Sadly, Wikipedia is compromised on all pages relating to Crimea. I have shared my MS Word notes to date on the Crimea situation, and wider Russian/Ukrainian history, as a public resource. They are in progress and will be updated when I get time. Please correct or add anything I have missed, in the comments.
1991-12-01 Ukraine National Referendum on declaring full independence from the USSR, voting analysis by region
1991-03-17 Ukraine national Referendum on leaving the USSR to become independent, and join a looser group of independent, sovereign states proposed by Gorbachev (which never eventuated due to an attempted coup in August 1991).
1991-01-20 Referendum of Crimean residents called by Ukraine on returning to Crimea’s former status of Autonomous region (within Ukraine - originally within Russia), it’s autonomy having been stripped by Stalin in 1945 when it was transformed into an oblast of Russia and subsequently transferred to Ukraine in 1954): 1991 Crimean autonomy referendum - Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Crimean_autonomy_referendum. That status was granted in February 1991 although a Constitution was not finally settled until 1997.
CHRONOLOGY
As the formatting is problematic, and substack does not permit embedding of Word Documents, a PDF snapshot as at the time of posting is in the footnotes.1
A. 1784- Pre WW2
1. 1784 -> Russian territory
2. 1853-6 Crimean war [Russia invades Turkey to “protect” christians, trounced by Britain, France, Ottoman empire (Turkey and Sardinia who then grab Crimea to stop Russian Black Sea fleet. Hungary/Austria reclaims Danube= Moldova+part Romania]: The Crimean War: How It Reshaped Geopolitics https://www.thecollector.com/the-crimean-war-reshaped-geopolitics/
(a) Austria-Hungary had repeatedly blackmailed Russia with threats of joining the allies. It was these episodes of blackmail which forced Russia to agree to (preliminary) peace terms on February 1, 1856, realising its defeat. Russia's defeat in the Crimean War prompted a national re-evaluation.
(b) 1856-03-30 Treaty of Paris after Russia accepted defeat. Russia had to return territory and agree to demilitarise the Black Sea. The principalities of Wallachia (part of Romania) and Moldovia were returned to Ottoman territory and later became Romania and Moldova. An unexpected consequence of the Crimean war was the rise of Germany as a major European power
(c) Bessarabia is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. Nowadays the bulk of Bessarabia is part of Moldova, whereas the northernmost regions, as well as the southern regions bordering the Black Sea, are part of Ukraine.
(i) Pre 1812 the southern plains between the Dniester and the Prut. (Turkish “Budjak”), part of Principality of Moldovia, an Ottoman vassal, or under direct Ottoman rule?
(ii) In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812, and the ensuing Peace of Bucharest, the eastern parts of the Principality of Moldavia, along with some areas formerly under direct Ottoman rule, were ceded to Imperial Russia. The newly acquired territories were organised as the Governorate of Bessarabia,
(iii) 1856 Following the Crimean War, the southern areas of Bessarabia were returned to Moldavian rule.
(iv) 1878 Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region, when Romania, the result of Moldavia's union with Wallachia, was pressured into exchanging those territories for the Dobruja.
(d) When Russia declared war on Constantinople, France and Great Britain took the side of the Sultan and intervened in what would be remembered as the Crimean War (dominion of Saint Petersburg over the Eastern Mediterranean, which was unacceptable for most European Powers)
(e) Following the victory in the war for Greek Independence in 1829, the Russian Empire established itself as the sole defender of Christians living in Ottoman territory. This claim was challenged by France in 1851, which was ruled by President and future Emperor Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte. The latter tried to convince Sultan Abdulmejid I to give France the responsibility of protecting Christians.
(f) Following Constantinople’s refusal, the French president ordered the deployment of the line ship Charlemagne to the Black Sea as a show of force in 1852. Finding himself under military pressure, the Sultan agreed to the French terms and broke the agreement made with Russia.
(g) Tsar Nicholas I ordered the mobilization of two military corps all along the Danube in Wallachia while entertaining talks with Constantinople. Russia demanded that Abdulmejid I allow Saint Petersburg to establish a protectorate over the 12 million Christians living in his territory.
(h) London, however, chose the side of the Sultan, who then rejected the Russian demands in February 1853. Tsar Nicholas formally declared war on the Ottoman Empire on October 16th, 1853. Russian armies crossed the Danube while the Black Sea Fleet started causing severe damage to Turkish naval infrastructures. On March 28th, 1854, the United Kingdom and France jointly declared war on the Russian Empire.
(i) Austria/Hungary feared potential consequences of Russian dominance in the Balkans. Starting May 1854, Kaiser Franz-Joseph ordered a general mobilization of troops at the Danube, threatening to outflank the Tsar’s army
(j) early July, Tsar Nicholas I was forced to abandon the Siege of Vidin in Bulgaria and was pushed out of Giurgiu in Romania. In addition, the threat of an Austrian offensive from behind the Russian lines forced Saint Petersburg to retreat from the Danube on July 26th, 1854. The allies attempted unsuccessfully to cut off the retreat. From that point onward, Austria occupied the Danube [Romania/Moldova] as a peace-keeping force while remaining neutral in the conflict.
(k) Allied forces began operations in the Black Sea in April 1854 with the bombardment of the ports of Odessa and Sevastopol. No major battle took place, and the French and British gained control of the Black Sea without major losses.
(l) The Russian evacuation of Moldavia and Wallachia should have ended the Crimean War. France/England chose to continue the conflict and pursue the Tsar’s armies into Russia’s mainland. In September 1854 they invaded Crimea and marched on Sevastopol, the home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Nicholas I’s insistence on offering heavy resistance in Crimea and public pressure on Napoleon III and Westminster left little room for possible negotiations without a total allied victory.
(m) Seige of sevastopol October 1854 to May 1855. British and French warships engaged in military operations in the Baltic in order to reach Saint Petersburg directly, while some troops unsuccessfully attempted to occupy the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Pacific. Allies also attempted to occupy main Russian ports on the Sea of Azov but could not disembark despite total sea supremacy, notably due to the infamous Cossack cavalry.
(n) In March 1855, Tsar Nicholas I died from pneumonia. His son, Alexander II, rose to the throne and prepared for a series of major counter-maneuvers. On the allied side, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in Italy joined the war. In September 1855, the Tsar’s army finally abandoned Sevastopol. From that point onward, Western powers progressively limited their operations in Russia. Following the loss of Sevastopol, Russia had no other choice but to sue for peace.
(o) Conference of Paris February -March 1856 Russia signed a peace treaty by which it restored all conquered territories to the Ottomans in the Caucasus and retreated from Bessarabia (=Wallachia=partt of Romania). Additionally, Saint Petersburg and Constantinople agreed to demilitarize the Black Sea, and the Sultan was allowed into the European Concert as the head of a fully independent nation.
3. 1917 Economic and political collapse brings about the downfall of Czarist Russia and the establishment of the Soviet Union
4. 1921 Ukraine defeated by Bolsheviks
5. 1921-10-18 The Soviet Union establishes the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Russian SFSR. The autonomous republic is run as a Tatar enclave within the Russian SFSR
7a. 1932-36 Holodomor - Stalin’s programme of mass starvation, oppression, land stripping, murders and deportations in Ukraine [also Kazakhstan]. Estimated ? million Ukrainians killed.
(b) p13 destruction of the dnieper dam by NKVd troops in August 1941. this resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers and civilians who were nearby. August-october 1941, the Red Army in Ukraine was actually destroyed. the number of dead soviet soldiers is still unknown. In encirclements (“pockets”) near Uman, Kyiv and melitopol about 1 million Red Army soldiers were lost || only at the beginning of 1942 did soviet command try to begin offensive operations, but they all ended in a crushing defeat for the Red Army. In may-July 1942, soviet troops were defeated in Kerch, sevastopol and Kharkiv. the Red Army lost 500 thousand soldiers as prisoners of war. by 22 July 1942, the entire territory of Ukraine was occupied by German troops and their allies|| p15 Crimes of the Communists in Kyiv p20 tHe exPULsIoN oF tHe NAZIs FRom UKRAINe ANd ceNtRAL eURoPe In 1943, the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition, after their victories in stalingrad and Al Alamein, began to release territory from Nazi occupation. In the second half of 1943 to the end of 1944, Ukraine became the main theatre of operations in the eastern Front. In 1944, of the Red Army most were concentrated infantry, armoured and mechanized formations. Ukrainian Fronts on 20 october 1943, four Ukrainian fronts were formed on the basis of military units which fought in Ukraine. Henceforth, they especially recruited Ukrainians who were mobilized into the Red Army. From only February 1943 to october 1944, nearly 3.7 million people were mobilized in Ukraine. The Red Army soldiers and Kharkiv residents near the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Kharkiv, 1943. Black Infantry (“Chornosvytnyky”) during the offensive, soviet command started the total mobilization of the civilian male population in Ukraine. A special field army was created which even mobilized 16-17 year olds. Ukrainians, without proper training, were used as “cannon fodder”. the communist regime regarded everyone in the Nazi-occupied territories as traitors. In battle, they often went unarmed and in civilian clothes and so they were called “chornosvytnyky” or the “black Infantry” ''
10. 1944-05-18 Tatars deported/ genocide Stalin begins mass deportation of Crimean Tatars from Crimea for collaborating with the Germans during World War II. Most are settled in Uzbekistan. It is estimated that as many as 46.2% of Crimean Tatars perished in the aftermath (Allworth 1988). (The low end of estimates put the number around 20%.)
11. 1945-06-26 UN Charter certified + International Court of Justice
(a) Ukraine (p52), Belarus (p37) foundation members, USSR (p32, 7 signatures) permanent member
(a) #__#<<national or social origin>> <<no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs>> <<recognition everywhere as a person before the law>> <<equal protection of the law>> <<national tribunals>> <<exile>> <<criminal>> <<family, home>> <<freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state>> <<return to his country>> <<a nationality>> <<arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality>> <<freedom of opinion and expression>> <<seek, receive and impart information and ideas>> <<take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives>> <<periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage>> <<social security>> <<form and to join trade unions>> <<Education shall be free>> <<Everyone is entitled to a social and international order>> <<ights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.>> <<any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms>>
15. 1950 USSR DECISION TO BUILD KARKHOVA DAM AND CRIMEAN CANAL
(a) 1950?-1956 dam built
(b) 1957-1976 Crimean canal built
16. 1953-03-14_1964-11-14 Kruschev 1st Secretary of Communist party of USSR
(a) (1958-03-27_1964-10-14 Kruschev premier of USSR.}
(b) 1938-01-27_1949-12-16 Kruschev 1st Secretary of Communist party of Ukraine.
(i) 1940s (late) - fierce civil war in the newly annexed western regions of Ukraine, especially Volynia and Galicia
17. 1954-01_-04- CIA record- MULTIPLE USSR admin transfers, Crimea p4
18. 1954-02-05Decree of the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet "Concerning the transfer of the Crimean Oblast' from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
“Considering the commonality of the economy, the territorial proximity, and the close economic and cultural ties between the Crimean Oblast and the Ukrainian SSR, the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet decrees:
Transfer the Crimean Oblast' from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
This decree is to be submitted to the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet for approval."
19. 1954-02-19 USSR Presidium Approval and referral to Supreme Soviet of USSR “joint submission” of Ukraine and RSFSR transfer of the (Krymskaya) Crimean Oblast from RSFSR to Ukr
(i) The floor is given to Cde. Tarasov, member of the Presidium and Chairman of the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet, for a report.
Crimean Peninsula, territorially adjoins the Ukrainian Republic, and is a sort of natural continuation of the southern steppes of Ukraine
economy of the Crimean Oblast' is closely tied to the economy of the Ukrainian SSR
economic and cultural link between Crimea and Ukraine were consolidated still further with the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
“is being examined in days when the peoples of the Soviet Union are marking a notable event, the 300th anniversary of the reunion of Ukraine with Russia” [VLP- AN ASIDE!!!]
(ii) 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, there is no connection between that treaty and the Crimean peninsula. Pereyaslav, in central Ukraine not far from Kyiv, is nowhere near Crimea, and the treaty had nothing to do with the peninsula, which did not come under Russian control until 130 years later.
