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of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The graves of Russian soldiers whose bravery brought Crimea into the Russian empire in 1783 are also in Crimea. This is also Sevastopol – a legendary city with an outstanding history, a fortress that serves as the birthplace of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Crimea is Balaklava and Kerch, Malakhov Kurgan and Sapun Ridge. Each one of these places is dear to our hearts, symbolizing Russian military glory and outstanding valor”.

      “In people’s hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an inseparable part of Russia. This firm conviction is based on truth and justice and was passed from generation to generation, over time, under any circumstances, despite all the dramatic changes our country went through during the entire 20th century”.

      “Now, many years later, I heard residents of Crimea say that back in 1991 they were handed over like a sack of potatoes. This is hard to disagree with. And what about the Russian state? What about Russia? It humbly accepted the situation. This country was going through such hard times then that realistically it was incapable of protecting its interests. However, the people could not reconcile themselves to this outrageous historical injustice. All these years, citizens and many public figures came back to this issue, saying that Crimea is historically Russian land and Sevastopol is a Russian city”.

      “I would like to reiterate that I understand those who came out on Maidan with peaceful slogans against corruption, inefficient state management and poverty. The right to a peaceful protest, democratic procedures, and elections exist for the sole purpose of replacing the authorities that do not satisfy the people. However, those who stood behind the latest events in Ukraine had a different agenda: they were preparing yet another government takeover; they wanted to seize power and would stop short of nothing. They resorted to terror, murder and riots. Nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites executed this coup. They continue to set the tone in Ukraine to this day… There was a whole series of controlled “color” revolutions. Clearly, the people in those nations, where these events took place, were sick of tyranny and poverty, of their lack of prospects; but these feelings were taken advantage of cynically… As a result, instead of democracy and freedom, there was chaos, outbreaks in violence and a series of upheavals. The Arab Spring turned into the Arab Winter”.

      …So, this way Crimea has come home. And besides, the reunification with Russia was held so instantly and so delicately that our geopolitical opponents simply did not have time to realize what is going on. The USA organized and supported the coup in Ukraine in order to expel the Russian navy from the Black Sea. To make the Black Sea coast a “Russia-free” zone. The West wanted to “rewind” history – to return to the times of the Crimean Khanate and Turkish reign. To void and cancel deeds of Catherine the Great, under whose reign in 1783, Crimea became a part of our state. But everything turned out differently.

      Nevertheless, we agreed to go along the river of time in reverse way. In the opposite direction. Now it is time to recall those dreadful for Russia times, when not only Crimea but also Ukraine itself left our big common home. We are coming back to 1991. Without this story, we will not be able to understand the degree of the enthusiasm of people of Crimea, who have now came back to Russia after two decades of the “forced emigration”…

      Chapter 2

      1991–2013: Crimea Breaks Off

      On December 8, 1991 in the Bialowieza Forest near Brest leaders of three union republics signed a death sentence to the Soviet Union. Did they have the right to take such an action on behalf of the entire USSR? Of course, not. Neither legally, nor morally. After all the All-Union referendum, which took place on March 17, 1991, showed that, the majority of USSR citizens (77.85 %) voted for the preservation of the single state[132]. However, it didn’t stop Shushkevich, Kravchuk and Yeltsin. The operation to destroy the Soviet Union as well as the whole country ran its course.

      “A very important event took place in our country today. And I want to inform you personally before you know it from the press”, – Yeltsin reported this to US President George HW Bush right after he signed the documents. “Mr. President, I was quite open with you today. Four of our countries believe that there is only one possible way out of the present critical situation. We do not want to do anything in secret – we will immediately make the statement to the press. We hope for your understanding. Dear George, I’ve finished. It is vitally important. According to the established tradition between us, I can’t stand even 10 minutes without giving you a call”, – Bush quotes the conversation in his book entitled “The world transformed”.[133]

      The negotiations held between the three conspirators, who played an active role in ruining of the Soviet Union, will hardly ever be discovered. Even today, when two of the three Bialowiezian authors are still alive, the information is too much different. Leonid Kravchuk’s version was already discussed in the previous chapter. Nikita Khrushchev’s son has a totally different view: “And if the Russians are concerned about the issue, we do know, how the three leaders agreed on the collapse of the Soviet Union in Bialowieza Forest. Kravchuk then asked Yeltsin: “And what will we do with the Crimea?”, and Yeltsin replied: “Take it”. Thus it was Boris Yeltsin who granted peninsula to the people but not Khrushchev. They could put a monument to him”[134].

      As we can see the situation described in these two stories is quite different. The role of Boris Yeltsin varies widely. At the same time, it is worth to be noted that Khrushchev’s son, 100 % Westerner, lives and teaches in the USA. Therefore, the position of Yeltsin, who as a politician destroyed the Soviet Union, is favored by him. However, Khrushchev’ son displays rather a miserable picture. By the way, Khrushchev’s granddaughter who is ardent Russophobe and fanatical hater of our state lives in the United States as well[135]. As they say, like father, like son. Even in the second generation…

      We will get back to Yeltsin’s role in connection with Crimea later. In the meantime, it should be noted that during and after the Bialowieza conspiracy, when the first and the last Soviet president Gorbachev actually agreed to destroy the country, the opinion of the residents was not taken into account. According to the statistics, the Russians, amounted to 67.1 % in 1989, let alone the representatives of other nationalities. No referendum on whether to stay in Ukraine or return to Russia again was held. In view of collapsing of USSR the Crimea was handed over to Ukraine under the banner for eternal friendship.

      Few people know that on January 20, 1991, almost a year before the tragic collapse of the USSR occurred, the issue on the autonomy of the Republic was introduced for referendum in the Crimea: It claimed-”Do you support restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as the entity of the USSR and a member of the Union Treaty?” 93.26 % of the voted supported it[136]. Two facts should be noted: it was the first referendum in the USSR as such. In fact, the referendum held again on March 16, 2014, when 96.77 % of Crimeans voted for independence of Crimea and supported the entry into the Russian Federation, was no different. Even the results of the two polls are very similar. Crimeans have not changed in 23 years of “independence”. They remained Russians in their hearts.

      But in 1991 no one listened and even intended to listen to the inhabitants of the peninsula. The country leaders had quite other things to concern about – the race for power between Gorbachev and Yeltsin entered its final phase. However, the Crimean deputies thought a step further than the statesmen of a superior level. On February 12, 1991, taking into account the results of the referendum, the Supreme Council of Ukraine adopted the Law “On restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic”, which only consisted of the two articles.

      “Article 1. To restore the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the territory of the Crimean region as a part of the Ukrainian SSR.

      Article 2. To declare the Crimean Regional Council of People’s Deputies as a supreme body of the state authority within the Crimean Autonomous Republic temporarily before adoption of the Constitution of the Crimean Autonomous Republic and establishment of its constitutional body of the state authority and grant it a status of the Supreme Council of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist

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