( CNN ) -- With the Russian military having effectively taken control of Crimea , a permanent division of Ukraine is becoming increasingly likely . Russian President Vladimir Putin 's request to the Russian Senate to approve military intervention in Ukraine in order to `` protect citizens of Russia '' highlights how once seemingly innocuous `` compatriot policies '' are being used by Moscow to justify military efforts to regain Crimea for Russia . Russia 's compatriot policies are officially meant to protect ethnic Russians living in nearby countries , but have served Russia 's territorial expansionism in the past . In fact these compatriot policies can be viewed as part of Putin 's new military doctrine that seeks territorial gains in the former Soviet republics , particularly where there is a receptive population of Russian speakers . The compatriot policies , outlined in Russia 's `` National Security Strategy to 2020 , '' were introduced in 2000 during Putin 's first presidential term . They call for the political , economic and , potentially , military protection of the rights and interests of Russian citizens and ethnic Russians living abroad . An effective tactic associated with the policies is to give Russian citizenship to ethnic Russians in foreign states so as to better protect their interests . Tellingly , Russia 's national security strategy emphasizes that compatriots are an important tool for achieving Russia 's foreign policy aims . Map : A divided Ukraine . Looking at Russia 's neighborhood , one can already see how compatriot policy has assisted Russia 's foreign policy and territorial expansion . Prior to the Georgian-Russian war in 2008 , Georgia was seeking closer relations with the West and distancing itself from Russia ( in a very similar vein to Ukraine today ) . Meanwhile Moscow was handing out citizenship to the inhabitants of the separatist Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia . Thus the `` protection of Russian citizens '' became one of Russia 's main motives for going to war with Georgia in 2008 and securing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as Russian protectorates . But Ukraine does not have to look to the Caucasus to see compatriot policy in action . On Ukraine 's southwestern border , Transnistria is a separatist territory of Moldova which has also become effectively a Russian military-controlled territory as the Kremlin sought to `` protect '' the Russian speakers and eventually Russian citizens . Opinion : The two Putins . Farther afield , Russia has also taken great pains to cultivate the loyalty of its compatriots in the Baltic states , particularly in Estonia and Latvia . Well aware of Russia 's compatriot tactics , Lithuania , which currently holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council , called an urgent meeting and also invoked the NATO treaty on Ukraine . For Moscow , Crimea is much more important than South Ossetia , Abkhazia or Transnistria . First , Crimea became Ukrainian territory only in 1954 when the Soviet Union 's leader Nikita Khrushchev gave it to Kiev under the overall authority of the Soviet Union . Its loss after the disintegration of the Soviet Union was a major blow to leaders in Moscow . Second , Sevastopol , one of Crimea 's major cities , serves as the naval base for Russia 's Black Sea fleet . It is a prized territory that allows the Russian navy direct access to the Mediterranean . Crimea is a particularly soft target for Russia 's compatriot policies . Unlike Western Ukraine , where people speak Ukrainian , or even Eastern Ukraine , which is Russian speaking , Crimea is predominantly ethnically Russian . Opinion : Putin 's Ukranian endgame . With Crimea 's Russians protesting the turn of events in Kiev 's Independence Square and expressing their solidarity with Moscow , a secessionist movement is almost inevitable . Already , the Crimean parliament announced that it would hold a referendum to increase the peninsula 's autonomy from Ukraine and installed a pro-Russian prime minister . While Crimea 's fate seems almost certain to follow those of South Ossetia , Abkhazia or Transnistria , other states near Russia that also have significant populations of Russian speakers should be vigilant . Putin 's compatriot doctrine is here to stay . Thus it is no wonder Georgia will likely be urgently seeking integration with NATO and the EU . Ukraine should stabilize its government and consider following suit . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Agnia Grigas .
Agnia Grigas : Vladimir Putin has made effective use of his `` compatriot '' policy . It enables Russia to gain territory in areas where ethnic Russians and Russian speakers live . She says Crimea is a place where Russia can claim it was acting for `` compatriots '' Grigas : The annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Moscow last year triggered international condemnation, but also support from many European countries who see this move as an attempt to destabilize Ukraine.