Political status of Crimea
{{Short description|none}}
{{For|the 1850s dispute on the peninsula between Russia and an international coalition|Crimean War}}
{{Politics of Crimea}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
The Crimean problem ({{langx|ru|Проблема Крыма|translit=Problyema Kryma}}; {{langx|uk|Кримська проблема|translit=Krymska problema}}) or the Crimean question ({{langx|ru|Крымский вопрос|translit=Krymskiy vopros}}; {{langx|uk|питання Криму|translit=pytannia Krymu}}) is a dispute over the status of Crimea between Ukraine and Russia.{{Cite journal|last1=Marples|first1=David R.|last2=Duke|first2=David F.|date=1995|title=Ukraine, Russia, and the Question of Crimea|journal=Nationalities Papers|volume=23|issue=2|pages=261–289|doi=10.1080/00905999508408377|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers/article/abs/ukraine-russia-and-the-question-of-crimea/0F73DBD167E681F112A9087162614B68|access-date=2024-05-20}}{{Cite journal|last1=Fediw|first1=Bohdan|date=2000|title=The Crimean Problem: Post-Independence Ukraine's Regional Instability|journal=World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues|volume=4|issue=2|pages=76–88|jstor=45064704|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45064704|access-date=2024-05-20}}{{Cite book|last1=Sasse|first1=Gwendolyn|date=2007|title=The Crimea Question: Identity, Transition, and Conflict|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-1-932650-01-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2P9oAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2024-05-20}}{{Cite web|last=Markedonov|first=Sergei|date=2015-01-16|title=The Crimean 'question'|website=openDemocracy|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/crimean-question/|access-date=2024-05-20}}{{Cite web|last=Bremmer|first=Ian|date=2023-01-23|title=The Crimea problem|website=GZERO Media|url=https://www.gzeromedia.com/quick-take/the-crimea-problem|access-date=2024-05-20}}
The dispute began during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but did not escalate into a conflict until the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, when Russian special forces were deployed to occupy Crimea and took over its government buildings.[http://www.businessinsider.com/how-russia-took-crimea-2015-3 How Russia Took Crimea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122234515/https://www.businessinsider.com/how-russia-took-crimea-2015-3 |date=22 January 2021 }} Macias, Amanda (2015). Business Insider. Retrieved August 1, 2017.[http://uk.reuters.com/article/russia-putin-crimea-idUKL6N0N921H20140417 Putin Admits Russian Forces Were Deployed to Crimea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419015007/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/russia-putin-crimea-idUKL6N0N921H20140417 |date=19 April 2014 }} Reuters (2014). Retrieved August 1, 2017.{{cite news|last=De Carbonnel|first=Alissa|date=13 March 2014|title=RPT-INSIGHT-How the separatists delivered Crimea to Moscow|work=Reuters|url=https://reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-russia-aksyonov-idINL6N0M93AH20140313|access-date=8 March 2015|quote=Only a week after gunmen planted the Russian flag on the local parliament, Aksyonov and his allies held another vote and declared parliament was appealing to Putin to annex Crimea|archive-date=13 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113030045/https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-russia-aksyonov-idINL6N0M93AH20140313|url-status=live}} The official results of an internationally unrecognized referendum held during the occupation allegedly indicated overwhelming support for Russian annexation.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/16/290525623/crimeans-vote-on-splitting-from-ukraine-to-join-russia|title=Crimea Overwhelmingly Supports Split From Ukraine To Join Russia|website=NPR|date=16 March 2014}} The Crimean parliament and the autonomous city of Sevastopol unilaterally declared independence from Ukraine{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/crimean-parliament-votes-to-join-russia/1865384.html|title=Crimean Parliament Votes to Join Russia|website=Voice of America|date=6 March 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/crimean-parliament-votes-join-russia-sets-referendum-date-n45686|title=Crimean Parliament Votes to Join Russia, Sets Referendum Date|website=NBC News|date=6 March 2014}} to ideally form a country named Republic of Crimea. Russia then annexed the region and created two federal subjects, the Republic of Crimea (as a republic) and Sevastopol (as a federal city). Ukraine and the majority of the international community continue to regard Crimea as occupied Ukrainian territory; a United Nations General Assembly resolution declared the referendum invalid and affirmed the territorial integrity of Ukraine.{{cite book|author=UN|url=http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/68/262|title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 27 March 2014|publisher=United Nations Press|year=2014|access-date=25 February 2022|archive-date=6 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006110417/https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES%2F68%2F262|url-status=live}}
Despite international opinion however, the currency, tax, time zone and legal system are all operational under de facto Russian control. Ukraine has attempted to resolve the matter by filing litigation in multiple international criminal, environmental, political (European Union), and other courts.
