Russian researchers and publicists on the role of the military in the Crimean spring

The paper addresses the military aspects of the 2014 Crimean Spring events covered by Russian historiography, historical journalism and some documentary features. The research was aimed at framing the fundamental questions concerning the military history of the Crimean Spring and systematizing the findings of Russian researchers. The author analyzed how the researchers perceived the reasons for the military operation, the composition of the forces, the beginning of their heroization, the reasons for the Ukrainian troops’ inefficiency, and the general nature of the Russian military operations. This particular research topic has been less popular than other dimensions of the Crimean Spring due to the limited availability of sources and incomplete comprehension of the “Crimean” phase of Russia- Ukraine relations by early 2022. The lack of retrospective interpretation explains why researchers as well as the general public have been satisfied with the results of journalistic investigations. The author concludes that the researchers demonstrate unequal levels of interest in various armed participants and events of the Crimean Spring and that it would not be correct to describe these events as a “hybrid war”. The research findings revealed the discrepancy between the public opinion and an enhanced role of professional soldiers, the researchers’ rare attempts to overcome the limitations of the sources, and the beginning of the 2014 events heroization. With all the variety of local defense groups, it is necessary to analyze the actions of the Russian troops only as one part of the Crimean Spring equation. The author retrieved all the study materials from open sources and compared Ukrainian and British opinions with those of the Russian experts. The research may be continued or expanded in the future with the expansion of the source base.