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Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Russian president and representatives of breakaway Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol sign a treaty whereby Crimea and Sevastopol are formally declared federal subjects of Russia.
Date	2014
Location	Crimean Peninsula Moscow, Russia
Also known as	Incorporation of Crimea into Russia Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation
Participants	Russia Republic of Crimea
Outcome	Autonomous Republic of Crimea becomes the Republic of Crimea, one of Russian republics Sevastopol becomes a Russian federal city Ongoing diplomatic dispute over Crimea
Accession treaty ratified	March 21, 2014 (2014-03-21)
Finalization	January 1, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-01-01)
Status	disputed by Ukraine; not recognized by the United Nations

The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation refers to the 2014 incorporation of most of the Crimean Peninsula, at that time part of Ukraine, into Russia, which administers Crimea as two federal subjects — the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.

The process caused much controversy and is viewed by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and several world leaders as illegal annexation that began following Russian intervention in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, administrative divisions of Ukraine, and after unrecognized local authorities declared their independence from Ukraine and held an unrecognized referendum, organized under Russian military occupation.

Russia strongly opposes the aforementioned view as "offensive towards the inhabitants of the peninsula", and instead views the process as an accession of the independent nation "Republic of Crimea", proclaimed when the regions joined together and subsequently requested their admission to Russia in accordance with a referendum that, according to the Russian position, reflected such a desire. Ukraine disputes the treaty, as it does not recognize the independence of the Republic of Crimea or the accession itself as legitimate. So does the United Nations General Assembly, which adopted non-binding Resolution 68/262, affirming "territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders".

Background

From 1783 Crimea was a part of the Russian Empire, incorporated into it as ] []. In 1796 Crimea was merged into Novorossiysk Governorate and in 1802 it was again separated from it into Taurida Governorate. Brief short-lived governments (Crimean People's Republic, Crimean Regional Government, Crimean SSR) were established during first stages of the Russian Civil War, but they were followed by White Russian (General Command of the Armed Forces of South Russia, later South Russian Government) and, finally, Soviet (Crimean ASSR) incorporations of Crimea into their own states. After World War II and Deportation of the Crimean Tatars Crimean ASSR was stripped of its autonomy (1946) and was downgraded to Crimean Oblast.

In 1954 Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR into the Ukrainian SSR in 1954, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Because six years earlier Sevastopol was elevated into a city of republican subordination some Russian scholars argue, that it wasn't affected by transfer (i.e. remained within the Russian Federation). This view was supported by the Supreme Soviet of Russia in 1993, but disputed by Ukrainian scholars. Their position, in turn, is backed by the 1978 constitutions of Ukraine and Russia: whilst Ukrainian Constitution of 1978 listed Sevastopol as one of Ukrainian cities of republican subordination, Russian Constitution of 1978 did not.

In 1989, under perestroika, Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union declared deportation of the Crimean Tatars illegal and criminal act and they were allowed to return to Crimea.

In 1990 Crimean Oblast Soviet proposed restoration of Crimean ASSR and after Crimean referendum of 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the New Union Treaty (that is, became a union republic on its own), Ukraine restored Crimea's autonomous status, but confirmed that autonomy restored as a part of the Ukrainian SSR; corresponding constitutional amendment was passed by Ukrainian parliament on 19 June 1991. Crimean Oblast council became Supreme Council of Crimea and, on 4 September 1991, passed Declaration of state sovereignty of Crimea.

Following dissolution of the Soviet Union Crimean ASSR renamed itself as the Republic of Crimea, the Ukrainian government initially accepted its name, but disputed state status, for which Crimean authorities pretended.

On 21 May 1992 Supreme Soviet of Russia adopted a resolution, which declared 1954 transfer invalid and called for Russian-Ukrainian-Crimean negotiations on status of Crimea. Confrontation between president and parliament of Russia, which later erupted into armed conflict in Moscow, prevented this decision from having any actual effect with regard to political status of Crimea.

