What did the Kerch Strait bridge opening signify?

What did it mean when Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the road section of the Kerch Strait Bridge? On 15 May 2018, he inaugurated the auto part of a 19-kilometre (12 mi) road-and-rail crossing connecting Crimea with Russia.

The opening came four years after Russia's annexation of Crimea. In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine, occupied it, and then annexed it after an illegitimate referendum, amid the uncertainty that followed Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity. That invasion marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

A physical link to an annexed peninsula

The bridge tied the peninsula to the Russian mainland by a single structure combining road and rail. The ceremony on 15 May 2018 concerned only the road part; the rail element was not part of that opening.

Why it matters in retrospect

The crossing is best read within the wider story of the annexation. Crimea's seizure has been described as an instance of modern Russian imperialism, and it was the first time since World War II that a European country had annexed part of another. Some analysts see it as the beginning of a Second Cold War between Russia and the West. A bridge linking Crimea to Russia gave the annexation a lasting physical form, on a peninsula that internationally remains part of Ukraine.