(iii) Moreover, the description of the Treaty of Pereyaslav as having produced the “unification of Russia and Ukraine” is hyperbolic. The treaty did provide an important step in that direction, but years of further struggling and warfare had to take place before full unification occurred. In retrospect the Treaty of Pereyaslav is often associated (inaccurately) with Russian-Ukrainian unity, but it is hard to see why anyone in the USSR would have proposed celebrating the 300th anniversary of the document by transferring Crimea from the RSFSR to the UkrSSR. Why Did Russia Give Away Crimea Sixty Years Ago? | Wilson Center
Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet with the participation of the executive committees of the Crimean Oblast' and Sevastopol' City Soviet of Workers' Deputies has examined the proposal of the RSFSR Council of Ministers
commonality of the economy, the territorial proximity, and the close economic and cultural ties between the Crimean Oblast' and the Ukrainian SSR
agreement of the Presidium of the Ukrainian SSR Supreme Soviet,
the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet considers it advisable to transfer
I submit for your consideration and approval the 5 February 1954 Decree of the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet
(iv) Cde. Korotchenko, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR
shares the proposal about the transfer of the Crimean Oblast by the Chairman of the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet,..
gratitude… act of fraternal aid
considering the commonality of economic development, the territorial proximity, and the growing economic and cultural ties between the Ukrainian Republic and the Crimean Oblast' is completely advisable and is a very great friendly act
asks the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet to approve the joint submission
Ukrainian government will give proper attention to the further development of the economy of Crimea and an increase of the material and cultural welfare of the workers of the Crimea Oblast
(v) Cde. Nikolay vich Shvernik has the floor [Russian; past Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet until 15 March 1953.- Nikolai Shvernik – Wikipedia]
The Crimean Oblast' borders the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. This fact is responsible for the development of common cultural and economic ties of the Crimean Oblast' and Soviet Ukraine.
dictates the transfer of the Crimean Oblast' to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
concern for the person and
(vi) meets the common interests of the Soviet state for geographic and economic considerations
20. 1954-04-26 Crimea tsf to Ukr approved by USSR Supreme Council, USSR constitution amended
(b) NB: army and navy at sevastopol was USSR, NOT RUSSIAN.
(c) +NO ISSUE TILL RUSSIA TRIED TO GRAB NAVY AS WELL AS WEAPONS.
21. 1954-04-29 Under Khrushchev, the Soviet Union transfers the Crimea from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
(a) This move is done in marking the 300th anniversary of the Pereiaslav Agreement which, in large part, marked the beginning of Ukrainian subjugation to the Muscovite Empire. The official party line has declared this the beginning of the long Russo-Ukrainian friendship.
(b) “referendum required” – never held: “Under the Constitution of the Soviet Union, no territory could be transferred from any of the 15 constituent S.S.R.’s without the approval of the affected people” DISINFORMATION – “WITHOUT CONSENT OF REPUBLICS”: CRIMEA WAS NOT A REPUBLIC IT HAD BEEN MADE AN OBLAST https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2014/03/understanding-the-constitutional-situation-in-crimea/.
(a) 257 thousand hectares of exceptional Dnieper arable land and a lot of unexplored archaeological and historical monuments have disappeared forever in the waters of Kakhovka sea. Read more at: https://ua.igotoworld.com/en/poi_object/2518_kahovskaya-ges.htm
(b) Interesting Facts In the construction of the Kakhovka reservoir
(i) flooded 90 villages and historic area of the Great Meadows, symbol of Cossack security and freedom.
(ii) Each year, the water reservoir blur from 1 to 3 meters of the coastline.
(iii) We worked on the construction of about 12 thousand specialists, a huge amount of equipment.
(iv)Equipment supplied Kharkov and Zaporozhye plant. In 2000,
28. 1968-07-01 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [RF, UK, US=RATIFIED] UNODA Treaties https://treaties.unoda.org/t/npt
(a) #__#<<not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly; and not in any way to assist, encourage, or induce any non-nuclear-weapon State to manufacture or otherwise acquire>> <<non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to receive>> <<nuclear-weapon State Party>> <<right to withdraw from the Treaty>> <<Article X>> <<first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight.>>
31. 1990-04-03 USSR Supreme Soviet enacts a new law on secession procedures for Union Republics. One provision of the statute states that ethnic minorities inhabiting a particular region may elect to remain part of the USSR, even if the rest of their Republic's population votes to secede.
(a) #__#<<1990, Putin was appointed as an advisor on international affairs to the mayor of Leningrad>>
33. 1990-07-16 Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine adopted by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament on July 16, 1990, as sovereign republic within the Soviet Union,
(a) which asserted the superiority of Ukrainian law over Soviet law, but left Ukraine still part of the Soviet Union
35. 1990-10-24 Responding to spreading sovereignty declarations, the USSR Supreme Soviet reaffirms the supremacy of central legislation over the laws passed by Republic and local legislatures.
36. 1991? [Gorbachev’s opening up- new Union proposed? all USSR states referenda – stay with USSR as independent states?] –
38. 1991-01-20? A referendum is held in the Crimea on restoring autonomy to the region.
(a) Over 80% of the electorate participates, of which 93.26% supported the "restoration of the Crimean ASSR as a subject of the USSR and as a party to the Union Treaty.
(b) (Ukr govt consented to Crimea referendum)
(c) to reestablish a Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
(a) #__#<<recognition of certain provisions as unconstitutional,
(b) This Law, in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, defines the powers, order of organization and activity of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.>>
(c) 1991-02-12 The Ukrainian Supreme Soviet restores the status of Crimea to “Autonomous Republic” within the borders of Ukraine
(d) own written constitution, legislature, and budget.
(i) )#__#<<promote a gradual transition to pan-European security structures, based on the agreements reached at the Paris Summit of the CSCE in November 1990
(ii) Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, signed in Warsaw on May 14, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the Warsaw Treaty) and the Protocol on the Extension of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, signed on April 26, 1985 in Warsaw, cease to be valid>>
(a) voters were asked two questions on remaining part of the Soviet Union on New Union Treaty terms. Most voters supported the proposal, however, in the pro-independence Oblasts of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, and Ternopil, voters opted for independence as part of an additional question
(i) #__#<<transfer, in accordance with Article 127 of the Constitution of the USSR, of the powers of the President of the USSR to the Vice-President of the USSR Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich
(ii) introduce a state of emergency in certain areas of the USSR
(iii) form the State Committee for the State of Emergency in the USSR>>
(b) 1991-08-20 [YELTSIN AMNESTY FOR USSR ARMED DEPARTMENTS IF OBEY YELTSIN] Statement by the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin (August 20, 1991)
#__#<<Soviet troops had tried to storm the parliament in Lithuania,
. It was because of Yeltsin that events unfolded as they did
conferring on plans for a new Union Treaty to be signed on 20 August, which would overhaul relations between the republics and central government
Resistance to what turned out to be an abortive coup was led by Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin was asserting his right to rule Russia
December 1991, Yeltsin suggested to the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich, that they should meet separately to talk about the future without Mr Gorbachev, who was still trying to hammer out a new Union Treaty.
, they decided to dissolve the Soviet Union
Gorbachev had no choice but to resign. After six years in power, he stood down at the end of December 1991, just before the Soviet Union ceased its existence. He handed over all the relevant papers and authorities to Boris Yeltsin. The two men never spoke again
We sat down and agreed how things would be. Then when we'd parted to set in motion what we'd agreed, he began scheming behind my back. He was a traitor.">>
43. 1991-08-01 Bush “Chicken Kiev” visit ukr,
44. 1991-08-24 UKR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, SET REFERENDUM TO CONFIRM @1991-12-01 | DECREE ''About the declaration of independence of Ukraine''| VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINIAN SSR No. 1427-XII https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1427-12 - Text
45. 1991-08-24 the Republican Movement of Crimea (which later becomes the Republican Party of Crimea) is established by Yurii Meshkov. The movement is officially registered as a movement in November
“some commentators have ARGUED, that most of the 16% of the eligible voters who failed to vote in the referendum were supporters of remaining in the Soviet Union and considered the secession referendum illegitimate.”
it has been argued that many of the Russian-speaking Ukrainians who voted for independence believed that they were voting to abolish the Soviet Union, which would be followed by some sort of reunification with a non-Communist Russia.
Vlp: 30% = 30-40% not unusual – undecided / don’t care / don’t know enough – was SAME PRESIDENT candidate
Possiibly NOT permanent residents although entitled to vote? Esp Sevastopol! HOW MANY HAD RUSSIAN PASSPORTS / DIDN’T CONSIDER THEMSELVES UKRAINIAN?
TO CHECK ENTITLEMENT TO VOTE
No big deal – borders open, freedom to travel/relocate if they didn’t like it
Only 80% voted in 1991-01 Crimean autonomy referendum 9 mths earlier
Only 50% voted in 2010 parliament/President elections.
(a) "Contract on legal succession in relation to external state debt and assets of the Union of the SSR" |
(b) 'does not provide for the replacement of the USSR by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in international organizations, including the UN Security Council. |
(c) Agreement on legal succession regarding the call... |
(d) "Article 4. shares in the total amount of Debt and Assets, are:"2
(i) state that “the USSR as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality no longer exists.” '' Agreement on the establishment of the Neza Commonwealth... | UKR-Russia-Belarus
(iii) Ukraine non-interference in internal affairs:
(iv)rejection of the use of force and the threat of economic and other methods of pressure respect for human rights and freedoms, including the rights of national minorities
(v) recognizing and respecting each other's territorial integrity and the inviolability of existing borders:
(vi)the Commonwealth, which is neither a state nor a state association
(vii) a unified command of strategic military forces and
(viii) unified control over nuclear weapons: will be maintained
(ix)the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceases to exist:
(x) member states of the Commonwealth guarantee, in accordance with their constitutional procedures, the fulfillment of international obligations:
(i) "signed only by 11 out of 15 constituents of the former USSR:,
(ii) without the participation and consent of the Soviet Union itself,
(iii) following the termination of its existence: the Council of the Heads of State of the CIS passed a decision [7] that all the CIS states
(iv)“…support Russia in succeeding the USSR’s membership in the UN:, including permanent membership on the Security Council, and other international organizations'
52. 1991-12-24 Yeltsin LT UN Secretary General “continuing” USSR membership3
Translation from Russian
New York, December 24, 1991
Your Excellency,
I have the honour letter addressed Federation to you (RSFSR) Mr. to transmit herewith the text of the from the President of the Russian B. Yeltsin, which says that the membership of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the United Nations, including the Security Council, and in all other organs and organizations of the United Nations system is continued, with the support of the states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, by the Russian Federation (the RSFSR).
This letter also contains a request to accept it constituting credentials to represent the Russian Federation in the UN organs for all those currently possessing credentials of the representatives of the USSR to the UN. Sincerely yours, the as
Yuli Vorontsov
H.E. Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar Secretary-General of the United Nations
I have the honour to inform you that the membership of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republicsin the United Nations, including the Security Council, and in all other organs and organizations of the United Nations system is continued, with the support of the states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, by the Russian Federation (the RSFSR). In this connection, please, use in the United Nations the name "The Russian Federation" in the place of the name The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics".
The Russian Federation remains responsible in full for all the rights and obligations of the USSR under the UN Charter, including the financial obligations.
Please, accept this latter as constituting credentials to represent the Russian Federation in the UN organs for all those currently possessing the credentials representatives of the USSR to the UN
(b) Gorbachev Resigns as President – Seventeen Moments in Soviet History
(i) ceasing my activity in the post of President of the USSR
(ii) policy line aimed at dismembering the country and disuniting the state has prevailed
(iii) society was suffocating in the grip of the command-bureaucratic system#blue
(iv)The totalitarian system, which for a long time deprived the country of the opportunity to become prosperous and flourishing, has been eliminated.#blue
(v) Within the framework of a land reform, the peasantry has begun to revive, private farming has appeared, and millions of hectares of land are being given to rural and urban people#green
(vi)a leveling and parasitic mentality#blue
(vii) our people’s losing their citizenship in a great country
(a) Council of Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR states that with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the USSR as a state and subject of international law ceases to exist.
(b) PROPOSAL (not accepted):Council of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR addresses the heads of the Independent States with a proposaL
(i) creation of an inter-parliamentary body of the Commonwealth in order to maintain a single legal economic
(ii) Succession of the USSR and Union Bodies of State Power and Administration.
(iii) on the ratification, execution and denunciation of international treaties concluded by the USSR:
(iv) fulfillment of international obligations arising from treaties and agreements of the USSR:.
1992- Russian play for Crimea and Black Sea fleet commences
55. 1992-01-? The Russian Foreign Ministry and parliament condemn the transfer of Crimea to the Ukraine in 1954.
(a) violation of territorial agreements in Belasheva and Alma Ata Treaties
56. 1992-01-15 The Union of Ukrainian Naval Officers in Sevastopol protests what they see as Russian intervention in Ukrainian internal affairs.
57. 1992-02-26 The Crimean parliament changes the name of the region from the Crimean ASSR to the Crimean Republic.
58. 1992-04-? In a visit to Crimea, Russian Vice President Rutskoi calls for the secession of Crimea from the Ukraine.
59. 1992-? Early in 1992 Ukraine laid claim to the entire fleet, which had been an important naval asset of the Soviet Union.
(a) Russia responded unequivocally that the fleet always had been and would remain Russia’s.