In 1992-1994 various pro-Russian political movements attempted to separate Crimea from Ukraine. These actions were interrupted by Ukrainian central government, but Crimean autonomy was maintained. In 1994 Verkhovna Rada renamed "Republic of Crimea" into Autonomous Republic of Crimea and year later 1992 Constitution of Crimea was abrogated.

1994 regional elections were peak achievement of pro-Russian movement at the peninsula until 2014 and virtually, "fillfullment of slogan "Return of Crimea to Russia" by election means". But new republican leadership faced absence of economic and management base for broad autonomy and strongly negative response of Russian leadership, which at that time looked towards more closer relationship with Western world and viewed support of Russia by voters abroad as strong obstacle, which could fuel worries about renewal of "Russian imperial ambitions". These factors enabled Ukrainian authorities to abolish Crimean presidency and 1992 Constitution in just one year after 1994 elections, without any meaningful interference or protest from Ukraine's eastern neighbor. Afterwards, pro-Russian movements largely waned and in 1998 they lose Crimean Supreme Council election.

During 2000s, as tensions between Russia and Ukraine rose, likelihood of Russian-Ukrainian conflict around Crimea increased. For example, Council on Foreign Relations report, released in 2009 (year after Russo-Georgian war), stated that dispersion of pro-Russian demonstration (either in support of Black Sea Fleet prolongation or against Ukraine's possible accession to NATO) by Ukrainian security forces could become a trigger for Russian intervention to protect "Russian compatriots"; this, along with "inattention of Ukrainian government to Crimean Tatars" and corresponding change of Russian approach towards them, could trigger full-scale Crimean crisis involving Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar populations on the peninsula.

Euromaidan and 2014 Ukrainian revolution

Following start of Euromaidan movement in late November 2013 leadership of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea took decisive stance on supporting President Yanukovych and Azarov Government and condemned actions of Ukrainian opposition as "threatening political stability in the country". Supreme Council of Crimea supported the Government's decision to suspend negotiations on Ukraine-EU Association Agreement and urged Crimeans to "strengthen friendly ties with Russian regions". Some time later, on 22 January 2014, Supreme Council condemned actions of Ukrainian opposition and stated that it neither "give up Crimea to extremists", nor recognise "illegitimate elections".

On 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council considered holding a referendum on the peninsula's status and asking President of Russia and State Duma to ensure its holding. Because of that, the Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case on "subversion of territorial integrity of the Ukraine".

On 22 February 2014 Verkhovna Rada voted to remove Viktor Yanukovich from his post on the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his duties although the legislative removal lacked the required votes according to the constitution in effect at the time. This move was regarded as a coup d'état by the Russian authorities.

Change of regional government and Russian intervention

Revolutionary removal of Viktor Yanukovich from Ukrainian presidency and certain actions of a new government (such as attempted repeal of 2012 language law) triggered 2014 Crimean crisis, which started as demonstrations against new central authorities, but would later quickly evolve into international crisis, because, unlike 1992-1994 movements, this time pro-Russian movements were actively supported by the Russian Federation.

On 27 February, unidentified forces seized the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea (the regional parliament) and the building of the Council of Ministers in Simferopol. Russian flags were raised over these buildings, which were barricaded after takeover. On same day unidentified forces, assisted by Crimean Berkut units, established security checkpoints on Isthmus of Perekop and Chongar Peninsula, separating Crimea from rest of Ukraine. This meant effective loss of control by central Ukrainian government.

On same day the Supreme Council of Crimea dissolved the old Council of Ministers of Crimea and designated Sergey Aksyonov, leader of the Russian Unity party, to be a new prime minister, this appointment was declared illegal by Ukrainian authorities. Both Aksyonov and speaker Vladimir Konstantinov stated, that they view Viktor Yanukovich as de jure President of Ukraine, through whom they were able to ask Russia for assistance.

