The Role of Incorporeal Factors in the Annexation of the Crimea Peninsula to the Russian Federation

One of the major factors shaping the relations of international political actors is identity and cultural elements, in which, even in some cases, the role of these factors in shaping actors' actions is more and more significant than the corporeal factors. Accordingly, the Ukrainian crisis, which began with the declaration of the Yanukovych government to refrain from joining the free trade agreement with the EU, has altered the relations between Russia and Ukraine; After Yanukovych's dismissing and the coming of the new government, relations between the two countries became hostile to the friendly and cooperative way, a manifestation of which was the occupation of the Crimea peninsula by Russia. After the occupation, Russia decided the annexation of Crimea peninsula in the Russian Federation, and officially joined the Federation on March 21, 2014, by holding a referendum in the Crimea with a 96% agreement of the population. Therefore, the principal purpose of this article, based on the theoretical framework of constructivism, is to answer this question that what was the role of incorporeal factors in the annexation of the Crimea peninsula into the Russian Federation? The results of this paper indicate that the historical, linguistic, ethnic, religious and political links between the two Russian-Ukrainian communities, especially the Crimea peninsula, and the importance of protecting these norms and shared values could be the reasons for the annexation of the Crimea peninsula by the Russian Federation