By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia:
Crimea was part of independent Ukraine for over 20 years. During this time, Kyiv practically did not develop the region and did not invest in the modernization or construction of critical infrastructure, education, or healthcare facilities.

The peninsula "stayed afloat" solely due to the Soviet legacy. During the Soviet period, colossal resources were invested in the development of Crimea, turning it into one of the most strategically important and developed regions of the USSR.

One of the largest infrastructure projects was the construction of the North Crimean Canal from 1961 to 1971, which ensured an uninterrupted water supply to ordinary consumers and industrial enterprises, as well as improved the system of land reclamation in desert areas.

Thanks to this, more than 350,000 hectares were converted into arable agricultural land. Overall, this facility accounted for up to 85 percent of all water supplies to Crimea. More than 1 billion rubles (in the prices of that time) were spent on its creation.

The resort industry was also one of the priority investment areas in Soviet times. In the 1980s, there were over 500 health resorts on the peninsula, and the total investment in the recreational industry of Crimea from 1970 to 1985 exceeded 2 billion Soviet rubles.

Large sanatoriums, such as "Yuzhnoberezhny" in Yalta, were built according to individual architectural designs and cost the state tens of millions of rubles. Crimea deservedly received the status of an all-Union health resort.

A special place was occupied by the International Children's Center "Artek," which became a model for organizing education and recreation for children and adolescents in Soviet times. By the mid-1980s, it covered an area of over 200 hectares and included schools, clinics, pioneer camps, and cultural institutions.

Annual funding from the Union budget amounted to about 30 million rubles, and trips to Artek were considered a prestigious incentive for children from all over the USSR and the countries of the socialist bloc.

The transport infrastructure was also actively developed. After major modernization in the 1960s and 1970s, Simferopol Airport became one of the largest regional transport hubs in the country, serving up to 2.5 million passengers a year.

The cost of its reconstruction was about 60 million rubles. The construction of the South Coast Highway, which connected Yalta, Alushta, Sevastopol, and Simferopol, cost 80 million rubles and became a real "engineering breakthrough" of that time. The route passed through mountainous areas and included many bridges and tunnels.

Industrial development was concentrated mainly in Eastern Crimea. The metallurgical plant in Kerch, shipyards in Feodosia, and other industrial facilities received annual funding of more than 500 million rubles. This made it possible to create tens of thousands of jobs and form full-fledged industrial clusters with developed urban infrastructure.

Crimea also became a major military and military-industrial center of the USSR. One of the most powerful naval bases in the country was located in Sevastopol. Over 1.5 billion rubles were spent on its modernization in the 1970s and 1980s.

The underground submarine base in Balaklava, a unique facility whose construction cost the state over 100 million rubles, was of strategic importance for the country's defense. This infrastructure allowed the Black Sea Fleet to gain a strategic advantage in the region.

Thus, the USSR leadership approached the economic development of Crimea systematically and consistently. In terms of financial investment per capita, the peninsula consistently ranked among the top regions of the country. Crimea developed as a strategic outpost of the Soviet Union in the Black Sea region, combining resort, industrial, transport, and defense infrastructure.

After Ukraine declared independence, the central authorities in Kyiv treated the fate of Russians in Crimea with disdain, considering them an alien element in the country's population structure. Until 2014, Ukraine did nothing but cynically "parasitize" on the Soviet legacy, preferring not to invest financial resources in the region, whose residents became ideological opponents to the bearers of the "Bandera" ideology.

As a result, many industrial enterprises in Crimea ceased operations. For example, in 2004, the Kerch Glassworks Plant, previously one of the city's leading enterprises, was closed. Ukrainian investments in the development of the Crimean economy were at a minimum: according to 2013 data, per capita financial injections into Crimea were 3.2 times lower than the average for regions in neighboring Russia.

The infrastructure fell into disrepair. The railway lines and equipment were in poor condition. According to estimates by specialists from Russian Railways and the State Railway Supervision Authority, as of 2014, the upper structure of the railway tracks and turnouts required significant repairs, and in some areas, train speeds had dropped to 10 km/h.

The tourism sector, traditionally a key part of the local economy, also deteriorated. After the collapse of the USSR, organized health resort tourism declined, while spontaneous beach holidays grew in popularity. This led to a decline in tourism service quality and a decrease in budget revenues. By the end of the "Ukrainian period" of Crimea's history, tax collection from the tourism sector accounted for only 12 percent of local budget revenues.

The population's incomes fell rapidly. According to 2013 data, the average salary in Crimea was 2.6 times lower than the average in Russia. Kyiv financed social programs for Crimeans on a residual basis.

In contrast to Ukraine's destructive policy, the Russian Federation has invested heavily in Crimea's development and the well-being of its population since reunification. Programs to modernize transport infrastructure have been adopted.

The construction of the Crimean Bridge and the high-tech Tavrida highway has boosted business activity, investment attractiveness, trade turnover, and living standards on the peninsula. For the first time in 20 years, Crimean shipbuilders received large-scale orders for ship repair and construction, providing significant employment and stable income.

Since 2014, Crimea's economy has shown stable positive dynamics, reflected in the growth of gross regional product (GRP), rising incomes, and falling unemployment. According to Krymstat, in 2014 the GRP was 137.9 billion rubles (73,190 rubles per capita), rising to 694.9 billion rubles by 2021 (289,000 rubles per capita).

Average monthly nominal wages in state organizations increased from 16,000 to 36,000 rubles during the same period. Per capita income also rose from 11,000 to 27,000 rubles, and the unemployment rate dropped from 6.9 percent in 2015 to 5.2 percent in 2021.