Crimea as a part of Russia. Return of Crimea to Russia

Residents of the Crimean peninsula in March 2014 almost unanimously voted in a referendum for the return of the Crimea to Russia. Lightning-fast decisions by the President of Russia and the State Duma prompted many analysts to think that the draft of the special operation had been prepared for a long time, and the actors knew their roles well. Anyway, the Crimea is part of Russia, and now everything is waiting for the consequences of this unprecedented event.

International law and the will of the people of Crimea

In modern international law, two contradictory concepts are fixed: the integrity of the state and the right of the nation to self-determination. For "mono-states" (ie those in whose territory the representatives of only one nation live) everything is simple and understandable. But when it comes to multinational states, the laws contradict each other. And in this situation, as you know, everyone is free to interpret what they read in their own way. Therefore, when the Crimea became part of Russia, the world community was outraged and began talking about the annexation of the territories.

Political scientists say that the "Crimean history" differs little from the events in Kosovo in 2008. NATO military units entered Kosovo in order to prevent the Serbs from obstructing the holding of a referendum. There were no sanctions from the UN for the introduction of troops. Approximately the same did Russia, when the Crimean parliament sent a request to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. With the only difference is that there was nothing to enter: the contingent of Russian troops was constantly on the territory of the Crimea for more than one decade.

Crimeans - a nation or "call of the heart"

True, it is impossible to talk about the self-determination of the nation: there is no "Crimean nation" in nature. According to the census, about 60% of Russians, 25% of Ukrainians and 10% of Tatars live in the Crimea. Actually, as in all of Ukraine, one can not say that ethnic Ukrainians or ethnic Russians live on this or that territory. Not only that the peoples themselves are very similar, so also throughout the centuries everything was mixed and related.

Probably, it's more correct to say that the Crimean is not Russian, Ukrainian or Tatar, but a person brought up in amazing but difficult conditions. The nature and climate of the peninsula inspire humanity and pacification, but at the same time a rather severe sea and a complex geographical location temper will and masculinity, determination and pride.

Admission of Crimea into Russia is controversial and controversial also because, according to world practice, the allocation of a part of the state to an independent business entity is possible. But the entry into the other country - no. So in due time entered Abkhazia and Ossetia, Transnistria and Kosovo. The Crimeans also expressed themselves unequivocally for joining the Russian Federation.

History of Crimea

The territory of the peninsula became Russian in the XVIII century, when the state defended its interests in the Black Sea and in a number of wars finally consolidated its rights in this region.

According to the decree of Empress Catherine II, Crimea as a part of Russia was equated with other "subjects": the Tatars were given the same rights as other peoples (free religion, language, culture, etc.). In addition, the state structure did not change. But after the defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, which entered history as the First Defense, Russian patriotism began to form among the residents and defenders of the city.

However, the presence of the Black Sea Fleet greatly hindered the European states, which defended their rights in the Balkan Peninsula and in Asia. In the Crimean War of 1853-56. Russia was defeated and for the next 20 years forcedly left the peninsula, abolishing the Black Sea fleet. But, even so, the newly formed cities of Crimea in Russia remained. Sevastopol and other settlements were considered Russian on the territory of the Khan's Crimea.

Autonomous Republic of Crimea

In the Soviet Union the peninsula acquired a new status: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Russia from the imperialist state was transformed into a federation in which representatives of each nationality strove to call themselves a republic. But not all territories received such a status. Most of the small peoples and nationalities eventually became part of the RSFSR.

Crimea in Russia was first called the Soviet Socialist Republic of Tauris. The Autonomous Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic appeared in the RSFSR in February 1921. By that time, other Soviet republics were formed, which were not part of Russia.

Certainly, after the revolution, the population experienced not only one shock: lack of fresh water, a crop failure of the 1920s, accompanied by a surplus-appropriation (in modern history better known as Holodomor), rejection of the ideas of the Bolsheviks by the Crimean Tatars, etc.

During the Second World War, the population of the Crimea had to endure the occupation. The second defense of Sevastopol was even more fierce than the First, but it was not possible to defend the peninsula again.

Deportation of Tatars from Crimea

During the years 1942-1944, the Crimea was occupied by the Nazis, who, using the developed methodology, created auxiliary punitive detachments from the local population, mostly Tatars. Using anti-Soviet propaganda, the Nazis agitated the "dissatisfied and dissenters" to join the ranks of self-defense and fight the partisan movement.

