A Look At Crimea A Year After The Russian Takeover

Reuters: (Reuters) -- A year after Russia's takeover of Crimea sparked a wave of euphoria across the Black Sea peninsula, residents are suffering growing hardship as prices rise and many fear for the future.

Russia's flag is flying across Crimea on the anniversary of what President Vladimir Putin calls the region's historic "return home" after Russian troops seized control of it from Ukraine and the people backed annexation in a referendum.

Since then Putin's popularity has soared - his face looks down from banners and is emblazoned on T-shirts - and some Crimeans, such as pensioners, say they have benefited.

But foreign investors have fled, the banking sector is paralyzed and many other residents are struggling to make ends meet.

WNU Editor: There was a time in my life that I once thought of settling down in Crimea .... that is until I discovered Odessa .... falling in love with that place right away. But Crimea has always had a special place in my heart .... its geography and location makes it a great place to settle down, and having the Black Sea at your doorstep makes the amateur sailor in me all that more excited. For the moment life for everyone is very difficult on the peninsula .... a dysfunctional banking system, high unemployment, inflation, and sanctions .... but there is no civil war raging in the countryside, and everyone knows that once the crisis has past, the economy will recover very quickly. As to when will the situation stabilize .... that is the million dollar question.

More News On Crimea

One Year On, Crimea Celebrates Russian Annexation, But Many Crimeans Are Unhappy -- IBTimes
Crimea One Year After Russia Referendum Is Isolated From World -- NBC
Russia rules out handing back Crimea, expands war games -- Reuters
Kremlin: Crimea Will Not Return to Ukraine -- VOA
Russians See Most Nations Accepting Crimea Takeover, Poll Says -- Bloomberg
East Ukrainian War Refugees Seek Solace in Crimea -- Moscow Times
Russia rules out return of Crimea, defying sanctions on its ailing economy -- Paula Rogo, CSM
One Year After the Annexation, a Darkness Falls Over Crimea -- Mark P. Lagon and Alina Polyakova, WSJ
Searching for the Disappeared in Putin’s Crimea Fortress -- Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast
Life in Crimea: One year on from Russia's takeover -- John Simpson, BBC

Russian Documentary Reveals Details Of Russia-Crimea Reunification

Sputnik: Putin Reveals Details of Russia-Crimea Reunification, Maidan in Documentary

Russian President Putin revealed details of Crimean reunification with Russia and Maidan events in the documentary "Crimea. Way Back Home".

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) — Andrei Kondrashov's movie, titled "Crimea. Way Back Home" highlights the much-discussed reunification of the Crimean republic with Russia after 60 years under Ukrainian rule.

Moscow refused to send troops to Ukraine despite the parliament’s authorization, and the number of personnel at Russia's military base in Crimea was not exceeded, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in "Crimea. Way Back Home," a documentary on Crimea's reunification with Russia broadcast on Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.

More News On Russian Documentary Revealing The Details Of Russia's Strategy To Annex Crimea

Putin in film on Crimea: US masterminds behind Ukraine coup, helped train radicals -- RT
Putin says relied on poll results in issue around Crimea -- ITAR-TASS
Putin: Russia prepared raising nuclear readiness over Crimea -- AP
Russia Was Ready for Crimea Nuclear Standoff, Putin Says -- Blooomberg
Putin, speaking in film, says Russia saved life of Ukraine ex-leader - agency -- Reuters
Putin Says Moscow Saved Yanukovych's Life -- Radio Free Europe
Putin says Crimea’s parliament was absolutely legitimate -- ITAR-TASS
Documentary gives Putin's view on Crimea -- RBTH
Crimea - a year in Russian hands -- Deutcshe Welle
Life in Crimea: One year on from Russia's takeover -- John Simpson, BBC

This Young Woman Is Despised By The Ukraine Government And State Media

Crimea’s chief prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya. © Ruslan Shamukov/TASS

ITAR-TASS: Poklonskaya says appointment as Crimea’s Prosecutor General could have cost her life

She said she received calls with threats from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office

SIMFEROPOL, March 11. /TASS/. Appointement to the position of Crimea’s Prosecutor General could have cost her life, Poklonskaya said in an interview with TASS on Wednesday. She was appointed as chief prosecutor by Crimea’s Supreme Council (now called State Council) a year ago — on March 11, 2014.

