The impact of pro-russian public organizations and parties on the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation

Abstract

A crucial role in the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation was played by pro-Russian parties and movements that had been established with the Kremlin's intelligence agencies, having been financially supported for more than twenty years. On the territory of the Crimea, where the Kremlin authorities created a network of agents, the role of subversion is the most obviously tracked, being a significant segment of Russian policy. A propaganda component proved to be the key in the Russian incorporation of the Crimea, not being an addition to armed aggression, but an independent element of the hybrid war against Ukraine, and the information and psychological influence of Moscow through the media and the Internet on the population both in Ukraine and, in fact, in Russia, was unprecedented for the entire post-Soviet era. 
The objective of the author is to reveal the courses of action of the pro-Russian parties and organizations in the interests of a foreign state, the psychological and informational effect on the Crimean audience during the latent phase of annexation, and the so-called "Crimean Spring". Despite the contemporary nature of the issue, there is a lack of relevant detailed research on this theme. Scientific exploration dedicated to the prognostication of  events related to the implementation of hybrid war techniques and the analysis of the media security and counteraction to information and psychological operations, mainly consider both the social and political aspects of the propaganda impact. Beyond the attention of the study there is  a public factor that highlights the propaganda methods applied in conditions of hybrid warfare.
The scientific novelty of the paper is to conduct a study of the primary tendencies in the activities of pro-Russian parties and public organizations in the context of Moscow's falsification of historical facts, the formation of negative opinions about Ukrainian leadership and political elites, discrediting European integration, as well as a rapprochement with NATO member states.