On 1 March 2014 de facto Prime Minister of Crimea Aksyonov proclaimed that all armed structures in the republic shall be subordinated to de facto Crimean authorities and asked Russian president Vladimir Putin for "assistance in ensuring peace and public order" on the republic's soil. On same day Putin requested Federation Council of Russia to authorize use of the Russian Armed Forces in the Ukraine "until normalization of a socio-political environment in the country". Authorization was granted almost immediately, causing protests of intelligentsia and demonstrations in Moscow. By 2 March, Russian troops had complete control over Crimea.

According to Russian Minister of Defense Shoygu, Russian military actions were undertaken by forces of the Black Sea Fleet and were justified by "threat to lives of Crimean civilians" and danger of "takeover of Russian military infrastructure by extremists". These claims are contested by Ukrainian sources, which report that other contingencies were drawn into conflict (such as Baltic and Northern Fleets), in violation of 1997 Black Sea Fleet agreements.

On 17 April 2014 President of Russia acknowledged Russian military backing of self-defense units, stating that it was necessary to "to ensure proper conditions for the people of Crimea to be able to freely express their will". Ukraine and other nations argue that such intervention is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. and, in particular, violation of terms of the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, by which Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine However, Russian officials argue that the Budapest memorandum does not apply to the current situation because secession of Crimea was a result of "complicated internal processes".

Russian legislation concerning admission of federal subjects and Declaration of Independence of Crimea

According to the Constitution of Russia, admission of a new federal subjects and establishment of new federal subjects (non-admission establishment, such as merger of existing regions) are governed by federal constitutional law (art. 65.2). Such law was adopted in 2001 and it postulates, that admission of foreign state or its part into Russia shall be based on a mutual accord between the Russian Federation and the relevant state and shall take place pursuant to an international treaty between the two countries, moreover, it shall be initiated by such foreign state (neither by its subdivision nor by Russia). This means, that accession request should have come from Ukraine, and not from an Autonomous Republic.

On 28 February 2014 Russian State Duma member Sergey Mironov, along with certain other members, introduced a bill, which would alter such procedure. According to bill, accession could be initiated by subdivision of a country, provided that there is "absence of efficient sovereign state government in foreign state", this request could be made either by subdivision bodies on their own or on basis of referendum, held in subdivision according to corresponding national legislation. The Venice Commission stated that the bill violated, "in particular, the principles of territorial integrity, national sovereignty, non-intervention in the internal affairs of another state and pacta sunt servanda" and was therefore incompatible with international law.

On 11 March 2014 both the Supreme Council of Crimea and Sevastopol City Council had adopted their Declaration of Independence, which stated their intent to declare independence and request full accession to Russia in case the pro-Russian answer receives the most votes during the referendum. The Declaration directly referred to the Kosovo independence precedent and was intended to "open door" for Crimean entry into Russia. This made Mironov bill redundant and on 20 March 2014, two days after treaty with breakaway republic was signed, bill was recalled from Duma by its initiators.

Crimean status referendum

On 27 February, following takeover of its building, Supreme Council decided to hold a referendum on 25 May, with the initial question as to whether Crimea should upgrade its autonomy within Ukraine into a state of "state autonomy" (Template:Lang-ru). Referendum date was later moved from 25 May to 30 March, because "conflict went beyond reasonble limits". On 4 March this referendum was declared illegal by the Ukrainan court.

On 4 March Russian president Vladimir Putin stated that "Russia doesn't considers annexing Crimea" and "only citizens themselves, in conditions of free expression of will and their security can determine their future". On 10 April Putin acknowledged, that in early March there were "secret opinion polls" held in Crimea, which, according to him, returned overwhelming popular support for Russian annexation of Crimea.

On 6 March Supreme Council of Crimea moved the referendum date to 16 March and changed its question from initial question on broadening autonomy within Ukraine to new question: whether Crimea accede to Russia or remain in the Ukraine and restore the 1992 Constitution and regional autonomy. This referendum, unlike one announced earlier, contained no option to maintain status quo (i.e. 1998 Constitution of Crimea).

