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Under Watch of Russian Troops, Crimea Votes on Secession Crimea Votes to Secede From Ukraine as Russian Troops Keep Watch
(about 7 hours later)
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — With thousands of heavily-armed Russian troops occupying this perennially embattled peninsula, the voters of Crimea went to the polls on Sunday to vote on secession from Ukraine in a public referendum that Western leaders have declared illegal and vowed to punish with economic sanctions. SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — With thousands of heavily-armed Russian troops occupying this perennially embattled peninsula, an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted on Sunday to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, resolutely carrying out a public referendum that Western leaders had declared illegal and vowed to punish with economic sanctions.
With the outcome of the vote virtually a foregone conclusion in a region that shares a language and centuries of history with Russia, the greater suspense lay in how swiftly and forcefully the United States and its European allies would levy threatened sanctions against allies of President Vladimir V. Putin, including senior Russian officials and business leaders. The answers were likely to depend to some degree on whether Mr. Putin showed any signs of acting quickly to annex Crimea or order further military incursion beyond Crimea’s borders, perhaps to seize vital infrastructure including water and energy supplies. The outcome, in a region that shares a language and centuries of history with Russia, was a foregone conclusion even before exit polls showed more than 93 percent of voters opting to break with Ukraine and join Russia. But it further inflamed tensions over Ukraine, as the United States and its European allies spent the day weighing how swiftly and forcefully to levy threatened sanctions against allies of President Vladimir V. Putin.
“Our people must be united in Russia,” Yelena Parkholenko, 27, a manicurist with violet hair, said matter-of-factly after casting her vote at School No. 21 here in Simferopol, the Crimean capital. With the voting complete, attention rapidly shifted to Mr. Putin, who had stalled on the question of annexation by saying he wanted to hear the Crimean public proclaim its will. He must now decide whether to go ahead — a complex and costly venture given its geographic isolation — or leave more than 2 million people, whose well-being he vowed to protect, in the limbo of other Russian-backed breakaway regions like Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in Georgia.
It was a sentiment repeated over and over again at polling stations as citizens with misgivings about joining Mr. Putin’s Russian Federation, particularly Crimean Tatars, a Muslim Turkic people with a history of persecution by Russia, generally opted to stay home rather than participate in what they called a rigged vote. The referendum offered no option that would maintain Crimea’s current status of limited autonomy from the Ukrainian government in Kiev. Should he annex Crimea, Mr. Putin could find himself quickly forced into negotiations with the fledgling government in Kiev that he has so far refused to recognize or meet, or face a serious conflict over water, energy and other essentials for which Crimea is largely dependent on mainland Ukraine.
The referendum asked voters: “Are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as part of the Russian Federation?” or “Are you in favor of restoring the 1992 Constitution and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?” The second choice would effectively grant Crimea independence without immediately breaking from Kiev, but such a break would be inevitable and the Ukrainian government, like the West, has rejected the vote as illegal. Mr. Putin also needs to decide what to do about Ukrainian military personnel, many surrounded for more than two weeks on bases throughout Crimea and refusing to surrender.
The military occupation of Crimea, and Mr. Putin’s evident determination to annex the territory, which had ties to Russia from the late 1700s until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, has led to the most serious confrontation with the West since Mr. Putin became his country’s paramount political figure at the end of 1999. So far, his unwillingness to negotiate has reflected the limited responses available to President Obama and European leaders. Unrest continued to swirl in eastern Ukraine as well, where Russian troops have massed along the border, raising fears of a new military incursion into mainland Ukraine. In Kharkiv, several thousand pro-Russia demonstrators scuffled on Sunday with police outside the governor’s office. The crowd shouted, “Putin! Putin! Putin!” and “Crimea we are with you!” After pushing against the thick ranks of Ukrainian police guarding the governor’s office for several minutes, the crowd marched to the Russian consulate, carrying Russian flags and freshly made red banners that read “Russian Spring.”
