The Social and Economic Aspects of Integrating the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation

Abstract

The paper examines the social and economic aspects of integrating the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation. This study is making a new contribution to sociology, as it brings together social and economic statistics and studies of the population’s perception of the impact that the new region’s integration has had on Russian society (conducted as an online survey). We analyze the population’s quality of life indices: average per capita income, expense structure, and minimum wage. The study allows us to conclude that the region is falling far behind the national average per capita income, as well as the relevant figures in most other regions of the Southern Federal District. In order to provide a counterpoint to these statistics regarding Russians’ opinion on the consequences of the Republic of Crimea joining the country, we conducted a sociological online survey (n=1012) among both Crimean inhabitants and people living elsewhere in Russia. The survey shows that the evaluation of the peninsula’s integration into Russia is mostly positive (72%) and neutral (18%), and that a lot of Russians, even though they may never have even visited Crimea, show great concern regarding the region’s social and economic issues, such as the condition of its infrastructure, local tourism, banking and loan restrictions, etc.