This diploma thesis analyses Vladimir Putin's justification of the annexation of Crimea based on an interpretation of the discourse used in his Crimean Speech. The research uses the "Discourse- Historical Approach," inspired by Critical Discourse Analysis, as the methodological and conceptual foundation of the analysis. In addition, it incorporates other linguistic and social representation theories. The historical background of Crimea and Ukraine is used as a basis for assessing Russia's claim on Crimea. The analysis is categorized into four appeals: 1) the appeal to common history and culture; 2) the appeal to historical military involvement; 3) the appeal to justice; and 4) the appeal to international law. The appeals are contextualized using broader historical themes associated with the discourses used by Putin to justify the annexation. The interpretation is informed by historical context within each category. In the conclusion, the research presents the finalized interpretation, in which Putin's justification for the annexation of Crimea is shown to be constructed using the manipulation and selective recounting of historical facts. This diploma thesis uses a close textual reading and analysis of Vladimir Putin's Crimean Speech to expose the myths and manipulations he uses as a justification...

This paper researches the changes that took place in Crimean economy after March 2014 with respect to the integration policies Russia has applied in that field. Based on the theories of economic integration and Russian regional development programs, economic development patterns of disputed territories and small island economies, as well as the influence of institutions on the economy, we find that ascension to Russia had for the peninsula its positive and negative effects with the prevalence of the latter. We also suggest that the political integration of Crimea was more successful than it was in economic dimension, because the existing investment constraints and lack of proper connection to the Russian mainland remain formidable obstacles on the way of region's successful integration and further development. We find that all economic development in Crimea depends on Russian subsidies and it is likely to remain this way because the region is underdeveloped by Russian standards. This is consistent with the idea that small island economies and disputed territories are over-dependent on the respective sponsor-state for the provision of economic stability.

The thesis deals with the international legal aspects of secession and the right to self-determination of nations. This issue will be presented in more detail on the cases of Kosovo and the Crimea. The aim of the thesis is to clarify the problems of Kosovo and the Crimea using the terminology of international law. In this paper, we will try to find answers to two research questions and whether it is possible to apply the conclusions of the MSD opinion on the independence of Kosovo in the case of the Crimea? Furthermore, whether there has been a violation of international law by the Russian authorities in the Crimea? The thesis is divided into four chapters. In the first are used the concepts of international law. In the second chapter, the notion of Art Nouveau and the development of the principle of the right to self-determination are theoretically defined in their present form. The third chapter is then focused on Kosovo. The greatest attention will be paid to the declaration of independence in 2008 and, in particular, to that of the International Court of Justice in 2010. In the fourth chapter, we will focus on the international legal issues of the events in the Crimea. The key part will be the assessment of the consequences of the declaration of the independence of the Crimea and its subsequent...

The aim of this work is to determine the influence of nuclear weapons possession in 1) Russia's foreign policy in the Ukraine crisis, 2) relations between NATO and Russia. For this purpose the work monitors the development of NATO - Russia relations from the Budapest memorandum until present. The work also creates typology of russian signalling activities based on the theoretical basis of the nuclear deterrence conceptions and especially on the models of crisis signalling, which is closely linked to these conceptions. After monitoring these activities the work concludes that Russia is indeed using threats of nuclear weapons employment in the framework of it's attitude towards Ukraine crisis and also the intensity of signalling shows similar development as the relations with NATO.

This thesis is about the military conflict in eastern and southern territories of Ukraine, including the Crimean crisis and War in the Donbas area that took place from 2014 till this present time (2020). According to international law, these regions are still part of Ukraine, however, Russia de facto controls the Crimea Peninsula and the Donbass region. Due to dissatisfaction with the dismissal of Ukrainian President Yanukovych, Crimea opposed the new central government with the help of Russian military forces. Subsequently, they elected their own parliament and voted to declare independence. They then successfully held a referendum on whether to "return" to Russia which is biased and condemned by the international community. The referendum claimed to be passed with a very high number of votes although both the turnout and the votes in favor have been questioned, then Crimea officially joined the Russian Federation. The results of the Crimean referendum were not accepted by the Ukrainian government, and Russia was also sanctioned by the Western-based international community due to this crisis. What's more, part of the pro-Russian region in eastern Ukraine has also followed the independence of Crimea and intended to "rejoin" Russia Federal. After the two Minsk treaties, in spite of the fact that...