Russia on Saturday used its veto power as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to reject a resolution championed by the West that would have declared the referendum illegal. That left American and European officials scrambling to prepare a list of Russians to penalize, possibly including senior members of Mr. Putin’s inner circle. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed concern in a phone call on Sunday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, about “continuing provocations” in eastern cities, where American officials have accused the Kremlin and its intelligence agents of fomenting unrest — apparently for the benefit of Russian television.
Among the Russians who have been on at least some lists circulated for consideration for Western sanctions, according to officials, are Sergei K. Shoigu, the defense minister; Aleksandr V. Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service; Nikolai P. Patrushev, the secretary of the security council; Dmitri O. Rogozin, a deputy prime minister; Aleksei Miller, the chief executive of Gazprom, the state energy giant; and Igor Sechin, head of the national oil company Rosneft. Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov spoke by phone for the second straight day, following a six-hour meeting on Friday. But they could not report any progress in defusing the crisis, other than an agreement to continue working toward a political resolution.
With a cold rain falling across most of Crimea on Sunday morning, Russian armed forces maintained their control over the peninsula, including military bases, where Ukrainian soldiers were effectively locked inside, and other strategic sites, including the region’s two main airports, where all flights have been canceled except for those to and from Moscow. Reflecting the huge gulf in perceptions that persists between the two sides of the divide, Mr. Putin told the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in a phone call on Sunday that the referendum was conducted in “full compliance with international law,” according to a Kremlin statement.
On Saturday, Russian forces arrived by helicopter to seize control of a natural gas terminal just outside the Crimean border, drawing renewed threats of military retaliation by the government in Kiev, but also underscoring the enormous challenges and costs that lie ahead for Russia should it move forward with the annexation of the peninsula. The United States and the European nations have almost universally denounced the referendum as illegal under international law, unconstitutional under Ukrainian law and carried out, as the White House noted in a statement on Sunday, under “threats of violence and intimidation from a Russian military intervention.” The statement characterized Russia’s actions as “dangerous and destabilizing.”
While the Kremlin has refused to recognize the provisional government in Kiev, and rejected entreaties, particularly by the United States, to begin negotiations, it will almost certainly be compelled to engage in talks about water and energy supplies. Despite assurances from the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, that Russian will not invade eastern or southern Ukraine, Crimea’s reliance on the mainland for many services has raised fears that Mr. Putin would order a military advance, as far as the Dnieper River in the most dramatic scenario. In a sign of Mr. Putin’s extreme confidence, and the West’s relatively limited options to confront him, the Russian president remained in the southern resort city of Sochi, where he watched the final events of the Paralympics and planned to attend the closing ceremony.
Judging by exit interviews, the result of the balloting seemed certain to be lopsided in favor of joining Russia, with many voters expressing joy at the prospect of leaving Ukraine and absolute faith that Mr. Putin would make the transition smooth, issuing new passports, paying pensions and providing other benefits. Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, at the same time, brushed aside a warning from the leaders of the Group of 7 world powers of unspecified consequences for Russia’s violation of international law in Crimea, saying it would have no effect on Russia’s policies.
“We were not asked when Crimea was combined with Ukraine. Now they are asking us,” said Svetlana Fedotova, a small business owners, who arrived to vote at School No. 21, with her daughter, Yekaterina, and nine-month-old granddaughter, Yelizaveta. “We’re Russian and we want to live in Russia.” Despite the uncertainties still surrounding Crimea, jubilant victory parties broke out long before the polls closed here in Simferopol, the capital, and in Sevastopol, where Russia has long maintained the headquarters of its Black Sea fleet. As they left the polls, after casting paper ballots, many voters were ebullient and expressed no concern about the soldiers with automatic weapons deployed across the peninsula.
“Our people must be united in Russia,” Yelena Parkholenko, 27, a manicurist with violet hair, said matter-of-factly after casting her vote at School No. 21 in Simferopol.
