for Decades, has thought about Andrei Klimenko, as the economy of the Crimea is to the promote the best. Today, the 59-year-old engineer is agonising, “how can we, Ukrainians, the economy of the Crimea’s best to destroy”. In the process, Klimenko helps his local knowledge. For decades, he designed as an economic consultant in Yalta concepts for ports or an Expansion of infrastructure. When Russia annexed the Crimea five years ago, fled Klimenko. Since then, he has documented with the info service Black Sea News Crimea-Done and makes suggestions, “as we are the costs for the occupiers in the level up”.

This is managed by the Ukrainians. Earlier in the Crimea made Surpluses – today, Moscow will have to pay almost two-thirds of the budget of the Crimea, billions for the infrastructure. After Ukraine power cut deliveries, had to submit to the Kremlin’s new lines and power plants to build. “This alone has cost Moscow more than a billion dollars,” says Klimenko. The new bridge over the Kerch Strait: the equivalent of more than three billion Swiss francs. Officially, Moscow plans to invest in infrastructure and tourism of the Crimea there are about 12.5 billion francs, spread over the period from 2015 to the end of 2022. Klimenko, however, many details of Moscow for embellished: such as the supposedly six million Crimean tourists annually. So in 2017, were just 1.5 million guests.

Documented the Crimean Happen: Andrei Klimenko. Photo: PD

And that’s not all. The cost for the 600’000 pensioners are among the 2.3 million Crimean residents total, according to Russian political scientist Yevgenia Gorjunowa to about 6.1 billion francs in the last four years. “Crimea is today the Kremlin is the most expensive Region of Russia – she comes to him still more expensive than the Caucasus,” says Klimenko.

to come To the direct costs of the annexation, the EU and US sanctions against Russian companies, officials and business people, and billions of legal claims heavy damages. Although the Crimea is not the only reason for the sanctions, and it is difficult to measure how strong you will meet Russia in fact.

The weak ruble

According to the economic Agency Bloomberg, Russia’s economy today is ten percent smaller than you can expect from the conflict on the Crimea and in Eastern Ukraine. Certainly, Russia also suffers from the decline in the price of Oil. Nevertheless, Bloomberg estimates that the sanctions Moscow have cost in the past four years, up to six percent of economic output. Klimenko has calculated the losses at up to 22.6 billion Swiss francs. Each And Every Year. In addition, the value of the ruble has fallen: The Five-ruble coin with the Crimean bridge, Russia’s Central Bank, coined on the occasion of the jubilee, would have been prior to the annexation of Crimea, more than twelve cents in value – today it’s less than eight cents. The weak rouble helps companies export Goods for dollars, however in the home in rubles to pay. Russia’s population but suffers because it receives wages and pensions more in rubles.

Russia has not settled the bill for the Crimea so long ago: The Kremlin has expropriated in the Crimea, around 4000 Ukrainian companies, and the largest of them is suing Russia before the international arbitration courts on billions in compensation. The first decisions were all to the disadvantage of Moscow. The Kiev-based Ex-diplomat Bohdan Yaremenko, all of this does not go far enough. “Ever since Moscow’s Aggression in the sea of Azov it is time for new sanctions against the Russian ports on the Black sea. Or against Russian airlines, their aircraft, in spite of sanctions on the Crimea and in EU countries or in the USA to fly,” says Yaremenko. “Many of these aircraft are leased to Airbus and Boeing could terminate the leases.” But so far, such ideas find no echo in Washington and Brussels.

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it also remains unclear when and how the arbitration court judgments are implemented, the Moscow’s often not acknowledged. The Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz sued Russia because of the expropriation of the Crimea to damages of five billion dollars. A court of arbitration in The Hague gave the Ukrainians now law – the amount of compensation is yet to be determined. In the event that Moscow refuses to pay, could not leave the Ukraine for the Russian property abroad seized. But the former Diplomat Yaremenko is skeptical. “The next 20 to 30 years, Europe still depends on Russian natural gas. Many countries were wary about the ownership of Gazprom to the hardware.”

Russia’s military Supremacy

Also with Kyiv Yaremenko is dissatisfied. “Sure, it may take decades until we win Crimea back, but for this we need a strategy. Five years after the occupation, we have no law, no document, not even a real discussion.” As Yaremenko recently in the current presidential campaign as an expert with Yulia Tymoshenko and other candidates in a TV channel zusammensass, “in language in two hours consignment no candidate the issue of Crimea,” he says.

This is from the candidate’s view, understandable in view of the military Superiority of Russia remains only the policy of economic pinholes. Also is not without risk. Since Ukraine blocked after the occupation of the Kherson canal, the water of the Dnieper-flow brought about 400 kilometers to the Crimea, the absence of 85 percent of the previously consumed water, said Russian National security adviser Nikolai Patrushev in the summer of 2017. Today, the Crimea has enough water, but far too little for agriculture and industry.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 17.03.2019, 20:15 Uhr