In 2014, Russian soldiers and pro-Russian leaders held a dubious independence referendum in Crimea, Ukraine, and based on its “results,” Russia annexed Crimea. Russia’s reason for exerting its state sovereignty over Crimea was that Crimea is mostly comprised of ethnic Russians, who Putin said he wanted to protect. In annexing Crimea, Putin effectively established his goal of bringing all ethnic Russians back under Russian control, expanding Russian sovereignty at the expense of the sovereignty of other nations like Ukraine and Georgia.
