Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Crimea and Sevastopol officially joined Russia as President Putin signed a final decree 21 March 2014. Crimea’s rejoining Russia was triggered by an uprising in Kiev, which ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovich from power. The new authorities took some steps, including parliament passing a law revoking the regional status of the Russian language, which caused the predominantly Russian region to defy Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said 09 March 2015 he ordered security officials in February 2014 to start planning for Russia's annexation of Crimea. Putin initially denied that Russian troops were involved in the seizure of Crimea, saying the secession was led by what he called local self-defense forces.

The Russian intervention in Crimea culminated in a referendum, in which an overwhelming majority of over 96 percent voted in favor of asking for reunification with Russia. Moscow agreed, citing the will of the people and the historic justice of the move as its motives.

Kiev and Western countries deemed Crimea’s secession and Russia’s acceptance of the peninsula illegal, a notion that Moscow denied. The US and the EU issued sanctions against some Russian officials and businessmen in a bid to put pressure on Russia over its stance on the Ukrainian crisis. Russian authorities mostly mocked the sanctions.

Russian Crimea was led by Sergei Aksyonov, a Russian separatist whose political party won 4 percent of the vote at the parliamentary election in 2010. On 26 February 2014, the region's parliament met to debate holding a referendum on loosening ties with Kiev. Thousands of pro-Russian demonstrators clashed outside the building with protesters supporting unity with Kiev. There was no vote on a referendum, as there were not enough lawmakers to reach a quorum. Anatoly Mogilyov, Crimea's regional prime minister, appointed by Yanukovich. Mogilyov had spoken out against breaking away from Kiev, and the ruling party he represented - Yanukovich's Party of the Regions which controlled 80 seats in the 100 seat legislature - was publicly committed to autonomy within Ukraine. The next morning before dawn, armed men seized the building, and soon it was reported that 53 lawmakers voted to replace Mogilyov with Aksyonov, and 61 voted to hold a referendum on “sovereignty”.

The Crimean parliament declared the region’s independence from Ukraine on 17 March 2014 and formally applied to become part of Russia after a referendum Sunday showed overwhelming support for Moscow. With all ballots counted, 96.7 percent of voters in the southern Ukrainian region had backed reunification with Russia after 60 years as part of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to recognize Ukraine's breakaway region of Crimea as an independent state. Russia also recognized Sevastopol, a Crimean port that houses the Russian Black Sea fleet base, a city with a "special autonomous status" within the Republic of Crimea.

The parliament of Crimea, a majority ethnic Russian region within Ukraine, declared independence 11 March 2014 ahead of a popular vote on secession and annexation by Russia. The declaration appeared to be the latest attempt to shore up the legal basis of the referendum, which was declared unconstitutional by the country’s central leadership in Kiev. A representative of the regional parliament’s press office said that 78 of 100 deputies voted to declare independence. The text of the declaration claimed that the action was in accordance with international law, specifically citing a 2010 ruling by the International Court of Justice that affirmed Kosovo had the right to declare independence from Serbia.

Russia could absorb Crimea, currently part of Ukraine, in a matter of weeks after the referendum on secession, the head of the region’s parliament told RIA Novosti 13 March 2013. After the referendum, Russia’s lower and upper houses of parliament will hold a formal vote on whether to approve annexation, before Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his final backing. “We believe here in Crimea that these three actions will take a maximum of two weeks, and by the end of this period we should have a constitution. We will send it for approval to the Russian Parliament,” said Volodymyr Konstantinov, the speaker of Crimea's parliament.

Chairman of the republic’s Supreme Council (parliament) Vladimir Konstantinov said "We will bring up the issue of expanding Crimea's autonomous status to that of a state. Thereunder, we are planning to build our relations with the central government on a treaty basis.... This land belongs to the Russian world. We would like everyone to remember that. It's a millennium-old history. The people of Russia and Ukraine belong to the Russian world".

Authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea planned using the experience gained by Scotland and Catalonia as they prepare a referendum on the political future of their region. Officials in Crimea are confident this will mean that the campaign, the goal of which is to revise the status of the region upwards to a full-fledged state from an autonomous entity, will be conducted in line with all the norms accepted in the current European regional policies.

The Crimean authorities do not consider the possibility of proclaiming independence of the republic according to "the Abkhazian version". They believe that the process of joining the Russian Federation will take about a year, Prime Minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov said 14 March 2014. "I think that the transition period will take about a year, after that we will be fully able to enjoy all the processes, benefits as part of the Russian Federation," Aksyonov said at a briefing in Simferopol. He gave a negative answer to a question about a possibility of "the Abkhazian version". "No, we will not have independence. We currently believe, I personally think that Crimea should join Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation," he said.

