“CRIMEA HAS RETURNED TO ITS HOME HARBOR!”

Smykovsky A.V., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Professor at the Academy of Military Sciences
Crimea, a peninsula located in southern Russia, has been the subject of fierce international disputes between states for centuries. Even during the heyday of Kievan Rus (882–1132) and the adoption of Christianity (988), Crimea was the scene of incessant battles with the nomadic Polovtsian tribes. Then, after the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus (1237), a khanate was formed on the territory of Crimea, which existed from 1443 to 1783. It broke away from the Golden Horde and sought an alliance with the Ottoman Empire.
After Turkey was defeated in the war with Russia (1768–1774), it lost control of Crimea. The Crimean Khanate, which suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the Russian army, collapsed, and in 1783 Crimea was returned to the Russian Empire. This was the first return of Crimea to Russia. The second return of Crimea is considered to be the elimination of the White Guard troops of General Wrangel in Crimea in November 1920. The third return of Crimea took place during the Great Patriotic War in April-May 1944, when the Red Army liberated Crimea from the German fascist invaders.
However, on February 19, 1954, the Crimean region was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. At that time, Ukraine was part of a single country, the USSR, which ceased to exist as a state in 1991. Now Crimea, which had shared a common history with Russia for many years and was an integral part of its territory, suddenly became “foreign” — Ukrainian. People who spoke Russian, whose ancestors were citizens and considered themselves part of the Russian Empire, the USSR, and Russia, and who consider Russian history and culture their own, became “foreigners.” The land that was soaked with the blood of the Russian people became “foreign.” The land where thousands of Russian soldiers fell asleep forever.
However, the Russian people sincerely considered and continue to consider Crimea and the people living on its territory as their own. With the onset of the political crisis in Ukraine in 2014, the events associated with the “Euromaidan,” the killing of innocent people, and the shelling of peaceful settlements, the Russian people tried to provide comprehensive assistance to Russian and Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine who found themselves in a difficult situation. Assistance was provided in the form of humanitarian aid, volunteer work, benefits for refugees, etc. Russia could not remain on the sidelines.
The inhabitants of the Crimean Peninsula have always considered themselves part of the Russian world, so after the collapse of the USSR, their main goal was to return to their native harbor. The entire period from 1991 to March 17, 2014, was a difficult test of endurance and courage for the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol in their struggle to return to Russia. The reasons for the need to hold a referendum in Crimea on the status of autonomy were: the Ukrainization of Russian and Russian-speaking residents of Crimea; the distortion of Russian history; the promotion in schools and in the Ukrainian media of information inciting genetic hatred towards Russians and Russia as a whole; the intensification of the church schism; the political crisis of Euromaidan. All this exacerbated social discord and material stratification in society, and the desire of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to ban the Russian language in the country finally convinced the Crimeans of the need to restore historical justice. The key factor that prompted the declaration of self-determination, independence, and sovereignty of Crimea in the referendum on March 16, 2014, was the unconstitutional coup in Kyiv on the night of February 21-22, 2014, accompanied by an armed seizure of power.
Crimea closely monitored the situation unfolding in Kiev. The Crimean parliament and people understood the seriousness of the situation and began actively fighting against the “Euromaidan” and the seizure of power by nationalist groups. On February 23, 2014, the residents of Sevastopol refused to recognize the new illegal Ukrainian authorities, declaring their distrust of the local authorities at a rally. By universal vote, they elected a new head of the city, A. Chaly, a citizen of the Russian Federation. On February 28, 2014, at a session of the Crimean parliament, S. Aksyonov, a deputy of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and leader of the Russian Unity party, was elected Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
At the same time, rallies began in Simferopol and Sevastopol, and roadblocks were set up to prevent the infiltration of Maidan activists and Right Sector militants. On March 6, 2014, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea decided to join the Russian Federation as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and to hold a referendum throughout Crimea (including the city of Sevastopol) on March 16. As a result of this historically important referendum, which determined the future of the peninsula, 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents voted in favor of reunification with Russia.
On March 18, 2014, in Moscow, the “Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea on the Admission of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the Formation of New Constituent Entities within the Russian Federation” was signed.
The reasons for Crimea's accession to Russia were caused by special circumstances: the coup in Kiev, which brought nationalists to power; the need to support the will of the absolute majority of the peninsula's population in their desire to reunite with Russia; to prevent the spread of nationalism and numerous human casualties in Crimea (the tragedy in Odessa on May 2, 2014, testifies to the reality of such a scenario); to ensure the development of the Black Sea Fleet, which is necessary for our common security, and to prevent Crimea from becoming a NATO base.
The Russian people helped Crimea in its self-determination, in defending its rights and freedoms, and in returning the peninsula to its historical homeland through a nationwide voluntary referendum, demonstrating their concern for the residents of Crimea, their patriotism, and their confident civic stance. Today, Crimea is not just a port for the Black Sea Fleet and a seaside resort for Russia. It is a land that has nurtured more than ten generations of Russians, a land of the Russian language, Russian culture, and Russian ethnicity. It will never be possible to separate this land from Russia, just as Russia will never renounce it. Crimea and Russia are like mother and child, sincerely loving and tenderly protecting each other.