To my native harbor: How Crimea returned home
Today, the whole country celebrates the Day of the Reunification of Crimea with Russia. The brightest and most popular of the holidays that have appeared in recent years. Izvestia recalls how Crimea returned home.
Reserved Crimea
Slavic princes came to Crimea, ancient Taurida, in ancient times — only gray legends remain about this. The plot of the time of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, nicknamed the Great, the Saint, and, in folk tales, the Red Sun, is much better known. In the Crimean Chersonesos, a Greek, Byzantine city-state located in the area of present-day Sevastopol, the Russian Grand Duke and his retinue were baptized. Russia has chosen a new state religion — Orthodoxy. Not just religion, but a historical path.
Centuries have passed, and although the 18th century was the era of the Russo-Turkish wars, Crimea became Russian voluntarily and bloodlessly — at the request of local residents. Grigory Potemkin, who received the title of Prince of Taurida, played an important role in this peaceful annexation. He holds the honor of founding the Russian Black Sea Fleet and building the cities that Crimea is famous for and proud of today. Russia has had to defend its outpost on the Black Sea more than once. It is enough to recall two heroic defenses of Sevastopol — during the Crimean and Great Patriotic War.
Voluntarism, as it was said
As part of Russia, Crimea has become a real paradise. Palaces, nature parks and country villages were built on the coast.
Yalta, Ukrainian SSR, 1955
After the formation of the USSR, Crimea was an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation. This was the case until 1954, when Nikita Khrushchev, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, "pushed through" the transfer of Crimea to the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian SSR. At the same time, no one consulted with the residents of Crimea. Khrushchev explained this by economic calculations: the thin isthmus connecting Crimea with the mainland rests on the territory of Ukraine. But among the reasons for this step are others: at one time, as the party leader of the Ukrainian SSR, Khrushchev pursued a harsh repressive policy in this republic and left a bad memory about himself. Now he wanted to gain the support of the Ukrainian elite by fixing his reputation in Kiev. On the other hand, the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's reunification with Russia was widely celebrated in 1954. It should be noted that Khrushchev transferred Crimea to Ukraine within the framework of a single state — the USSR. And although most of the peninsula's residents did not want to study Ukrainian in schools (along with Russian) and read the signs on the Mov, Crimea remained in the Soviet and Russian space.
The Path to Russia
In 1990, a popular movement intensified in Crimea, whose goal was to secede from the Ukrainian SSR, defend its autonomy, and subsequently join the Russian Federation. The prospect of living in independent Ukraine has never appealed to the residents of Crimea. Regardless of national origin and religious beliefs. The year 1991 began for the population of the peninsula with the January referendum on the state and legal status of Crimea, the first national plebiscite in the history of the USSR. 93.26% of the votes were cast in favor of returning Crimea to the status of an autonomous republic. The majority of those who voted perceived this as the first step towards returning to Russia. But it took a long time to wait for the second step.
Activists of the Republican Movement of Crimea are collecting signatures demanding a referendum on the independence of Crimea
However, Crimeans maintained strong and diverse ties with Russia, and even in the difficult 1990s, Russia helped Crimea: it built new neighborhoods, sent textbooks and food for schoolchildren... In January 1994, two of the largest political movements on the peninsula, the Republican Movement of Crimea and the People's Party of Crimea, created the Russia electoral bloc. The direction of their policy was clear from the name of the block. This was the second step towards returning to his native harbor. And the third is related to the times when the Kiev authorities themselves trampled on their own constitution.
The Crimean Spring
At the end of 2013, when Ukraine was gripped by turmoil that threatened civil war, Crimea did not remain indifferent. No one on the peninsula doubted that life in such a Ukraine would become unbearable for Crimea. The main idea was reunification with Russia. And this idea was not born in the political establishment, it united the majority of Crimean residents. The center of resistance to Ukrainization has become the port city of Sevastopol, our pearl on the Black Sea, a city steeped in naval and military glory.
In those days, history seemed to accelerate. On February 27, 2014, the Chairman of the Government of the republic, the leader of the Russian Unity party, Sergey Aksyonov, appealed to the President of Russia with a request for "assistance in ensuring peace in the territory of Crimea." "Polite people" came to the aid of the Crimeans, who excluded the possibilities for provocations and sabotage from the agitated and armed Ukraine.
