The Republic of Crimea is a republic of Russia, comprising most of the

Crimean Peninsula 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 Ukrai ...

, but excluding

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. Its territory corresponds to the pre-2023 territory of the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Russia

occupied ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

and

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

the peninsula in 2014, although the annexation remains internationally unrecognized. The capital and largest city located within its borders is

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

, which is the second-largest city on the Crimean Peninsula. As of the

2021 Russian census The 2021 Russian census () was the first census of the Russia, Russian Federation population since 2010 Russian census, 2010 and the third after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union. It took place between October 1 ...

, the Republic of Crimea had a population of 1,934,630.

History

2014 annexation

In February 2014, following the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

that ousted the

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

, the Russian leadership decided to "start working on returning Crimea to Russia" (i.e. envisaged the annexation of the peninsula), and after a takeover of Crimea by Russian armed forces without insignias and pro-Russian separatists, the territory within weeks came under Russian effective control. To facilitate the annexation politically, on 6 March the Crimean parliament and the

Sevastopol City Council The Sevastopol City Council ( Crimean Tatar: Aqyar şeer şurası, , ) is the unicameral legislature of the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol. The council is composed of 76 members. Background The city state administration was first created in 1992 ...

announced a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on the issue of joining Russia. This referendum, the holding of which was a violation of the

Ukrainian Constitution The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

, was to be held on 16 March. The upcoming vote allowed citizens to vote on whether Crimea should apply to join Russia as a federal subject of the Russian Federation, or restore the

1992 Crimean constitution After a referendum on 20 January 1991, Crimea regained its status as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. As this was months before the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine on 24 August 1991 — by December 1991 internationally recognized — ...

and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine. The available choices did not include keeping the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

of Crimea and Sevastopol as they were at the time the referendum was held. On 11 March 2014, the Crimean parliament and the

jointly issued a letter of intent to unilaterally declare independence from Ukraine in the event of a "Yes" vote in the upcoming referendum, citing the "

Kosovo precedent On 17 February 2008, the majority of members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including Hashim Thaçi, and Fatmir Sejdiu (who were not members of the Assembly), not acting in the capacity of PISG, declared Kosovo an independent and sovereign state. ...

" in the lead part. The envisaged process was so designed to allow Russia to claim that "it did not annex Crimea from Ukraine, rather the Republic of Crimea exercised its sovereign powers in seeking a merge with Russia". On 16 March 2014, according to the organizers of

Crimean status referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) after Russia ...

, a large majority (reported as 96.77% of the 81.36% of the population of Crimea who voted) voted in favour of independence of Crimea from Ukraine and joining Russia as a federal subject. The referendum was not recognized by most of the international community and the reported results were disputed by numerous independent observers. The BBC reported that most of 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 ...

that they interviewed were boycotting the vote. Reports from the UN criticised the circumstances surrounding the referendum, especially the presence of

paramilitaries A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

, self-defence groups and unidentifiable soldiers. The European Union, Canada, Japan and the United States condemned the vote as illegal. Merge-independence-and-separation-of-crimea

Merge-independence-and-separation-of-crimea

After the referendum, Crimean lawmakers formally voted both to secede from Ukraine and applied for their admission into Russia. The

, however, requested the port's separate admission as a

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several national capitals. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''), ma ...

. On the same day Russia formally approved the draft treaty on absorption of the self-proclaimed Republic of Crimea, and on 18 March 2014 the political process of annexation was formally concluded, with the self-proclaimed independent Republic of Crimea signing a treaty of accession to the Russian Federation. The accession was granted but separately for each the former regions that composed it: one accession for the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula, (and
PDF copy
of signed document) The change of status of Crimea was only recognised internationally by a few states with most regarding the action as illegal. Ukraine refused to accept the annexation, however the Ukrainian military began to withdraw from Crimea on 19 March, and by 26 March, Russia had acquired complete military control of Crimea, so the annexation was essentially complete.

Post-annexation integration

The post-annexation integration process started within days. On 24 March, the

Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...

went into official circulation with parallel circulation of the

Ukrainian hryvnia The ( ; , ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 kopiykas (). It is named after a measure of weight used in Kievan Rus'. Etymology The currency of Kie ...

permitted until 1 January 2016, however,

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

and

fees A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead (business), overhead, wages, costs, and Profit (accounting), markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Repub ...

were to be paid in rubles only, and the

wages A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...

of employees at budget-receiving organisations were to be paid out in rubles as well. On 29 March, the clocks in Crimea were moved forward to

Moscow time Moscow Time (MSK; ) is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the eleven time zones of Russia, after the non-continguous Kaliningrad enclave. It h ...