The Supreme Council of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea dismissed the regional government February 27, 2014, electing a pro-Russian party leader as its new chair. The decision to dismiss Crimea’s Council of Ministers was supported by 55 out of 64 Crimean MPs. The no-confidence motion came as a result of “unsatisfactory” work by the regional government.

The MPs also voted in favor of holding a referendum to decide the future of Crimea on 25 May 2014. The referendum would coincide with the early Ukrainian presidential and city mayoral elections. The presidium of the Crimean parliament announced that they were confident "that only by holding an All-Crimean referendum on the issue of improving the status of the Autonomy and expanding its powers Crimeans will be able to determine the future of the Autonomy on their own and without any external pressure.” As a result of “the unconstitutional seizure of power in Ukraine by radical nationalists supported by armed gangs,” Crimea’s peace and order is “under threat,” said Oksana Korniychuk, the press secretary of the head of the parliament.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is situated in the Crimean peninsula. It is washed by the Black Sea in the west, south and south-east and by the Azov Sea in the north-east. In the north the peninsula borders with the continental Ukraine. The area of Crimea is 27,000 square km. The population is 2,650,000 people. Crimea is inhabited mainly by Russians, Ukrainians, Tartars, as well as Armenians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Germans and others. About 68% of the whole population lives in the cities. There are 24 administrative regions (oblasts), the Autonomous Republic of Crimea [ARC], and two municipalities (Kyiv and Sevastopol).

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Russian government on 19 March 2014 to start preparations for the construction of a bridge linking the southern Russian Krasnodar Territory directly with Crimea. Putin said the bridge over the Kerch Strait, connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, should be suitable for both road and rail traffic. Transport minister Maxim Sokolov said several projects of the bridge to the Black Sea peninsula that would bypass mainland Ukraine will be ready by the end of 2014. This did not happen.

The Bank of Russia issued a new 100 ruble ($1.40) banknote featuring images of Crimea in December 2015. The peninsula's famous fantasy castle, The Swallow's Nest, is depicted on the title side of the note. The other side shows a detail from Ivan Aivazovsky's famous 19th century naval painting "Russian squadron on the raid of Sevastopol".

Kerch Bridge

The Kerch Bridge was built between 2016 and 2018, becoming a symbol of Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States have targeted those involved in the bridge, including businessman Arkady Rotenberg, a close Putin ally whose company won the construction contract. During the conflict with Kiev, Moscow used it to transport armored vehicles and other military hardware. The 19-km Crimean Bridge is the longest bridge in Russia and Europe. Starting on the Taman Peninsula, it runs along a 5-km long dam and Tuzla Island, crosses the Kerch Strait and ends on the Crimean coast. The bridge ensures uninterrupted traffic between Crimea and other Russian regions. The bridge surpasses the Vasco de Gama bridge in Portugal as the longest in Europe.

The plan to connect the Crimean peninsula with transport links southern part Russia was proposed by the British. The enterprising government of England seemed to be a successful construction option railway to India just through the Kerch Strait. Then Nicholas II became interested in this project, and even seriously considered it, but the war prevented further plans.

There were talks about building a bridge between Crimea and the Taman Peninsula back in the days of peaceful relations between Russia and Ukraine, and the first thoughts about this arose back in 2008. At that time, the inhabitants of both countries were already waiting for the bridge to the Crimea to be opened. After that, Russia included this project in the list of transport strategies for the period up to 2030. Initially, negotiations were held at the level of prime ministers, then the presidents of the countries returned to the discussion, and in 2013 documents were signed on the start joint action organization this project.

Despite the fact that politics and military actions on the territory of Ukraine prevented the countries from cooperating jointly, Russia, after uniting with Crimea, decided not to shelve the construction of the bridge, so already in 2014, President Vladimir Putin gave the appropriate orders.

The transport crossing consists of a motorway and a railway running parallel to each other. The bridge’s motorway section opened in May 2018, and freight traffic was launched in the autumn of 2018. This is not just the largest bridge in Russia, but also the longest in Europe.

Over 10,000 people worked to complete the Crimean Bridge six months ahead of schedule. The motorway section of the bridge has over 60 road signs and ten automatic systems monitoring compliance with traffic regulations. In total, according to the project, the builders had to build 595 supports, for the device of which 5.5 thousand piles will have to be driven. The 19 km long bridge cost the budget 211.9 billion rubles.