On 14 March the Crimean status referendum was deemed unconstitutional by Constitutional Court of Ukraine and day later Verkhovna Rada formally dissolved Crimean parliament. Nevertheless, Supreme Council de facto contiuned to work and on 16 March referendum concludes, with official report that 95% of votes cast for unification with Russia of the more than half that had been counted. The results of referendum are questioned, with the Russian President's Human Rights Council member Evgeny Bobrov reporting that "according to opinion of nearly all asked specialists and citizens", a "vast majority of the citizens of Sevastopol voted in favor of unification with Russia in the referendum (50-80%); in Crimea, various data show that 50-60% voted for unification with Russia, with a turnout of 30-50%," suggesting that only 15-30% of Crimeans actually voted for annexation.

Breakaway republic

Republic of CrimeaРеспублика Крым Къырым Джумхуриети Республіка Крим
2014–2014
Flag Coat of arms
Location of the Republic of Crimea, comprising the former Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol (green)
Capital	Simferopol 44°57′N 34°06′E / 44.950°N 34.100°E / 44.950; 34.100
Common languages	Russian Ukrainian Crimean Tatar
Government	Republic
Legislature	Crimean Parliament
History
• Letter of intent	11 March 2014
• Referendum	16 March 2014
• Declared	17 March 2014
• Annexed	18 March 2014
Area
Total	26,100 km (10,100 sq mi)
2007	26,100 km (10,100 sq mi)
Population
• 2007	2,352,385
Preceded by Succeeded by Ukraine Autonomous Republic of Crimea Sevastopol Russia Republic of Crimea Sevastopol

On 17 March, following official announcement of referendum results, Supreme Council declared the formal independence of the Republic of Crimea, comprising territories of both the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol, which was granted special status within the breakaway republic. According to resolution "On Independence of Crimea" regional parliament declared "partial repeal" of Ukrainian laws and began nationalizing state property of Ukraine, located on territory of the Republic, including Crimean ports and property of Chornomornaftogaz. This resolution also provided for continuation of judicial authorities (regional and lower-level courts of appellation) and provided clause (art. 9) for request to the Russian Federation to admit the breakaway republic into Russia. On same day the de facto Supreme Council renamed itself the Crimean State Council, declared the Russian ruble an official currency, alongside hryvnia, and announced that Crimea will switch to Moscow Time (UTC+4) on 30 March. Russian President Putin officially recognized the Republic of Crimea (via decree) and approved the draft Treaty between Russian Federation and Republic of Crimea on admission of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and establishment of the new subjects of the Russian Federation on their basis.

Accession treaty and immediate aftermath

The Treaty on Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia was signed between representatives of the Republic of Crimea (including Sevastopol, with which the rest of Crimea briefly unified) and the Russian Federation on March 18, 2014 to lay out terms for the immediate admission of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia and part of the Russian Federation. It was ratified by the Federal Assembly by March 21.

On 19 March Putin submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, a treaty of Crimea’s reunification with Russia and a constitutional amendment on setting up two new constituent territories of the Russian Federation. Russian Constitutional Court found that treaty is in compliance with Constitution of Russia. The court sat in an emergency session following a formal request by President Vladimir Putin to assess the constitutionality of the treaty.

The treaty was ratified by the State Duma on 20 March by a 443-1 vote with no abstentions, backdating the admission to March 18, and approves draft federal constitutional law on admission of the Republic of Crimea and establishment of the new federal subjects of the Russian Federation (444-1 vote in first reading, 445-1 vote in final reading, no abstentions in both). A Just Russia's Ilya Ponomarev was the only State Duma member to vote against it. A day later, the treaty itself and the required amendment to article 65 of the Russian Constitution (which lists the federal subjects of Russia) were ratified by the Federation Council and the very same day signed by the President. For Russian legal purposes Republic of Crimea is considered admitted retroactive from the date of signing of the treaty (i.e. from 18 March) in compliance with the relevant provisions of the 2001 Admission Law as amended.