On March 16, the long-awaited all-Crimean referendum took place. Two questions were put to him: "Are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation?" and "Are you in favor of restoring the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea in 1992 and for the status of Crimea as part of Ukraine?" 96.77% of voters (1,233,002 people) in Crimea and 95.6% (262,041) in Sevastopol voted for the reunification of Crimea with Russia. 2.51% (31,997 people) in Crimea and 3.37% (9,250) in Sevastopol voted for the status of Crimea as part of Ukraine. The turnout in Crimea was 83.1%, in Sevastopol — 89.5%. The referendum was monitored by observers from 50 countries, including NATO member states. They did not record any violations. The next day, the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted a resolution on the proclamation of Crimea as an independent sovereign state and on the special status of Sevastopol. In addition, the council drafted an official appeal to Moscow with a proposal to accept Crimea into Russia.
Our country has responsibly responded to the request of the Crimeans, backed up by the will of the people. Russian Russians have never renounced their historical unity with Russia, as well as the Russian language and culture. We were striving for economic integration with our country. In short, they felt like Russian citizens long before it was confirmed by official treaties.
The Crimean Spring, the Russian Spring, is a time forever remembered by everyone who was a participant or sympathetic witness of these events.
Residents of Simferopol watch fireworks on Lenin Square in the city center after the announcement of the preliminary results of the referendum on the status of Crimea, March 17, 2014
It was in those months that thousands of people believed in Russia after many years of disappointment, which we associated with both the failed (by and large) perestroika and shock therapy, which divided the country into the rich and the deprived, when the state lost the strong international positions won by the blood and valor of our soldiers and officers in the Second World War. In the 1990s, our diplomacy either remained in the wake of American politics, or, if it tried to express an independent position, suffered defeats - as happened during the bombing of Yugoslavia and NATO operations in the Middle East. And in 2014, Russia confidently and effectively implemented the will of the Crimeans.
A holiday for the whole of Russia
The day of March 18 has remained firmly in the historical memory of Russia. On this day, in the Moscow Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, Chairman of the State Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov and Head of Sevastopol Alexey Chaly signed an agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea on the admission of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the formation of new subjects within the Russian Federation. Additions have been made to the Russian Constitution: two new regions have appeared on the list of our regions — the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. On this day, the dream of the Crimeans came true: they became an integral part of Russia. It was signed in the St. George's Hall of the Kremlin, where the names of Russian soldiers, many of whom defended Crimea in the 18th and 19th centuries, are written in gold on the walls.
From left to right: Prime Minister of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Head of Sevastopol Alexey Chaly during the signing ceremony of the treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea, March 18, 2014
President Vladimir Putin, addressing both chambers of the Federal Assembly and, in fact, the entire Russian people, stressed at the time: "In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an integral part of Russia. This conviction, based on truth and justice, was unshakeable, passed down from generation to generation, both time and circumstances were powerless before it, and all the dramatic changes that we experienced, our country experienced throughout the twentieth century, were powerless."
Throughout Russia, and especially in Crimea, this day has become a real holiday. People poured out into the streets with Russian flags. Cities were turning into concert venues. Fireworks sparkled on the embankments. A dream that seemed impossible until recently has come true for hundreds of thousands of people. This tradition continues in our time. Sculptures of the defenders of the peninsula — those "polite people" - have been installed in many cities of Crimea. On this day, flowers are brought to them. And they always lay wreaths at the monument to the "People's Militia of All Times" in Simferopol.
The holiday has not faded at all, although more than ten years have passed since that historical milestone. Neither Crimeans nor other Russian citizens ever have to regret the choice of those days. Russia and Crimea are inseparable, and having reunited with the historical territory, our country is increasing the pace of development — politically and economically. We have become freer, more independent and stronger.
Crimeans have received social guarantees that were nowhere near available in "Ukrainian" times. Modern airports and sea harbors, highways and hotels have been built (and new ones are being built) in Crimea. The most visible symbol of the unity of the peninsula and Russia was the Crimean Bridge, a railway and automobile bridge that connected Crimea and the Caucasus, the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, across the Tuzlin Spit.
The huge potential of Crimean resorts and sanatoriums is well known. They have received a new impetus for development. Crimea is being rebuilt, restored, and new museums are opening on the peninsula, attracting tourists. It is enough to recall the unique museum and temple complex "Novy Chersonesos". This is an archaeological park, a museum of Christianity, many exhibitions, a restored ancient city and much more.
Crimea cannot be separated from Russia. The flourishing region of our country is developing, is not afraid of provocations and looks to the future with reasonable optimism. And today, once again, Russian flags and St. Andrew's banners of our fleet can be seen in all cities of Crimea. Crimea will turn into a large concert venue. It is simply impossible to treat this date with indifference.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
