Aimed for the Better, Ended up with the Worst: Russia and International Order

Abstract

Abstract The annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the subsequent intervention in Ukraine created a shockwave in the European security system. It suddenly became apparent that certain key rules of international conduct in Europe could no longer be taken for granted. Opponents of Vladimir Putin’s Russia in the West, and especially in the Baltic states, immediately put the events in and around Ukraine in the context of previous developments, in particular the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. Their conclusion was that the intervention was part of a long-term plan of imperial expansion, which is going to continue in the nearest future.