest year in Crimean history (or at least since records began 150 years ago).Meanwhile, the population is increasing in Crimea. Before 2014, roughly 2 million people lived there. That figure dipped slightly as pro-Ukraine Crimeans left for the mainland, but Russian migrants quickly offset the difference and then some. Now, there are as many as 4 million people living on the peninsula, according to Russian statistics. Ukraine has its own figures, which naturally conflict with Russia’s, and the area is rife with tourists. So while the exact population is a matter of debate, it’s clear that the numbers are going up, with a military and industrial presence to boot.