(b) A “war of decrees” over the issue continued until
(c) June 1992, when Kravchuk and Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin agreed that the fleet would be administered jointly for a three-year period.
(d) Subsequently an agreement was reached to divide the fleet’s assets evenly, but after further negotiation
(e) Ukraine consented to allow Russia to acquire a majority share of the fleet in exchange for debt forgiveness. (Navy base rights not resolved till 1997)
(f) 1994-? Ukraine joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.
60. 1992-05-05 Crimea's parliament declares total independence subject to approval in a referendum to be held in August 1992.
62. May 13, 1992 The Ukrainian parliament declares the Crimean parliament's independence declaration unconstitutional and gives them until May 20 to rescind it. They also give President Kravchuk the power to use all necessary means to halt Crimean independence.
63. May 20, 1992 In reaction to the Ukrainian ultimatum, the Crimean parliament rescinds its declaration of independence, but only suspends the referendum on independence.
(a) They also suggest that Kiev suspend its law on Crimean autonomy and begin negotiating a new delineation of power between Kiev and Simferopol.
64. May 21, 1992 The Russian parliament passes a resolution declaring the 1954 transfer of Crimea illegal and calling for negotiations on the future of Crimea. This move is supported by some Russian nationalists and Communists in Crimea
(a) = Protocol to the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms
(b) Ukr had about 3000 tactical and 2000 strategic nukes.
(c) March 12, 1992 to suspend temporarily the transfer of tactical nuclear weapons to Russia.
(d) by May 1992 Ukraine voluntarily removed all tactical nuclear weapons (approximately 3,000
(e) Upon Ukraine’s 1991 independence, over 1,700 Soviet nuclear weapons were left on its territory. Ukraine never possessed operational control of the weapons, and all were removed to Russia under a 1994 agreement in exchange for security assurances https://www.nti.org/countries/ukraine/
67. 1992-06-01 Crimean and Ukrainian parliaments agree to a compromise in which
(a) Crimea is granted greater autonomy and special economic status.
(b) Crimean Tatars condemn the agreement as they were not a party to the negotiations.
68. 1992-06-23 The Dagomys Summit between the Ukraine and Russia takes place. An agreement is signed dividing the Black Sea Fleet equally by 1995.
69. 1992-06-30 Kiev passes a law granting Crimea greater autonomy as they agreed to,
(a) but made its enactment contingent on
(i) (1) Crimea's amendment of its constitution to bring into line with the Ukraine's, and
(ii) (2) the complete annulment of the independence referendum.
70. 1992-?-? Crimea later imposes a moratorium on the referendum.
71. 1992-07-09 The Russian parliament declares Sevastopol a Russian city.
(a) The declaration is quickly disavowed by Russian President Yeltsin.
72. 1992-07-? Later in the month, the U. N. Security Council declares the Russian parliament's declaration on Sevastopol a violation of the UN Charter and the 1990 Russo-Ukrainian treaty recognizing existing borders.
(a) Yeltsin supports the UNSC declaration.
73. Aug 1992 At Yalta, Kravchuk and Yeltsin agree on details of how they are to divide the Black Sea Fleet. They also agree that Sevastopol is to be leased to Russia for basing of the fleet. Both Russian and Ukrainian nationalists attack the agreement.
74. Sep 1992 Crimea revises its constitution to meet the Ukraine's requirements.
75. Dec 17, 1992 The Ukrainian parliament passes the Law on the Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Republic of Crimea.
1993- Russian sponsorship of rebellion, Meshkov, Crimean Presidency, attempt to annex Sevastopol
76. 1993-? FSB officers Vitaly Gavrylenko, Konstiantyn Yevdokimov arrived from Russia, became advisors to Yuri Meshkov, selected team, head of govt, ministers,security.
77. Jan 10, 1993 Over 2,000 protesters hold an unauthorized demonstration in Sevastopol calling for separation from Ukraine, price reductions, dismissal of the presidential representative in Sevastopol, and the transfer of the representative's powers to the city council and Executive Committee.
78. Jan 13, 1993 A Russian, Rear Admiral Baltin, was confirmed by both Ukrainian and Russian presidents as commander of the Black Sea Fleet.
79. Jan 18 - 20, 1993 Anti-Ukrainian demonstrations again take place in Sevastopol and Simferopol. This time they are organized by the All Crimean Movement of Electors for a Crimean Republic, the Republican Movement of Crimea, Yedinstvo, and the Union of Communists. Demands include the transfer of Crimea back to Russian jurisdiction and early elections be held for all government bodies. The Simferopol demonstration, numbering about 1,000 and led by Meshkov, goes past the parliament building and is unauthorized. The demonstration of the 17th attracted about 5,000 people. In all, the series of demonstrations attracted less than 10,000 people.
80. Jan 22, 1993 Ukrainian PM Kuchma states that the government should be examining the question of making Sevastopol a free economic zone.
81. Mar 23, 1993 The Party for the Economic Rebirth of Crimea holds a congress during which it calls for economic, political and legal measures to expedite the development of Crimea as a democratic state within Ukraine.
82. Apr 6, 1993 The Crimean parliament passes a resolution demanding that Ukraine and Russia reaffirm their allegiance to the Yalta agreement on the fleet.
83. Apr 14, 1993 The Presidium of the Crimean parliament calls for the creation of the post of president. The issue is to be on the upcoming sessions agenda.
84. Apr 25, 1993 Two vessels of the Black Sea Fleet pledge allegiance to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry accepts the ships into the Ukrainian Navy. The fleet command denounces this move as a violation of the Yalta agreement.
85. May 5, 1993 President Kravchuk meets with Crimean Chairman Bahrov. They discuss an amendment to the Ukrainian Constitution concerning the division of powers between Kiev and Sevastopol, the establishment of committees to decide the division of property in Crimea, and the allowance of dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship for Crimean residents.
86. May 24, 1993 115 ships of the Black Sea Fleet raise the Russian flag to protest discrepancies between the pay Russian and Ukrainian sailors receive.
87. May 31, 1993 The Defense Council meets over the situation with the fleet. The Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists declares that all ships flying the Russian flag be withdrawn from Ukrainian waters and the Yalta and Dagomys agreements be voided.
88. Jun 1, 1993 Over 200 ships of the fleet raise the Russian naval ensign. The following day, Ukrainian Defense Minister states that the crews of ships flying the Russian flag would not be paid by Kiev.
89. Jun 8, 1993 The Ukrainian Defense Ministry issues statement renouncing plans to lease Sevastopol to Russia.
90. Jun 16, 1993 The Crimean parliament passes a decree appealing to both the Ukrainian and Russian presidents to maintain the fleet jointly with Sevastopol as the home port. They also call on them to resolve to lessen the hardships faced by the seamen of the fleet. The following day Kravchuk and Yeltsin agree to divide the fleet equally into Russian and Ukrainian fleets. Yeltsin promises to contribute to socioeconomic programs wherever Russian naval forces are stationed.
91. Jun 25, 1993 Kravchuk declares Crimea a free economic zone. The following day, protests are held against the agreement by officers of the fleet and workers' unions.
92. Jun 29, 1993 The Conference of Black Sea Fleet Officers protest the division of the fleet. They call on fleet commanders to raise the Russian ensign on July 1 in protest. A report on July 5, said that 220 of the fleet support ships were still flying the Russian flag, while only three were flying the Ukrainian flag. All combat vessels are required to fly the Soviet era flag.
93. Jul 9, 1993 The Russian parliament passes a resolution declaring Sevastopol the home port of a unified Russian Black Sea Fleet and Russian territory. The resolution is condemned by Ukrainian groups throughout Crimea, the Ukrainian parliament and most Western governments.
94. Jul 16, 1993 The anti-Ukrainian Popular Assembly declares that only Russian laws should be valid in the city of Sevastopol, new elections to the city council should be held, Sevastopol deputies in Kiev should be dismissed and new elections for deputies to be sent to Russia should be held, the Ukrainian naval headquarters should be removed forcibly from Sevastopol, and Russia should cut off oil deliveries to Ukraine. The declarations are accompanied by anti-Ukrainian / pro-Russian demonstrations. Meshkov makes statement that once Sevastopol is reunited with Russia, the rest of Crimea would soon follow. Non-Russians throughout Crimea and in Kiev denounce the statement. Most of these sentiments are not held by Russians in the rest of Ukraine. Many Crimean Russians yearn for a return to the Soviet Union and re-establishment of Soviet authority in Ukraine.
95. Jul 21, 1993 The UNSC declares the Russian parliament's resolution on Sevastopol in violation of the UN Charter and the 1990 Russo-Ukrainian treaty establishing their common borders.
96. Jul 26, 1993 Demonstrators in Sevastopol (approximately 2,000) demand the transfer of the fleet to Russia. Victor Prusakov of the Russian Society of Crimea threatens to take up arms to restore Sevastopol to Russia.
97. Sep 3, 1993 Yeltsin and Kravchuk hold a summit during which Yeltsin suggests that Ukraine trade its share of the fleet to pay off its huge debt to Russia for fuel. Kravchuk rejects the idea pointing out that they had been planning to sell part of the fleet on the market to boost their finances.
98. Sep 17, 1993 The Crimean parliament passes a law providing for the election of a president of the Crimean Republic.
99. Sep 28, 1993 Bahrov, speaker of the Crimean parliament threatens to resign in protest the parliament's refusal to guarantee Crimean Tatars representation. The parliament refuses to accept the resignation
101. Oct 14, 1993 The Crimean parliament sets presidential elections for January 16, 1994.
102. Dec 15, 1993 Andrii Lazenbnykov, a campaign worker for presidential candidate Yermakov (the Ukrainian presidential representative in Sevastopol) and press secretary for the Black Sea Fleet is murdered.
103. 1993-12-16 A bomb does minor damage to the home of Eskander Memetov, economic advisor to Bahrov the next day.
104. Jan 10, 1994 Supporters of the pro-Russian nationalist, Meshkov disrupt a speech by Bahrov. Charges are leveled at Meshkov of waging a "pathological terror campaign."
105. Jan 15, 1994 Meshkov is attacked at a bus stop on the eve of the elections by an individual with a metal rod.
106. Jan 16, 1994 Over 80% of registered voters vote in the presidential elections. No winner emerges; the top two candidates are Mehkov with 38.2% of the vote, and Bahrov with 17.6% of the vote. The run-offs are scheduled for January 30.
107. Jan 19, 1994 Memetov is again attacked along with 14 companions. Eleven people are wounded, three killed. Memetov dies two days later due to his injuries.
108. Jan 20, 1994 Kiev's parliament votes to allow the president to nullify any acts by either central agencies or Crimean authorities which violate the constitution.
109. Jan 25, 1994 Kravchuk meets with advisors of Meshkov and Bahrov. He assures them that he does not intend to intervene against the Republican Movement. He also reiterated his opposition to dual citizenship.
110. Jan 30, 1994 The presidential run-offs are held. Meshkov wins with 75% of the vote and Bahrov resigns from parliament - although the resignation was rejected again by the parliament.
111. 1994-01 Yury Meshkov was elected 1st and only Crimean president
(a) platform=unite with Russia, rebuffed by Yeltsin - stripped by Crimean parliament of powers 1994-09, removed by ukr 1995-03
(b) separatist leader in January, by a landslide, on a platform of reuniting the Ukrainian peninsula with Russia. Like an eager suitor, he hopped on a plane to Moscow… only to find his overtures to Boris Yeltsin rebuffed. [Yeltsin was negotiating the Budapest Memorandum!!!]
(c) 1994-03 a referendum calling for sovereignty was passed two months later. Meshkov proved to be an inept leader, however, and he quickly alienated his own supporters. By September he and the Crimean parliament were locked in a constitutional struggle.
(d) 1994-09-29 The Crimean Parliament voted Thursday to strip Crimean President Yuri Meshkov of his powers as head of the executive power in the region and elected a pro-Kyiv prime minister Crimean president stripped of power .
112. 1994-12-05 Budapest memoradum signed
(a) Ukraine and weapons of mass destruction - Wikipedia
113. Feb 4, 1994 Meshkov is sworn in as president. He praises Ukraine and President Kravchuk, and in meetings with him works on economic agreements.
114. Feb 24, 1994 The Ukrainian parliament finds that Crimea did not have the right to have independent defense and monetary policies and they rejected the idea of a separate Crimean citizenship. They also placed a deadline on the Crimean parliament to get Crimean law into line with Ukrainian. Bahrov denounces the resolution by the Ukrainian parliament in a meeting with Kravchuk and Ukrainian Supreme Soviet chairman.
115. Mar 4, 1994 The Rossiya electoral bloc urges Crimeans to boycott the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary elections (set for March 27).