History
In 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Throughout its time the Soviet Union, Crimea underwent a population change. As a result of alleged collaboration with the Germans by Crimean Tatars during World War II, all Crimean Tatars were deported by the Soviet regime and the peninsula was resettled with other peoples, mainly Russians and Ukrainians. Modern experts say that the deportation was part of the Soviet plan to gain access to the Dardanelles and acquire territory in Turkey, where the Tatars had Turkic ethnic kin, or to remove minorities from the Soviet Union's border regions.{{sfn|Bezverkha|2017|p=127}}
Nearly 8,000 Crimean Tatars died during the deportation, and tens of thousands perished subsequently due to the harsh exile conditions.{{sfn|Rywkin|1994|p=67}} The Crimean Tatar deportation resulted in the abandonment of 80,000 households and 145,600 hectares of land.
The autonomous republic without its titled nationality was downgraded to an oblast within the Russian SFSR on 30 June 1945.
On 19 February 1954, the oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR jurisdiction,{{cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38ec2.html |title=Chronology for Crimean Russians in Ukraine |access-date=10 September 2021}} on the basis of "the integral character of the economy, the territorial proximity and the close economic and cultural ties between the Crimea Province and the Ukrainian SSR"{{cite news|last=Calamur|first=Krishnadev|title=Crimea: A Gift To Ukraine Becomes A Political Flash Point|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/02/27/283481587/crimea-a-gift-to-ukraine-becomes-a-political-flash-point|date=27 February 2014|newspaper=NPR|access-date=27 September 2017}} and to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's union with Russia.{{cite news|last=Ragozin|first=Leonid|title=Annexation of Crimea: A masterclass in political manipulation|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/annexation-crimea-masterclass-political-manipulation-190315174459207.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=16 March 2019 }}[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18287223 Crimea profile – Overview] BBC News. Retrieved 30 December 2015
From 1991, the territory was covered by the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol City within independent Ukraine. In 1994, Russia signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, which states that it would "Respect Belarusian, Kazakh and Ukrainian independence, sovereignty, and the existing borders".
= The Black Sea Fleet and Sevastopol =
{{Main|Black Sea Fleet dispute}}
Post-independence, the dispute over control of the Black Sea Fleet and Sevastopol, the Crimean port city where the fleet was based, was a source of tensions for Russia–Ukraine relations.{{cite web|last=Zaborsky|first=Victor|title=Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet in Russian- Ukrainian Relations|url=https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/crimea-and-black-sea-fleet-russian-ukrainian-relations|date=31 August 1995|access-date=2021-09-10|archive-date=9 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909224221/https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/crimea-and-black-sea-fleet-russian-ukrainian-relations|url-status=live}} Until a final agreement was reached in 1997 with the signing of the Partition Treaty and Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty, where Ukraine allowed Russia basing rights in Sevastopol and Crimea until 2017.
Crimea hosts Ukraine's largest ethnic Russian population, many of whom are retired military personnel or employees of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, especially in Sevastopol. Between 1992–1995, the dispute over the future of the fleet exacerbated internal frictions, with statements by Russian politicians encouraging separatist sentiments.{{cite web|last=Pifer|first=Steven|title=Averting Crisis in Ukraine|url=https://www.cfr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2009/01/Ukraine_CSR41.pdf|date=January 2009|access-date=2021-09-30|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930123455/https://www.cfr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2009/01/Ukraine_CSR41.pdf|url-status=live}}
= Sovereignty and geopolitics =
Despite being an independent country since 1991, the former Soviet republic Ukraine has been perceived by Russia as being part of its sphere of influence. Iulian Chifu and his co-authors claimed in a book that in regard to Ukraine, Russia pursued a modernized version of the Brezhnev Doctrine on "limited sovereignty", which dictates that the sovereignty of Ukraine cannot be larger than that of the Warsaw Pact prior to the demise of the Soviet sphere of influence.{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.cpc-ew.ro/pdfs/the_russian_georgian_war.pdf|title=The Russian Georgian War: A trilateral cognitive institutional approach of the crisis decision-making process|chapter=Russia–Georgia War of August 2008: Ukrainian Approach|publisher=Editura Curtea Veche|location=Bucharest|year=2009|isbn=978-973-1983-19-6|author=Iulian Chifu|author2=Oazu Nantoi|author3=Oleksandr Sushko|page=181|access-date=21 February 2016|archive-date=30 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930233012/http://www.cpc-ew.ro/pdfs/the_russian_georgian_war.pdf|url-status=live}} This claim is based on statements of Russian leaders that possible integration of Ukraine into NATO would jeopardize Russia's national security.
