Abstrakt
The study attempts to trace the main discourse of Crimea in Ukrainian and Russian media after the beginning of the so-called Crimean crisis and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation in March 2014. The discourse is based on mapping a few popular news websites on both sides of the Ukraini- an-Russian border: Pravda.com.ua, 24.tv.ua, Segodnya.ua, Interfax.ru, Ria.ru and Lenta.ru.
In the study several particular cases and their interpretations are exam- ined: the so-called referendum and the annexation of Crimea; the ethnic minority of the Crimean Tatars; the tourist movement in Crimea; the Crimean bridge; the economic sanctions introduced because of the annexation of Crimea. In each of these cases opposite discourses are evident: the Russian media discourse is based on the official interpretation of Crimea as a historical and cultural part of "Russia's world", with an emphasis put on the strategical importance of the peninsula.
The Ukrainian approach is mainly based on the illegality of the annexation and an em- phasis is laid on the juridical aspect of every topic in the Crimean context. These discourses are rather stable throughout the period of 2014-2019.