116. Mar 6, 1994 400 Russian nationalists protest in Sevastopol against presidents Kravchuk and Clinton. Kravchuk is meeting with Clinton in Washington.
117. Mar 11, 1994 The Crimean parliament appoints a former Russian minister of economics as deputy prime minister. The Crimean branch of the Ukrainian Republican Party and the Ukrainian Civic Congress adopt a resolution denouncing the Crimean decree on holding a referendum on independence. They also demanded that Kravchuk abolish the Crimean presidency.
118. Mar 14, 1994 Crimean parliament adopts a budget which calls for taxes and tariffs to be appropriated in Simferopol instead of Kiev. The Central Election Commission declares Meshkov's referendum on independence illegal. Two days later, Kravchuk follows suit declaring the referendum null and void; he states that Meshkov has exceeded his authority. Meshkov vows to go ahead with the referendum anyway.
119. Mar 21, 1994 Meshkov sets up a special commission to conduct a nonbinding referendum on the status of the Crimea.
120. Mar 25, 1994 The Ukrainian Defense Ministry declares illegal a decree by Meshkov requiring that Crimean citizens may only perform military service on Crimean soil.
121. Mar 27, 1994 The Crimea holds the referendum 1.3 million voted, 78.4% of whom supported greater autonomy from Ukraine, 82.8% supported allowing dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship, and 77.9% favored giving Crimean presidential decrees the force of law. The first round of both Crimean and Ukrainian elections also take place. In the Crimea, the Rossiya bloc gets 67% of the vote, the Communist Party 11%, and the Party of Economic Rebirth 7%.
122. Apr 1994 Crimean President Meshkov removes the chief of internal affairs ministry (the police) who was appointed by Kiev and replaces him with a Crimean, Valerii Kuznetsov. The situation becomes decidedly heated as both sides issue threats and counter-threats. General Kuznetsov declares on Rossiya Radio that Crimea is in essence Russian and will be a part of Russia.
123. Apr 15, 1994 Kravchuk and Yeltsin sign an agreement on the fleet dispute. The agreement calls for the fleet's division with Ukraine getting 15-20% of the ships. It also is to set up separate Russian and Ukrainian bases.
124. Apr 22, 1994 The Russian-Ukrainian talks over the fleet break down with no final agreement signed. The talks broke down over the issue of what bases the Russians would be allowed to use. Separately in Crimea, 13 Crimean political parties sign an "Accord for Rebirth." The accord is not signed by Communist Party of Crimea, Ukrainian Republican Movement, Ukrainian Civic Congress of Crimea, nor the Mejlis. The signing came after a week of pro-Russian demonstrations in front of the local parliament.
125. May 1994 Kravchuk orders the removal of Kuznetsov as chief of the internal affairs ministry, but he is unable to enforce the order. Compromise is later reached between the offices of the two presidents; there is to be both a Ukrainian and Crimean internal affairs ministry presence.
126. May 6, 1994 Russians in Crimea celebrate Crimean Constitution Day in Simferopol. The festivities include a rally for Crimean independence which is attended by 15,000 people.
127. Jun 4, 1994 Agreement is reached between deputies of the Crimean and Ukrainian parliaments. The deputies agree that Crimean law is overridden by the Ukrainian constitution and that both sides should come to agreement on a division of powers between Kiev and Simferopol. The accord is rejected by the Crimean parliament three days later.
128. Jun 28, 1994 The Ukrainian parliament attempts to assert Ukrainian control over all police units in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Crimean parliament counters by repealing all Ukrainian laws which contradict Crimean law.
129. Jul 1, 1994 The Crimean parliament votes to assume full powers on the territory of Crimea except for those which it voluntarily delegates to Kiev. They also condemn the Ukrainian leadership for violating the Crimean Constitution and law.
130. Jul 6, 1994 The Crimean parliament passes a resolution invalidating a decree from Kiev placing the Crimean militia under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
131. Jul 19, 1994 Leonid Kuchma is sworn in as president of Ukraine. He won the election with 52.14% of the vote. The leader of Mejlis warns that this could make the situation for his group (the Tatars) worse. Kravchuk did well in western Ukraine, and Kuchma did well in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
132. Jul 21, 1994 A law allowing dual citizenship in the peninsula passes its first reading in the Crimean parliament. The parliament is also said to be considering charging both the Russians and Ukrainians for use of Crimean land for their military installations. Russia has paid only irregularly for use of its naval bases and Ukraine has not paid at all.
133. Aug 3, 1994 The Crimean minister of economics reports that Crimea is becoming more and more dependent on Ukraine for trade and less so on Russia. He reported that 80% of Crimean manufactures are sold in Ukraine.
134. Aug 4, 1994 It is revealed that on July 18 Meshkov created the Service of the President of the Republic of Crimea for Security and International Affairs. The new service answers only to the president and is headed by a former Russian special services operative. This is the third special services office to operate in Crimea; the other two are operated by Ukraine and parliament.
135. Aug 6, 1994 Kuchma issues two decrees which place the government under his direct control and subordinates all local and regional councils to his authority. This move is not challenged by the parliament which has ten days to do so (otherwise the decrees become law).
136. Aug 23, 1994 The Sevastopol city council decided to declare Sevastopol a Russian city, making the city subject only to Russian legislation. The resolution was backed by 36 of the 42 members and was immediately denounced as illegal by Ukrainian authorities.
137. 1994-09-07 Crimean parliament vote to curtail Meshkov's powers
138. Sep 11, 1994 Crimean President Meshkov suspends the Crimean parliament and all local councils, and has assumed all political powers within the republic.
(a) Meshkov's decree states that a draft constitution is to be drawn up December 9 and voted on in a referendum by April 9. Within three months of the approval of a new constitution, new elections are to be held and new local bodies to be created.
(b) This move follows the parliament's vote to curtail his powers 4 days earlier. Later, Meshkov offers to begin talks with parliament only if they rescinded the amendments curtailing his powers.
139. Sep 22, 1994 Meshokov suspends his decree dissolving parliament in order to begin talks with the parliament. Meanwhile, the position of the central government in Kiev has been low-keyed and non-intrusive. Kuchma has called on both sides to resolve the dispute peacefully, saying that the central authority would only intervene if "disorder" broke out. Kuchma also proposed a compromise of both sides cancelling their decrees. Both sides rejected the proposal. In the wake of this, he has declared that if they do not resolve the dispute peacefully, he will rescind Crimea's autonomous status.
140. A poll is reported showing only 23% of Crimeans support Meshkov. The report which gave this statistic also reported that leader of the Tatar (Kuraltai) faction of parliament has said that it would be better to live as an oblast of Ukraine than under Meshkov.
141. Sep 29, 1994 The parliament moves to strip Meshkov and the presidency of all powers, making the prime minister the chief executive
(a) (the vote was 68 in favor, 11 against, and 14 abstained).
(b) A week later, the parliament votes Anatoly Franchuk the new prime minister. Franchuk is a close friend of Kuchma.
(c) The Russia bloc, the largest party in Crimea, has split into two factions over the battle between Meshkov and the parliament. "Russia" is still headed by Serhii Nikulin and supports Meshkov, while the new faction, "Russia-Unity" opposes Meshkov due to what they term his "betrayal" of the interests of the party to reunite Crimea with Russia.
142. Oct 1994 The Sevastopol city council has decided it can no longer afford to hand over its tax revenues to Kiev due to its economic crisis.
143. Nov 28, 1994 Russia begins to institute dual citizenship for citizens in CIS member countries unilaterally. There is wide concern that this may provide Russia with even greater leverage in Crimea where Viktor Mezhak, Crimean Supreme Soviet deputy chairman, predicted 1.5 million of Crimea's 1.7 million Russians would apply.
144. 1995-?-? Ukraine joined the Council of Europe: in 1995, signed languages treaty (not ratified til 1999)
145. Jan 4, 1995 According to a recent poll, more than half of all Crimeans believe their peninsula is run by the mafia. Only 10% thought parliament was running the country and 2% thought their president and prime minister were in charge.
146. 1995-03-17 Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (parliament) abolished the post of Crimean president, annulled the constitution and
(a) instituted direct political rule, though it granted Crimea significant economic concessions.
(b) \Meshkov removed by Ukrainian troops.
(i) . Meshkov fled to Moscow and served as a lecturer at Moscow State University before briefly returning to the region in 2011.
(ii) The Crimean separatist movement collapsed.
(c) Ukrainian president Kuchma said the region's parliament could be dissolved if it continued to violate Ukraine's Constitution.
(d) By abolishing the presidency, Ukraine left regional power in Crimea in the hands of its Prime Minister Anatoliy Franchuk.
(e) Officials said Ukrainian state ministries, including the military and police, would enforce Ukrainian laws and the dismantling of the Crimean presidency.
(f) Unrest continued through May as a result of these moves. The move is supported by Mejlis leaders. Reports have indicated that presumably Kiev will recognize the Mejlis as the representative body of the Crimean Tatar people, a move which Crimean authorities have refused to do and which likely will rile the NMCT.
Meshkov's erratic behavior, allegations of widespread corruption and controversial moves towards reuniting Crimea with Russia led to his forced removal by Kiev in March 1995.
2011 During the visit, Meshkov called for a referendum on the restoration of Crimea's 1992 constitution and a possible reunification with Russia. The Ukrainian government [YANUKOVICH] responded by having Meshkov deported and barred him from entering the country for five years.
(g) 2014-13-03 Meshkov returned to Crimea in 2014, after the invasion, before the annexation. "I am asking (Crimea's) supreme council to allow me to participate in the upcoming referendum. I am the president and citizen of the Republic of Crimea," he said at a press conference held at Simferopol airport. Crimea's nationalist ex-president returns from Moscow
(h)
147. Apr 17, 1995 Ukrainian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars attempt to raise a Ukrainian flag in Simferopol near the city council, but a large group of Russians blocks their way. No overt violence was reported.
(a) Russian President Yeltsin announced he would not sign a friendship treaty with Ukraine until it resolves its dispute with Russian nationalists in its Crimean region.
148. Apr 19, 1995 Russian Foreign Minister Kazyrev warned that Russia is prepared to use force to protect the rights of ethnic Russians living in the former Soviet republics. He noted that Russia could use a range of diplomatic, political and economic means to protect such Russians, adding that Moscow would not exclude the use of force. He insisted he was staking out a moderate position and warned against extremists who might appeal to nationalism in upcoming elections.
149. May 1, 1995 About 4000 people marked May Day in Simferopol shouting slogans upholding Crimea's right to independence and condemning Ukraine's efforts to crush Crimean separatism.
150. Jul 6, 1995 Pro-Russian chairman of the Crimean Parliament Sergei Tsekov was replaced by Yevgeny Suprunyuk.
151. 1996 Ukraine Constitution amended
152. Aug 1996 Crimean Parliament Chairman Suprunyuk was kidnapped by unknown assailants. He was held for two days and then escaped. Crimea is plagued by clans of organized crime who hope to gain assets once held by the state or Communist Party.
153. 1996-09?_11? The Ukrainian president gave instructions to the government and heads of local administrations to intensify control over the putting into effect of the language policy, to draft a new edition of the law on language, to work out privileges for the publication and circulation of materials in Ukrainian and to issue licenses only to those TV companies which broadcast mostly in Ukrainian.
154. Oct 8, 1996 Crimean Russians held a congress and proclaimed it their legislature. The congress was attended by Russian State Duma Deputy Vladimir Davidenko. The congress also issued a declaration "On the National Unity of the Russian People."
155. Oct 10, 1996 Vasily Kiselyov was elected Chairman of the Crimean Supreme Soviet. Observers think his election could complicate relations between Simferopol and Kiev and lead to increased pro-Russian sentiments on the peninsula. He was congratulated on his election to the highest state office in the Autonomous republic of Crimea by Dmitry Stepanyuk, the Ukrainian President's permanent representative in Crimea.
156. Jan 15, 1997 LANGUAGE COMPLAINTS: Leaders of the Russian community of Crimea held a press conference to draw attention to what they say is a policy of "language aggression" aimed at "driving out the Russian language in Ukraine."
(a) The press conference organizers claimed the president violated the Ukrainian constitution which guarantees the free development, use and protection of Russian and other languages of national minorities.
(b) They also sent a message to the Russian government suggesting it "examine the problem of the language rights of Russian population of Ukraine and Crimea, the situation of Russians and Russian Culture in Ukraine and especially in the regions traditionally inhabited by Russians and discuss a possibility of rendering assistance for the purpose of preserving Russian culture, as well as the Russian language and information space."
157. Feb 1997 Crimea's mainly pro-Russian parliament sacked speaker Vasily Kiselyov whom deputies accused of being too favorable to Ukraine.
158. 1997-03 Crimean parliament passed a resolution to oust Premier Arkadi Demidenko, in the 7th attempt. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma vetoed the decision of the Crimean parliament as "contradicting Ukraine's law."
