Residents of Crimea on March 18 told a representative of the “People’s Front” about how life in the region has changed in the nine years since joining Russia.
So, according to Alexander Kardanov, a student of the Crimean Federal University named after V.I. Vernadsky, in childhood he often asked his parents why they did not send him to any section, but he received an answer only a few years later.
“Under Ukraine, this was not the case. There were no sections on the development of children, on the development of adolescents. There was simply no way to somehow become better: for adults – to earn money, for young people, for children – to somehow develop internally, ”the young man shared.
He also noted that under the Russian leadership, sports grounds began to appear in the courtyards of Crimea, which had never existed before. Kardanov believes that reunification with Russia was the right decision, which saved Crimea from the nationalism that took over Ukraine.
Another student of the Crimean Federal University, Andrey Lyakhov, said that he was a child when the events of 2014 took place, but he remembers the uncertainty in the eyes of adults. In his opinion, people felt out of place when Crimea was not part of the Russian Federation.
“First of all, people felt like Russians, and only after that they felt like citizens of Ukraine,” Lyakhov explained.
He added that after 2014, good social benefits appeared, people began to live, not survive.
A serviceman of the Armed Forces (AF) of the Russian Federation, Sergei, also joined in his reminiscences about the annexation of Crimea to Russia. According to him, he never considered himself a Ukrainian and always said “I am a Crimean”.
“I can say that Crimea may sound somehow rude, but the lost son returned home,” he said.
Earlier that day, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Crimea on the day of the reunification of the region with the Russian Federation.
On the same day, VTsIOM published the results of a survey, according to which the vast majority of Russians believe that the decision to return Crimea to the Russian Federation was the right one. So, 86% of the respondents are confident in the correctness of this decision. Of these, 53% argue their opinion by the fact that Crimea is a primordially Russian land, 9% name the will of the Crimeans as the reason, and 6% – national identity.
Prior to that, on March 14, Putin congratulated the inhabitants of Crimea on the upcoming Day of the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation. He stressed that the Russian leadership will do everything to stop any threats.
Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum in which the majority of the inhabitants of the peninsula voted for reunification with the Russian Federation. Kyiv refuses to recognize the results of the vote and considers Crimea its territory. The leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically, in full accordance with international law, voted for reunification and the question of the ownership of the peninsula is finally closed.