The issue resurfaced in late 2000s over Ukraine asserting its sovereignty and Russia's concern over its western orientation. In 2008, Russia used Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet in the Russo-Georgian War and ignored Ukraine regulations, leading to Ukrainian President Yushchenko's declaration that the lease deal would not be extended and that the fleet would have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.{{Cite web | url=http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274818.html | title=No Russian fleet in Ukraine beyond 2017 -Ukrainian PM | access-date=30 September 2021 | archive-date=25 September 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925152655/http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274818.html | url-status=live }} However, in 2010 president Yanukovych signed the Kharkiv Pact amidst Russia–Ukraine gas disputes.
In September 2013, Russia warned Ukraine that if it went ahead with a planned Association Agreement with EU, it would face consequences. Sergey Glazyev, adviser to President Vladimir Putin, said that, "Ukrainian authorities make a huge mistake if they think that the Russian reaction will become neutral in a few years from now. This will not happen." Glazyev allowed for the possibility of separatist movements springing up in the Russian-speaking east and south of Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/ukraine-european-union-trade-russia|title=Ukraine's EU trade deal will be catastrophic, says Russia|first=Shaun|last=Walker|work=The Guardian|date=22 September 2013|access-date=25 February 2015|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724113026/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/ukraine-european-union-trade-russia|url-status=live}}
=Evolution of status of the Crimean Peninsula within independent Ukraine=
==Crimean ASSR and Republic of Crimea==
After the Crimean referendum of 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated to a signatory of the New Union Treaty (that is, become a union republic on its own), the Ukrainian SSR restored Crimea's autonomous status (Crimean Autonomous SSR), but confirmed that autonomy restored as a part of the Ukrainian SSR. The Crimean Oblast council became Supreme Council of Crimea and, on 4 September 1991, passed the Declaration of state sovereignty of Crimea.{{Cite web |url=http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb001d002-91 |last=Parliament of Ukraine |date=17 Nov 1994 |publisher=Government of Ukraine |language=ru |script-title=ru:Декларация о государственном суверенитете Крыма |access-date=24 Apr 2014 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703121737/https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb001d002-91 |url-status=live }}
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ASSR renamed itself the Republic of Crimea.{{Cite web |url=http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0019002-92 |last=Parliament of Ukraine |date=20 Oct 1999 |publisher=Government of Ukraine |language=ru |script-title=ru:О Республике Крым как официальном названии демократического государства Крым |access-date=24 Apr 2014 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703121741/https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0019002-92 |url-status=live }} The Ukrainian government initially accepted its name, but not its claims to be a state. According to Ukrainian law "On status of the autonomous Republic of Crimea", passed on 29 April 1992, "Republic of Crimea is an autonomous part of Ukraine and independently decides on matters, of its application of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine" (art. 1).[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2299-12/ed19920429 Про статус автономної Республіки Крим. Закон від 29.04.1992 № 2299-XII] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703121739/https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2299-12/ed19920429 |date=3 July 2019 }} {{in lang|uk}} The Regional Supreme Council, on the contrary, insisted that "Republic of Crimea is a legal democratic state", which "has supremacy in respect to natural, material, cultural and spiritual heritage" and "exercises its sovereign rights and full power" on its territory (art. 1 of the May 1992 Constitution), but also a "part of Ukraine and establishes relations in it on a basis of the treaty and agreements" (art. 9).[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb076a002-92/ed19920506 Конституция Республики Крым] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202640/http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb076a002-92/ed19920506 |date=3 March 2016 }} {{in lang|ru}} Both Ukrainian law on autonomy status[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2523-12/ed19920429 Про внесення змін і доповнень до Закону України "Про статус автономної Республіки Крим" Верховна Рада України; Закон від 30.06.1992 № 2523-XII] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703121741/https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2523-12/ed19920429 |date=3 July 2019 }} {{in lang|uk}} and the 1992 Constitution of Crimea[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0155002-92/ed19920925 О внесении изменений и дополнений в Конституцию Республики Крым. Верховная Рада АРК; Закон от 25.09.1992 № 155–1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204162943/http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0155002-92/ed19920925 |date=4 December 2014 }} {{in lang|ru}} were amended later that year, putting the Republic's status in between what was proposed in the initial revision of the 1992 Constitution and what was proposed in April 1992 Ukrainian law on the status of the Republic.