“We were not asked when Crimea was combined with Ukraine. Now they are asking us,” said Svetlana Fedotova, a small-business owner, who arrived to vote at School No. 21, with her daughter, Yekaterina, and nine-month-old granddaughter, Yelizaveta. “We’re Russian and we want to live in Russia.”
Citizens with misgivings about joining Mr. Putin’s Russian Federation, particularly Crimean Tatars, a Muslim Turkic people with a history of persecution by Russia, generally opted to stay home rather than participate in what they called a rigged vote.
At a cultural center that served as a polling station in Bakhchysaray, the historical home of Crimean Tatars, few if any Tatars were casting ballots.
Early on Sunday, Enrique Ravello, an election observer visiting Simferopol from Catalonia, Spain, and a supporter of the separatist movement there, praised the strong voter turnout and said his region was envious of Crimea.
“Crimea in Catalonia is for us an example, for what we would like to do,” Mr. Ravello said. “We don’t know if the so-called Western democratic Spain will permit us to be as free as you are today.”
Freedom, however, was a matter of debate, especially given the Russian military presence. The referendum also offered no option that would maintain Crimea’s current status of limited autonomy from the Ukrainian government.
In Kiev, the new government held an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the continuing military threat in eastern Ukraine.The acting prime minister, Arseny P. Yatsenyuk, told ministers that the government would prosecute the organizers of the referendum and others supporting Crimean separatism. Mr. Yatsenyuk said the organizers were now “under the cover of Russian troops” but the Ukrainian government would “bring them to justice in Ukrainian and international courts.”
On Saturday, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to dissolve the Crimean Parliament — a step that was largely symbolic given that it was blithely ignored here in Simferopol.
Crimea was effectively part of Russia from the late 1700s until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Geographically, however, the peninsula is isolated from Russia, and annexing it could prove logistically complicated and exceedingly costly at a time when the Kremlin is bracing for an economic slowdown.
On Saturday, Russian forces arrived by helicopter to seize control of a natural gas terminal just outside the Crimean border, drawing renewed threats of military retaliation by the government in Kiev, but also underscoring the enormous challenges that lie ahead for Russia should it move forward with the annexation.
Voters on Sunday said that they were not deterred from charting their new course toward Russia, despite fears that vital utility services, transportation arteries and business links could be cut off. A bridge across the Straight of Kerch, the smallest water body separating Russia from Crimea, would take years to build.
In exit interviews at the polls, many voters expressed joy at the prospect of leaving Ukraine and absolute faith that Mr. Putin would make the transition smooth, issuing new passports, paying pensions and providing other benefits.
For many voters, religious affiliation was also a major factor in supporting secession from Ukraine.For many voters, religious affiliation was also a major factor in supporting secession from Ukraine.
“I’m Orthodox, and Orthodoxy began in Crimea, said Yury Lyudmilov, 72, a poet and film director, with flowing white hair, who came to vote under overcast skies in dark-tinted glasses, a crisp-white shirt buttoned to the neck and a crimson scarf. “Orthodox people must be reunited.” “I’m Orthodox, and Orthodoxy began in Crimea,” said Yury Lyudmilov, 72, a poet and film director with flowing white hair who came to vote under overcast skies in dark-tinted glasses. “Orthodox people must be reunited.”
Referring to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Mr. Lyudmilov added, “This is all Russia — greater Russia, minor Russia and white Russia.”Referring to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Mr. Lyudmilov added, “This is all Russia — greater Russia, minor Russia and white Russia.”
Voters on Sunday said that they would not be deterred from charting their new course toward Russia, despite fears that vital utility services, transportation arteries and business links could be cut off, further isolating the peninsula, which has no direct link with Russia. A bridge across the Straight of Kerch, the smallest water body separating Russia from Crimea, would take years to build.