159. Feb 23, 1997 Crimean communists attending a meeting in Simferopol have called on authorities to cut off relations with NATO. The Congress of the Russian People called on Russian and Ukrainian leaders to immediately sign a defensive union recognizing Sevastopol as the main base of the Black Sea Fleet.
160. Mar 18, 1997 Riot police in Crimea prevented about 1000 protestors from storming the parliament building in Simferopol during a demonstration calling for the return of the peninsula to Russia. Pro-Russian communist groups organized the demonstration which was attended by about 5000 people.
161. Mar 20, 1997 An announcement that the U.S. and Ukraine would participate in joint naval exercises this summer brought a protest from Russia. The outcry over the planned exercise was traced to an early scenario drawn up by the Ukraine in which a separatist revolt by and unnamed "ethnically based party" is threatening the integrity of Ukraine. The separatists in the scenario are backed by an "unnamed neighboring country." The unnamed party was interpreted by Moscow to be Crimean Russians and the unnamed neighboring country Russia itself. The U.S. rejected this scenario outright. A previous joint exercise (July 1995) went off without controversy. (Note Protests against the exercises, especially by Russians in the Crimea, occurred on an almost weekly basis until the maneuvers were held in September, and will not be further mentioned unless otherwise noteworthy.)
162. Mar 27, 1997 President Kuchma, in a news conference in Moscow, called for a resolution of the Black Sea Fleet issue, and bilateral relations between the two republics. (Xinhua 3/27/97)
163. Apr 4, 1997 Shortly after limiting the amount of Russian language programming transmitted to the Crimea, Kiev reduced the amount of Russian-language broadcasting in Crimea to four hours a week. (TASS 4/4/97)
164. Apr 9, 1997 The Crimean parliament voted overwhelmingly to oust Prime Minister Arkady Demidenko, the third attempt to oust him since January. Observers said the ouster of Demidenko was based on clan rivalry (the leader of the movement was related to President Kuchma through marriage) rather than pressure to forge closer ties with Moscow or Kiev. According to the constitution, the Ukrainian head of state must approve the resignation of the Crimean government. (Agence France Presse 4/9/97) The head of Russia's upper house of parliament suggested that Ukraine join the planned union of Russia and Belarus, arguing "those Slav states should form the core of integration in the CIS." (NOTE The issue of union with Russia and/or Belarus recurs regularly throughout the period covered by this update, and will not be further mentioned unless otherwise noteworthy." (British Broadcasting Corporation 4/11/97)
165. Apr 10, 1997 UKR LANGUAGE DECLINE NATIONWIDE: During Ukrainian hearings on the freedom of the media, the Ukrainian Information Ministry said that the number of Ukrainian-language books published in 1996 was 2.3 times less than the number in 1970, and 1.15 times less than the number in 1990. In addition, ninety percent of the 70 private radio stations in Ukraine broadcast in Russian. The Information Minister used these statistics to decry what he called the "Russification" of Ukraine and called on the parliament to defend the Ukrainian language. He also blamed Ukrainian media's freedom to broadcast in the language of their choice, and the "amorphous-democratic" laws for this decline. (TASS 4/10/97)
166. Apr 17, 1997 Russia's upper house of parliament voted to make the contested city of Sevastopol a special international city. The Federation Council insisted that its proposal did not amount to Russian territorial designs on Sevastopol. The Deputy Foreign Minister representing Ukrainian interests in the Black Sea Fleet negotiations rejected the proposal, saying that Sevastopol was unequivocally a part of Ukraine. (Agence France Presse 4/17/97 and TASS 4/22/97)
167. Apr 20, 1997 A Russian Federation Council commission dealing with the question of Sevastopol decided that Russia should directly declare its historical rights to the city and declare it an international city under international law, perhaps appealing to the UN.
(a) The commission declared the 1954 Supreme Soviet resolution that turned Crimea over to the Ukraine unconstitutional, saying the presidium did not have the authority to do so. (British Broadcasting Corporation 4/22/97)
168. May 7, 1997 About 150 activists from pro-Russian public organizations picketed the Sevastopol State TV and Radio Company for two hours to demand a resumption of Russian Public Television [ORT] broadcasts in the city, instead of the Inter channel. The TV company promised to restore the 10-hour ORT broadcasts in the near future. Prior to mid-April, Sevastopol was the only city in Crimea that received ORT instead of Inter. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/16/97)
169. May 21, 1997 Sixty of the 70 deputies of the Crimean parliament passed a resolution to oust Premier Arkadi Demidenko, in the eighth attempt. After the last attempt in March, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma vetoed the decision of the Crimean parliament as "contradicting Ukraine's law." (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 5/21/97)
170. May 27, 1997 The Russian Prime Minister reacted with concern to a proposed new Ukrainian language law which he said would "limit and force out" the Russian language from intellectual life. He claimed that Russians and Russian-speakers were often denied their rights and were often denied employment or residence permits based on their citizenship. (TASS 5/27/97)
(a) Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lasarenko offered to lease a portion of the port of Sevastopol to Russia for 20 years as part of an agreement on the Black Sea fleet. An agreement to that effect was signed the following day. However, most Sevastopol and Crimea residents felt the agreement was not in their advantage, and appealed to the Federation Council and State Duma not to ratify the Black Sea agreement. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 5/27/97 and TASS 5/28/97 & 5/30/97)
171. 1997-05-28 Lease Sevastopol 20 yrs= The Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet
1997 05 28 Crimea Sevastopol 20 Yr Lease Partition Treaty On The Status And Conditions Of The Black Sea Fleet 1
(a) consists of three bilateral agreements[2] between Russia and Ukraine signed on 28 May 1997 whereby the twf2010o countries established two independent national fleets, divided armaments and bases between them,[3][4] and set forth conditions for basing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.
(c) Russia unilaterally terminated the Partition Treaty in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
172. 1997-05-31 Treaty of Friensdhip, first time Russia had formally recognized Ukraine's independence which recognized Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and existing borders (including Crimea): Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty,
1997 05 31 Treaty On Friendship, Cooperation And Partnership Between Ztreaties
(a) May 31, 1997 Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and his Russian counterpart, Boris Yeltsin, signed a treaty of friendship, cooperation and partnership, which promised that the two countries would respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, not violate the present borders, nor interfere in each other's internal affairs.
(b) The treaty marked the first time Russia had formally recognized Ukraine's independence, and was decried by some Russian politicians as a sign of giving up hope of protecting Russians or the Russian language in Ukraine. About 150 Russian protestors demonstrated in Sevastopol over the weekend, saying Yeltsin had betrayed them by accepting Crimea as part of Ukraine. (Xinhua 5/31/97 and The Independent [London] 5/30/97 and Financial Times 6/2/97)
173. Jun 3, 1997 Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma named Anatoli Franchuk - the father of his son-in-law - as new prime minister of the autonomous Crimean Republic, and approved the removal of the outgoing Crimean prime minister, Arkadi Demidenko. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 6/3/97)
174. Sep 19, 1997 The Sevastopol Committee of Veterans of War and the Armed Forces appealed to both chambers of the Russian Parliament, to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, to the Citizenship Committee under the President of Russia, to Russia's Foreign Minister and to the OSCE mission in Crimea to study the prospect of granting the people of Sevastopol Russian citizenship.
(a) If given Ukrainian passports - which they had not had previously - the residents would not be allowed to work at Russian Black Sea Fleet facilities, and children of Russian seamen would not be allowed to enter Russian naval academies or serve in the Russian Armed Forces. They claimed they were being forcefully assimilated into Ukraine and Ukrainian citizenship, in violation of the Human Rights Charter and the (yet unratified) Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and Russia. (Soviet Press Digest 9/19/97)
175. Oct 7, 1997 Soyuz, a political party founded in Crimea, announced its campaign platform would include the protection of the Russian language and culture, the integration of the Slavonic republics, and the development of regional self-government in Ukraine to counterbalance the unitary principle underlying the state system. The Soyuz congress received congratulatory telegrams from Crimean leaders, as well as Moscow's Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov, and other Russian politicians. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/9/97)
176. Oct 15, 1997 The Crimean parliament voted to make Russian the region's official language in place of Ukrainian.
(a) Fifty-six of the parliament's 96 deputies approved the motion and four voted against. The Kurultai faction, which represents ethnic Tartars, boycotted the vote.
(b) According to the Ukrainian constitution, Ukrainian is the only official language. The new resolution runs counter to the Ukrainian legislation, under which all official documents should be made in Ukrainian. It is also at variance with the Crimean constitution which says that Russian is both an official language of the republic and a state language, together with the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian languages. The article of the Crimean constitution dealing with languages was not approved by the Ukrainian parliament.
(c) The parliament also passed the law "On timekeeping in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," which required the peninsula to switch to Moscow time. (Agence France Presse 10/15/97 & TASS 10/16/97 and British Broadcasting Corporation 10/17/97)
177. Oct 22, 1997 The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers set up a subcommission for issues connected with the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory, within the framework of the earlier Ukrainian-Russian agreement on the Fleet. The chairman of Sevastopol city council, Viktor Semenov, became the head of the new structure. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/25/97)
178. Oct 24, 1997 The Sevasopol branch of the Crimean voters' movement held a rally accusing the Ukrainian state of annexing Crimea and seizing Sevastopol. The resolution passed at the rally demanded that the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe "take measures in response to Ukraine's illegal actions," and asked the Russian leadership not to ratify the treaty between Ukraine and Russia on Sevastopol's status. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/27/97)
179. Oct 25, 1997 Ukrainian President Kuchma declared that the Crimea's October 15 law legalizing the third time zone [Moscow time] on the peninsula violated a number of provisions in the Ukrainian constitution, and ordered it suspended. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/27/97)
180. Nov 5, 1997 President Leonid Kuchma said that no forced "Ukrainisation" or violation of rights of ethnic Russians will occur in Ukraine, but reaffirmed that Ukrainian was the republic's only official language and called on citizens to respect it. (TASS 11/5/97)
181. Nov 11, 1997 Eighteen parties, movements and organizations - including the People's Democratic Party, the Agrarian Party of Ukraine and the Ukrainian People's Movement - joined to create a bloc called For the Dignified Life and the Future of Sevastopol Residents. They hoped the bloc would "ensure, through representatives of the bloc in all branches of power, gradual and justified economic reforms together with effective social protection measures for Sevastopol residents; and to ensure the full implementation of Russian-Ukrainian agreements concerning Sevastopol." (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/13/97)
182. Nov 13, 1997 At the Ukrainian Supreme Council session, people's deputies debated two alternative draft laws on the Crimean Supreme Council, one submitted by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and the other by a group of Ukrainian deputies.
(a) The draft law submitted by the Ukrainian president, envisaged proportional, single-seat territorial district elections of deputies to the Ukrainian parliament, with special ethnic constituencies for representatives of the Crimean Tatar people and other deported ethnic groups and minorities living in Crimea..
(b) The initiators of the alternative bill opposed this because they believed this would introduce national quotas for an indefinite period. Instead, they proposed that the elections to the Crimean Supreme Council be conducted on the basis of universal, equal and direct electoral rights in secret ballots under a mixed (majority and proportional) electoral system. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/15/97)
183. Nov 30, 1997 About 250 people from the Sevastopol branch of the all-Crimean movement of voters for the Republic of Crimea held a rally in Sevastopol to protest what they considered to be the fraudulent 1991 referendum on Ukrainian independence, and their dissatisfaction with a Sevastopol city council decision not to take part in Crimean parliamentary elections. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/3/97)
184. Dec 2, 1997 About 400 people mounted three picket lines by the Sevastopol city council to accuse council members of being "traitors" and to demand the abolition of their decision to keep Sevastopol out of the Crimean parliamentary election. Within half an hour, a group of disabled employees of the Sevastopol marine works arrived at the picket line demanding the timely payment of disability benefit. They were later joined by about 300 members of the union committee of the Sevastopol city water treatment plant protesting a four-month delay in wage payments. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/4/97)
185. Dec 3, 1997 A spokesman for the Ukrainian President warned against "playing the Crimean card" in the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary elections.
(a) Crimean elections had been delayed pending the adoption of the law "On the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" by the Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian government felt the new law was necessary because the old law was unconstitutional; those who tried to delay the new law - which had been drawn up by the Ukrainian president - would risk postponing the Crimean elections. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/5/97)
(b) About 500 people representing the People's Opposition Union of Crimea, the Union of Soviet Officers, and the Crimean Republican Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine picketed the Crimean parliament building, demanding that Crimean elections be held on 29th March 1998 [when parliamentary elections were to be held in Ukraine] and that a Crimean electoral commission be set up. The protesters threatened to block the Crimean parliament if their demands had not been met by December 10th. The leader of the Crimean Republican Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Leonid Hrach, noted that under the Ukrainian constitution election to bodies of power, whatever the level, should take place on the same day, and accused Crimean legislators of trying to extend their terms by debating the issue of the election date. (British Broadcasting Corporation12/5/97)
186. Dec 10, 1997 Ukraine's Supreme Council approved in the first reading a draft law "On the election of people's deputies to the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea."
