Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Address by President of the Russian Federation.

Address by President of the Russian Federation.

The accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation is an ongoing process that began after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. The day after the 2014 Crimean referendum, the parliament of Crimea asked the Russian Federation "to admit the Republic of Crimea as a new subject with the status of a republic".

Timeline

Sergey Naryshkin, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergey Aksyonov, Aleksei Chalyi and Valentina Matviyenko.

Vladimir Putin with Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergey Aksyonov and Aleksei Chalyi.

Rally in support the Accession of Crimea to Russia.

Rally in support the Accession of Crimea to Russia.

Rally in support the Accession of Crimea to Russia.

• March 16:
  • In the referendum on the status of Crimea, Crimeans overwhelmingly support joining Russia.

• March 17:
  • Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin states to the press, "The hopes of the Crimean people, who have voted in Sunday's referendum for accession to Russia, should not be forfeited."
  • Crimea’s Parliament declares independence and asks the Russian Federation to admit the Republic of Crimea into Russia.
  • Crimea's Parliament declares the Russian ruble an official currency, alongside hryvnia.
  • President of Russia Vladimir Putin issues a decree formally recognizing Crimea as an independent state.
  • President of Russia approves 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.
  • The Republic of Crimea is recognized by Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, and South Ossetia.

• March 18:
  • According to the Article 6 of the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Procedure of Admission to the Russian Federation and the Formation Within It New Subject of the Russian Federation" of 2001, President Vladimir Putin has notified the Government, the State Duma and the Federation Council of proposals by the Crimean State Council and the Sevastopol Legislative Assembly regarding their admission to the RF and the formation of new constituent territories.
  • President of Russia Vladimir Putin has addressed the Russian Federal Assembly on Crimea's assession to Russia, and signed the treaty on the admission of the Republic of Crimea (includling Sevastopol) into Russia (as the Republic of Crimea and federal city Sevastopol respectively in accordance with the provisions of the the 2001 Accession Law).)
  • Transnistria sends a request to join the Russian Federation following the Crimean example and in compliance with the Accession Law provisions.

• March 30:
  • Crimea is planned to switch to Moscow Time.

Expectations

Crimeans were cited as expecting "better pay and becoming part of a country capable of asserting itself on the world stage" if Crimea becomes part of Russia. Chicago Tribune talks about emotional ties Crimeans have to Russia and Russians to Crimea and quotes Russian parliamentarian Leonid Slutsky as saying that "those who most benefit ... are the simple people, the simple Crimeans...", who now are, "with their face lit up, kissing their ballot papers", they "are happy ... they are protected, they will return to the country where they wanted to be". At the same time, in a poll taken just a month before the referendum, only 41% of Crimeans desired to reunify with Russia.

The Russian press cites travel agency representatives as being very enthusiastic about adding Crimea to their list of destinations. Until now, Crimea was considered a place where people go for holidays independently, without buying a tour, and now travel agencies see it as a new undeveloped market. Without the need of and exchanging currency it may become one of most desired holiday destinations. The media are also enthusiastic about Russians returning to famous Crimean resorts that were very popular in the Soviet Union, including the famous young pioneer camp Artek. The Russian government is expected to promote Crimea as a resort and provide subsidized holidays to the peninsula for children and state workers. Russian businessmen and politicians have also been reported as planning to invest into developing Crimean health resort infrastructure. In a short term, in 2014, the number of Russians spending their summer vacations in Crimea is expected to be lower than in the previous year due to worries about the political situation, Ukrainians, too, won't come in usual numbers, but the Crimean government still hopes that Russian tourists will flow in and invites them to come.

The Sofia news agency Novinite claims that according to the German newspaper Die Welt, accession 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".

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. The newspaper estimates the costs of integrating Crimea into Russia in $30 billion over the next decade, i.e. in $3 billion per year.