45% Of Russians Are Proud Of Crimea's Annexation

In late February, it will be five years since Russia's annexation of Crimea. Ukraine and countless world leaders condemned Russian actions as a violation of international law and the move was considered to be in contravention of the Belavezha Accords establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Helsinki Accords, the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances of 1994 and the Treaty on friendship, cooperation and partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Despite the level of international criticism, a considerable swathe of the Russian public is still proud of the annexation. That's according to a new poll conducted by The Levada Center on Russian national identity and pride. It found that 87 percent of Russians are most proud of the USSR's victory in World War II while 50 percent are most proud of their country's leading role in space exploration (respondents could choose more than one answer). Interestingly, 45 percent also said they are most proud of the annexation of Crimea.