Russia’s embrace : Crimean mythology in Putin’s public communications 2014-2022

Abstract: This dissertation is aimed at investigating which elements from the Russian mythology about Crimea appear in Putin’s public political communications in the period 2014-2022, how they are used and for which reasons they are used. Crimea has been a crucial region in history-making throughout the past decade and has played an important role in Russian politics, Russian-Ukrainian relations and Russian-Western relations. Through a discourse analysis, this dissertation hopes to uncover some of the underlying mythological factors for the importance of Crimea to Russia today, why and how particular narratives make an appearance in Putin’s political communications and which political ramifications those might have. The research question is then “How has Vladimir Putin used mythology about Crimea in his political communications in the period 2014-2022?”. This research question is supported by two sub-questions: “Which narratives about Crimea appear in Vladimir Putin’s speeches in 2014-2022?” and “Which historical narratives about Crimea have been prevalent in Russian discourses since its initial annexation in 1783?”. I find that ultimately the elements of Crimean mythology used in Putin’s political communications serve to legitimize the annexation by demonstrating how Crimea is historically connected to Russian history, even if their immediate ‘function’ within the text is not evidently a legitimizing one. I also conclude that there are various ways in which these used elements of mythology might have political ramifications, namely through agenda-setting in the media, through framing political reality from a particular perspective, and lastly through changing the assessment indicators of political performance in Russia.