On 21 May 1992 the Supreme Soviet of Russia declared 1954 transfer of Crimea as having "no legal force", because it was adopted "in violation of the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Russian SFSR and legislative process", but because subsequent legislation and the 1990 Russo-Ukrainian treaty constituted that fact, parliament considered it necessary to resolve the Crimean question in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and on the basis of the popular will of the inhabitants of Crimea.{{Cite web |url=http://sevkrimrus.narod.ru/ZAKON/o1954.htm |date=May 1992 |language=ru |script-title=ru:Постановление ВС России "О правовой оценке решений высших органов государственной власти РСФСР по изменению статуса Крыма, принятых в 1954 году" |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518084022/http://sevkrimrus.narod.ru/ZAKON/o1954.htm |url-status=live }} A similar resolution was adopted for Sevastopol a year later. Both moves were condemned by Ukraine{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/47/226 |title=Letter dated 25 May 1992 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, addressed to the Secretary-General |date=25 May 1992 |website=un.org |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-date=20 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320234131/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F47%2F226 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/26075 |title=Letter dated 13 July 1993 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, addressed to the President of the Security Council |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216182219/https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S%2F26075 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/26100 |title=Letter dated 16 July 1993 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations addressed to the Security Council |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-date=21 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321083935/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S%2F26100 |url-status=live }} and resulted in no changes to the Russian Constitution (neither 1978 nor 1993 documents enumerated Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects).
In 1994, after parliamentary and presidential elections in the Republic, the Supreme Council and the executive became dominated by the Russian Bloc (which had won 57 seats in the Supreme Council of Crimea and Presidency for its member, Yuri Meshkov).Полунов, Александр Юрьевич. [http://e-journal.spa.msu.ru/uploads/vestnik/2009/vipusk__21._dekabr_2009_g./polunov.pdf Общественные организации русского Крыма: политическая деятельность, стратегии взаимоотношений с властью] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202121020/http://e-journal.spa.msu.ru/uploads/vestnik/2009/vipusk__21._dekabr_2009_g./polunov.pdf |date=2 December 2019 }}. Государственное управление. Выпуск № 21. Декабрь 2009 года. {{in lang|ru}} Following a referendum, held in the same year, the Supreme Council of Crimea restored the 1992 Constitution to its original revision.[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0032002-94/ed19940520 О восстановлении конституционных основ государственности Республики Крым. Верховная Рада АРК; Закон от 20.05.1994 № 32–1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107224833/http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb0032002-94/ed19940520 |date=7 November 2018 }} {{in lang|ru}}
==Autonomous Republic of Crimea==
A year later, the 1992 Crimean constitution, along with the presidency and regional citizenship, was declared null and void by the Ukrainian Parliament, which by that time, had renamed the area from "Republic of Crimea" to Autonomous Republic of Crimea.[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/171/94-%D0%B2%D1%80 Про внесення змін і доповнень до Конституції (Основного Закону) України. Верховна Рада України; Закон від 21.09.1994 № 171/94-ВР] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106151130/http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/171/94-%D0%B2%D1%80 |date=6 November 2018 }} {{in lang|uk}} Another Constitution was passed by Crimean parliament in 1995,[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb611k002-95/ed19951101 Конституция Автономной Республики Крым. Верховная Рада АРК; Закон, Конституция от 01.11.1995 № 611k-1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074545/https://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/krym/show/rb611k002-95/ed19951101 |date=1 March 2019 }} {{in lang|ru}} but many parts of it were rejected by the Ukrainian parliament; among them were the republic's name (which was to remain "Republic of Crimea") and citizenship.