Special features of the border geopolitical standoff of Russia and Ukraine

The political crisis of 2013-2014 in Ukraine, which brought to power representatives of anti-Russian political forces, threatened the security of the inhabitants of the Crimean peninsula with its predominant Russian and Russian-speaking population and provoked the secession of the Republic of Crimea from Ukraine and its subsequent merger into Russia. This fact not only provoked an aggravation of Russian-Ukrainian relations and generated cross-border disputes, but also provoked an international crisis, the consequences of which Russia is still overcoming. Against this background, the paper studies the interstate border as a geopolitical category in the context of Russian-Ukrainian relations. It performs a historical and political analysis of the formation of the borders between Ukraine and Russia, studies the main documents that were signed by the states in the process of establishing the borders. The author notes the interconnection of the process of establishing borders and political relations between the states, reveals the negative consequences of the Ukrainian crisis, and concludes that Eurasian integration processes are of crucial meaning for Russia and that it is important to build-up efforts to activate international connections and promote a positive image of Russia through official and public diplomacy.