. Also on 31 March, the

Russian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...

declared that foreign citizens visiting Crimea needed to apply for a

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

to the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

at one of Russian diplomatic missions or its consulates. On 3 April 2014,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

sent a

diplomatic note Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

on terminating the actions of agreements concerning the deployment of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

on the territory of Ukraine. As part of the agreements, Russia used to pay the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

$530 million annually for the base, and wrote off nearly $100 million of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

's debt for the right to use Ukrainian waters. Ukraine also received a discount of $100 on each 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas imported from Russia, which was provided for by cutting export duties on the gas, money that would have gone into the Russian state budget. The

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

explained that because the base was no longer located in Ukraine, the discount was no longer legally justifiable. Crimea and the city of

became part of Russia's

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country ...

. On 11 April 2014, the parliament of Crimea approved a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, with 88 out of 100

lawmakers A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-natio ...

voting in favor of its adoption. The new constitution confirms the Republic of Crimea as a democratic state within the

and declares both territories united and inseparable. The Crimean parliament would become smaller and have 75 members instead of the current 100. According to the

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

newspaper, the authorities, including the State Council chair

Vladimir Konstantinov Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov (; born March 19, 1967) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career, from 1991 to 1997 with the Detroit Red Wings. Previously, he had played for So ...

, unofficially promised that certain quotas would be reserved for

in various government bodies. On the same day, a new revision of the

Russian Constitution The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

was officially published, with the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of

included in the list of federal subjects of the Russian Federation. On 12 April 2014, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea, adopted at the session of the State Council on 11 April, entered into legal force. The constitution was published by the Krymskiye Izvestiya newspaper, becoming law on the publication date, the State Council of Crimea said. The Constitution consists of 10 chapters and 95 articles; its main regulations are analogous to the articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The text proclaims the Republic of Crimea is a democratic, legal state within the Russian Federation and an equal subject of the Russian Federation. The source of power in the Crimean Republic is its people, which constitutes to the multinational nation of the Russian Federation. It is noted that the supreme direct manifestation of the power of the people is referendum and free elections; seizure of power and appropriation of power authorization are unacceptable. On 1 June 2014, Crimea officially switched over to the

as its only form of legal tender. On 7 May 2015, Crimea switched its phone codes ( Ukrainian number system) to the Russian number system. In July 2015, Russian Prime Minister,

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

, declared that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia, similar statements were also expressed at the Russian Security Council. In July 2016, Crimea ceased to be a separate federal district of the Russian Federation and was included into the

Southern federal district The Southern Federal District ( rus, Южный федеральный округ, p=ˈjuʐnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its territory lies mostly on the Pontic–Caspian steppe of Sou ...

instead. Russia has since the annexation supported large migration into Crimea, and the Office of the Federal State Statistics Service in Crimea and Sevastopol records as of 2021 since 2014 205,559 Russians have moved to Crimea. Ukrainian Ministry and Crimean Human Rights Group say the real number could unofficially be many times higher.

Infrastructure

On 31 March 2014, the Russian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

announced a series of programmes aimed at swiftly incorporating the territory into Russia's

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. The creation of a new Ministry of Crimean Affairs was announced too. After 2014 the Russian government invested heavily in the peninsula's infrastructure—repairing roads, modernizing hospitals and building the

Crimean Bridge The Crimean Bridge (, ; ), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in ...

that links the peninsula to the Russian mainland. In 2017 the Russian government also began modernising the

Simferopol International Airport Simferopol International Airport is an airport located in Simferopol, Crimea. Since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, the airport is only used for flights to and from Russian airports due to limited international recogn ...

, which opened its new terminal in April 2018. Russia provides electricity to Crimea via a cable beneath the Kerch Strait. In June 2018 there was a full electrical outage for all of Crimea, but the power grid company Rosseti reported to have fixed the outage in approximately one hour. On 28 December 2018, Russia completed a high-tech security fence marking the border between Crimea and Ukraine.