[http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/117/96-%D0%B2%D1%80 Про Конституцію Автономної Республіки Крим. Верховна Рада України; Закон від 04.04.1996 № 117/96-ВР] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117003543/http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/117/96-%D0%B2%D1%80 |date=17 January 2017 }} {{in lang|uk}} Meanwhile, during drafting of the new Ukrainian Constitution, the question of autonomy was much debated: some legislators proposed abolishing it altogether (downgrading back to oblast status or to autonomy but not autonomous republic),[http://static.rada.gov.ua/NEWSAJT/site/const/rozdil/rozdil10.htm Table of amendments to the 11 March 1996 draft Ukrainian Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228192141/http://static.rada.gov.ua/NEWSAJT/site/const/rozdil/rozdil10.htm |date=28 February 2019 }} {{in lang|uk}}{{Cite web |url=http://static.rada.gov.ua/NEWSAJT/site/const/tabl/tabl0010.htm |title=Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України |trans-title=Official portal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine |website=static.rada.gov.ua |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=28 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228192401/http://static.rada.gov.ua/NEWSAJT/site/const/tabl/tabl0010.htm |url-status=live }} while other legislators proposed legalising the 1992 Constitution of Crimea provisions (original May revision) in the new Ukrainian Constitution. Ultimately, the new Constitution of Ukraine adopted neither extreme and reiterated the autonomous status of the republic, while downgrading some of its powers (such as the regional Supreme Council's powers to enact legislation in form of laws ("zakoni")). The Republic was declared to be the "Autonomous Republic of Crimea", but also an "inseparable constituent part of Ukraine".{{cite wikisource |title=Constitution of Ukraine, 1996}} A new Crimean constitution, complying with provisions of the Ukrainian one, was adopted in 1998.
==Status of Sevastopol==
Before the 1954 transfer of Crimea, Sevastopol was elevated into a "city of republican subordination" of the Russian SFSR – a predecessor[http://constitution.garant.ru/history/ussr-rsfsr/1978/zakony/183130/ Закон РФ от 9 декабря 1992 г. N 4061-I "Об изменениях и дополнениях Конституции (Основного Закона) Российской Федерации – России" (принят седьмым Съездом народных депутатов РФ)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226001506/http://constitution.garant.ru/history/ussr-rsfsr/1978/zakony/183130/ |date=26 February 2014 }}: "В статье 71<...>в части второй слова "республиканского подчинения" заменить словами "федерального значения"" {{in lang|ru}} of the modern status of "city of federal importance". Nevertheless, in practice it was still governed as a part of the Crimean Oblast; for example, inhabitants of Sevastopol elected deputies into the Crimean Oblast Council,{{Cite web |url=http://sd.net.ua/2011/02/19/analiz-dokumentov-sevastopol-ukrainskij-gorod.html |title=Анализ документов: Севастополь – украинский город |trans-title=Document analysis: Sevastopol is a Ukrainian city |publisher=Sd.net.ua |access-date=2014-04-10 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920060300/http://sd.net.ua/2011/02/19/analiz-dokumentov-sevastopol-ukrainskij-gorod.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://gazeta.zn.ua/POLITICS/gorod_respublikanskogo_podchineniya.html |title=Город республиканского подчинения |trans-title=City of republican subordination |access-date=12 November 2017 |archive-date=27 February 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140227145113/http://gazeta.zn.ua/POLITICS/gorod_respublikanskogo_podchineniya.html |url-status=live }} and all its structures, such as local militsiya departments, etc., were subordinated to oblast structures,{{Cite web |url=https://day.kyiv.ua/ru/article/podrobnosti/sverhnaglost-srabotaet |date=2011-10-07 |publisher=day.kyiv.ua |language=ru |script-title=ru:«Сверхнаглость» сработает? Севастополь: псевдоюридические аргументы Ю. М. Лужкова |trans-title=Will "super insolence" work? Sevastopol: pseudo-legal arguments of Yu. M. Luzhkov |access-date=2020-09-23 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429063904/https://day.kyiv.ua/ru/article/podrobnosti/sverhnaglost-srabotaet |url-status=live }} and therefore de facto transferred, too. The Ukrainian Constitution of 1978 listed Sevastopol as one of its "cities of republican subordination" (along with Kyiv),[http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/888-09/ed19780420 Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807105120/http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/888-09/ed19780420 |date=7 August 2014 }} {{in lang|uk}} whilst the Russian constitution of the same year didn't list Sevastopol as such.{{Cite web |url=http://constitution.garant.ru/history/ussr-rsfsr/1978/red_1978/5478721/chapter/7/#block_3700 |title=Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407074555/http://constitution.garant.ru/history/ussr-rsfsr/1978/red_1978/5478721/chapter/7/#block_3700 |archive-date=7 April 2014 }}