(a) MMP Under the law, elections were to be held in Crimea on the basis of a mixed (majority and proportional) electoral system. A total of 100 deputies were to be elected; 50 deputies from single-seat constituencies on the basis of a relative majority, and 50 deputies from party lists submitted by Crimean regional organizations on the basis of proportional representation. The law stipulated that the next election to the Crimean parliament would take place on the last Sunday of March of the parliament's fourth year in office. Speaking at the Ukrainian parliament session, Crimean Supreme Council Chairman Anatoliy Hrytsenko voiced his disagreement with a number of provisions. He felt all the Crimean parliament deputies should work on a permanent basis and that the Crimean Supreme Council should have had the right to coordinate the appointment of heads of power-wielding structures in Crimea, who are appointed by the Ukrainian president. The chairman also wanted to give the Council the power to adopt laws. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/22/97)
(b) The Ukrainian Supreme Council approved a resolution recommending that the Crimean Supreme Council submit to the Ukrainian parliament before the end of December a draft Crimean constitution in the form of an integral document complying with the Ukrainian constitution. The Ukrainian government maintained that the Crimean constitution contained provisions contradicting the Ukrainian constitution, including regulations and provisions regarding the status of the state languages in Crimea, Crimean citizenship, relations between the Crimean budget and the center, and the authority of the Crimean Supreme Council to suspend the effect of the regulations issued by the Ukrainian executive on Crimean territory. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/12/97)
187. Dec 11, 1997 By this date, almost a quarter of a million Tatars who had been deported from Crimea by Stalin had returned:. Out of this number,
(a) practically 147,000 returned before November 13, 1991, and by law, were citizens of Ukraine, while the remainder had to be naturalized..
(b) Half of the returnees are over the age of 18, i.e., they are of voting age, but many cannot vote because they are considered foreigners.
(c) Only 74 percent of the Crimean Tatars have applied for Ukrainian citizenship, and only 45 percent of the Tatars residing in Crimea had the right to participate in elections. (Soviet Press Digest 12/11/97)
188. Dec 22, 1997 Ukraine's parliament refused to review the 1989 law on languages, which declared Ukrainian the country's state language, even though the parliamentary speaker said Ukraine should pay equal attention to Ukrainian, Russian and other languages. Parliament maintained that reducing Russian language classes in Ukrainian schools to optional lessons was a violation of this law. (TASS 12/22/97)
189. Jan 17, 1998 The Sevastopol branch of the Crimean Voters' Movement for a Crimean republic held a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of the re-creation of the Crimean republic. Among their
(a) demands were that Russia' s Federation Council not ratify the Treaty of Friendship, Partnership, and Cooperation between Ukraine and Russia. Furthermore, they wanted the Crimean parliament to draw up a constitution for Crimea and be able to submit it to popular approval through referenda. They also called for a referendum on the status of Crimea. In addition, they protested for restoration of the right of Sevastopol citizens to take part in the election of Crimean Supreme Council deputies and the implementation of the Crimean parliament's resolutions "On time zones" and "On the functioning of the Russian language." Approximately 200 people attended the rally. (British Broadcasting Corporation 1/20/98)
190. Jan 27, 1998 The government of Ukraine visited Crimea, noting that the economy had not shown much improvement. Industrial production in the region remained one of the highest in Ukraine, but agriculture was in crisis, investment was decreasing, and unemployment and wage arrears rose in 1997. (TASS 1/27/98)
191. Jan 28, 1998 Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma refused to sign the law "On the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," stating that the document contained many provisions that did not conform to the constitution and the laws of Ukraine.
(a) Among other problems, Kuchma cited the use of the majority/proportional-representation parliamentary election system envisaged by the law, which he felt was premature and likely to lead to the violation of the fundamental principles of civic rights and freedoms. There were also provisions which restricted the right of Ukrainian citizens to stand for public office and local self-government positions in Crimea, and a five-year residence term as a prerequisite for election to the Crimean parliament, which Kuchma felt should not apply to Crimean Tatars and representatives of other deported nations. (British Broadcasting Corporation 1/29/98)
192. Feb 1, 1998 Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma signed a decree on control over the local authorities in Yalta, which appointed an acting head of the city's administration until a new mayor could be elected. Ten city councilmen, who felt Kuchma had overstepped his authority, staged a sit-in at the city hall the following day in protest, while 300 people gathered outside city hall to keep the police out. The Crimean Council appealed to Ukraine's Constitutional Court to decide the legality of the matter on February 5. (British Broadcasting Corporation 2/2/98 & 2/6/98 and Deutsche Presse-Agentur 2/3/98)
193. Feb 4, 1998 The Crimean parliament voted overwhelmingly to put a proposed referendum on the peninsula on its agenda. The referendum was to include questions of whether inhabitants would like to return to Russian jurisdiction, to restore the provisions of the less restrictive 1992 Crimean constitution, and to adopt Russian as the area's official language. The referendum decision was prompted in part by the events in Yalta. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 2/4/98)
194. 1998-02-10 Ukr Proposed Crimean Constitution ''About the Verkhovna Rada Autonomously... | dated 10.02.1998 No. 90/98-VR#__#<<recognition of certain provisions as unconstitutional,>> <<This Law, in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, defines the powers, order of organization and activity of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.>> https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/90/98-%D0%B2%D1%80 - Text
195. Feb 24, 1998 Surveys conducted by the Kiev Center of Political Research and Conflict Resolution revealed that 31% of all inhabitants of Ukraine considered themselves to some extent Russian including 11.5% who claimed to be Russian; 5% more Russian than Ukrainian, and 14.5% equally Russian and Ukrainian.
(a) The surveys also indicated that 55% of all inhabitants of Ukraine preferred Russian as their everyday language. (What The Papers Say 2/24/98)
(b) The parliament of the Crimean peninsula agreed to hold its elections simultaneously with the elections of the Ukrainian parliament on March 29, ending a week-long tug-of-war between the peninsula and central power in Kiev.
(i) President Kuchma had threatened to call a state of emergency if the parliament did not agree to simultaneous elections. In addition, on February 22, the Ukrainian Justice Ministry had declared that the September election date proposed by the Crimean parliament would illegally extend the rule of the current parliament past its maximum four years. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 2/24/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 2/24/98)
196. Feb 24, 1998 The Crimean Tatar People's Majlis threatened to organize protests and possibly to disrupt the Crimean parliamentary election because they feared that the new majority voting system in Crimea would deprive Crimean Tatars of representation in the new Crimean parliament. According to the Majlis leader, 167,485 of the Crimean Tatars then resident in Crimea were over 18, but only about 97,000 (58 per cent) were Ukrainian citizens. Others, mostly those who arrived after 1st January 1992, had not yet been granted Ukrainian citizenship. (British Broadcasting Corporation 2/25/98)
(a) Russian newspapers were blocked at the Ukraine border for several weeks. Ukrainian officials maintained that the newspapers had not paid their customs duties, but the newspapers claimed they were being asked to pay a surcharge for the circulation of Russian material in Ukraine, which they refused. On the eve of the parliamentary elections, many, especially in the Russian media, saw the move as political. (Soviet Press Digest 3/12/98)
197. Mar 5, 1998 According to a poll by the Democratic Initiatives fund and Sotsis-Gallup, approximately 57 percent of voters would back a candidate, party, or bloc for the Ukrainian parliament if they advocated Ukraine's admission to the Russia-Byelorussia Union. The poll, which included 1,800 respondents from various segments of population and various regions, also found that 44 percent of respondents favored granting the Russian language a status as the second state language. (TASS 3/5/98)
198. Mar 6, 1998 Ukrainian customs seized all periodicals arriving in the Crimean peninsula from Russia, allegedly because the Ukrposhta agency, directly responsible for deliveries, had not settled its debts with the Ukrainian customs.
(a) Crimea's largest newspaper, however, described the arrest of Russian periodicals as "a political action seeking to torpedo the efforts of President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine to establish friendly relations with Russia." (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/7/98)
199. Mar 22, 1998 Three people were hurt in an explosion at the office of the Communist Party and the Russian Society of Crimea in Yevpatoriya on Crimea's west coast. The victims accused the Yevpatoriya mayor, Andriy Danylenko, of ordering the attack. A series of political figures in Crimea had been attacked over the course of the previous months; this attack may or may not have been targetting Russians. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/24/98)
200. Mar 25, 1998 The Crimean police chief said large numbers of Ukrainian interior troops would be sent to Crimea to maintain order during the March 29 parliamentary elections. The day before in Simferopol, ethnic Tatars wounded 19 police during a rally for parliamentary electoral rights for all repatriates regardless of their citizenship. (TASS 3/25/98)
201. Mar 27, 1998 The Ukrainian Constitutional Court ruled that the Crimean "Law on Calculating Time," which declared Crimea would use the same time zone as Moscow, was in violation of the Ukrainian Constitution, and that the Crimean parliament did not have the authority to make law, only decrees. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/30/98)
202. Mar 29, 1998 In Ukrainian elections, the Communists won 84 of 225 seats voted under the party list system in the 450-seat parliament. The nationalist Rukh Party won 32 seats, the Green Party -- 19, the Peoples' Democratic Party -- 17 seats, Gromada association -- 16 and the Progressive Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party (United) -- 14 seats each, under the party list system. The Communists won another 39 seats in the first-past-the-post constituencies, which made them the biggest single party faction with an aggregate of 123 seats. Turnout reached 70% in some places, and the Crimean Tatars continued to protest their relative lack of representation up to the day of the election. In Crimea, thirty-six of the deputies elected to the Crimean parliament represented the Communist Party of Ukraine, five the Agrarian Party of Ukraine, and four seats each went to representatives of the People's Democratic Party and the Union Party. The Party of Economic Revival won two seats and the Socialist Party of Ukraine - one seat. (TASS 4/1/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 3/30/98 & 4/1/98)
203. May 19, 1998 The Crimean Supreme Council parliament set the Crimean parliament election for the last Sunday of September in 1998. It also approved a constitutional submission on whether the Ukrainian Supreme Council's resolution of 12th February 1998 "On the Crimean Supreme Council election" and the law of Ukraine "On the election of Crimean Supreme Council deputies" complied with the Ukrainian constitution. The Council acted in part because they felt they had no current legal regulations to guide Crimean elections. (British Broadcasting Corporation 2/19/98)
204. May 27, 1998 A coalition government of the Crimean autonomy was formed, consisting predominantly of representatives of the Communist Party, the People's Democratic Party of Ukraine (NDPU) and the "Soyuz" (union) Party. (TASS 5/27/98)
205. Jun 15, 1998 Information Minister Kulik admitted that the Ukrainian government could not use legal means or financial means to prohibit information companies from using other languages to transmit information in Ukraine, making it impossible to stop broadcasts in the Russian language. (British Broadcasting Corporation 6/19/98)
206. Aug 4, 1998 Representatives from regional branches of Ukraine's parties and public organizations in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea signed a declaration on concord for the sake of Crimea's revival in Sevastopol. They wanted to counteract what they called the "the protracted and all-embracing economic and spiritual crisis in Ukraine," and emphasized the need for concord in the community. They also declared their readiness to cooperate with the Supreme Council [parliament] and Council of Ministers of the autonomy [Crimea] on issues that directly concern the socioeconomic condition and wellbeing of citizens. The 21 representatives of political parties and community organizations who signed the declaration agreed to the creation of a coordinating council that will meet at least once a month. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/7/98)
207. Aug 26, 1998 Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov opened a Russian school in Sevastopol, declaring it would strengthen the belief that "Sevastopol will return to the lap of Russia." The new school was meant for the children of the servicemen of the Russian Black Sea fleet, and had been built with Russian funds, as had the repair of ships and the construction of housing for the seamen. Luzhkov's comments, including remarks about Sevastopol being a Russian city and the "Ukrainization" of the city, later caused official criticism from Ukraine. (TASS 8/26/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 8/30/98)
208. Sep 16, 1998 The Crimean parliament approved an agreement between Crimea and Moscow on cooperation in the trade, economic, scientific, technical, humanitarian and cultural fields. The agreement was supported by 85 of the 90 Crimean parliament deputies who attended the session, while ten deputies did not attend. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/17/98)
209. Sep 22, 1998 At a meeting with the chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme Council, Crimean Supreme Council chairman Leonid Hrach stressed that the Crimean Council of Ministers did not have power to rule either through the legislation of Ukraine or its constitution. He added that Crimea would never agree to be made simply into a Regional state administration. Hrach felt the Crimean parliament needed the right to conclude agreements with local self- government bodies on socioeconomic issues and cultural development of Crimean regions, as well as to make provision for the "mutual delegation of individual powers by parliament and local councils." (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/23/98)
210. Oct 18, 1998 The National Movement of the Crimean Tatars held a meeting of some 200 delegates from the Crimea, other Ukrainian regions, Russia and the Central Asia. They called on Ukraine to voluntarily disavow the 1954 act on the transfer of the Crimea to Ukraine and to settle relations with the Crimean Autonomous Republic on the basis of an agreement with Russia, Simferopol, and commissioners of the Crimean Tatars. The National Movement of the Crimean Tatars, which proclaimed itself "a special political self-organization of the people," seeks, among other things, the restoration of statehood in the Crimea. (TASS 10/18/98)
211. 1998-10-21 Crimea adopts proposed Constitution “Adopted at the second session Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea October 21, 1998 Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in accordance with of the Constitution of Ukraine ( 254k/96-ВР ), the Law of Ukraine dated February 10 1998 "On the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" ( 90/98-ВР ) and guided by the interests of Crimeans ACCEPTS this one “
212. Nov 7, 1998 As part of a rally marking the 81st anniversary of the October Revolution, Leonid Hrach proposed to hold a referendum during Ukrainian elections on October 29th, 1999, on giving Russian the status of a second state language in Ukraine. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/9/98)
213. Nov 17, 1998 Simferopol University released a poll showed that 92 percent of graduates of Crimean schools and higher educational establishments favored granting Russian official status on the peninsula.
