“Day of the Republic of Crimea: why the celebration of this date needs to be reconsidered and what is happening on the peninsula. Repression, militarization and persecution of pro-Ukrainian activists continue in occupied Crimea.”, — write on: unn.ua
Taking into account the common economy, territorial proximity, close economic and cultural ties, on January 25, 1954, the Crimean region was transferred from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. At the all-Crimean referendum on January 20, 1991, the status of Crimea as part of Ukraine was determined, which was fixed at the legislative level by the Law of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR “On the Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic”.
According to Chapter X of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine. However, contrary to international law, in February 2014, Russia occupied the territory of Crimea. The international community did not recognize the occupation of the territory of Ukraine and imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation. On December 9, 2021, the UN General Assembly approved a strengthened resolution against the militarization of Crimea “The problem of the militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine), as well as parts of the Black and Azov seas”, which indicates the unchanging position of the world community in support of Ukraine, its readiness to further consolidate support on the way to ensuring the rights of Ukrainian citizens in the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
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The representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea emphasizes that the celebration of the “Day of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” on January 20 needs to be reconsidered and explained why. Key points:
⦁ The roots of “ARC Day” date back to Soviet times, when on January 20, 1991, a referendum was held on the restoration of the Crimean ASSR. The initiative of this referendum belonged to the Central Committee of the CPSU in Moscow, which wanted to maintain Russian influence in the region and extend the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. And the key is to keep both Ukraine and Crimea under your control.
⦁ This day is used by the Russian occupation administration as part of propaganda. Already after the beginning of the occupation in December 2014, this date was “approved” by the occupation administration as the “Day of the Republic of Crimea”. The occupiers call the 1991 referendum the first stage of Crimea’s “accession to Russia”, connecting this event with the illegal “referendum” of 2014.
⦁ It is the occupiers who hold mass celebrations, official events, conferences, information campaigns promoting the idea of ”reunification with Russia” on “ARC Day”.
“Instead, January 20 should commemorate the defenders of the Donetsk airport and the heroism of the military, volunteers and medics who selflessly defended the airport from the Russian occupiers,” the President’s Office said.
Crimea is under occupation For more than 10 years, Crimea has been occupied by Russia and suffers from the crimes of the Kremlin. However, as the President’s Office emphasizes, the citizens of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied Crimea do not stop resisting the Russian invaders, steadfastly showing indomitable spirit and confidence in the future de-occupation of the peninsula. The occupation administration systematically persecutes the residents of Crimea for supporting Ukraine, for expressing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identity, as well as for any criticism of the Russian occupation and military aggression. Back in 2022, Russia made changes to the criminal and administrative legislation, introducing punishment for the so-called “discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation”. It became an additional tool to suppress activists, journalists and ordinary citizens.
As of January 13, the Russian occupation administration is illegally detaining 218 people, including 132 Crimean Tatar people, on trumped-up charges of terrorism, extremism, and treason. All of this is part of Russia’s wider repressive campaign against the Crimean Tatars and anyone who opposes the occupation and tries to preserve their cultural and national identity.
The increase in the number of illegal administrative proceedings in occupation “courts” under the article on the so-called “discrediting of the armed forces of the Russian Federation” testifies to the strengthening of resistance to the occupation in Crimea. As of January 9, 2025, 1,139 cases of receipt of materials compiled under Art. 20.3.3 KpAP of the Russian Federation to the so-called “courts” on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea and other competent authorities. Of these, in 1,022 cases, a decision was made to impose an administrative penalty in the form of a fine, or it was joined to another case under another article and a combined decision was made. In 20 cases, consideration of materials continues.
Based on gender, 466 (46%) decisions were issued against women, and 555 (54%) – against men. In general, the total amount of applied fines already amounts to at least 33 million Russian rubles.
Militarization of Crimea Russia turned Crimea into a military base. The head of the board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, the head of the department of external relations and human rights activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Eskender Bariev, stated that the Russians will continue to use the occupied Crimean peninsula for military training. In 2024, 124 trainings of the occupiers took place.
Partisan movement “ATESH” reported that the occupiers have begun to strengthen air defense in the occupied Crimea even more. Also, with the beginning of a full-scale war, the Russian authorities are using recreation centers in the occupied Crimea for the rehabilitation and treatment of Russian soldiers. The report on the results of the activities of the Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for 2022-2024 states that since the beginning of the occupation of half of the island, about 50,000 soldiers have been mobilized to the Russian army. residents of Crimea.
Another painful topic is the militarization of Ukrainian children in Crimea. the Russian Federation continues its attempts to involve more and more Ukrainian children in its system of military training.
In October 2024, Krym.Realiya reported that about 45,000 children in Crimea are in “Unarmy” and other organizations related to Russian patriotic education. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine does not recognize any occupied territory as Russian, in particular those that have been captured since 2014, and is not ready to cede Crimea in a peace agreement. He emphasized that Crimea can be returned diplomatically, without significant human losses.
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