Ukrainian reaction

Once Ukraine lost control of the territory in 2014, it shut off the water supply of the

North Crimean Canal The North Crimean Canal, formerly known as the North Crimean Canal of the Lenin's Komsomol of Ukraine in Soviet times, is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula. The c ...

which supplies 85% of the peninsula's freshwater needs from the

Dnieper river The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, the nation's main waterway. Development of new sources of water was undertaken, with huge difficulties, to replace closed Ukrainian sources. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Russia

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

portions of Kherson Oblast, which allowed it to unblock the North Crimean canal by force, resuming water supply into Crimea. On 15 April 2014, the

Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...

declared Crimea and the city of Sevastopol "occupied territories". In 2021, Ukraine launched the

Crimea Platform The Crimea Platform (; ) is a diplomatic summit initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August 2021 and attended by delegations from 46 Western-aligned countries. It is designed to be an international coordination mechanism to res ...

a diplomatic initiative aimed at protecting the rights of Crimean inhabitants and ultimately reversing the illegal annexation of Crimea.

Government and politics

The

State Council of Crimea The State Council of Crimea is the parliament of the Russia-administered Republic of Crimea (Russia), Republic of Crimea. It claims to be a continuation of the 'Supreme Council of Crimea' following a vote by the Ukrainian parliament to dissolv ...

is a legislative body with a 75-seat parliament. The polling held on 14 September 2014 resulted in

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

securing 70 of the 75 members elected. Justice is administered by courts, as part of the

judiciary of Russia The Judiciary of Russia interprets and applies the law of Russia. It is defined under the Constitution and law with a hierarchical structure with the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court at the apex. The district courts are the primary crimin ...

. Under Russian law, all decisions delivered by the Crimean branches of the

judiciary of Ukraine The judicial system of Ukraine is outlined in the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine.Pro-Russian Activist Falls On Hard Times In Annexed Crimea

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(16 January 2016) This includes sentences (for "encroaching on Ukraine's territorial integrity and inviolability") for pre-2014 calls for an incorporation of Crimea into Russia. The executive power is represented by the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

, headed either by the

Prime Minister of Crimea The chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea (prime minister of Crimea), is the head of government of the Republic of Crimea (previously the Autonomous Republic of Crimea located in the southern region of Ukraine). Unti ...

or by the

Head of the Republic of Crimea The Head of the Republic of Crimea is the highest official and the head of the executive power of the Republic of Crimea (Russia), Republic of Crimea; an internationally disputed Federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federat ...

. The authority and operation of the State Council and the

of Crimea are determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea and other Crimean laws, as well as by regular decisions carried out by the Council. Crimeans who refused to take

Russian citizenship Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Russia. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation" (, ), which came into force on 1 July ...

are barred from holding government positions or municipal jobs.Ukraine human rights 'deteriorating rapidly'
''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

'' (3 December 2014)
Disappearing Crimea's anti-Russia activists
''

'' By July 2015, 20,000 Crimeans had renounced their Ukrainian citizenship. From the time of Russia's annexation until October 2016, more than 8,800 Crimean residents received

Ukrainian passport The Ukrainian passport (, , ) is a passport issued for nationals of Ukraine as proof of Ukrainian citizenship for travel abroad. Until 2016, citizens were issued a soft booklet internal passport as their primary domestic identification document ...

s. On 18 September 2016, the whole of Crimea participated in the Russian legislative election.

Military

* Marine Corps of the Russia "

little green men Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoids with green skin and sometimes antennae on their heads. The term "little green men" came into popular usage in reference to aliens during the reports of ...

" * Baherove (air base) * Theodosius-13 *

Southern Naval Base Southern Naval Base (, Russian: Южная военно-морская база) was a naval base of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located in the town of Novoozerne (part of Yevpatoria city municipality) on Donuzlav Bay in the western part of Crime ...

Administrative divisions

The Republic of Crimea continues to use the administrative divisions previously used by the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

s'') and 11 city municipalities (''gorodskoj sovet'' or ''gorsovet''), officially known as ''territories governed by city councils''.