(a) According to the poll results, 95 percent of local Ukrainians, 80 percent of Crimean Tatars, 100 percent of Russians and 93 percent of people of other ethnicities spoke Russian.
(b) Some 85 percent of the respondents wanted their children to be taught in Russian.
(c) When asked about the naturalization preference, 27 percent of the respondents chose the citizenship of Ukraine, 25 percent favored the citizenship of Russia, 21 percent wanted that of the former Soviet Union and 10 percent that of the United States. (TASS 11/17/98)
214. Nov 24, 1998 Crimean Tatars appealed to President Kuchma and the parliament not to examine the Crimean constitution until the adoption of legislative and regulative acts on the renewal of Crimean Tatar rights in Ukraine. Tatars believed that adoption of the constitution of Crimean autonomy without the consideration of other issues would be detrimental to Ukraine's development and could lead to consolidation of antigovernment forces in Crimea. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/28/98)
215. Nov 30, 1998 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's monitoring committee threatened to strip the Ukrainian delegation of its credentials if it did not act more swiftly to build a law-governed state, to transfer the penitentiary system from the Interior Ministry to the Justice Ministry, and to pass laws improving the work of local bodies of power, ending the death penalty, ensuring the rights of Crimean Tatars, and adopting the constitution of Crimea. (TASS 11/30/98)
216. Dec 15, 1998 The Ukrainian parliament did not approve the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC), as deputies from the Gromada and People's Democrats parties and the Rukh nationalist movement frustrated the voting by hurling insults at Premier Hrach. Rukh representatives claimed that Crimea had been granted too many rights.
(a) The Constitution, with a few revisions, was eventually approved on Dec. 23, 1998, with a vote of 230 to 67 with 3 abstentions. The Constitution specified that the ARC was an inalienable part of Ukraine, whose powers were defined by the Ukrainian constitution and Ukrainian laws as well as by the ARC constitution. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine was to resolve issues of constitutionality and whether ARC laws were consistent with the Ukrainian constitution. Laws guaranteed the development and protection of the Ukrainian language, as well as Russian, Crimean Tatar and other nationalities, and the right of individuals to study in their native languages. Official documents were to be issued in Ukrainian and Russian, and Crimean Tatar upon request.
(b) The Constitution went into effect January 12, 1999. (TASS 12/15/98 and Deutsche Presse-Agentur 12/23/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 12/26/98)
217. 1998-12-23 UKR APPROVAL OF CRIMEAN CONSTITUTION:- OFFICIAL VERSION (WITH AMENDMENTS- LAST 2009-12-17)) ''On the approval of the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea | dated 23.12.1998 No. 350-XIV#__#<<CONSTITUTION>> <<OF THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF CRIMEA>> <<Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea@1>> <<October 21, 1998@1>> <<in accordance with>> <<the Constitution of Ukraine@2>> <<the Law of Ukraine dated February 10>> <<1998 "On the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea">> <<( 90/98-ВР ) and guided by the interests of Crimeans>> <<effective from the date of its publication>> https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/350-14 - Text
(a) Oct 21, 1998 The parliament of the Crimea approved a new version of the republic's constitution,
(b) the fifth proposal since Crimea's 1992 independence within Ukraine.
(c) In contrast to some earlier drafts, the new version of the main law did not call for attributes of statehood such as separate citizenship or a separate legal system.
(d) According to newspaper accounts, Crimean separatism lost its impetus after the division of the Black Sea Fleet. The Russian Duma later condemned the new constitution, which declared Ukrainian to be the sole official language of the Crimea, as being discriminatory to the Russian population. The Ukrainian foreign ministry denied the claims. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 10/21/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 10/26/98 & 10/28/98)
1999 Crimean Autonomy within Ukraine settled.
218. The Constitution went into effect January 12, 1999. (TASS 12/15/98 and Deutsche Presse-Agentur 12/23/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 12/26/98)
219. Jul 17, 1999 In a press conference, President Leonid Kuchma said Ukraine should have only Ukrainian as its state language, but that the Russian language was not oppressed in the Republic. "I am categorically opposed to pressing Russian or Ukrainian. But people will understand that they live in Ukraine and must know the Ukrainian language," he said. (TASS 7/17/99)
220. Aug 30, 1999 On live Ukrainian television, President Leonid Kuchma again advocated the importance of the state Ukrainian language as well as Russian.
(a) Kuchma advocated compulsory Ukrainian lessons in Russian schools, as well as the teaching of Russian and other foreign languages for Ukrainian schools.
(b) Kuchma also said that he opposed autonomy for the Crimean Tatars within Crimea, which he said would affect the balance between ethnic groups in the area.
(c) The Tatars were assumed to be the dominant ethnic group within the Crimea after about 270,000 Crimean Tatars had returned to Ukraine in the course of a few years. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/31/99 & 9/1/99)
(d) Criminal proceedings began against some members of the National Bolshevist Party who ascended the spire of the Sailors' Club of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on August 24th (Ukraine's Independence Day) in protest against the transfer of Sevastopol to Ukraine. They were charged with aggravated hooliganism and the seizure of club premises after the Sevastopol militia said that leaflets and anti-Ukrainian literature had been confiscated from National Bolshevist Party members in Sevastopol in the course of search-and-prevention operations. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/1/99)
221. Sep 15, 1999 Ukrainian television reported on ongoing ethnic tensions in the Crimea, including a
(a) rise in arrests related to the smuggling of provocative literature, arms, and ammunition to the peninsula.
(b) The Crimean prime minister was quoted as saying that interethnic relations were the number one issue in the Crimea, but most of the article focused on tensions with the Tatar community, not Russians. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/16/99)
(c) During a visit to Ukraine, OSCE Commissioner for national minorities, Max van der Stoel, said that he felt that the Russian minority in Ukraine, in particular in Crimea, encountered no problems in daily life. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/16/99)
222. Nov 7, 1999 Crimean President [?????] Leonid Hrach publicly accused Crimean prime minister, Serhiy Kunitsyn, and the representative of the Ukrainian president in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Anatoliy Korniychuk, of trying to start a coup d'etat. The two subsequently threatened to sue Hrach for libel, who countered by demanding that they be fired. The crisis eventually led to a series of dismissals during questionable meetings of parliament which were held while the sessions were officially closed. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/17/99 & 12/15/99)
223. Dec 10, 1999 A group of Tatars seized the administrative offices in Bakhchysaray and demanded that their representative be appointed head of the district. Members of the Supreme Council of the Crimea and activists of the Russian community held a counter-demonstration outside the building a few days later to speak out against the Tatar demands that people be appointed based on ethnicity. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/11/99 and What the Papers Say 12/15/99)
224. Jan 5, 2000 The Ukrainian Parliament formally ratified the European Charter On Local Languages and the Languages of Minorities, which Ukraine had signed when it joined the Council of Europe in 1995.
(a) The Charter guaranteed the right of Russian speakers to use Russian in public life in all areas of Ukraine where a minimum of 20% of the population spoke Russian.
(b) Russian groups claimed that all of Ukraine met this requirement.
(c) However, on Dec. 14 in accordance with Article 10 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine recognized Ukrainian as the only "compulsory means of communication for officials of the local government bodies and local self-government structures while discharging their duties and in all the public spheres of social life, as well as in clerical work." The ruling meant that all public officials, including police and teachers, could only use Ukrainian while on duty, and that inadequate knowledge of Ukrainian could be grounds for the dismissal of public workers.
(d) The law also applied to Crimea. (TASS 1/5/00 and Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 1/19/00)
225. Feb 16, 2000 Dmitry Bulgakov, a Russian living in Crimea, filed a case in international court, claiming that the government had Ukrainized his name on his passport. He said while Tatars and other ethnic groups in Ukraine retained their names on government documents, the names of Russian speakers were regularly Ukrainized, and that his previous appeals in district and Crimean courts had not restored his identity. (TASS 2/16/00)
226. Feb 26, 2000 The Soyuz (Union) party and several other organizations called a conference on human rights and languages in which they criticized Ukrainian authorities for carrying out a policy aimed at forcing the Russian language out of the country. Delegates to the conference cited examples of language discrimination and mass violations of people's right to speak their native tongue. (TASS 2/26/00)
227. May 25, 2000 The Crimean parliament demanded the resignation of the Crimean cabinet, sparking increased tensions with Ukraine and a series of demonstrations by the Tatars calling for the dissolution of the parliament and the implementation of direct presidential rule. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/25/00 & 5/27/00)
228. May 29, 2000 Ukrainian radio reported on the steady loss of radio programming in Crimea, which it attributed to several sources.
(a) Although the radio stations did owe money to local broadcasters, the greater problem lay in a new Ukrainian law which was reputed to ban editing of national radio broadcasts (including the addition of local news or the translation of items into local languages).
(b) Since the programming could not be reread, the original weak transmissions were simply rebroadcast. In addition, the exact provisions of the law were unknown, and there was some suspicion that the law - which would have been unconstitutional - did not even exist. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/29/00)
229. Jul 14, 2000 The Constitutional Court of Ukraine decided that the law "On the Ratification of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages 1992" was unconstitutional, based on irregularities in the way it was ratified and approved. (Interfax 7/14/00)
230. 2001 Ukrainian Census (the only census ever done in Ukraine!) 2,376,000 (Autonomous Republic of Crimea: 2,033,700, Sevastopol: 342,451),[2]
(a) local census conducted by Russia in December 2014, which found 2,248,400 people (Republic of Crimea: 1,889,485, Sevastopol: 395,000).[3]
(b) January 2021, the estimated total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was at 2,416,856 (Republic of Crimea: 1,903,707, Sevastopol: 513,149).[1]
D. 2002- Yanukovich presidencies, Orange revolution, extension of Crimea lease, Maidan, 2014 Russian invasion
234. 2004 Fresh Presidential elections, Yushenko elected (centrist)
235. 2006-08 Yushenko appointed Yanukovich PM
(a) [ed: After he committed election fraud and poisoned him!!!!]
236. 2010-02-07? Crimea Rada Elections – 4% Ruaaian Unity Party, most Yanukovich – election promise to prepare/move closer to EU [election campaign manager Paul Manafort, later managed Trump 2016 election campaign, later imprisoned]
(i) 9 March when the Ukraine Verkhovna Rada (parliament) amended its own regulations, which had been designed to preserve electoral mandates, maintain the integrity of factions and, not incidentally, close off an avenue of corruption in the coalition-building process. By means of this expedient (and apparently unconstitutional) step, Yanukovych was able to attract enough defections from the opposition to secure a Stability and Reforms coalition between his Party of Regions, the Communists and the politically androgynous bloc of the parliamentary Speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn
(ii) Simultaneously, inside the Party of Regions itself, the more Europe-orientated wing, rather simplistically associated with industrial magnate Rinat Akhmetov, was trounced by the gas lobby and other interests threatened by European integration rather than lured by it. Now that these two political thresholds have been crossed, the art of the possible has changed in Ukraine. Yanukovych has secured his ‘vertical’ of power not only in parliament, but in the power ministries, the Procurator General’s Office and, it would appear, the country’s Constitutional Court
(iii) the purpose of power is to gain more of it. Even had Yanukovych won the election with a margin of 0.3%, he would most likely be conducting himself as he is now, possibly with even greater determination. He does not just preside over an ‘oligarchic dictatorship’. He leads it.
