CRIMEA - Республика Крым

The Republic of Crimea (Russian: Республика Крым, translit. Respublika Krym  Ukrainian: Республіка Крим, translit. Respublika Krym; Crimean Tatar: Qırım Cumhuriyeti, Къырым Джумхуриети) is a federal subject of Russia that is located on the Crimean Peninsula. The capital city and largest city within the republic is Simferopol, which is also the second largest city of Crimea, behind the federal city of Sevastopol. The Republic of Crimea came into existence as a republic within the Russian Federation following the events of 2014: in March 2014, after the takeover of Crimea by pro-Russian separatists and the Russian Armed Forces, a referendum was held, in violation of the Ukrainian Constitution,  on the issue of joining Russia. The official result was that Crimeans voted overwhelmingly in support of that option. Russia then annexed Crimea with the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol becoming two federal subjects of Russia. Russia and 17 UN member states officially recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, while Ukraine and 114 other UN member states do not. Ukraine continues to claim Crimea as an integral part of its territory as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, supported by most foreign governments, and various United Nations General Assembly resolutions (68/262 and certain subsequent resolutions).

Crimea was first annexed by the Russian Empire in April 1783, under the Russian Empress Catherine the Great. While ostentibly recognised by the Ottoman Empire in December that year, the annexation sowed tensions which ultimately contributed to the outbreak of Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1792, in which the Ottoman Empire attempted to reverse it, but to no avail: the 1792 Treaty of Jassy, which formally ended the war, reaffirmed the 1783 annexation again. From 1802, Crimea constituted a southern part of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire until the collapse thereof in 1917. During the Russian Civil War (1917–1921) Crimea changed hands multiple times, being inter alia the last territory held by the White Russian government in the European part of Russia in 1920, and finally became an autonomous republic within Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) in 1921.

During World War II, in 1944, the central Soviet authorities deported the Crimean Tatars for alleged collaboration with the Nazi occupation regime; in 1945, the region was stripped of its autonomy status. In 1954, the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet transferred the region from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, another constituent republic of the USSR, then a highly centralised state, wherein borders between constituent republics was a technical issue of administration, despite the fact that Ukraine was a separate member of the UN. The Crimean Tatars were allowed to return to Crimea in the mid-1980s under perestroika. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea became part of the newly independent Ukraine, which led to tensions between Russia and Ukraine. With the Black Sea Fleet based on the peninsula, worries of armed skirmishes were occasionally raised. Crimean Tatars began returning from exile and resettling in Crimea. Ukraine restored Crimea's autonomous status in 1991. Crimea's autonomous status was re-affirmed in 1996 with the ratification of Ukraine's current constitution, which designated Crimea as the "Autonomous Republic of Crimea", but also an "inseparable constituent part of Ukraine".

On 11 March 2014, the Crimean parliament and the Sevastopol City Council jointly issued a letter of intent to unilaterally declare independence from Ukraine in the event of a 'Yes' vote in the referendum to join the region to Russia, that was to be held on 16 March. The document specifically mentioned Kosovo as a precedent in the lead part. The referendum on the status of Crimea 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 and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine. The available choices did not include keeping the status quo of Crimea and Sevastopol as they were at the time the referendum was held.

On 16 March 2014, according the organizers of Crimean status referendum, 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 that they interviewed were boycotting the vote. Reports from the UN criticised the circumstances surrounding the referendum, especially the presence of paramilitaries, self-defence groups and unidentifiable soldiers. The European Union, Canada, Japan and the United States condemned the vote as illegal. After the referendum, Crimean lawmakers formally voted both to secede from Ukraine and applied for their admission into Russia. The Sevastopol City Council, however, requested the port's separate admission as a federal city.

On 18 March 2014, the self-proclaimed independent Republic of Crimea signed 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 as the Republic of Crimea—the same name as the short-lived self-proclaimed independent republic—and another accession for Sevastopol as a federal city. The accession was only recognised internationally by a few states with most regarding the action as illegal. Ukraine refused to accept the annexation, still the Ukrainian military began to withdraw from Crimea on 19 March. A transition period, during which both parties to the accession treaty were to resolve the issues of integration of the new subjects "in the economic, financial, credit and legal system of the Russian Federation", was set to last until 1 January 2015.

The integration process started within days: on 24 March the Russian ruble went into official circulation with parallel circulation of the Ukrainian hryvnia permitted until 1 January 2016, however, taxes and fees were to be paid in rubles only, and the wages 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 and on 31 March the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced a series of programmes aimed at swiftly incorporating the territory into Russia's economy and infrastructure. The creation of a new ministry for Crimean affairs was announced too. Also on 31 March, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared that foreign citizens visiting Crimea needed to apply for a visa to the Russian Federation at one of Russian diplomatic missions or its consulates.

These are my latest cover from the new Autonomous Russian Republic called Crimea. I have used old Ukraine stamps on the right side, that also postmarked by the new Russian post in Simferopol, which is the capital city of Crimea.

This rare cover sent by Yulia, a postcard collector. After annexation of Crimea by Russia, they issued 'Region of Russia' series stamps for Crimea and Sevastopol, which is a federal district in Crimea. The cover posted on  June 21, 2014 and I received on July 14, 2014.