"Someone called me, tried to frighten me, threatened me, told me I would go to jail, I would be killed, torn apart," Poklonskaya said. "I received calls from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office. They openly told me that if I leave the prosecutor’s office of the Republic of Crimea now, they would assess it as voluntary refusal from criminal activity. If not, then a car with special services is already on its way, I would be arrested and thrown into prison. I said that I would better be in prison than serve fascists," she added.

Update #1: ‘Rather be in prison than work for fascists’ – Crimean Prosecutor Poklonskaya -- RT
Update #2: I Would Rather Sit in a Jail Cell Than Serve Fascists - Poklonskaya -- Sputnik

WNU Editor: She reminds me of my cousin in Kiev .... a beautiful woman but someone who you do not mess around with. Crimea’s chief prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya is the "poster child" that the Crimean government wants to show to the rest of the world .... and they have been successful. But this publicity has created a firestorm of hate from the other side, and in some of the news coverage that I am reading in the Ukraine press .... wow .... like I said there are some who really hate her.

Top Eastern European .S. Diplomat: Eastern Ukraine And Crimea Under 'Reign of Terror'

VOA: US Envoy: Eastern Ukraine, Crimea Under 'Reign of Terror'

A top U.S. diplomat for Europe says citizens in large parts of war-torn eastern Ukraine and Crimea are living under "a reign of terror" spawned by a new influx of Russian military hardware.

Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, speaking Tuesday, told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Russian tanks, armored vehicles and Russian artillery have poured across the border in recent days.

Update: US envoy denounces 'reign of terror' in Crimea, east Ukraine -- AFP

WNU Editor: I called a friend of mine who lives outside of Sebastopol in Crimea to get his opinion on the "reign of terror" .... he had no clue on what I was talking about .... and then he started to beef about high prices, no work, and the mess that exists in Ukraine. But reign of terror?!?!?!/ .... like I said .... in his world .... no. Now eastern Ukraine .... I can understand .... life is difficult there .... it is a war zone .... but both sides are guilty of this.

Russia Claims It Has The Right To Deploy Nuclear Weapons In Crimea

RT: As part of Russian territory Crimea can host nuclear weapons – Foreign Ministry

The Russian Foreign Ministry has no information on nuclear weapons deployment in Crimea, but maintains that the country has the right to do so in principle.

“I don’t know if there are any nuclear weapons there at the moment and I am not aware of such plans, but in principle Russia can do this,” the head of the ministry’s Department for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Weapons Control, Mikhail Ulyanov, told a Wednesday press conference in Moscow.

“Naturally Russia has the right to put nuclear weapons in any region on its territory if it deems it necessary. We hold that we have such a right, though Kiev has a different opinion on this matter,” RIA Novosti quoted Ulyanov as saying.

WNU Editor: It would not surprise me if there are nuclear weapons already there .... especially on a naval vessel.

More News On Russian Claims That It Has The Right To Deploy Nuclear Weapons In Crimea

Deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Crimea possible — Foreign Ministry -- ITAR-TASS
Moscow Has Right to Place Nuclear Weapons in Crimea -- Sputnik
Russia says has right to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea: report -- Reuters
Russia declares right to deploy nuclear weapons to Crimea - and may already have done so -- The Independent
Official: Russia has right to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea -- UPI
Russia Has Right to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Crimea: Official -- NBC
Russia Can Deploy Nuclear Arms to Crimea, Official Claims -- Arutz Sheva
NATO Begins Exercises In Black Sea, As Russia Says It Can Deploy Nuclear Weapons To Crimea -- IBTimes
Russia claims right to deploy nukes in Crimea -- Al Jazeera
Does Russia Have Right To Deploy Nuclear Weapons In Crimea? -- Value Walk

More Details Emerge On Russian President Putin's Decision To Annex Crimea

RT: ‘We did what we had to do’: Putin opens up on Crimea reunification plan

The decision to give Crimea an opportunity to choose if it wants to be a part of Russia again was made after an unofficial survey showed the majority of Crimeans would back reunification, Vladimir Putin revealed in an interview to a Russian TV channel.