On 21 March Ukraine signed the EU trade pact while Russia finalizes Crimea dealings. On 24 March Ukraine ordered the full withdrawal of all Ukrainian armed forces from Crimea. Ministry of Defence announced that 50% of the Ukrainian troops in Crimea have defected to the Russian Federation.

On 27 March, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution, which declared Crimean referendum held on 16 March and subsequent status change invalid, by a vote of 100 to 11, with 58 abstentions and 24 absent.

On 29 March Crimea and Sevastopol switched to Moscow Time at 22:00 (10:00 PM) Eastern European Time.

On 2 April Russia formally denounced the 2010 Kharkiv Pact and Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet. President Putin cited "the accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol into Russia" and resulting "practical end of renting relationships" as a reason for denunciation. On the same day, he signed a decree formally rehabilitating the Crimean Tatars, who were ousted from their lands in 1944 (See Deportation of the Crimean Tatars) and the Armenian, German, Greek and Bulgarian minority communities in the region that Joseph Stalin forced to be removed in the 1940s due to various crimes.

On 11 April the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea and City Charter of Sevastopol were adopted, on same day the new federal subjects were enumerated in a newly published revision of the Russian Constitution.

Transition and aftermath

The number of tourists visiting Crimea in the 2014 season is expected to be lower than in the previous years due to worries about the political situation. The Crimean government members however hope that Russian tourists will flow in calling it the Russian season. The Russian government is planning to promote Crimea as a resort and provide subsidized holidays to the peninsula for children and state workers.

The Sofia news agency Novinite claims that according to the German newspaper Die Welt, the annexation of Crimea is economically disadvantageous for the Russian Federation. Russia will have to spend billions of euros a year to pay salaries and pensions. Moreover, Russia will have to undertake costly projects to connect Crimea to the Russian water supply and power system because Crimea has no land connection to Russia and at present gets water, gas and electricity from mainland Ukraine. This will require building a bridge and a pipeline across the Kerch Strait. Also, Novinite claims that a Ukrainian expert told Die Welt that Crimea "will not be able to attract tourists". One major reason is that Ukraine does not require visas for Europeans and North Americans to visit the country, but Russia does.

The Russian business newspaper Kommersant expresses an opinion that Russia will not acquire anything economically from "accessing" Crimea, which is not very developed industrially, having just a few big factories, and whose yearly gross product is only $4 billion. The newspaper also says that everything from Russia will have to be delivered by sea, higher costs of transportation will result in higher prices for everything, and in order to avoid a decline in living standards Russia will have to subsidize Crimean people for a few months. In total, Kommersant estimates the costs of integrating Crimea into Russia in $30 billion over the next decade, i.e. $3 billion per year.

On the other hand western oil experts estimate that Russia's seizing of Crimea, and the associated control of an area of Black Sea more than three times its land area gives it access to oil and gas reserves potentially worth trillions of dollars. It also deprives Ukraine of its chances of energy independence. Most immediately however, analysts say, Moscow's acquisition may alter the route along which the South Stream pipeline would be built, saving Russia money, time and engineering challenges. It would also allow Russia to avoid building in Turkish territorial waters, which was necessary in the original route in order to avoid Ukrainian territory.

Russian/Chechen businessman Ruslan Baisarov announced he is ready to invest 12 billion rubles into the construction of a modern sea resort in Crimea, which is expected to create about 1,300 jobs. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of Chechnya, said that other Chechen businessmen are planning to invest into Crimea as well.

