The 2014 Crimean Crisis in the View of Youth in the Post-Soviet Generation

Abstract

The article analyzes the results of individual in-depth interviews with members of the post-Soviet generation who demonstrate modernist and traditionalist behavioral tendencies. The main topic is the Crimean crisis of 2014. The research shows that a majority of “modernists” and “traditionalists” approve of Crimea and Sevastopol joining the Russian Federation. However, this support is more symbolic than practical: the respondents were not willing to sacrifice their own material well-being, much less to fight, for the Russian world. An insignificant number of “modernists” condemned the accession of Crimea, believing that it could have dangerous consequences for Russia.