The interview is part of a documentary, “Crimea. The Road Back Home,” scheduled to be aired by the Rossiya One TV channel. In the film, the Russian president has given new insights into the events leading up to last year's referendum in Crimea.

More News On The Additional Details Emerging On Russian President Putin's Decision To Annex Crimea

Putin: Russia Could Not 'Abandon' Crimea -- Defense News/AFP
Putin: Russia did what it had to do in regarding Crimea -- RBTH
Putin Says Crimeans Were Surveyed Before Annexation Vote -- Radio Free Europe
Vladimir Putin says he only ordered the annexation of Crimea to Russia because an 'unofficial survey' told him to do so -- The Independent
Putin reveals secret meeting on annexing Crimea -- Toronto Star/AP
Putin’s secret plan to seize Crimea -- Euronews
Putin Comes Clean On Crimea's Little Green Men -- SKY News
Putin Contradicts Claims on Annexation of Crimea -- Neil MacFarquhar, NYT
Putin Keeps Changing His Story About the Annexation of Crimea -- Joshua Keating, Slate

NATO: Russia Is Massing Weapons In Crimea

Crimea (BBC)

Business Insider: Russia is turning Crimea into a forward operating base against NATO

Russia is heavily militarizing Crimea as a way to project power deep in to the Black Sea, USNI News reports citing supreme commander of NATO Gen. Philip Breedlove.

“What we have seen is that Crimea has been transformed in some fairly significant ways as far as weapon systems in the Crimea,” Breedlove said during a conference on February 25.

“These weapon systems — from air defense systems that reach nearly half of the Black Sea to surface attack systems that reach almost all of the Black Sea area — have made the platform of Crimea a great platform for power projection into this area.”

Update #1: NATO Commander Breedlove: Imported Russian Missiles Have Turned Crimea into a Black Sea ‘Power Projection’ Platform -- USNI
Update #2: NATO says Russia massing weapons in Crimea -- SKY News
Update #3: Russia massing weapons in Crimea: NATO -- SBS

WNU Editor: Crimea has always had major military bases manned by Soviet and now Russian soldiers .... and in the eyes of many Russias .... the Black Sea has always been seen (wrongly in my opinion) as a Russian lake. So this warning from NATO is not news .... but it raises awareness and concerns .... which was probably the main reason for this news release in the first place.

Russia President Putin Admits That Plans To Annex Crimea Were Set Into Motion After The Collapse Of The Ukraine Government

BBC: Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot

Vladimir Putin has admitted for the first time that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the referendum on self-determination.

Crimea was formally absorbed into Russia on 18 March, to international condemnation, after unidentified gunmen took over the peninsula.

Mr Putin said on TV he had ordered work on "returning Crimea" to begin at an all-night meeting on 22 February.

The meeting was called after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

Speaking last year, Mr Putin had said only that he took his final decision about Crimea after secret, undated opinion polls showed 80% of Crimeans favoured joining Russia.

WNU Editor: I did not expect such a report to be released until after the Ukraine crisis had been resolved .... but it looks like President Putin's office had other ideas. As a Kremlin watcher opportunities like this are very rare, and I will admit that it gives me great joy to have a peak into what went on behind the Kremlin's closed doors in the hours before last year's annexation of Crimea. As to what is my take .... from what little that has been reported and revealed .... no big surprises .... we all knew who those "green men" were. But there are two little news items in the above BBC report that do surprise me .... (1) apparently the decision to push forward to annex Crimea came in only after their own internal polls indicated that an overwhelming majority of the Russian speaking population in Crimea wanted to leave Ukraine. For as long as I can remember, the majority of the Russian speaking population of Crimea has always wanted to leave Ukraine .... but what surprises me is that Putin did not feel comfortable with this perception .... that he needed his own internal polling to give him confidence that there will be no overwhelming objections to his moves. (2) The date when he made the decision to push forward to set into motion the means to annex Crimea is a surprise .... that meeting happened the day before the closing Olympic ceremonies at Sochi. I mentioned in this blog at the time that no decision on Ukraine would be made until after the Olympic games were completed .... probably a few days after the closing ceremonies .... but apparently not .... with Ukraine on the verge of collapse Putin took immediate advantage of the crisis .... a decision that everyone is Europe is still living with today. As for the future .... will Crimea ever become a part of Ukraine again .... I sincerely doubt it .... not because of what Putin may say .... but what the people of Crimea may say. Ukraine is an ongoing disaster .... and many of Ukraine's young are now leaving the country .... probably never to come back. I am living with this situation everyday .... and even though I am telling my relatives, friends, and associates that they should stay .... they are not listening to me ..... as far as they are concerned I am someone who lives in Canada .... how can I relate to what they are going through. Sighhh .... and they are right .... and in such an environment there is no reason for Crimea wanting to return .... who would want to when many of Ukraine's own citizens are now determined to leave?

