Crimea, as it was (4 Stars)

This is a documentary about the Russian invasion and occupation of Crimea in 2014. It tells of the events in February and March from the perspective of the armed forces stationed in Crimea. Most of the documentary is made up of amateur videos made by military personnel at the time. Some interviews are added which were recorded in 2015.

The documentary sets out to answer two questions: What happened? Why did it happen? I feel that it successfully answers the first question, but after watching the documentary I know even less about why it happened than before.

Ever since Ukraine became independent in 1991 Russian seamen were stationed in Crimea. It was part of the independence agreement that Russia could continue to keep its Black Sea fleet stationed in Crimea, particularly in Sevastopol. The port of Sevastopol was shared equally by the Russian and Ukrainian navies. They were friends with one another, especially at officer level. They used to eat and drink together.

The first sign of something unusual was in late February. A large number of Russian army conscripts, mostly from Chechnya, arrived in Crimea. The Ukrainians asked them what they were supposed to be doing, and they said they didn't know; they assumed it would only be for a few days. Shortly afterwards swarms of helicopters arrived from Russia carrying men and military equipment. The Ukrainians were suspicious, but still accepted it as normal.

The third stage was the presence of heavily armed masked men in informal uniforms. They looked like soldiers, but they had no recognisable military insignia. They pretended to be Ukrainians, but they spoke no Ukrainian, only Russian. They took up positions blocking Ukrainian military bases. With the help of photos taken when they were unmasked they were later identified as the 45th Guards, a special forces unit stationed in Moscow.

In interviews Vladimir Putin gave answers in which he contradicted himself. At first he said that there were no Russian troops in Crimea; it was solely loyal Crimeans who were defending their country against western influence. In later interviews he said that some Russian soldiers had voluntarily travelled to Crimea to help their brothers. This was a ridiculous claim that nobody believed. If a soldier left his unit and travelled to another country for a long period of time he would be treated as a deserter. If he took a helicopter with him he would be pursued and killed by his unit. Putin is often referred to as the Prince of Lies, but he's an unskilled liar who makes random statements without considering how infeasible they are.

Putin should also pay more attention to his body language. Looking down or closing your eyes when answering a question is clear proof of lying.

The Ukrainian air force in Crimea realised that they had no chance of success against the overwhelming Russian forces. They flew as many planes as they could into mainland Ukraine. They destroyed the aircraft that they couldn't save to prevent them falling into Russian hands. With the navy it was different. Only a few ships could escape. The majority were trapped in the harbour at Sevastopol. A Russian warship floated sideways and blocked the entrance to the harbour. It claimed to have broken down and was waiting for repairs. Lying must be a common Russian trait. Russian tugboats were blocking the Ukrainian ships individually. After a few days they began to ram the Ukrainian ships.

Now comes the part that I don't understand. The Crimean navy captains wanted to fight back against the Russians, but they needed an order from their superiors. They contacted their superiors in mainland Ukraine and they were told to wait. This went on for days. Then the captains asked if they were allowed to act under their own discretion. No answer.

Eventually Russian officers boarded the ships. They offered the Crimean captains and other leading officers a deal. They said that they could join the Russian navy. They would retain the same rank and receive a pay rise. The Russians lied to them, of course. They told them that their colleagues had already accepted the deal, which was untrue. They wanted to isolate the Crimean officers. A few of them accepted the Russian offer, but most refused to betray their country.

Another method of persuasion was fake phone calls. The officers received calls from women claiming to be their wives begging them to accept the Russian offers. The wives also received fake calls from men claiming to be their husbands. Russia has an intelligence department with voice experts trained to make fake phone calls.

In the end the takeover was very peaceful. Only three soldiers died in the conflict. The armed forces on the front lines were eager to engage in combat, but they weren't allowed to. They wanted to die fighting rather than surrender, but they had to sit passively while the Russians took over. Why did it happen? That's a mystery.

After the annexation the Crimean armed forces who remained loyal relocated to mainland Ukraine. There are Crimean units in Ukraine which are training for the day when they can strike back against the Russians.

On March 16th a referendum was held whether Crimea should join Russia. The official result was that 97% of the population wanted to become Russians. Russia should have said that the result was 55%. People might have believed that. 97% is a very implausible lie. Independent experts estimate that the support for Russia was between 10% and 15%. The trouble is that the population of Crimea is living in fear. There are Russian soldiers in the streets in all the big cities. If anyone is asked if he supports Russia he's too scared to speak the truth. It sounds like a trap, so people either lie or refuse to answer. That's understandable. The punishment for saying that Crimea shouldn't belong to Russia is a six month prison sentence.

However, there's a way to judge the real support for the Russian occupation. After March 16th 2014 the Ukrainian citizens in Crimea were told that they could apply for Russian citizenship. Since then only 50,000 people have accepted this offer. That's less than 3% of the population. The vast majority of the Crimeans want to remain Ukrainian. However, they're still being forced to be Russian against their will. Teenage boys are conscripted into the Russian army, even if they're Ukrainian citizens. Babies born in Crimea are given Russian nationality on their birth certificates, even if both parents are Ukrainian.

Many Crimeans have moved to mainland Ukraine, especially business owners. One of the first things that the Russian occupying forces did was to take control of all businesses, large and small, which belonged to Ukrainians. No financial compensation was paid. Many Russians have been encouraged to move from Russia to Crimea, but this hasn't worked out very well so far. Wages in Crimea are less than half the level they are in Russia, but food costs three times as much.

This documentary is in the public domain and can be watched on YouTube. Click here to watch it.