Putin annexed Crimea easily because expedience outweighed international-law costs

Evidence

And then there was the reaction of the Russian government. At the end of February, Vladimir Putin simply took Crimea. It was stunning, both in its blatant violation of international law and how easily he pulled it off. It flew in the face of the international order to send soldiers in disguise into a sovereign country, organize a snap referendum there, and declare it yours. But as self-interested realpolitik, it made perfect sense. The peninsula was home to a hugely important naval base (far more crucial to the Russian military than the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain was to Barack Obama), and the local population was not going to complain. The annexation was formalized on March 18. The West slapped sanctions on Putin, and he withstood them. The annexation of Crimea was wildly popular in Russia. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 520

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Crimea’s annexation was an easy strategic win immune to Western sanctions — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 520