Geography and demographics

Crimea's only land boundary is with mainland Ukraine, which continues to claim sovereignty over the peninsula, with a number of road and rail connections. These crossings have been under the control of Russian troops since at least mid-March 2014. Crimea has no land connection to Russia. In 2014–2019, Russia built the

, a multibillion-dollar road–rail fixed link across the Kerch Strait. The link has been open for road traffic since 2018, and for rail traffic since 2019 (passenger) and 2020 (freight). During the 2022

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

it became an important logistical link for Russian forces. In October 2022 it was badly damaged by an

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

Life expectancy

According to the Russian occupation authorities, the best result in

life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...

the Republic of Crimea had in 2019, it reached 72.71 years. But during two years the COVID-19 pandemic the region had one of the largest summary fall in life expectancy in Russia, and in 2021 it became 69.70 years (65.31 for males and 73.96 for females) File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Republic of Crimea.png, Life expectancy in File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Republic of Crimea -diff.png, Life expectancy with calculated differences File:Life expectancy in Russia -Crimea.png, Life expectancy in the Republic of Crimea in comparison with Crimea on average and neighboring regions of the country File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Crimea and its parts.png, Life expectancy in the Republic of Crimea in comparison with Crimea on average (in detail)

Languages

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea: According to the 2014 census by occupation authorities, 84% of Crimean inhabitants named

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as their native language; 7.9% named Crimean Tatar; 3.7%

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

and 3.3% Ukrainian. The previous census was held more than decade ago in 2001, when Crimea was still controlled by Ukraine. According to the Republic of Crimea Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth, most primary and secondary school pupils have decided to study in Russian in 2015. * In Russian – 96.74% * In Crimean Tatar – 2.76%. 5083 pupils (+188 to 2014 year) study in Crimean Tatar language in 53 schools in 17 districts. 37 1st grade classes of primary school have been opened. * In Ukrainian – 0.5%. 949 pupils study in Ukrainian language in 22 schools in 13 districts. 2 1st grade classes of primary school have been opened. Its Education Minister Natalia Goncharova announced mid-August 2014 that (since no parents of first-graders wrote an application for learning Ukrainian) Crimea had decided not to form Ukrainian language classes in its

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

.Crimea has no longer Ukrainian classes

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(14 August 2014) Goncharova said that since more than a quarter of parents at the Ukrainian gymnasium in Simferopol had written an application to teach children in Ukrainian; this school might have Ukrainian language classes. Goncharova also added that the parents of first-graders had written application for learning the Russian language, and (in areas inhabited by Crimean Tatars) for learning Crimean Tatar. Goncharova stated on 10 October 2014 that at that time Crimea had 20 schools where all subjects were conducted in Ukrainian. A report (realised in the summer of 2015) of the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

(OSCE) stated that the Republic of Crimea had the aim to "end the teaching of Ukrainian" by "pressure on school administrations, teachers, parents, and children".Two Years After Annexation, Crimeans Wait On Russia's Unfulfilled Promises

(18 March 2016)

Religion

In 2013, before the Russian occupation, the majority of the Crimean population adhered to the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

, with the

forming a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

minority, besides smaller

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Ukrainian Greek Catholic The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal '' sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. ...

Armenian Apostolic The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic Church, belongs to the Arme ...

and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

minorities. In 2013, Orthodox Christians made up 58% of the Crimean population, followed by Muslims (15%, mainly Tatars) and believers without religion (10%). Since 2014, the United Nations has reported a regime of human-rights violations imposed by the Russian occupation authorities, including targeting religious minority groups and individuals.

Economy

Peninsula economy is based on tourism, agriculture (wines, fruits, wheat, rice and further crops), fishing, pearls, mining and natural resources (mainly iron, titanium, aluminium, manganese, calcite, sandstone, quartz and silicates, amethyst, other), metallurgical and steel industry, shipbuilding and repair, oil gas and petrochemical, chemical industry, electronics and devices machinery, instruments making, glass, electronics and electric parts devices, materials and building.

Overview

After annexation of the peninsula, Russia doubled payments to about 560,000 pensioners and 200,000 public workers (in Crimea). Those raises were cut back in April 2015. In June 2015,

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

estimated that the average salary in Crimea was about two-thirds of the average salary in Russia. According to Russian statistics by March 2015 the inflation in Crimea was 80%.Dreams in Isolation: Crimea 2 Years After Annexation

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...

(18 March 2016) According to the Crimean authorities local

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices affect producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing and food di ...

have grown 2.5 times since Russia's annexation. Since then the peninsula now has to import most of its food from Russia. After the annexation, Russian Crimean authorities started nationalization of what they called strategically important enterprises, which included not only transportation and energy production enterprises, but also, for example, a wine factory in

Massandra Massandra or Masandra (; ; ) is an urban-type settlement in the Yalta Municipality in Crimea. Occupying the spot of an ancient Greek settlement (Tavrida-Ταυρίδα), Masandra was acquired by Counts Potocki in 1783. In the mid-19th centur ...