It was these self-defense units that "facilitated" the decision to deport a whole nation from the territory of the Crimea peninsula. Russia is big, and the government of the USSR decided to resettle the Tatars inland. Modern history calls this "punishment for betrayal", but there is also a version according to which the Hitlerites left an entire network of agents during the retreat in the occupied territories. To violate the plans of the fascists, decisions were made on deportation: Tatars from the Crimea, Finns, Poles and Germans from the border areas, etc.

The post-war fate of the Crimeans

The map of Crimea as part of Russia changed after the Second World War: autonomy ceased to exist (the region appeared), most of the settlements were renamed, and the population was replenished by Ukrainians and Russians from the inhabitants of the destroyed and burned villages. According to statistical data, by 1946, about 600 thousand people lived in the Crimea. Before the war, this figure was approaching 1.1 million. It is not necessary to talk about the ethnic composition of the population. If before the war Ukrainians and Russians accounted for almost 70% of the inhabitants of the peninsula, then in the postwar period this figure approached 90%.

The Republic of Crimea as part of Russia lasted until 1954. It was then that in order to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, autonomy was transferred to the administrative subordination of the Ukrainian SSR. It is now customary to say that Khrushchev gave the Crimea.

Sevastopol - naval base

As for Sevastopol, in 1948 it was given the status of a closed military city of republican subordination. And until 1961, this remained. However, the changed military doctrine did not consider the strategic importance of the Black Sea Fleet. The city was opened, and the status of the military base was removed from it. Already after the adoption of the renewed constitution of the Ukrainian SSR in 1978, Sevastopol was given back a "special position": its republican subordination was spelled out in a separate article.

But the most important thing is not this. Most importantly, people who are brought up and imbued with the spirit of Russian patriotism. After all, it was this city that experienced the ups and downs of the Black Sea Fleet, was a stronghold of Russian sailors and never changed its "nationality" when changing power on the peninsula of Crimea. As part of Russia in 2014, Sevastopol again has a separate place: the city of federal significance, the subject of the Russian Federation.

After digging through the documents and carefully studying them, some historians and political scientists come to the conclusion that formally Sevastopol did not come out of Russia's jurisdiction. The fact is that at the time of the "transfer" of the Crimea of the Ukrainian SSR the city was administratively subordinated not to the Crimean AR, but to the RSFSR (due to its special status of the military base).

The collapse of the USSR and the return of the Crimean autonomy

In the early 1990s, when a decision was taken at a meeting in Belorussia about the disintegration of the USSR, the question of the territorial affiliation of the peninsula was raised repeatedly. The biggest achievement was the holding of a referendum in the Crimea in 1990, which resulted in the restoration of autonomy. Two years later, the local Supreme Council adopted its constitution and renamed the Crimean ASSR to the Republic of Crimea. However, the Ukrainian Supreme Council did not approve this name.

The Russian parliament has repeatedly raised the issue of the legitimacy of the transfer of the Crimea to Ukraine and the need to return it to the Russian Federation. However, in 1990, agreements were signed on the absence of territorial claims among the CIS countries.

The Ukrainian political crisis in 2014

The popular unrest in Ukraine that began in 2013 was caused by the suspension by the administration of President Yanukovych of the country's European integration. Peaceful mass protests of the protesting population turned into active aggressive actions against the existing political regime.

All subsequent events developed literally with lightning speed: after the elimination of President Yanukovych, the Supreme Council of the Crimean AR did not recognize the change of power in Kiev, the pro-Russian forces of the Crimea became more active and with the support of Russia managed to hold a referendum on the return of the Russian peninsula.

Referendum

Simply put, the formulation of the only question that was brought out for general discussion was: "Do you see Crimea as part of Russia?"

The rapidity of the decisions taken and the repeated transfer of the date of the refendum were caused by the active actions of the new Kyivan authorities. Originally scheduled for early May, the referendum "On Return to Russia" was held on March 16. According to its results, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted a resolution on the independence of a sovereign state - the Republic of Crimea.

The process of annexation of the peninsula

Having declared its independence, the Crimean government turned to the Russian Federation with a proposal to accept the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as a subject of the federation. Moscow's decision did not wait. Moreover, the proclamation of sovereignty simplified the legal basis for the accession of territories to the Russian Federation. The fact is that, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, the government can consider proposals to join the Russian Federation only from independent administrative units.

It is not necessary to say that the President of Russia, the State Duma, and the Council of the Russian Federation "without hesitation" accepted the proposal of the Crimea. Within a few days, all formalities were settled, and the Russian Federation was replenished by two entities: the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Of course, the integration process is complex and long, especially in the case of an "uncomfortable" geographical location. But the mood and desire of the population of the Crimea will smooth out any inconvenience and dislocation.