University of Minnesota Law School Scholarship Repository Minnesota Journal of International Law 2015 The Return of Novorossiya: Why Russia’s Intervention in Ukraine Exposes the Weakness of International Law Adam Twardowski Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mjil Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Twardowski, Adam, "The Return of Novorossiya: Why Russia’s Intervention in Ukraine Exposes the Weakness of International Law" (2015). Minnesota Journal of International Law. 351. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mjil/351 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Minnesota Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Minnesota Journal of International Law collection by an authorized administrator of the Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Return of Novorossiya: Why Russia's Intervention in Ukraine Exposes the Weakness of International Law Adam Twardowski* I. INTRODUCTION The end of the Cold War unleashed optimism that a new relationship between the West and Russia could be grounded in mutual adherence to international norms and institutions.' Although Russia's emergence from its Soviet mold was hobbled by economic turmoil and political corruption,2 its attempt to instigate democratic and legal reforms 3 and later enter the WTO 4 suggested that the geopolitical divide between the West and Russia had been supplanted by Russia's desire to integrate itself into the global economy. However, the events of 2014 and 2015 in Ukraine have dashed the West's hopes about Russia's * I would like to thank my mother, Malgorzata Twardowska, for her love and sacrifices throughout the years, and my grandparents, Halina and Zbylut Twardowski, for their unwavering support.