. The enterprises which belonged to Russian citizens were nationalized against financial reimbursement, which was, however, much lower than the actual value; those which belonged to Ukrainian citizens, for example,

PrivatBank The Public JSC PrivatBank () is the largest bank in Ukraine by assets. It was formed on 19 March 1992 and has been owned by the Government of Ukraine since 2016, after nationalisation. In early 2024, it was confirmed by the National Bank of U ...

owned by

Ihor Kolomoyskyi Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi (; ; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli billionaire businessman, once considered the leading oligarch in Ukraine. Already an entrepreneur in the last years of Soviet Ukraine, in 2010 Kolomoyskyi w ...

Ukrtelecom Ukrtelecom JSC () ( PFTS:br>UTLM is Ukraine's monopolist telephone company, also active in the ISP and mobile markets. The company was governed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Ukraine with 92.9% shares belonging to the ...

owned by

Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov (born 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman. He is the founder and president of international investment group System Capital Management (SCM), and is the wealthiest man in Ukraine. Akhmetov i ...

, were expropriated without any reimbursement. The future of the nationalized enterprises is decided by the government. Reasons given for this were (among others) "the company helped to finance military operations against

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

and

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

" and "the resort complex illegally blocked public access to nearby park lands". The government can nationalise assets considered to have "particular social, cultural, or historical value". In the case of the Zalyv Shipbuilding yard, Crimean "self-defense" forces stormed the company's headquarters to demand nationalization. Head of the Republic

Sergey Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (; ; ; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving as the head of the Republic of Crimea since 9 October 2014, a territory internationally recognised as part of Ukraine. Biography Sergey Aksyonov was ...

claimed that in at least one case "Employees established control of the enterprise on their own, we just helped them a little".Russia Delivers a New Shock to Crimean Business: Forced Nationalization

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...

(18 November 2014 ) The nationalization of

's assets was, according to Aksyonov, "totally justified due to the fact that he is one of the initiators and financiers of the special anti-terrorist operation in the

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...

where Russian citizens are being killed". By late October 2014, 90% of the heads of Crimean

government-owned corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

were fired as part of a supposed anti-

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

campaign, although no charges have been filed against anyone. Human rights activists in the region have described the seizures as lacking a legal basis and dismissed the "anti-corruption" rationale.Crimea’s rapid Russification means pride for some but perplexity for others

Guardian Weekly ''The Guardian Weekly'' is an international English-language news magazine based in London, England. It is one of the world's oldest international news publications and has readers in more than 170 countries. Editorial content is drawn from it ...

(11 November 2014) In June 2015 the

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB) started several anti-corruption criminal cases against high ranking Crimean officials. According to Aksyonov the FSB had opened these criminal cases because it was "interested in destabilizing the situation in Crimea". On 6 May 2014, the

National Bank of Ukraine The National Bank of Ukraine ( ; NBU []) is the central bank of Ukraine. Created in 1991 from the Ukrainian operations of the Soviet Gosbank, the NBU employs over 12,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in the financial sector in ...

ordered Ukrainian banks to cease operations in Crimea; the following weeks the

Central Bank of Russia The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (), commonly known as the Bank of Russia (), also called the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), is the central bank of the Russia, Russian Federation. The bank was established on 13 July 1990. It traces its ...

closed all Ukrainian banks in the peninsula because "they had failed to meet their obligations to creditors". Eight months after the 21 March 2014 formal annexation of Crimea by Russia, it became impossible for clients of Ukrainian banks to access their deposits and most of them did not pay interest (on loans). A "Fund for the Protection of Depositors in Crimea", as part of Russia's Deposit Insurance Agency, was set up by Russia to compensate Crimeans. By 6 November 2014 it paid out more than $500 million to 196,400 depositors; the fund has a limit of about $15,000 per bank account.Months After Russian Annexation, Crimeans Ask: 'Where Is Our Money?'

Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...

