ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates national leaders’ discourses on Russia during the political and military crisis in Ukraine from 2014 until 2018. It shows that perceptions of a threatening Russian Other became prominent in German, Finnish and especially Polish narratives. Broadly speaking, German and Finnish leaders attempted to maintain a good working relationship with Moscow in a number of areas, whereas their Polish counterparts essentialised Russia as a security threat and left little room for cooperation or dialogue. Beginning on 27 February, within few days, Russian special forces without insignia took over government buildings in Crimea and cut off the peninsula from the rest of Ukraine, while pro-Russian political forces took control of the Crimean parliament. Following a swiftly organised referendum that was not recognised internationally, the new local authorities declared the independence of Crimea on 17 March and requested the Russian government to incorporate the breakaway republic into the Russian Federation.