More News On Reports That Russian President Putin Had Plans To Annex Crimea When The Ukraine Government Collapsed

Putin describes meeting to take Crimea before referendum -- AP
Putin says plan to take Crimea hatched before referendum -- Reuters
Contrary to Earlier Assertions, Putin Suggests Plan to Reclaim Crimea Began in February 2014 -- New York Times
Putin Says He Decided To Take Crimea Just Hours After Yanukovych's Ouster -- Radio Free Europe
Vladimir Putin describes secret meeting when Russia decided to seize Crimea -- The Guardian
Putin reveals the moment he ordered the plot to take control of Crimea -- The Independent
Putin describes meeting planning Crimea takeover -- UPI
Putin reveals details of decision to annex Crimea -- Deutsche Welle
Putin admits planning annexation of Crimea weeks before referendum -- IBTimes
Putin admits to ordering Crimea annexation before referendum -- EFE
Putin Reveals He Ordered the Annexation of Crimea on the Day Yanukovych Fled Kiev -- Vice News
Putin Recounts How He Gave Orders to ‘Save’ Yanukovych, ‘Return’ Crimea -- VOA

Ukraine Demands The Return Of Crimea For Any Hope of Normalization With Russia

IBTimes: Ukraine demands 'full sovereignty over Crimea' to normalise Russia ties

Ukraine will not consider normalising ties with Russia unless Moscow returns the Crimea region to Kiev, the Ukrainian foreign minister said on 3 March.

Speaking during a two-day visit to Japan, Pavlo Klimkin said the Ukraine-Russia border should be completely closed before any settlement to the conflict in eastern Ukraine is reached.

"There could be no slightest way of normalising or getting back to business in the relations between Ukraine and Russia without returning to status quo and establishing full Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea," Klimkin told journalists.

Update: Ukraine says return of Crimea a must for mending ties with Russia -- Reuters

WNU Editor: It is not going to happen. If the situation in eastern Ukraine did not explode in the matter that it has .... there was a chance that some form of reconciliation could have been achieved. But after thousands killed .... more wounded .... and a concerted effort by Ukrainian authorities to purge Russian Ukrainians from government and state institutions as well .... that hope is dead and buried. On the flip side .... times are going to be tough for Crimea's non-Russian minorities .... Freedom House Documents Rights Abuses In Crimea (Radio Free Europe).

Ukrainian President Poroshenko Vows To Return Crimea To Ukraine

Ukraine will never give up its sovereign rights to Crimea. We will protect rights of its people with all available means.
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) February 23, 2015

Sputnik: Poroshenko Vows to 'Regain Control' of Crimea, Gets Rebuke from Crimean PM

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed early Monday to return "occupied Crimea" to Ukraine, prompting a rebuke from internet users, and later from Crimean authorities as well.

In a pair of tweets published after 2am Monday morning, Poroshenko stated that "Ukraine will regain control of occupied Crimea," noting that "this is inevitable," and promising that "Ukraine will never give up its sovereign rights" to the region. Moreover, the president stated that Ukraine would "protect [the] rights of its people with all available means," and that "together we will build a new Crimea."

Update: Ukrainian leader demands that Putin faces 'international justice' over Crimean invasion as the country's bid to withdraw from the front line is halted by pro-Russian rebel attacks -- Daily Mail

Update: I doubt this is going to happen. Even though life is not easy in Crimea right now (high unemployment, inflation, heavy security presence, censorship, etc.) .... when the Russian community in Crimea looks and sees what is happening in Ukraine .... I doubt that they want to be a part of that regardless of what Kiev or the international community may say.