(20 November 2014) In July 2015, 25 banks were operating in Crimea while prior to the Russian annexation there were 180 banks. While many international businesses left the region, in 2015 only a few Russian companies are reported to have invested in Crimea, fearing sanctions. Under the

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

Crimea's once bustling IT-sector shrunk to a few IT companies. Russia invests significantly in Crimea, according to "The Federal Target Program for the Development of the Republic of Crimea and

" they plan to invest one

trillion ''Trillion'' is a number with two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000,000, i.e. one million 1,000,000, million, or (ten to the twelfth Exponentiation, power), as defined on the long and short scales, short scale. This is now the meaning in bot ...

s (15.3

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

s) before 2022 The Russian government claims that those investments are necessary because Ukrainian mismanagement of the Crimean territory caused losses of 2.5

s (38.3

s) to the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

Meanwhile, Ukraine estimates their losses due to Russian annexation of the peninsula to 100 billion dollars.

Banks

* JSC GENBANK * JSC Bank CHBDR *

Russian National Commercial Bank Russian National Commercial Bank (; ; ) is a bank operating mostly in Crimea. It has over 200 branches as of 2015, making it the most widespread bank in Crimea. RNKB is based in Simferopol and owned by the Federal Agency for State Property Manage ...

Gross regional product: Clinical Hospital in the Republic of Crimea

* Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, personal and household goods – 13% * Transport and Telecom – 10% * Real estate, renting and business activities – 10% * Health care and social services – 10% * Public administration, defense, compulsory social security – 8% * Agriculture, hunting and forestry – 10% * Other – 39%

Tourism

In 2014 about two million tourists holidayed in Crimea, including 300,000 Ukrainians. In 2013 3.5 million Ukrainian and 1.5 million Russian tourists visited Crimea. Tourism is the mainstay of the Crimean economy. In August 2014 Head of the Republic Aksyonov was confident that in 2015 Crimea would welcome "at least five million visitors – I have no doubts about that".Tourism takes a nosedive in Crimea

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(7 August 2014)
Russia's takeover of Crimea is killing tourism industry

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

(14 August 2014) Early August 2015 the press service of his government stated that in 2015 2.02 million tourists had visited Crimea (16.5% more than in 2014). They stated in January 2016 (that in 2015) more than 4 million tourists had vacationed in the peninsula. Over 6.4 million tourists visited Crimea in 2018, according to occupation authorities. Some tourists went home after an airbase attack in August 2022.

Crimean Bridge explosion Crimean Bridge explosion can refer to: * 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion * 2023 Crimean Bridge explosion * 2025 Crimean Bridge explosion {{Disambiguation ...

also influenced the tourists.

Museums and art galleries

Aivazovsky National Art Gallery The Aivazovsky National Art Gallery (; ; ) is a national art museum in Feodosia, Crimea, one of the oldest art museums in Ukraine. The first exhibition was privately organised by Ivan Aivazovsky's in his house in 1845. The basis collection include ...

* Alexander Grin house museum * Feodosia Money Museum * Lapidarium, Kerch *

Livadia Palace Livadia Palace (; ) is a former summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and othe ...

Massandra Palace The Massandra Palace is a Châteauesque villa of Emperor Alexander III of Russia in Massandra, at the south coast of Crimea. Construction of the building started in 1881 and was funded by the son of Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, , who had recen ...

* Simferopol Art Museum * Museum of Vera Mukhina *

Vorontsov Palace (Alupka) The Vorontsov Palace (; ) or the Alupka Palace is a historic palace situated at the foot of the Crimean Mountains near the town of Alupka in Crimea. The Vorontsov Palace is one of the oldest and largest palaces in Crimea, and is one of the most ...

White Dacha The White Dacha (; ) is the house that Anton Chekhov had built in Yalta and in which he wrote some of his greatest work. It is now a writer's house museum. Building The White Dacha was built in 1898 following Chekhov's success with ''The Seagull ...

Industrial Park

Feodosia Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into ...

Industrial Park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

Bakhchysarai Bakhchysarai is a city in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bakhchysarai Raion (district), as well as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. Its main landmark is Hansaray, the only extant ...

Telecommunication

The internet connection goes via

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

. In Crimea Peninsula worked four mobile operators already offers voice and mobile data for 2G, 3G and 4G users.

Transport

Aviation

is an air transport hub of the Republic of Crimea. *

Rail

Crimea Railway The Crimea Railway (; ; ) is a Rail transport, railway located in Crimea, providing passenger and freight services to Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea (Russia), Republic of Crimea. Crimea Railway is a unitary enterprise company independent ...

Trolleybus Line

Crimean trolleybus line length of 86 kilometres (53 mi) long of service «Krymtrolleybus». Routes: Airport Simferopol —

—

Alushta Alushta (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and Russian language, Russian: ; ; ) is a city of regional significance on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula which is within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a region internationally recognised as ...

