A referendum on autonomy was held in the Crimean Oblast of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

on 20 January 1991,Crimean Tatars: Reflections On “Autonomy” Day
UNPO two months before the 1991 All-Union referendum. Voters were asked whether they wanted to re-establish the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which had been abolished in 1945. The proposal was approved by 94% of voters. After the referendum, the Crimean oblast was made an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Ukrainian SSR.

Background

The Crimean ASSR was originally created in 1921, as part of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

.Sergei Lavrov defends Russia's position on Ukraine
Euronews, 3 March 2014 Crimea was invaded by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and when the region was reclaimed by the USSR in 1944, the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

and other ethnic groups were deported to Central Asia, and the ASSR was dissolved in 1945 with Crimea becoming an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

of the Russian SSR.Maria Drohobycky (1995) ''Crimea: Dynamics, Challenges and Prospects'', Rowman & Littlefield, p40 On 5 February 1954, it was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. During the collapse of the Soviet Union at the start of the 1990s, the Russian SFSR declared itself sovereign on 12 June 1990 and the Ukrainian SSR declared itself sovereign on 16 July 1990. In September 1990 the Soviet of People's Deputies of the Crimean Oblast called for the restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic together with the previous level of autonomy that the peninsula had enjoyed under the ASSR. The referendum did not just call for the restoration for the ASSR, but further called for Crimea to be a participant in the

New Union Treaty The New Union Treaty () was a draft treaty that would have replaced the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to salvage and reform the USSR. A ceremony of the Russian SFSR signing the treaty was scheduled ...

– an ultimately futile attempt by

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

to reconstitute the USSR. This would have meant that Crimea would have been a sovereign subject of the renewed USSR and separate from the Ukrainian SSR.Russians in the Former Soviet Republics
by Pål Kolstø,

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, 1995,

Decision on carrying out referendum (text)

* Temporary resolution about referendum and order of carrying it out on territory of Crimean Oblast of the

is to be approved (annex #1) * Carry out referendum on 20 January 1991 * Create a commission in organization of the referendum consisting of 29 people (annex #2) * Appeal to Supreme Councils of the RSFSR, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Tajik, Kirgiz, and Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republics to render a necessary cooperation in carrying out the referendum among the Crimean Tatars and other people who were deported out of the Crimean Oblast and currently reside on territory of the mentioned republics * The Oblast Executive Committee must review the issue of allocating necessary funds for carrying out the referendum and make an expert analysis of the forecasted social and economic development of Crimea * Consider expedient to find ways of participating in preparation for the

new Union treaty The New Union Treaty () was a draft treaty that would have replaced the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to salvage and reform the USSR. A ceremony of the Russian SFSR signing the treaty was scheduled ...

both people deputies of the USSR and the UkrSSR elected from Crimean Oblast as well as the regional council's deputies * To recommend for the Regional Tele- and Radio Committee and editors of regional, cities and districts newspapers widely publicize all activities in preparation and carrying out the referendum * The present decision is to be published in regional newspapers "Krymskaya Pravda" and "Sovetskiy Krym"

Results

Aftermath

Following the referendum, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR passed the law "On Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialistic Republic as part of USSR" on 12 February 1991, restoring Crimea's autonomous status. In September 1991, the Crimean parliament declared state sovereignty for Crimea as a constituent part of Ukraine. It has been alleged that the Crimean parliament did not have the authority to make this decision, because according to USSR law, "On the procedure for resolving issues related to the withdrawal of a union republic from the USSR" from (3 April 1990) this issue could only be resolved via a referendum.

References

{{Crimean elections

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Referendums in the Soviet Union Referendums in Crimea Referendums in Ukraine Sovereignty referendums Crimea in the Soviet Union Crimean Oblast