It would be cool to turn Crimea into a theme park called “Soviet Union” the size of a city or, eventually, even a peninsula. Official, with an entrance fee, fines for not following the rules. For example, you can’t enter in a new car; you need to rent a Zhiguli or Zaporozhets. Clothing from the 80s. Where the whole population “plays along” and earns more than by just being a piece of the country. Somewhat like the Egyptian Bedouins – fun for the tourists, and no conflicts with the real Bedouins.
After all, there are few alternatives. In Crimea, in my opinion, everything is bad. Mediocre beaches, no water, no minerals, broken infrastructure, poor electricity, essentially vast expanses of dead land. But it could be turned to advantage.
Of course, only the external features should be adopted. Specifically build bakeries, bring in old cars, raise taxes on new “locals”, provide cheap services, replace money with old rubles, introduce a reward mechanism for style compliance (Soviet clothing, stylized signs, etc.). Create a local authority similar to a council that would collectively determine who conforms and who doesn’t, all in public. The police would ensure tourists don’t spoil the park’s image and order. I think residents would easily switch to this game if tourists with money came from the other side.
Well okay, it could start with a small area, not the whole Crimea, but perhaps just Alushta or Yevpatoria, and then other cities could be added later.
Honestly, such an approach could even be a solution to the well-known political conflict. After all, this theme park could, at some point, become a joint venture and the world’s only theme park of this kind. Even if it turns out poorly, due to its uniqueness, it would still make money.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 