The main topic of the thesis is the city of Cherson, which has been under excavation mainly by Russian or Ukrainian researchers for more than 180 years. Due to a difficult political situation, the area was not accessible to other scholars till 1993. Therefore, most of the books or articles were published in Russian and have not been widely spread among western researchers. The first two chapters of the dissertation deal with the sources and the history of research. The main body of the dissertation is divided into three parts: (chapter 3) From the end of the Roman times till the early Middle Ages (5th - mid-7th centuries), (chapter 4) The Dark Ages (mid-7th - mid-9th centuries), (chapter 5) The new era of prosperity (mid-9th - end of the 10th century). The third chapter is devoted to the time when the era of Antiquity was slowly coming to its end and the development proceeded to the Middle Ages, in this case to the early Byzantine period. The fish industry and fish processing will be discussed because these activities which had begun here in the Roman times continued in the Byzantine period, too. Afterwards, the beginnings and spread of Christianity are debated. Furthermore, the beginnings of Christianity in Cherson are described, likewise the building activities, which resulted in transformation...

How a Realist-Constructivist Theory Can Contribute to Understanding the 2014 Ukraine Crisis Abstract Realism has been the predominant paradigm for analysing Russian foreign policy in recent times, however, it can sometimes appear lacking in convincing power. Constructivism offers some explanation for the motivation behind policy, however, again appears lacking in convincing power alone. Realist-constructivsm has been suggested to bridge the gap, as it were, between traditional notions of power, and cultural influences. The main argument for realist-constructivism is that some of the basic principles of realism must have a constructivist base, for example, in order to define the 'us' and 'them' in international politics and to determine with whom one is competing for power and influence, there first must be an understanding of how one defines the 'us'. This analysis examines the realistconstructivist theory as put forward by Barkin (2004; 2010), analyses its advantages and disadvantages, and seeks to view the Ukraine crisis of 2014 through a realist-constructivist lens, hoping to contribute something to the still young and developing discussion around a realist- constructivist theory. Keywords Realist-constructivist theory; NATO; national identity; Ukraine; Crimea; the EU; 2014; annexation

This essay deals with the phenomenon of using football in order to exert influence over the domestic policy on the particular case of Russia after Vladimir Putin assumed the office of the president in 2000. Football in the Soviet Union and Russia developed in close interaction with politics almost through its entire history. However, the form of instrumentalization and the key players who had a chance to intervene into the football world were changing along with the changes of political and economic environment. The ascension of Vladimir Putin into the presidential office and his intervention into the existing power of oligarchs meant a major shift towards a stronger and active role of the Kremlin also in the process of using of football clubs. The analysis of particular cases along with the fact that most of the Russian professional clubs are currently owned directly by the state make the author of this essay to formulate the concluding thesis that after the consolidation of Putin's regime it is Kremlin who became the main player also in respect to the instrumentalization of football. This perspective means a shift in the research into the interaction of Russian football and the politics in which the stress was laid primarily on the role of oligarchs (process of "Berlusconization") so far. The...

The work presents competing discourses around bilingualism that surround fluctuating national identity in Ukraine. The use of Ukrainian and Russian languages has been for a long time a highly sensitive issue, repeatedly taking shape as an instrument of political campaigns and overt propaganda, and continues to be a subject of debates and tensions. Crimean crisis and the war in the East of Ukraine are not merely clearly-cut results of Russian military strategy and aggression. Other poignant factors are: long-lasting unresolved language issues, artificially imposed linguistic monism, and conflicted national identity that constituted a conflicted form of life characteristic to Ukraine. They are attributable to centuries of particular historical development and bewildering post-Soviet heritage but constructed through Russian political propaganda and forced Ukrainian policies toward exclusion. This work explores national identity through the language situation in Ukraine to gain a holistic grasp of how exclusive Ukrainian language legislation influences the nation's cultural-linguistic settings. The given study claims that the development of the linguistic landscape in Ukraine climaxed in a setting of de jure monolingual, yet de facto bilingual country: the new language legislation requires all...

This thesis analyses how three television stations - Czech ČT24, Russian RT and American CNN - informed about the Crimean crisis which took place in Ukraine in 2014. The first part of the thesis presents theoretical approach and mentions previous similar studies, which focused on examining of medial coverage and framing of war conflicts. Next chapter describes the history of Ukraine briefly and underlines events which could have caused the Crimean crisis. Thereafter the thesis introduces the timeline of the Crimean crisis. In the next part the thesis analyses sources, topics and keywords which appeared in the news of ČT24, RT and CNN. It also describes how particular people and events were visually covered. In the final chapter the approach of the three examined television channels is compared.