(iv), 63% support joining the Russia- Belarus Union State, as opposed to 53% supporting EU accession. Nevertheless, according to the same poll, 66% of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine and Russia should remain independent states.
(v) transforming the state from accomplice of corruption to the source of it.
2010 Yanukovich Extension of Sevastopol lease
238. 2010-04-21 Yanukovich Kharkiv pact extended Sevastopol lease to 2042 (expired 2017) in return for discounted gas prices.
240. 2012-11 Ukrainian Foreign Ministry declared in November 2012 that the European integration remains a priority for Kyiv
(a) 9 Foreign Ministry: Ukraine’s accession to customs union not on agenda now, 14 November 2012, http://www.kyivpost. com/content/ukraine/foreign-ministry-ukraines-accession-to-customs-union-not-on-agenda-now-316107.html.
(b) 10 Azarov: Kyiv disappointed by lack of EU interest in upgrading Ukraine’s gas pipeline system, 30 November 2012, http:// www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/azarov-kyiv-disappointed-by-lack-of-eu-interest-in-upgrading-ukraines-gas-pipeline- system-316993.html.
241. 2013-05 16_30 Gallup “Public Opinion Survey Residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea || 'CRIMEA SURVEY [NATIONALITY, CONCERNS] GALLUP||
2013 05 16 30 Survey Of Crimean Public Opinion Gallup Iri,(p17=77%opp Given To Russia)
243. 2013-? Yanukovych breach election promise, extend Sevastopol lease to 2042 without mandate (expiry was 2017); signs Treaty with Russia instead of EU; MAIDAN
IEV (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of the fall of Ukraine's government and Russia's subsequent incursion into Ukraine's Crimea region.
The crisis began in November when Ukraine's then president, Viktor Yanukovich, under Russian pressure, turned his back on a trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15 billion bailout from Moscow. That prompted three months of street protests, leading to the overthrow of Yanukovich on February 22.
Moscow denounced the events as an illegitimate coup and refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities. In late February, Russian troops seized the Crimean peninsula in a bloodless military takeover.
* Nov 21: Kiev suddenly announces suspension of trade and association talks with the EU and opts to revive economic ties with Moscow.
Several hundred Ukrainians gather on the capital's central Independence Square to protest.
* Nov 22: Jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko urges Ukrainians to protest against the switch away from the EU.
* Nov 24: Some 100,000 people rally in Kiev against spurning the EU.
* Nov 25: Ukrainian police fire tear gas at demonstrators.
* Nov 29: At the EU summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Yanukovich fails to sign the association agreement.
* Nov 30: Riot police try to break up the Kiev demonstration by force. Protest turns against Yanukovich and his government.
* Dec 1: Some 350,000 people protest in Kiev and clash with police. Crowds turn Independence Square into a protest tent city. Opposition leaders call on Yanukovich to resign.
* Dec 4: Senior EU officials and ministers start visiting the protest square.
* Dec 6: Yanukovich holds previously unannounced talks in Sochi with Putin on "strategic partnership".
* Dec 8: Some 800,000 people rally in Kiev. A statue of Lenin is toppled.
* Dec 13: Yanukovich's first face-to-face talks with opposition bring no breakthrough in crisis.
* Dec 15: EU suspends talks with Ukraine on the pact. Some 200,000 people rally in Kiev.
* Dec 17: Yanukovich and Putin meet for second time since crisis began. Putin agrees to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt and to slash by a third the price of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine.
* Dec 18: Tens of thousands of protesters gather in Kiev, calling for Yanukovich to resign over bailout.
* Dec 20: About 100,000 take to square in central Kiev, opposition forms bloc called Maidan.
Dec 24: Ukraine receives first $3 billion tranche of Russian bailout.
* Jan 12: At least 50,000 protesters march in Kiev, reviving the movement after a Christmas and New Year lull.
* Jan 15: Ukraine court bans protests in central Kiev.
* Jan 17: Yanukovich signs new laws banning anti-government protests.
* Jan 19: Thousands protest in Kiev defying ban, some clashing with riot police.
* Jan 22: Three people die during protests and EU threatens action over handling of crisis. Talks between opposition and Yanukovich fail.
* Jan 23: Washington threatens sanctions if violence continues.
* Jan 26: Police clash with protesters in Kiev. Unrest spreads to traditionally pro-Yanukovich east. Yanukovich offers important government posts to opposition, who say they will press for more concessions, including early elections.
* Jan 27: Yanukovich and opposition agree to scrap some of the anti-protest laws. Protesters try to storm Kiev cultural centre.
* Jan 28: Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigns. Deputies loyal to Yanukovich overturn anti-protest laws in a bid to restore calm.
* Jan 30: Yanukovich goes on sick leave, announcing that he is suffering from an acute respiratory ailment.
* Jan 31: Still on sick leave, Yanukovich signs into law a conditional amnesty for those detained in the unrest.
* Feb 2: Yanukovich returns to work after four days' sick leave, protesters fill Kiev's main square.
* Feb 7: Moscow accuses the United States of trying to foment a coup in Ukraine. Washington says Russia leaked a recording of U.S. diplomats discussing how to shape a new government in Kiev.
* Feb 9: Pressure on Yanukovich grows as protests against him continue and Russia links disbursement of next tranche of a $15 billion aid package to repayment of hefty gas bill.
* Feb 14: Russia accuses EU of seeking Ukraine "sphere of influence". Protesters released under amnesty but streets still tense.
* Feb 17: Russia boosts Yanukovich with $2 billion fresh cash injection to Ukraine.
* Feb 18: At least 14 people die as protesters clash with police in worst violence since demonstrations began.
* Feb 19: West threatens sanctions after death toll rises to 26. Yanukovich denounces bloodshed as an attempted coup.
* Feb 20: At least 39 die in clashes in Kiev. Foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland meet with Yanukovich, extend stay to put a political roadmap to opposition leaders.
* Feb 21: Opposition leaders sign EU-mediated peace pact Yanukovich to end violence that killed at least 77 people.
* Feb 22: Ukraine's parliament votes to remove Yanukovich, who flees his Kiev office, denouncing what he says is a coup. His arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko is released from jail.
* Feb 24: Fugitive Yanukovich indicted for "mass murder" over demonstrator deaths. Moscow says it will not deal with leaders of "armed mutiny" against Yanukovich.
* Feb 26: Ukraine names ministers for new government. Angry Russia puts 150,000 troops on high alert. Washington warns Moscow against military intervention.
* Feb 27: Armed men seize Crimea parliament, raise Russian flag. Kiev's new rulers warn Moscow to keep troops within its naval base on the peninsula. Hryvnia falls to record low.
* Feb 28: Armed men take control of two airports in Crimea, described by Ukrainian minister as invasion by Moscow's forces. Ousted Yanukovich surfaces in Russia after a week on the run.
* March 1: Putin wins parliamentary approval to invade Ukraine. In Kiev, new government warns of war, puts troops on high alert and appeals to NATO for help. White House warns Russia of economic, political isolation. Russian forces fan out in Crimea. Pro-Moscow demonstrations erupt across Ukraine's south and east in what Kiev calls an attempt to repeat Crimea scenario.
* March 2: Russian forces tighten grip on Crimea. Ukraine announces call-up of reserves. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemns Russia for "incredible act of aggression", threatening "very serious repercussions".
* March 3: Markets open for first time since Kremlin announcement of right to invade. Russian share prices and ruble plummet.
* March 4: Putin announces end to war games in Western Russia, orders troops near frontier back to barracks. Ukraine says Russian navy has blocked strait between Crimea and Russia. Putin says military force in Ukraine would only be "last resort". Kerry in Kiev. U.S. official says Washington working on sanctions against Russia.
* March 5: Russia rebuffs calls to withdraw troops from Crimea, saying "self-defense" forces are not under its command. European Union pledges 11 billion euros in aid to Kiev.
* March 6: Crimea's pro-Russian leadership votes to join Russia and sets referendum for March 16, escalating crisis. U.S. President Barack Obama says referendum would violate international law and orders sanctions on those responsible for Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.
EU leaders hold an emergency summit to try to find ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation. Military monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe barred from entering Crimea.
* March 7: After hour-long phone call with Obama, Putin says they are still far apart.
* March 8: Warning shots are fired to prevent an unarmed international military observer mission from entering Crimea. Russian forces become increasingly aggressive towards Ukrainian troops trapped in bases.
Compiled by Gabriela Baczynska, Pavel Polityuk and Raissa Kasolowsky
Press releases and reports - How relations between Ukraine and Russia should look like? Public opinion polls’ results
(i) |Integration with Russia into a single state
■ East (26%)
■ South (19%
■ Crimea (41%)
■ Donetsk district (33%
■ Lugansk district (24%)
(ii) Support to the current status of relations with Russia - as two independent and friendly states – prevails
■ Ukrainians (68% and 63%
(iii) Integration into one state is supported by 9% of Ukrainians and 32% of Russians
(iv)Among people, having negative attitude towards Maidan, only 21% wants to unite with Russia into a single stat
■ Support Maidan 66.9%
(b) Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation ~ Kyiv International Institute of Sociology ~ financed ~ European union
(c) opinion poll, conducted by Russian research organization Levada Centre February, 21-25 2014 provided for comparison 4.3.2014| - 16?% Russians interested in Crimea!
248. 2014-02-22 Yanukovych impeached by UKRAINE Rada Verkhova (GET THE RESOLUTION)
249. 2014-02-27? Yanukovich flew to Russia on instructions from Putin (Crimea coming home)
250. 2014-02? Fresh elections set for 2014-05
251. 2014-02-27 INVASION early hours of 27 February—just four days after the conclusion of the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv—armed men in unmarked uniforms appeared in the streets of the Crimean capital of Simferopol' apparently tasked with protecting the region's Russians and Russian speakers.
(a) Russian authorities initially claimed that these men were merely "local self-defense units" made up of volunteers from Crimea, but Russian President Vladimir Putin later conceded that they were Russian military forces.'
(b) These so-called "little green men" seized control of the Crimean Supreme Council building, raised the Russian flag from its roof, and presided over an emergency session wherein deputies voted to
252. 2014-03-01 Yanukovich, who fled to Russia in 2014 after mass protests, has already received a 13-year jail sentence in absentia for treason. That case was related to a letter he sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1, 2014, asking him to use Russian army and police forces to restore order in Ukraine
253. 2014-03-06 the newly reformed Crimean Supreme Council voted to
(a) secede from Ukraine and
(b) declared Crimea the sovereign territory of the Russian Federation.
(c) An illegal referendum was hastily organized for 16 March to essentially "confirm" this decision,
254. “2014-13-03 Meshkov returned to Crimea in 2014, after the invasion, before the annexation. "I am asking (Crimea's) supreme council to allow me to participate in the upcoming referendum. I am the president and citizen of the Republic of Crimea," he said at a press conference held at Simferopol airport. Crimea's nationalist ex-president returns from Moscow (died 1919)
(a) 2014-03-16 An illegal referendum was hastily organized for 16 March to essentially "confirm" the decision 6/3/14,
(b) immediately issued a formal request to the Russian President for acceptance into the Russian Federation.
256. 2014-03-18 Agreement of Accession of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation The following day,
(a) President Putin and three representatives of the newly formed Crimean and Sevastopol' governments signed
(b) at a ceremony in Moscow,
(c) officially declaring the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol' territorial subjects of the Russian Federation.14
(d) With this formal annexation the Russian Federation acted in clear violation of the principle of territorial integrity, and of its own explicitly stated obligation to respect and uphold the inviolability of Ukraine's international borders as outlined in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.'5
257. 2014-04-27 The Council under the President of the RF published a report by human rights committee of an investigation into the March “referendum”.7
(a) 28/04/2022 — In 2014-2021, 347.9 thousand people, which is 15 ... According to Russian sources, about 200 thousand people left Crimea during the same period
(c) 11/07/2021 — Instead of 135,212 Crimeans who left the peninsula in 2014-2020, 201,420 new “colonisers” moved to Crimea, i.e. there were 1.5 times more
(d) 15/02/2022 — An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 people have left Crimea for mainland Ukraine since 2014. They are part of an internally displaced population
Kyiv International Institute of Sociology|| Press releases and reports - Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities: continuation of the armed struggle or transition to negotiations#__#|Recently, Russia has been actively shelling Ukrainian cities with missiles, kamikaze drones, etc. Which of these statements best describes your thoughts on this matter?|
(a) SURVEYS- 97% SUPPORT WAR, EU, VOLUNTEERS, Ukrainians rallied to stand against the aggressor and win the war. Story of the Ukrainian people - YouTube
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