—

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

Roads

European route E105 E105 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. It is a north–south reference road, meaning it crosses Europe from north to south, and other E-road numbers have been calculated based on these referen ...

–

Syvash The Syvash or Sivash ( Russian and Ukrainian: ; , Cyrillic: Сываш, "dirt"), also known as the or (, ''Gniloye More''; , ''Hnyle More''; ), is a large area of shallow lagoons on the western edge of the Sea of Azov. Separated from the sea ...

–

Dzhankoy Dzhankoi or Jankoy is a city of regional significance in the northern part of Crimea, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, but since 2014 occupied by Russia. It also serves as administrative centre of Dzhankoi Raion although it is not a ...

–

* Tavrida Highway A291:

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

—

Belogorsk Belogorsk or Bilohirsk (; ) is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia and Ukraine. ;Urban localities *Belogorsk, Amur Oblast, a town in Amur Oblast in Russia; administratively incorporated as an ...

—

Bakhchisarai Bakhchysarai is a city in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bakhchysarai Raion (district), as well as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. Its main landmark is Hansaray, the only extant pal ...

—

. *

European route E97 European route E 97 is an A-class European Route in Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey. The highway runs for in total. It connects the North Black Sea region with the South Black Sea region along the eastern shores of the sea. Route des ...

–

Feodosiya Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...

–

. * Novorossiysk — Kerch highway A290:

—

Highway H19 (Ukraine) H19 is a regional road ( H-Highway) in Crimea and Sevastopol, Ukraine. It is a western part of the so-called Yuzhnoberezhne shose (South-coastal highway). It runs east-west and connects Yalta with Sevastopol. Since the 2014, annexation of Crimea b ...

–

Highway M18 (Ukraine) Highway M18 is a Ukraine, Ukrainian international highway (State Highways (Ukraine), M-highway) connecting Kharkiv to the southern coast of Crimea in Yalta. The highway is also has an alternative route (Highway M29 (Ukraine), M29) which runs par ...

–

* Highway H05 (Ukraine) –

–

Krasnoperekopsk Krasnoperekopsk () or Yany Kapu (; ) is a city in Crimea. Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, it was incorporated into Russia's Republic of Crimea. However, a majority of countries recognises the territory as part of Ukraine within the Auto ...

Water

Kerch Strait ferry line The Kerch Strait ferry line (, ) was a ferry connection across the Strait of Kerch that connected the Crimean Peninsula and Krasnodar Krai. The ferry ran across the narrowest part of the strait (about ) between Port Krym (harbour Crimea) by the ...

(until 2020), Kerch–Yenikale Canal

Education

Although Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages have official status, reports say that Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar education is being squeezed.

Sport

Football clubs

FC TSK Simferopol FC TSK Simferopol () is a professional football team based in Simferopol, Crimea, that was created in place of Ukrainian SC Tavriya Simferopol, following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. TSK in the name stands for "Таврия Симфе� ...

FC Krymteplytsia Molodizhne FC Krymteplytsia Molodizhne was a football club based in an urbanized settlement (town) Molodizhne (north of Simferopol and adjacent to the city limits). The club's name means "Crimea greenhouse", as the club was founded by entrepreneur Alexand ...

FC Ocean Kerch FC Ocean Kerch () is a Crimean association football, football team based in Kerch. After the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Russian annexation of Crimea was admitted to the Crimean Premier League as a Russian team. Team names * ...

* FC Rubin Yalta

Human rights

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

monitors (who had been in Crimea from 2 April to 6 May 2014) said they were concerned about treatment of journalists, sexual, religious and ethnic minorities and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

patients. The monitors had found that journalists and activists who had opposed the

2014 Crimean referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) after Russi ...

had been harassed and abducted. They also reported that Crimeans who had not applied for

faced harassment and intimidation. Russia said that it did not support the deployment of human rights monitors in Crimea. The (new) Crimean authorities vowed to investigate the reports of human rights violations. According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

"Russia has violated multiple obligations it has as an occupying power under international humanitarian law – in particular in relation to the protection of civilians' rights." In its November 2014 report on Crimea, Human Rights Watch stated that "The de facto authorities in Crimea have limited free expression, restricted peaceful assembly, and intimidated and harassed those who have opposed Russia's actions in Crimea". According to the report, 15 persons went missing since March 2014; according to Ukrainian authorities 21 people disappeared. Head of the Republic

pledged to find the missing persons as well as the culprits behind the kidnappings. Aksyonov regularly meets with a group of parents, whose children have gone missing, and human rights activists. These parents and human rights activists have complained that rotation of the team of investigators into these missing persons has harmed these investigations.

