All I can think about when all these clips of Khruschev with members of the council, is the movie...

I think the post-Stalin succession crisis may have also played a role in the transfer. Gaining support and legitimacy was one of the new regime's primary goals after Stalin died and Beria was removed. Given that Ukraine was Khrushchev's traditional power base and the breadbasket of the USSR, handing over Crimea probably made logical sense.

The point about post-Stalin Soviet leadership being consensus-based is absolutely spot-on. There's a tendency in Western historiography to just assume that Soviet leaders of the 1950's and onward were basically just Stalin without the moustache. But it is, as you say, a situation where consensus and group leadership prevailed. The big reason for this was that nobody wanted to go back to the Stalin Era. The leaders who had lived through Stalin's purges and autocratic rule had no desire to go back to that era in Soviet politics. The other reason was that Soviet politics had become a lot more institutionalised. Organisations like the Red Army, intelligence services, the Politburo, etc. had all emerged as powerful actors with their own interests and agendas, and they couldn't just be purged into obedience in the way that Stalin had been done.

"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month" -Fyodor Dostoevsky

Well I have to say it’s hardly as if this is the first time since the 1940s that territorial integrity was ignored

Excellent analysis. You captured the Soviet processes accurately and insightfully.

Very informative and easy to follow. Thank you for the great (and timely) content.

Thank you. This was very informative.

Grateful for this Playlist! @Kings and Generals & Company!!

the thing about land is that it belongs to whoever has the power to hold it.

Great content. I traveled to the region in 2007 when it was a part of Ukraine. It was very much ethnically Russian from conversations I had with local people. At the time you could see many Russian and a few Ukrainian warships. NB Sevastopol is pronounced easiest if you make it 2 syllables Sevas -topol not the way we English speakers pronounce it as Sev-as- ta- Pol. Simferopol the same .

very interesting and enlightening, but also really sad when, by the end, you fast forward until today and understand what depressing a situation the people are left in...

My dad told me that gift story all the time. Now it's time to educate him thx ^^

Great education of the crisis thank you

Great video! Would love for you to share more on how power/authority of leadership was distributed/executed within the Soviet leadership.

This great video focused on the events of 1954, but did you know that already in 1993 then-nationalist-dominated Russian parliament voted to assert Russia's claim for Crimea (also, there was some unrest in the peninsula, too, which allowed them to bargain for certain autonomy with Kyiv). Neither lasted long, though...

Rock one David!

Nice video! Why didn't you mention more about the emotional importance of the 19th century Crimean War and the terrible Second World War battles over Crimea in Russian collective memory among the bases of their claim to the peninsula?

I like this video. Good and pretty much unbiased

This video is full of fascinating information

Bro you forgot the Greeks , most of the cities were founded by them and even city names including Crimea itself are greek

Saving this for later; I wasn't aware of this history.

wowwwww where is that beautiful painting from reminds me of ilya repin's

Wunderbar, another upload comrade

So proud to be part of #ProjectUkraine =) amazing videos by all the great content creators! 🇺🇦

In addition to the Crimea, in 1922, Donbass was assigned to the administration of Ukraine. There were other territories around USSR. But the most important thing is that the local population has never been asked in all these territorial assignments.

Curious to know how your traffic to this video has changed in the last three months?

The UPPER PENINSULA of Michigan has no land border with the main (lower) part of Michigan. It does have a significant land border with the state south of it, Wisconsin

Under Stalin Abkhazia was stripped of its autonomous status as a SSR and latched it to Georgia laying the foundation of future conflict.

First comment! Great series. Tough topick that can get a lot of people's feelings hurt.

0:22 - it didn't. That was called into question when NATO wrested the region of Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia.

I would like a citation of the "15 minute" 2009 article please.

Well, at the beginning when you talked about the 1793 defeat of the Ottomans and Crimeea entering under the rule of the Tzar of all Russias you've presented in fact a painting presenting the surrender of the Ottoman forces of Danube fortress of Nikopol (today Bulgaria) to the Russian Imperial armed forces at the very beginning of 1877 - 1878 Russian - Ottoman war.

watching this in Oct.22. Eight moths into the renewed invasion of Ukraine by Putin. Amazing. Good work.

Pertinent today 3/4/2022 helps perspective a little for background.

Nice video. Russia always seems to be making headlines one way or another. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.

