Abstract:
The contemporary international system highly values the principle of state
sovereignty. Russia, as a member of the United Nations enforcing that exact
value, is supposed to restrain itself from the use of force and enact an
interventionist approach in its foreign policy. However, what Russia did in 2014
was the exact opposite. Russia annexed Crimea from the sovereign Ukraine
through the use of force and military intimidation.
This research explores Russia’s motives and perspectives in that
particular foreign policy. By utilizing the Strategic Culture theory as the
theoretical framework, the research reached an understanding about Russian
strategic culture – its assumptions and beliefs stemmed from historical
experiences that shape its collective identity and relationship with other group,
determining the use and means to reach its security objectives. Russia’s
perception of the West as a threat and its belief to launch pre-emptive strike as the
only measure of defense is the reason behind Russian annexation of Crimea, in
the face of lurking threat of Western encroachment.