The Russian Federal Service for Communications (Roskomnadzor) warned about a transition period as Russian operators have to change the numbering capacity and subscribers. Country code will be replaced from the Ukrainian +380 to Russian +7. Codes in Crimea start with 65, but in the area of "7" the 6 is given to Kazakhstan which shares former Soviet Union +7 with Russia, so city codes have to change. The regulator assigned 869 dialing code to Sevastopol and the rest of the peninsula received a 365 code. At the time of the unification with Russia, telephone operators and Internet service providers in Crimea and Sevastopol are connected to the outside world through the territory of Ukraine. Minister of Communications of Russia, Nikolai Nikiforov announced on his Twitter account that postal codes in Crimea will now have six-figures: to the existing five-digit number the number two will be added at the beginning. For example, the Simferopol postal code 95000 will become 295000.

Regrading Crimea's borders, the head of Russian Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border Facilities (Rosgranitsa) Konstantin Busygin, who was speaking at a meeting led by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea said the Russian state border in the north of Crimea which, according to his claims, now forms part of the Russian-Ukrainian border, will be fully equipped with necessary facilities. In the area that now forms the border between Crimea and Ukraine mining the salt lake inlets from the sea that constitute the natural borders, and in the spit of land left over stretches of no-man’s-land with wire on either side was created.

Human rights situation

On May 9, 2014 new "anti-extremist" amendment to the Criminal Code of Russia, passed in December 2013, came into force. New article 280.1 designated incitement of violation of territorial integrity of the Russian Federation (incl. calls for secession of Crimea from the Russia) as a criminal offence in Russia, punishable by a fine of 300 thousand roubles or imprisonment up to 3 years. If such statements are made in public media or the internet, the punishment could be obligatory works up to 480 hours or imprisonment up to five years.

Following the annexation of Crimea, according to report released on the Russian government run President of Russia’s Council on Civil Society and Human Rights website, Tatars who were opposed to Russian rule have been persecuted, Russian law restricting freedom of speech has been imposed, and the new pro-Russian authorities "liquidated" the Kiev Patriarchate Orthodox church on the peninsula.

After the annexation, on May 16 the new Russian authorities of Crimea issued a ban on the annual commemorations of the anniversary of the Deportation of the Crimean Tatars by Stalin in 1944, citing "possibility of provocation by extremists" as a reason. Previously, when Crimea was controlled by Ukraine, these commemorations had taken place every year.The pro-Russian Crimean authorities also banned Mustafa Jemilev, a human rights activist, Soviet dissent, member of the Ukrainian parliament, and former Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars from entering Crimea. Additionally, Mejlis reported, that officers of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) raided Tatar homes in the same week, on the pretense of "suspicion of terrorist activity". The Tatar community eventually did hold commemorative rallies in defiance of the ban. In response Russian authorities flew helicopters over the rallies in an attempt to disrupt them.

Ukrainian response

Immediately after signing of the Treaty Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Provisional Principal of Russia in Ukraine to present note verbale of protest against Russian recognition of the Republic of Crimea and its subsequent annexation. Two days later Ukrainian Parliament condemned treaty in its Declaration of Struggle for liberation of Ukraine, which stated that Russian actions are "a gross violation of international law" and called on international community to avoid recognition of the "so-called Republic of Crimea" or annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia as new federal subjects.

On 15 April 2014 Verkhovna Rada adopted special law, which designates Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as under "provisional occupation" by the Russian Federation. These territories were designated to be "inalienable parts of Ukraine", with application of Ukrainian laws, albeit also with a special legal regime. Among other things the law established restrictions of movement (entry-exit) on the Crimean peninsula for foreign citizens and forbade certain types of entrepreneurship. This law also forbade activity of government bodies, formed in violation of Ukrainian law and designated their acts as null and void.

Ukrainian citizens have right to free movement on occupied territory on condition that they present their identity document. Foreign citizens, according to this law, must apply for special permission to enter or exit Crimea. Violation of that rule is designated as criminal offence.

Ukrainian law on occupied territories doesn't recognize Russian passportization in Crimea. Therefore, newly passportized Russian citizens of Crimea also retain Ukrainian citizenship as long as they retain Ukrainian passport. Crimea is also extempted from voting in nationwide Ukrainian elections (presidential or legislative). Property rights of Ukraine, Autonomous Republic Crimea, city of Sevastopol, municipalities and other subjects of public law are maintained.