The point is that Crimea being ‘given’ to Ukraine in 1954 was no more than a ‘name change’ as in any case Russia controlled Ukraine and Crimea, as they did all the Soviet territories. By way of an admittedly crazy example, if the UK were to ‘give’ part of Shropshire in England to Wales then leaving all else aside, it would change the administrative name of the area, but as the UK is essentially dominated by England, it would from an overall sovereignity point of view be completely inconsequential.

this reminds me of Guantanamo bay land so valuable for its navy base usa does not wanna give it up

13:56 "By 'divide and conquering', Moscow tried to maintain control over the peripheries". That's the most logical explanation.

I just feel sorry for the fellows in the Change of the Light Brigade because at the time they would have carried coal gas lamps as a light source and I'd imagine that those lamps must have been quite dangerous to carry in the heat of such pitched battles. I really don't know why they simply didn't want to fight in the daylight anyway.

is there any story about oman to Cover?

My father coded the bell icon, and his fathers father coded the daily motion subscription system so I am justified in seizing it for myself

The other popular myth is that Khrushchev was drunk when he made the decision.

Do the Video about the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos

I would wager to guess it is a combination of many of these theories on various levels, or better yet, different theories for different events.

What is this melody on the end?

Would love for you to go back to Africa at one point, particularly the Angolan War

A little bit addition to the history of Crimea: Prior to the second battle of Vienna in the war council of the Ottoman war camp, Khan of Crimea Murad Giray presents his opinion but Grandvizier Kara Mustafa Pasha ignores him. Therefore he becomes really resentful and decides to "teach a lesson" to the Ottomans thinking that They do not show enough gratitude to Crimea. During the siege, he was assigned to stop the Polish army but instead he watches John Sobieski and his army meanwhile they are crossing the danube river. After that everybody knows rest of the story. Due to the fire from the spark of his "lesson"; Ottomans were defeated massively, Crimeans fell under Russian power eventually and most ironically, Poland was partitioned between Austria and Russia, after the decline of Ottoman power on that region.

My grandfather was born there. I hope to one day visit after freedom is restored.

The continuing impact of Crimea in international relations, ah, how the world seems so similar decades later.

It's interesting that Kaliningrad was always part of Russia never transferred to belarus or Latvia.

The movie scenes....which movie is it from?

Thanks

1:12 What movie it is?

Slavs of the world Unite!

I have been a sub of your channel since the day 1 with ring-sign as on. You release your videos once everyweek but I have never gotten the alarm of your channel's release when it is up. I want to let you guys know. There is an A..hole as an admin on youtube's command chair, just FYI. Greetings from Istanbul.

Please never stop doing jokes on the bell bottom

Please forgive me for upsetting the balance of 420 comments, but I'm dropping in to say *THANK YOU COLD WAR, BUT THE "PRINCESS" IS IN ANOTHER BLOC*

the last theory, about a minority cluster is very viable. And the deportation of the Crimean Tatars actually aided in creating such a cluster: 1939 census shows 49.6% of russian ethnic group vs 71.4% in 1959 according to wiki page. Had the Crimean Tatars remained on the peninsula, simple lower level projection of enthic group popuplation growth based on the other ethnic groups data predicts around 21% of Crimean Tatars in 1959 and would have lowered the russian share to 56%

First precendent was Kosovo in 2008, followed by South Sudan in 2011. And Helsinki accords were not ammended because decision on the West Bank would then need to be made. Regardless, I do not see any referendum in Crimea which would return it to Ukraine, unless Ukraine becomes successful EU member and role model for Russians.

The west sort of broke the whole "sanctity of the territory of sovereign states" thing when they backed Kosovo splitting off Serbia along ethnic lines, and so Putin cited the same thing when he advocated for Crimea splitting off, along ethnic lines, a pretty important precedent.

I hate no single reason! 😣 I love a blend of reasons.😉

I took a class in grad school taught by Nina Khruscheva. Fun to see her mentioned, cool lady. I learned a lot. Now I realize I have no witty quips and have lost track of watching....so eerrr...URA!

Russo Ukrainian War, Day 1

Another possible theory of why Crimea AND several Russian oblasts (now called "Novorus") of the Donets Basin were added to Ukraine, was to ensure there were enough patriotic voters in the Ukraine to prevent any embarrassing elections or actual uprising. Western Ukraine regions that had been part of Poland in the interwar period were very pro European and had many pro German sympathizers during the Nazi occupation in WW2. It has been forgotten that the CIA used the Gehlen Org (recycled Nazi/Wehrmacht Intelligence, rehired for the CIA) to run insurgency operations from the late '40s into the mid '50s.