Sergei Aksyonov, the pro-Russian prime minister of Crimea, has sought to reassure residents that contingency plans are in place, and that it would not be in Ukraine’s interest to break current agreements on supplies of water, electricity, natural gas and other essentials.Sergei Aksyonov, the pro-Russian prime minister of Crimea, has sought to reassure residents that contingency plans are in place, and that it would not be in Ukraine’s interest to break current agreements on supplies of water, electricity, natural gas and other essentials.
“There are absolutely no grounds for switching the power off,” Mr. Aksyonov said at a news conference last week. “The bills are being paid in full and in compliance with the legislation of Ukraine. Such outages are possible only if it’s done of nuisance to play a nasty trick on Crimeans.”“There are absolutely no grounds for switching the power off,” Mr. Aksyonov said at a news conference last week. “The bills are being paid in full and in compliance with the legislation of Ukraine. Such outages are possible only if it’s done of nuisance to play a nasty trick on Crimeans.”
He added, “We have worked out anti-crisis measures. We have chosen areas, purchased and delivered more than 900 power generators, which will ensure uninterruptable power supply to the population. But I am sure that common sense will prevail.” Crimeans, whose numbers include a majority of ethnic Russians, as well as ethnic Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and dozens of other ethnicities, have lived peacefully over the nearly quarter-century of Ukrainian independence.
Officials in Kiev, however, are furious over the referendum. On Saturday, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to dissolve the Crimean Parliament — a step that was largely symbolic given that it was flatly ignored here in Simferopol. Sunday’s vote, however, threatened to split society in numerous, and perhaps unexpected, ways. In addition to Crimean Tatars, who make up about 12 percent of the population and generally oppose becoming part of Russia, many young Crimeans, born after Ukrainian independence, have come out strongly against the referendum, putting them in conflict with their parents and grandparents, some of whom have fond memories of the Soviet Union.
Should Kiev take steps to turn off electricity or other services, it is not clear how Russia could or would respond, but Mr. Aksyonov said that Crimeans were resolute. “We are not afraid of anything,” he said. “We want to make the historic choice.”
Crimea’s history, which includes bloody wars between the Russian and Ottoman Empires, and previous occupations by Scythians, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Khazars and Mongols, among others, had nonetheless resulted in a pluralistic society that has lived peacefully over the nearly quarter-century of Ukrainian independence. It includes a majority of ethnic Russians, as well as ethnic Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, and dozens of other ethnicities.
Sunday’s vote, however, threatened to split society in numerous, and in some cases, perhaps unexpected, ways. In addition to Crimean Tatars, who make up about 12 percent of the population and generally oppose becoming part of Russia, many young Crimeans, born after Ukrainian independence, have come out strongly against the referendum, putting them in conflict with their parents and grandparents, some of whom have fond memories of the Soviet Union.
“The vote is fiction,” said Kseniya Zaplantinskaya, 19, a philosophy student. “In my family there are different opinions; my parents are for Russia.” She added, “We try not to talk about politics.”“The vote is fiction,” said Kseniya Zaplantinskaya, 19, a philosophy student. “In my family there are different opinions; my parents are for Russia.” She added, “We try not to talk about politics.”
“My parents asked me to vote,” Ms. Zaplantinskaya said. “But I just said that I won’t go to the referendum because I don’t consider it to be something real, which reflects the will, the wishes of people at the moment.”
Anastasia Sherbina, 21, a medical student, said she would vote for Crimea to remain part of Ukraine, the only national identity she has ever known. “I was born here,” Ms. Sherbina said. “I’ve lived here. I want to be a Ukrainian.”Anastasia Sherbina, 21, a medical student, said she would vote for Crimea to remain part of Ukraine, the only national identity she has ever known. “I was born here,” Ms. Sherbina said. “I’ve lived here. I want to be a Ukrainian.”
In Bakhchysaray, Nina Trofimovna, 68, offered the opposite view. “We’re returning home to Russia,” Ms. Trofimovna, said. “It won’t be simple, but we’re ready for anything because we’re going home.”