Since annexing the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, Russia has faced a host of geopolitical issues in its efforts to take on stewardship over the region. The issue of Crimea’s water supply has proven especially challenging for its new host government. Prior to 2014, the vast majority of Crimea’s water came from the Dnipro River in Ukraine but access to that supply was cut off following Russia’s takeover of the region. This course looks at some of the options the Kremlin is exploring to create a reliable source of potable water for Crimea as droughts and emptying reservoirs continue to threaten the region.
The first three lessons of this course are taken from one article which looks at some of the options the Kremlin is exploring to create a reliable source of potable water for Crimea and the inherent challenges of those available options. The final two lessons are taken from a news video report which focuses on how the region’s water shortage has affected Crimea’s population and where the situation is the most dire. Some sample vocabulary from the course includes: водоснабжение – water supply; бесперебойный – uninterrupted; истощение – depletion; рыбак – fisherman; повсеместный – widespread