In 1993, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation issued a resolution, which "confirms Russian federal status of Sevastopol" and requested a parliamentary commission to prepare and present to Congress of People's Deputies of Russia corresponding constitutional amendments, but 1993 Russian constitutional crisis prevented that from happening and initial revisions of the Constitution of Russia, adopted on 12 December 1993, did not list Sevastopol as a federal subject. Three years later, the State Duma declared that Russia has a right to exercise sovereignty over Sevastopol,{{Cite web |url=http://bazazakonov.ru/doc/?ID=1378881 |title=Постановление Государственной Думы Федерального Собрания РФ от 24 октября 1996 г. N 747-II ГД "Об обращении Государственной Думы Федерального Собрания Российской Федерации "К … |trans-title=Decree of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of October 24, 1996 N 747-II GD "On the appeal of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation" To ... |publisher=Bazazakonov.ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201204817/http://bazazakonov.ru/doc/?ID=1378881 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=2014-04-10 |df=dmy-all}} but this resolution went without any actual effect. An agreement was concluded in 1997 by the Russian and Ukrainian governments, allowing the Black Sea Fleet to stay in Sevastopol until 2017. Later this was extended by another 25 years until 2042, with a possible option to extend this period until 2047.
=2014 annexation and subsequent developments=
{{further|2014 Crimean status referendum|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}
After the events of Euromaidan, the referendum and the decision holding it was held during and after Russia's implementation of a military presence in Crimea. Igor Girkin, one of the major Russian commanders of the action, explained that the "overwhelming national support for the self-defence" as portrayed by the Russian media was fiction, and a majority of the law enforcement, administration and army were opposed to it."Я не увидел, к сожалению, никакой поддержки органов государственной власти в Симферополе. Не было ее. Депутатов собирали ополченцы, чтобы загнать их в зал, чтобы они приняли решения. И я был одним из командиров этих ополченцев", {{citation|title=Excerpt from "И.Стрелков vs Н.Стариков "ЦЕНТРСИЛЫ / СИЛАЦЕНТРА"" [I. Strelkov vs N. Starikov debate]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPSUUNngoQk|access-date=2015-07-15}}{{cite web|date=2015-01-22|title=И.Стрелков vs Н.Стариков "ЦЕНТРСИЛЫ / СИЛАЦЕНТРА"|trans-title=I. Strelkov vs N. Starikov debate|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G04tXnvKx8Y|access-date=2015-01-25|publisher=Neuromir TV}} Girkin stated that under his command, the rebels "collected" deputies into the chambers, and had to "forcibly drive the deputies to vote [to join Russia]".[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcCqrzctxH4 Russian FSB colonel Igor Girkin (alias Strelkov): "The Crimea referendum was a fake"]. I. Strelkov vs N. Starikov debate. Neuromir TV. 2015-01-22.
On 14 March, the Crimean status referendum was deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine,{{cite web|url = http://24tv.ua/ru/ks_priznal_nekonstitutsionnim_postanovlenie_o_provedenii_referenduma_v_krimu_n420886|title = КС признал неконституционным постановление о проведении референдума в Крыму – Видео |date = 14 March 2014 |trans-title=The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the decision to hold a referendum in Crimea – Video |access-date = 29 August 2021|archive-date = 4 February 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160204201723/http://24tv.ua/ru/ks_priznal_nekonstitutsionnim_postanovlenie_o_provedenii_referenduma_v_krimu_n420886|url-status = live}} and a day later, the Verkhovna Rada formally dissolved the Crimean parliament.{{cite web |url=http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/891-18 |script-title=uk:Про дострокове припинення повноважень Верховної Ради Автономної Республіки Крим |trans-title=On the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea |language=uk |website=Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine |date=15 March 2014 |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=10 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210200951/http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/891-18 |url-status=live }} On March 16, a Crimean referendum on the status of the peninsula was held, which, despite opposition from the Ukrainian government, was held after a decision by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The day before, on March 15, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a resolution to early terminate the powers of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC, and on March 14, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared the referendum unconstitutional.