The movement of cars on the structure pass through four lanes at a speed of up to 120 km/h. The route is able to pass up to 40 thousand cars per day. The parallel railroad consists of two tracks. From 2019, up to 47 pairs of trains per day went to Crimea and back. Passenger trains were able to cross the Kerch Strait at a speed of 120 km/h, and freight trains - 80 km/h. The arch over the fairway of the Kerch-Yenikal Canal provides passage for ships 185 meters wide and 35 meters high.

Vladimir Putin took part in the opening ceremony of the Crimean Bridge motorway section May 15, 2018 and drove the lead vehicle of the construction equipment convoyPutin visited the Consolidated Traffic Management Centre and heard reports on the readiness of utility teams to operate the transport route across the Kerch Strait. The head of state also spoke briefly with the builders of the bridge, thanked them and congratulated them on completing the project ahead of schedule. After the construction equipment convoy crossed the bridge, the head of state addressed a rally marking the opening of the Crimean Bridge motorway.

President Vladimir Putin took part in the opening of the Crimean Bridge to railway traffic. On December 23, 2019 Putin ordered, via videoconference, the departure of the Tavria express passenger train from St Petersburg to Sevastopol. Before the opening ceremony, the President rode along the bridge in the train driver’s cabin, inspected the entire railway section and also spoke with the bridge builders. There were plans to start operating freight trains in the summer of 2020.

Ukraine should target the bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland via the Kerch Strait as soon as it gets the required weapons from the West, Major General Dmitry Marchenko said on 15 June 2022 in an interview with US state-run media. “The Kerch Bridge is absolutely our number one target,” Marchenko told Crimea Realities (Krym.Realii), a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, part of the government-controlled US Agency for Global Media.

“As the main way of sending in reserves, we just have to cut it off. As soon as that road is cut off, they will start to panic. And believe me, those who flew Russian flags in Simferopol will quickly get Ukrainian flags and start flying them instead,” he said. It was unclear which weapons Marchenko was hoping to use against the bridge, which the government in Kiev has threatened to attack before. While the bridge was indeed the only way to reach Crimea from the Russian mainland for several years, currently the entire Black Sea coast from Kherson to Mariupol is under control of Russian and allied forces of the Donbass republics.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said in mid-June 2022 that Moscow “was aware and took notice” of the Ukrainian threats. The security of the Kerch Bridge and the whole of Crimea was “guaranteed” by preventive measures taken by the Russian Armed Forces, he said.

On 02 July 2022 alarming reports emerged of large plumes of while smoke coming from an area near the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge. But the Crimean authorities later said there was no reason to panic, explaining that Russian police were holding drills near one of the sections of the 19km-long structure.

Ukraine still has plans to strike the bridge – Europe's longest – connecting the Russian peninsula of Crimea to the nearby Krasnodar Region, Alexey Arestovich, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said. When asked about those exercises during an interview with activist Mark Feygin on YouTube, Arestovich said the authorities “were right to be preparing.” Arestovich, who was among those who issued warnings, acknowledged that delivering significant damage to the bridge was a tough task, even with weapons of adequate range, as one of its 595 pillars would need to be destroyed. “It’s built in a way that one would need to use tactical nuclear weapons to bring it down,” he claimed.

“Nobody is being sentimental. If such a need arises, we’ll strike the Crimean Bridge, at the right moment,” he said. However, the presidential aide acknowledged that the weapons currently possessed by the Ukrainian military were “technically incapable” of reaching the strategic bridge. “But the time will come and we’ll be able to do it. In this war, there have long been no constraints. It’s only about technical capability,” he insisted.

A truck blew up on the Crimean Bridge early on Saturday 08 October 2022, causing significant damage to a piece of infrastructure that is vital to Russia in its military operation in Ukraine. Three people were killed as a result of the blast, which temporarily halted both automobile and railway traffic. The powerful explosion occurred on the Crimean Bridg at around 6am local time on Saturday. It caused a partial collapse of the road used by automobiles and a blaze on a parallel railway section where seven fuel tanks caught fire. Traffic on the whole bridge was stopped due to the incident.

The undamaged part of the bridge was reopened with one lane available for traffic in both directions starting at 4pm local time, the Transport Ministry said. Trains will be running again from 8pm, it added. It’s not yet clear how long it will take to repair the damaged section. The Crimean authorities said that ferry service would also be provided to those looking to cross between the peninsula and mainland.