Crimeans Prefer Russia

The Guardian

Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg: One Year Later, Crimeans Prefer Russia

WNU Editor: For the Russian majority in Crimea the choice is ridiculously simple. Their pensions are being paid. The economy has taken a hit but people are still getting by. Government services are still being maintained. The choice of having their children educated in Russian is not threatened. And with 30,000 Russian soldiers on the peninsula ... there is no fear that the conflict in Ukraine will spread to Crimea itself. On the Ukraine side .... the currency has been destroyed. Mass unemployment. Government services being shut down or streamlined. The rise of radical Ukrainian nationalists who have no sympathy for Ukrainians of Russian descent. And .... a country that is now in a state of war. If you are Russian living in Crimea and given a choice .... which country do you want your family to live in?

Crimea Has The Second-Highest Inflation Rate In The World

Bloomberg: Why Crimea Now Has the Second-Highest Inflation Rate in the World

My Comment: Ukraine is not making life easy for them .... transporting goods into Crimea from Ukraine is difficult at best, and tourists are definitely not coming to visit the peninsula. Until the land bridge is built between Crimea and Russia as well as the transmission lines necessary for electricity .... life is going to be hard and expensive in Crimea. The ones who are really benefiting from all of this are the smugglers. On a side note .... Ukraine also has economic problems .... problems that have just gotten worse .... Ukraine Regional Governments Panic After National Budget Seizes Revenues (Sputnik).

The 'Militarization' Of Crimea Is Raising NATO Concerns (Updated)

NATO Commander Warns of Crimea 'Militarization' -- Voice of America

KYIV - The top U.S. general in Europe said he is alarmed at the Russian militarization of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and by provocative Russian military flights in NATO airspace.

After meeting with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv, General Philip Breedlove, head of the U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the military buildup by Moscow includes cruise and surface-to-air missiles able to exert, as he put it, "military influence" on the region.

“We are very concerned with the militarization of Crimea. We are concerned that the capabilities in Crimea that are being installed will bring an effect on almost the entire Black Sea,” Breedlove said.

Read more ....

More News On NATO Concerns On The 'Militarization' Of Crimea

NATO concern over Russian planes in Crimea -- Euronews
Nato commander warns Russia could control whole Black Sea -- BBC
NATO concerned over Russian forces in Crimea -- Al Jazeera
NATO warns over Russian military build-up in Crimea -- AFP
Russian Air Force Sends 14 Advanced Su-27 And Su-30 Warplanes To Belbek Air Base In Crimea -- IBTimes
Advanced Russian warplanes arrive in Crimea -- UPI

Life Is Not Easy Inside Crimea

Teenagers Murdered, Women Hounded On The Street And Money So Tight Even The Strippers Can't Get Paid: Inside 'Prison Cell' Crimea After Russian Invasion -- Daily Mail

* MailOnline sees residents handcuffed in the street and harassed by police
* People are snatched from the street for political activism
* Teenagers killed by police 'just for speaking native Ukrainian'
* Russians forced to take 'fake holidays' in former tourist jewel on Black Sea
* Desperate plight of people revealed after Putin annexed Crimea in March

Murdered for speaking their mother tongue, kidnapped for their religion, harassed for daring to question Vladimir Putin - and money so tight even the strippers can't get paid: welcome to the tourist jewel of Crimea almost nine months on from Russia's military annexation.

The Black Sea peninsula has some of the most stunning mountain and sea scenery in Europe yet has suffered a catastrophic summer after the Moscow invasion in February.

MailOnline found the desperate region - formerly a bustling tourist resort - preparing for a winter of food shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts. But much more chillingly we found evidence of people being killed for speaking Ukrainian, hounded for being Muslim Tatars and fear even among the residents who support Putin.

Read more ....

Update: Eight months after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, a complicated transition -- Washington Post

My Comment: Life in Ukraine is also not a "bed of roses" .... and in eastern Ukraine it is "pure hell" right now. It is with this perspective that many who live in Crimea .... especially the Russian community .... will probably try their best to stick it out and hope for better times in a year or two. What's my prediction .... I sadly do not see any improvements for the next decade.