Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the return of history

ON MARCH 18th Russia annexed Crimea, marking the first time the country expanded its borders since the cold war. Yet it has form. The 20th century was a period of ever-changing national boundaries, affiliations and spheres of influence. At the start of the second world war, the then Soviet Union’s territory extended into modern-day Belarus and Ukraine, and included Crimea. By war’s end, the entirety of both countries became a part of the USSR, as well as the Baltic states. During the cold war, the iron curtain descended over Eastern Europe—and stayed there until the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991. The map of Europe remained unchanged in terms of Russian territory until this month. A quarter-century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the hungry Russian bear is back. The following five maps show the troubled history of Russia and its neighbours.

1938: In a period of balance-of-power politics, the Soviet Union’s territory does not extend far westward into Europe.

1945: Following the second world war, the Soviet Union extended its control into modern day Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and four Baltic states.

1949-89: During the cold war, the USSR’s sphere of influence extended over Eastern Europe, via the Warsaw Pact countries and a divided Germany.

1991: After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia’s territory was smaller than it was before the second world war.

2014: Russia annexes the Ukrainian region of Crimea, after Russian troops invade and the area votes to secede from Ukraine. The vote and annexation is condemned internationally.