According to the official results released by the Crimean authorities, 97% of voters voted in favor of secession from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
However, the referendum was held in the absence of international observers, which raised doubts about its legitimacy and transparency. A number of states and international organizations did not recognize the results of the vote, pointing to numerous reports of fraud and violations during the voting process, as well as the presence of Russian troops in Crimea, which could have influenced the will of the citizens.{{Cite web | title=6 Countries OK With Russia Annexation of Crimea - Business Insider | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/six-countries-okay-with-russias-annexation-of-crimea-2016-5 | access-date=2025-04-01 | website=www.businessinsider.com}}
The peninsula then was annexed by Russia where it was converted into a federal district under the name of Crimean Federal District. However, the annexation divided the Autonomous Republic and the city of Sevastopol once again into two separate entities: the Autonomous Republic became the Republic of Crimea as a Russian republic while Sevastopol became a Russian federal city.
Regardless of all this, Ukraine and the vast majority of the international community have not recognized the validity of the referendum, and have not recognized the accession of this region into Russia.
Only Russia and a few other nations have recognized all these events. The lack of recognition from Ukraine and the international community is based primarily on the fact that the referendum included an option to join Russia while the region was under military occupation by Russia itself. The European Union, United States, Canada and several other nations condemned the decision to hold a referendum. In addition, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People—the unofficial political association of the Crimean Tatars—called for a boycott of the referendum.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dw.de/tatar-leader-referendums-results-predetermined/a-17500078 |title=Tatar leader: referendum's results 'predetermined' |date=16 March 2014 |publisher=DW.DE |access-date=17 March 2014 |archive-date=16 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316232350/http://www.dw.de/tatar-leader-referendums-results-predetermined/a-17500078 |url-status=live }}
File:UN Resolution regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine.svg.
{{Legend inline|#74C365|In favor}} {{Legend inline|#ab4e52|Against}} {{Legend inline|#FADA5E|Abstentions}} {{Legend inline|#89CFF0|Absent}}]]
In 2014, UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution declaring the referendum invalid and reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity by a vote of 100 to 11 with 58 abstentions and 24 absent.[https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47443&Cr=Ukraine&Cr1= United Nations News Centre – Backing Ukraine's territorial integrity, UN Assembly declares Crimea referendum invalid] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013064709/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47443 |date=13 October 2017 }}. Un.org (1 March 2014). Retrieved on 28 March 2014.[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA2Q1GA20140327 U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218081629/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA2Q1GA20140327 |date=18 December 2020 }}. Reuters. 27 March 2014. Since 2014, the UN General Assembly has voted several times, most recently in December 2019, to affirm Ukraine's territorial integrity, condemn the 'temporary occupation' of Crimea, and reaffirm nonrecognition of its annexation.[https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/RES/74/168 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215105911/https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en%2FA%2FRES%2F74%2F168 |date=15 February 2022 }} on 18 December 2019], UN General Assembly
The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally displaced persons ({{langx|uk|Міністерство з питань тимчасово окупованих територій та внутрішньо переміщених осіб України}}) is a Ukrainian government ministry officially established on 20 April 2016{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/04/20/7106169/ The Cabinet decided to create the Ministry of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328142100/https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/04/20/7106169/ |date=28 March 2019 }}, Ukrayinska Pravda (20 April 2016) to manage occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea regions affected by Russian military intervention of 2014.