I heard the USSR had a policy of mixing populations of different ethnicities that lived in on single republic. The recent Armenia/Khazakistahn conflict was on a region with those characteristics. Thanks for the video!!!

You take my life, but, I take yours too.

That principle of international law was abandoned when Serbia was forced to cede Kosovo.

Request to submit this video to the US Supreme Court.

Khrushchev was able to rise during the time of Stalin, and think very tactically. He most likely thought a great deal about the pros and cons of the deal and made very deliberate strategic moves including this one.

Russia will never give back Crimea.

Could another reason possibly have been as part of a rapprochement to the Ukrainian people after the Soviet security services brutal guerrilla war against Ukrainian nationalists which was just finishing up around 1954?

It is interesting to watch both videos from this channel on Ukraine's history in succession!

Not transfer but land swap between two soviet Republics.

🇷🇺: I’ll annex Crimea. Yoink!😈 🇺🇦:😮😢 🇺🇸: That’s not cool, Russia.😠 🇪🇺: Yeah, that’s not cool.😠 🇷🇺: Hey, we did it democratically.😏 🇺🇸🇪🇺: Bullshit.😠

There’s something off with the lighting on these videos. Looks like the host is lit with cooler lighting than in the green screen background?

the 4th theory seems like a stretch to me

There is some mention of ethnic origin in this video, but nothing about the language problem. Is Crimea majority Russian or majority Ukranian speaking?

Why didn't the Soviets ever think of building a bridge from Crimea to Russia itself?

Ukraine: You gave it to us Russia: But back then you were our puppet so our intentions was to give it to ourselves!

Can you talk about how Muslims were treated and felt about being in the USSR?

Pravda in 200something. Super reliable source family... Come on now you silly geese.

Could it be just another Soviet attempt to create a frozen conflict? Congratulations comrades!

Please address the The memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers: the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Treaty of Pereyaslav was not the treaty between Ukraine and Russia, but a decision of Autonomous Cossack Hatmanate to unite with Moscow. Cossacks consider(ed) themselves ethnically Russian.

I like my wars cold

One blatant error in this guy's commentary, is that the Russian controlled Crimea from 1793 onwards. There a little incident known as the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856, that pitted the Russians against the coalition of French, British and Ottoman Empires. There were nearly 900,000 soldiers on both sides killed with an additional 750,000 wounded. The Russians in the end were kicked out of Crimea, with control of the Crimea being handed to the Ottomans, by the French and the British. So you wonder why the Russian's feel so strongly Crimea. The French and British support for Ottamans is a classic example of "Miss-Guided Geo-Politics".

Crimea was never Ukrainian except for its addition by the Soviets in the 1950s! Few Ukrainians ever have lived in Crimea and the majority of Crimea's population has always in the last 500-1000 years been Tartars and ethnic Russians!

The 2014 coup in Kiev was not theoretical

Nothing more suitable then that during this crisis

0:20 "..the annexation fundamentally called into question a geopolitical order that has been in place since 1945, one which holds the territorial integrity and recognised borders as a core principle" - has anyone told the US about this "geopolitical order"? I guess not. Re 7:22 - given Khruschev's and Malenkov's involvement in Stalin's purges, I don't think anyone with any sense of self-preservation would have dared to disagree with Khrushchev or Malenkov, so arguably, the supposed collective/committee decision was actually made under duress. Perhaps if the presenter of this doco had been a committee member, he would have dared to disagree with Kruschev and Malenkov, but, sadly, not everyone is that brave.

1) Why you translate "oblast" as "province"? How about Moscow oblast? ))) 2) It is steressed on the first syllable.

Bottom line is that this internal 'transfer' to a republic (not a soverign, indendent nation) was on pretty thin grounds to begin with, compounded by bureaucratic malaise and ineptitude during the USSR break up. For context, Crimea was part of Russia since about the time the United States was formed. It was never actually part of Ukraine. The west and US like making the issue bigger to destabilize Russia.

Why more explanation needed than the official info. Is explanation needed to put your glasses from one pocket to another. There were no road connecting to RSFSR, nor water.

Crimeea is the land of the Crimeean Tatars

Why is bureaucracy always good or unquestioned by academics and teachers?

hm blatantly failed to mention the Kosovo precedent...

