The long way home: 35 years ago, residents of Crimea spoke out against Ukraine
On January 20, 1991, residents of Crimea spoke honestly about the future of the peninsula in the first referendum in the history of the USSR, voting for independence from Ukraine. Izvestia recalled how it was.
Russian Crimea
Taurida became part of Russia in 1783, without a single shot being fired. Until 1945, Crimea had the status of an autonomous republic within the RSFSR. After the war, the peninsula was transformed into the Crimean region — of course, also as part of the RSFSR. And in 1954, Nikita Khrushchev, without public discussion, transferred Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR. While the union government remained in force, Crimeans tried not to attach importance to the fact that they turned out to be residents of Ukraine. The main thing was that they remained citizens of the Soviet Union. But in the late 1980s, nationalist and separatist calls began to sound louder in Kiev. In response, the movement for the return of autonomous status became increasingly popular on the peninsula.
Veterans of the Great Patriotic War on the steps of Grafskaya pier in Sevastopol during the celebration of the Day of the Navy of the USSR, Ukrainian SSR, 1984
Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, was a multinational city. Supporters of preserving the Soviet Union prevailed among the sailors. In the event of the collapse of the country, they could not imagine themselves outside of Russia, outside the Black Sea Fleet, founded in the time of Catherine II, when the settlement of Akhtiyar became the proud Sevastopol. The hero city has become an initiative center of the struggle for the Russian choice of Crimea.
The danger of Ukrainization
In the electrified atmosphere of the late "perestroika", nationalist sentiments intensified. The struggle against the Russian language has begun in Ukraine. In Crimea, they realized how dangerous such trends are. Supporters of reunification with Russia declared themselves on the peninsula, who sought to prevent the Ukrainization of Crimea.
The headquarters of this movement was the Crimean Regional Council, headed by Nikolai Bagrov. They believed that only Crimean citizens had the right to decide the fate of the peninsula by majority vote. To ensure the legal validity of such a decision, first of all, it was necessary to restore the Crimean autonomy. Indeed, at the beginning of 1991, Crimea remained only an area within the Ukrainian SSR... Most Crimeans were not satisfied with this state of affairs.
The demand of supporters of the Republican Movement of Crimea to hold a referendum on the independence of Crimea at the Crimean Parliament building, Simferopol, Ukrainian SSR, 1991
In the early days of 1990, the idea of a plebiscite on the restoration of Crimean autonomy took hold of the minds. It corresponded to that politicized time when, in the wake of glasnost, citizens were particularly eager to participate in public life. Disputes about the status of the peninsula, about the future of the Soviet Union and Crimea could be heard everywhere.
Yuri Stupnikov, chairman of the Sevastopol City Council, was an active opponent of the Ukrainization of Crimea. He proposed to organize not a referendum on the status of Crimea, but negotiations with representatives of all interested parties — the leadership of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR, in order to resolve the issue firmly. Stupnikov emphasized that Sevastopol is a city of union significance, it is unthinkable without the Union, without a great power. But the latter also applies to the entire peninsula. This point of view was supported by the majority of Crimean residents. Veterans of the Great Patriotic War were particularly active, who understood the danger of nationalism better than others. However, the idea of independence from Kiev united all generations of Crimeans. Even schoolchildren at that time held political rallies and refused to learn the Ukrainian language... Campaigning in the press continued right up to election day.
The fate of the referendum
Leonid Kravchuk, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR and future President of Ukraine, played his part in this political play. At first, he convinced the deputies of the Crimean Regional Council to entrust the fate of the peninsula to the all-Ukrainian parliament. Then, convinced that this was impossible, he agreed with the idea of a referendum, realizing that the restoration of the Crimean republic could not be avoided. After the votes were counted, Kravchuk made every effort to approve the autonomous status of the peninsula as part of Ukraine, regardless of the opinion of the Crimeans. The Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR adopted a law according to which Sevastopol, contrary to the results of the referendum, became part of the new autonomy with the loss of the status of a city of special subordination.
Voting at polling station No. 41 during the referendum on the state status of Crimea, Simferopol, 1991
Pavel Yevgrafov, the future Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, who died in 2015, was responsible for the legal preparation of the referendum. The question put to the vote was formulated as follows: "Are you in favor of the re-establishment of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a subject of the USSR and a participant in the Union Treaty?" It is significant that this formula did not refer to the Ukrainian SSR. In parallel, residents of Sevastopol also answered the question about the status of their city.
Despite the fact that the referendum on February 20, 1991 was held in the USSR for the first time, everything was organized flawlessly. The voter turnout turned out to be record-breaking. 1,441,019 voters, or 81.37% of the eligible population, took part in the voting. 1,343,855 (93.26%) citizens who came to the ballot boxes responded for the restoration of autonomy. Against — 5.64%. The result was beyond doubt. 97% of Sevastopol residents supported the status of "the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, a city of union-republican subordination." In fact, people voted to secede from the Ukrainian SSR, because the issue concerns the re-establishment of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which was part of the RSFSR until 1945.
After the votes were counted and based on it, the Crimean Parliament adopted the "Declaration on the State and Legal Status of Crimea," which stated: "The Crimean Regional Council of People's Deputies... declares the right of the peoples of Crimea to restore statehood in the form of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a subject of the USSR and a participant in the Union treaty." This meant a break with Ukraine, getting out of its jurisdiction. Recall that there were almost ten months left before the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, if the union republics had the right to secede from the USSR, then the Crimeans considered themselves entitled to leave Ukraine. The drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea has begun.
But Kiev did not slow down with its response. On February 12, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Law "On the Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic." The Ukrainian leadership accepted the restoration of Crimean autonomy, but even before the collapse of the Soviet Union, they rushed to approve the formula "Crimea is a republic within Ukraine."
The Crimeans were not satisfied with this. They were hoping for Russia's support. Yes, even at that time, many people in our country realized the need for reunification with Crimea, first economically and then politically. This opinion was shared and openly expressed by the first mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak. This point of view was shared by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. But a different assessment of the situation prevailed in the entourage of President Boris Yeltsin. The Russian government did not support the efforts of the Crimean patriots.
Nevertheless, the 1991 referendum, the first in the history of our country, became an important stage in the long and nonlinear process of returning Crimea to its native harbor. The vote was not in vain. Since then, the desire for independence and reunification with Russia has never died on the Crimean shores. Today, Crimea is a republic within the Russian Federation. This is how millions of Crimeans who voted in the 1991 referendum saw their future.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