In 2021, Ukraine launched the Crimea Platform, a diplomatic initiative aimed at protecting the rights of Crimean inhabitants and ultimately reversing the annexation of Crimea.{{Cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/08/23/crimea-is-ukraine-zelenskyy-opens-inaugural-crimea-summit |title='Crimea is Ukraine': Zelenskyy opens inaugural Crimea summit |date=23 August 2021 |publisher=euronews |access-date=29 August 2021 |archive-date=29 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829010903/https://www.euronews.com/2021/08/23/crimea-is-ukraine-zelenskyy-opens-inaugural-crimea-summit |url-status=live }}
Stances
{{original research section|date=September 2018}}
=Russia=
Russia recognized the short-lived Republic of Crimea as a country shortly before concluding the aforementioned treaty of accession, which was approved by the Constitutional Court of Russia. Russia claimed the Republic of Crimea (country) as a federal district, the Crimean Federal District, on the grounds of historical control of the area and the local population's right to self-determination reflected in the annexation vote.{{Cite news |last1=Juan Valdes |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140305-maps-crimea-history-russia-ukraine/ |title=300 Years of Embattled Crimea History in 6 Maps |date=5 March 2014 |work=National Geographic |access-date=30 March 2014 |last2=Rosemary Wardley |archive-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709094551/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140305-maps-crimea-history-russia-ukraine/ |url-status=dead }} On 28 July 2016 the Crimean Federal District was abolished and Crimea was included in the Southern Federal District.
=Ukraine=
The Government of Ukraine did not recognize the Republic of Crimea's claim to sovereignty, nor the unification of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea with Sevastopol, nor the referendum that paved the way for Crimean secession. The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally displaced persons ({{langx|uk|Міністерство з питань тимчасово окупованих територій та внутрішньо переміщених осіб України}}) is a government ministry in Ukraine that was officially established on 20 April 2016 to manage occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea regions affected by Russian invasion of 2014.
=Others=
{{see also|International reactions to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262|United Nations General Assembly resolution A/73/L.47|United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/4}}
== Pro-Russian stances on Crimea ==
The following members of the United Nations have taken pro-Russian stances on Crimea.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/world/asia/breaking-with-the-west-afghan-leader-supports-russias-annexation-of-crimea.html |title=Breaking With the West, Afghan Leader Supports Russia's Annexation of Crimea |first=Matthew |last=Rosenberg |work=The New York Times |date=2014-03-23 |access-date=2020-01-29 |archive-date=5 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405222334/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/world/asia/breaking-with-the-west-afghan-leader-supports-russias-annexation-of-crimea.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/visiting-russia-fidel-castro-s-son-scoffs-at-u-s-sanctions-over-crimea/497144.html |title=Visiting Russia, Fidel Castro's Son Scoffs at U.S. Sanctions Over Crimea |access-date=12 November 2017 |archive-date=17 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417010829/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/visiting-russia-fidel-castro-s-son-scoffs-at-u-s-sanctions-over-crimea/497144.html |url-status=live }}{{failed verification|date=October 2022}}
The following non UN-member states have recognized the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia:
Former:
| class="wikitable" |
| State
! Notes |
|---|
| {{flag|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan}}
| President Hamid Karzai said, "we respect the decision the people of Crimea took through a recent referendum that considers Crimea as part of the Russian Federation." |
Unclear:
== Pro-Ukrainian stances on Crimea ==
The following member states have taken a pro-Ukrainian stance, varying from sanctions against Russia to giving support to Ukraine to voting for Ukraine's claim on the territory:
The following non UN-member states have also voiced support for Ukraine's claim on the territory:
In addition to most states listed above, the following states voted for resolution A/73/L.47, affirming the General Assembly's commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and condemning the Kerch Strait incident.
| class="wikitable" |
| State
! Notes |
|---|
| {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}
| |
| {{flag|Belize}}
| |
| {{flag|Botswana}}
| |
| {{flag|Djibouti}}
| |
| {{flag|Guyana}}
| |
| {{flag|Israel}}
| |
| {{flag|Tuvalu}}
| |
| {{flag|Vanuatu}}
| |
Withdrawn
| class="wikitable" |
| State
! Notes |
|---|
| {{flag|Central African Republic}}
| |
== Other positions ==
See also
- Russia–Ukraine relations
- Russia–Ukraine border and Russia–Ukraine barrier
- International reactions to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
- International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Temporarily occupied and uncontrolled territories of Ukraine (2014–present)
- Crimea Platform
- International recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Crimea topics}}
{{Russo-Ukrainian War navbox}}
{{Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}
Category:Diplomatic recognition
Category:Events affected by annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
Category:Russian occupation of Ukraine