I like all three countries: Russia, Ukraine, The United States as they are pretty and picturesque. I decided to do my own research on the Internet about 3 years ago on whether the proposed land gift was complete or incomplete. The hard evidence shows that the land gift proposal was an incomplete attempt at making it into law. The Soviet Union at lawmakers level was a democracy, where parliaments needed two third majority to gift land (such as Crimea) proposal for it to become law, with the missing final signature of the Secretary General, which was never there. Peasants and collective farm workers had no rights.:: They could only visit the Secretary General to submit a written complaint. Only for lawmakers and above : there was democracy in that:: two third majority was required to gift land (Crimea) from one republic to another. In other words, land gifts between member countries cannot be completed by an executive order of the Secretary General. Next after obtaining signatures of two thirds of all lawmakers of Russian Federation, the Secretary General (Nikita Khrushchev) has to counter sign the nae legal proposal into law. the transfer of Crimea from Russian Republic to Ukrainian republic was not so complete. 1) In 1954, then Secretary General Nikita Khrushchev went back to his office drunk late at night, in his official vehicle. He asked his body guards and driver if they would advise him on the possibility of transferring Crimea from Russian Republic to Ukrainian republic as a gift. The bodyguards and personal driver said they think the gift proposal has to be approved by signatures of members of politbureau (lawmakers of Soviet Union). 2) Khrushchev asked lawmakers to make a totally different decision::: SecretaRY General declared that Kyiv and Ukraine republic of the Soviet Union is going through a cash crunch. We will write checks to Ukrainian government in Kyiv, and asked his lawmakers to approve, called Members of Politburo, not to raise objections on why he is paying them rent when Crimea is part of Europe. About that same year, Mr. Khrushchev asked two lawmakers of the Russian republic with office chambers in his office as members of either some foreign relations committee or member of some other Soviet committee, supervising the related department. He said he wants them to draft a proposal to a law, to be signed by two thirds of all members of politburo (They were Soviet lawmakers. 3) Officials finally dug out the secret legal proposal to be signed by Soviet lawmakers (members of political-bureau). It had only two signatures: the two lawmakers, who were members of politburo who had office rooms in the large office complex of Secretary General Nikita Khrushchev. Apparently two lawmakers who had drafted the proposal to gift land (Crimean peninsula) from Russian Republic to Ukrainian Republic , they had gone to the desk of every lawmaker of the Russian Republic of the Soviet Union. Whoever they went to talk to, there was a fist fight, with the Russian lawmakers refusing to sign the Crimea gift proposal. It hardly mattered that the two lawmakers who typed the proposal gift bill were themselves ethnic Russians. They came out of the third lawmaker and fourth lawmaker's offices with bloody noses. So, the third lawmaker and fourth lawmaker and all other members of political bureau of the Russian Federation of the Soviet Union all refused to sign the proposed bill to try to gift Crimea from Russian Federation to the Ukrainian Republic of the Soviet Union. So, finally the proposed land gift bill was permanently sealed in a lockable file cabinet. When some officials tried to see this document about 2015, they found that the proposed land gift bill was never signed into law by two thirds of members of political-Bureau of the Russian Republic, nor did the proposed Crimea land gift Bill have the signature of Secretary General (equivalent to President of United States). SO Nikita never signed the land gift proposal which never came to his desk for signing after two thirds majority, which never happened. Mr Khrushchev was telling the truth to concerned common citizens of Crimea when, time and again, few delegations of Crimeans used to visit Mr. Khrushchev at his offices in Moscow. Khrushchev used to tell visitors from Crimea, every time they came to him at his office::: : "Trust me! I Nikita Khrushchev never, ever signed a legal proposal gifting Crimea from Russian republic to Ukrainian republic." So Crimea probably belongs to Russia as the majority of people there are Russian speaking.

I think it was part of the Soviet policy of decentralisation - making each part of the USSR dependant on each other. Crimea held the HQ for the Black Sea Fleet, so All the other republics were dependant on Ukraine to defend the Black Sea. After the collapse of the USSR, Moscow wanted to retain the Black Sea Fleet to had to retake the Crimea to hold the HQ for the Black Sea Fleet. I'm not an expert on this region, so there may be subtleties I'm missing.

Tatars provided 20,000 soldiers for the Nazi "Tatar Riech". They were commented on by the Nazi officers as shockingly brutal and sadistic. It was not for revenge on Soviets. The mayor of Yalta was a Tatar. Stalin may have exiled them for their own protection. Crimea was given to Ukraine for the same reason the entire Donbas was given to them by Lenin. Gerrymandering. It was to Ballance the anti Russian Polish and German population of Western Ukraine