«CRIMEAN CONSENSUS» OF THE RUSSIAN ELITE: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the process of formation of the Russian intra-elite consensus about the reintegration of the Crimea and Sevastopol. In particular, the text examines the range of relations between domestic establishment and foreign partners in the context of the «Ukrainian question». The article also analyzes the causes of the «polite policy» in the 2014-2015. It is stated that the United States and the European Union for its straightforward and confrontational actions actually forced the Russian elite to take a tough stance on Crimea. This article discusses an alternative point of view on the reintegration of the Crimea, in particular, of the liberal society that opposed Vladimir Putin. However, the author concludes that for the whole elites managed to come to the consensus about the Crimea that allowed the president of the Russian Federation to continue acting in the Ukrainian direction. At the same time, the spread of conflict in the Donbass caused some unrest in the domestic «ruling class», which led to the conclusion of the Minsk Agreement and freezing of the «Russian world» project.