Crimean Tatars

The

Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People () is the single highest executive-representative body of the Crimean Tatars in period between sessions of the Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People. The Mejlis is a member institution of the Platform of E ...

has come under the scrutiny of the Russian

, which reportedly took control of the building where the Mejlis meets and searched it on 16 September 2014. Crimean Tatar media said FSB officers also searched the office of the '' Avdet'' newspaper, which is based inside the Mejlis building. Several members of the Mejlis were also reportedly subjected to FSB searches at their homes. Several Crimean Tatar opposition figures were banned from entering Crimea for five years. Since Russia annexed Crimea several Crimean Tatars have disappeared or have been found dead after being reported missing. Crimean authorities state these deaths and disappearances are connected to "smoking an unspecified substance" and volunteers for the Syrian civil war; human rights activists claim the disappearances are part of a repression campaign against Crimean Tatars. In February 2016 human rights defender

Emir-Usein Kuku Emir-Usein Kemalovich Kuku (, born 26 June 1976) is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender and member of the Crimean Human Rights Contact Group. In February 2016, he was arrested and charged by Russian authorities on the accusation that he was a ...

from Crimea was arrested and accused of belonging to the Islamist organization

Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...

, although he denies any involvement in this organization.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

has called for his immediate liberation. In May 2018,

Server Mustafayev Server Rustemovych Mustafayev (, born 5 May 1986) is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender and coordinator of the civil rights organization ''Crimean Solidarity''. Life Mustafayev was born on May 5, 1986, in Ziadin. His family returned to C ...

, the founder and coordinator of the human rights movement Crimean Solidarity, was imprisoned by Russian authorities and charged with "membership of a terrorist organisation". Amnesty International and

Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...

demand his immediate release.

International status

The status of the republic is disputed, as Russia and some other states recognised the annexation, whilst most other nations do not. Ukraine still considers both the Autonomous Republic and Sevastopol as subdivisions of Ukraine under Ukrainian territory and subject to Ukrainian law. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

all claim to not issue visas to residents of Crimea with

Russian passport The Russian passport () is a biometric travel document issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Russian citizens for international travel. This external Russian passport is distinct from the internal Russian passport, which is a mandato ...

s. However, Russian media has claimed that several member states of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

have issued visas to Crimeans with Russian passports. On 21 March 2014,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

recognised the Crimean referendum, which led to Ukraine recalling its ambassador to that country. The unrecognized

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbai ...

also recognised the referendum earlier that week on 17 March. On 22 March 2014, President Hamid Karzai of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

told a U.S. delegation that he recognised and supported the Crimean referendum and "respects the free will of the people of Crimea and Sevastopol to decide their own future". On 23 March 2014,

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

, the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

stated that Crimea was ''de facto'' part of Russia, but the country did not officially recognise the Russian claim until November 2021. On 27 March 2014,

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

unconditionally recognised the incorporation of Crimea into

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

UN Resolution regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine

On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly voted on a

non-binding Non-binding or nonbinding may refer to * Nonbinding allocation of responsibility (NBAR) in a superfund * Non-binding authority in law * Non-binding arbitration * Non-binding constraint, mathematics * Non-binding opinion in patent law: ** Interna ...

resolution claiming that the referendum was invalid and reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity, by a vote of 100 to 11, with 58 abstentions and 24 absent.

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and 89 other countries voted for;

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, as well as Russia, voted against. Among the abstaining countries were

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

was among the countries listed as absent.

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

reported unnamed UN diplomats saying the Russian delegation threatened with punitive action against certain Eastern European and Central Asian countries if they supported the resolution. Subsequent United Nations General Assembly resolutions also reaffirmed non-recognition of the annexation and condemned "the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine—the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol".

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{{authority control Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Crimean Federal District Disputed territories in Europe Politics of Crimea

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 ...

Russian occupation of Ukraine Separatism in Ukraine Southern Federal District Crimea, Republic of Russian irredentism Russian nationalism in Ukraine 2014 establishments in Russia Former unrecognized countries Crimea in the Russo-Ukrainian War