In Russia, thinking about the consequences of the annexation of the Crimea

The Public Chamber of Russia states that the adoption in Russia of a law on the “illegal” transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 will create a precedent for territorial claims against other CIS countries, primarily Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Ivan Mokhnachuk, a member of the Public Chamber of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation for Public Control, Public Expertise and Interaction with Public Councils, said this during a public hearing on the topic “Does the legal assessment of the 1954 law on the transfer of the Crimea region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR?”

“If we want to condemn the transfer act of 1954 and put a “legal-illegal” basis under it, then we need to answer another question: are we not opening a Pandora’s box in relation to other decisions that were made at that time based on that situation , which took shape in the Soviet Union, in relation to other territories that were transferred to one or another entity in the Union, such as virgin lands in Kazakhstan and other disputed territories,” Mokhnachuk said.

“Based on this logic, we can return to what we had with regard to territories in the Soviet Union. The same Pavlodar region did not want to go to Kazakhstan... How far do we want to go and what could this lead to? Depending on what decision we make or voice..., all the republics of the former Soviet Union, including those within Russia, will begin to try something on themselves,” he added.

According to Mokhnachuk, the former Soviet republics are looking at Russia and assessing the situation and how it will develop. “Maybe we will come to Kazakhstan and start. God forbid, Nazarbayev leaves and someone new comes. Let us remember that something was wrong. Either something was done wrong in Belarus after the war,” Mokhnachuk said.