International response

United Nations Resolutions

Security Council Resolution

On March 15, 2014 a U.S.-sponsored resolution was put forward to vote in the UN Security Council to reaffirm council's commitment to Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity." A total of 13 council members voted in favour of the resolution, China abstained, while Russia vetoed the U.N. resolution declaring Crimean referendum, 2014, on the future of Crimean Peninsula, as illegal. The Russian veto to the UN Security Council resolution was followed by a successful referendum was held on March 16, 2014, by the legislature of Crimea as well as by the local government of Sevastopol. After the referendum, the Republic of Crimea declared its independence from Ukraine the next day, started seeking UN recognition, and requested to join the Russian Federation. On the same day, Russia recognized Crimea as a sovereign state.

General Assembly Resolution

On March 27, 2014, The UN General Assembly approved a resolution describing the referendum leading to annexation of Crimea by Russia as illegal. The draft resolution, which was titled 'Territorial integrity of Ukraine' was co-sponsored by Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the US. It affirmed council's commitment to the "sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders." The resolution tried to underscored that the March 16 referendum held in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol has no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol. The resolution got 100 votes in its favor, while 11 nations voted against and 58 countries abstained from the vote. The resolution was non-binding and the vote was largely symbolic.

Recognition

The vast majority of the international community has not recognized the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as part of Russia. Most nations located in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Central America, as well as some in Southeast Asia and Africa, have openly rejected the referendum and the accession, and instead consider Crimea and Sevastopol to be administrative divisions of Ukraine. It is important to note, however, a number of nations from all the aforementioned regions have recognized the referendum. The remainder have largely remained neutral. The vote on United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 (supporting the position that Crimea and Sevastopol remain part of Ukraine) was 100 to 11 in favor, with 58 states abstaining and a further 24 of the 193 member states not voting through being absent when the vote took place. The 100 states voting in favor represented about 34% of the world's population, the 11 against represented about 4.5%, the 58 abstentions represented about 58%, and the 24 absents represented about 3.5%.

Several members of the United Nations have made statements about their recognition of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia:

Position of  Belarus is vague: it includes "Ukraine should remain an integral, indivisible, non-aligned state" and "As for Crimea, I do not like it when the integrity and independence of a country are broken", on the one hand, and "Today Crimea is part of the Russian Federation. No matter whether you recognize it or not, the fact remains." and "Whether Crimea will be recognized as a region of the Russian Federation de-jure does not really matter", on the other hand.

Three non-UN member states recognized the results of the referendum: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh. A fourth, Transnistria, sent a request on March 18 to join the Russian Federation following the Crimean example and in compliance with the Admission Law provisions. On April 16, Transnistria urged Russia and the United Nations to recognize its independence. Putin is aware of Transnistria's recognition request, according to Dmitry Peskov.

The following states have recognized the 2014 Crimean referendum.

State	UN member	Date	References
Russia	Yes	17 March 2014
Venezuela	Yes	17 March 2014
South Ossetia	No	17 March 2014
Abkhazia	No	17 March 2014
Kazakhstan	Yes	18 March 2014
Armenia	Yes	19 March 2014
Nagorno-Karabakh	No	19 March 2014
Kyrgyzstan	Yes	20 March 2014
Uganda	Yes	21 March 2014
Afghanistan	Yes	22 March 2014
North Korea	Yes	22 March 2014
Syria	Yes	22 March 2014
Belarus	Yes	23 March 2014
Cuba	Yes	27 March 2014
Bolivia	Yes	27 March 2014
Nicaragua	Yes	27 March 2014
Sudan	Yes	27 March 2014
Zimbabwe	Yes	27 March 2014

Commentary

German Federal Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schäuble, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier all stated, that such comparisons are unacceptable.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said the United States should aim to "drive the Russian economy into the ground." Czech President Miloš Zeman said: "Even though I understand the interests of Crimea’s Russian-speaking majority, which was annexed to Ukraine by Khrushchev, we have our experience with the 1968 Russian military invasion."

Sanctions

Sanctions were imposed to prevent Russian and Crimean officials and politicians to travel to Canada, the United States, and the European Union.

Japan announced milder sanctions than the US and EU. These include suspension of talks relating to military, space, investment, and visa requirements.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė praised the U.S.'s decision to sanction Russia, saying Obama had set an example.

In response to the sanctions introduced by the U.S. and EU, the Russian Duma unanimously passed a resolution asking for all members of the Duma to be included on the sanctions list. Head of the opposition A Just Russia party Sergei Mironov said he was proud of being included on the sanctions list, "It is with pride that I have found myself on the black list, this means they have noticed my stance on Crimea."

Three days after the lists were published, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, which consisted of 10 names, including House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, Senator John McCain, and two advisers to President Obama. Several of those sanctioned responded with pride at their inclusion on the list, including John Boehner who, through his spokesperson Michael Steel, said, “The Speaker is proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin’s aggression."; John McCain who tweeted, "I'm proud to be sanctioned by Putin - I'll never cease my efforts & dedication to freedom & independence of Ukraine, which includes Crimea."; Bob Menendez; Dan Coats; Mary Landrieu and Henry Reid.

According to the Financial Times on Friday, March 21, "As recently as the start of the week, some of Moscow's financial elite were blasé about the prospect of sanctions. But Russia's businessmen were no longer smiling by after expanded US sanctions rippled through financial markets hitting the business interests of some of the country's richest people." The Americans centered on the heart of Moscow's leadership, though the EU initial list shied from targeting Putin's inner circle. As ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's downgraded Russian credit outlook, Novatek, Russian second-largest gas producer, saw $2.5bn in market value wiped out when its shares sank by nearly 10%, rendering Putin's close friend Gennady Timchenko, who has a 23% stake in the company, $575m poorer. "I do hope that there is some serious diplomatic activity going on behind the scenes," said one Russian banker quoted by the newspaper, though others were more sanguine on the question of whether the sanctions would have any enduring effect—"What has been announced so far is really nothing. It's purely cosmetic," said a French banker based in Moscow—and Russians, top and bottom, seemed defiant. The official Russian response was mixed.

Cartographic response

• National Geographic Society stated, that their policy is "to portray current reality" and "Crimea, if it is formally annexed by Russia, would be shaded gray", but also further remarked that this step does not suggest recognizing legitimacy of such annexation. As of April 2014 Crimea is still displayed as part of Ukraine.
• Google Maps will paint Crimea as disputed territory for most of visitors. For Russian and Ukrainian versions of website Crimea will be marked as belonging to corresponding country (Russia or Ukraine respectively). Google stated, that it "work with sources to get the best interpretation of the border or claim lines".
• Yandex Maps displays Crimea according to official position of user's country. Users, visiting Yandex.ru from Russia, will see Crimea displayed as Russian territory. Users, visiting Yandex.ua or Yandex.ru from Crimea, will see peninsula as belonging to corresponding country (Ukraine or Russia). Users, visiting yandex.ua from Ukraine will see Crimea as Ukrainian and all other users (from other countries) will see Crimea as Russian territory. According to official statement, the company works with users from different countries and "displays reality, that surrounds them".
• Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap and HERE display Crimea as belonging to Ukraine. In particular, Open Street Map requested its users to refrain from editing borders and administrative relations of subdivisions located in Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol until 31 May 2014.
• Mail.Ru maps display Crimea as part of Russia

See also

• Simferopol Incident controversy

References

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External links

• A treaty of accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation. Unofficial English translation with commentary

• 2014 Crimean crisis
• 2014 in Russia
• 2014 in Ukraine
• Politics of Crimea
• Secession in Ukraine
• Treaties concluded in 2014
• Treaties of Russia
• Treaties entered into force in 2014