Pro-Russian Crimean activists demand secession referendum

Several hundred pro-Russian activists blocked the entrance to the Crimean parliament on Feb. 25 to demand a statement rejecting the new Ukrainian government, a referendum on leaving the Ukrainian state and a statement requesting support from the Russian government. The activists hung a Russian flag on the parliament façade. Parliamentary Chair Vladimir Konstantinov assured the crowd that an extraordinary session would be held today.

Veteran Crimean politician Leonid Grach warned of violent political provocations that could erupt at today’s session, which will be attended by pro-Russian separatists and Crimean Tatars, who favor remaining in the Ukrainian state. Meanwhile, an independent journalist posted a video allegedly depicting Russian personnel carriers with armed soldiers arriving in the port of Yalta on Feb. 25.

Alexander Paraschiy: The tension in Crimea could undermine the Ukrainian government’s attempt to attract Western financial aid and stabilize the country’s economic condition. The interim government could be too weak to influence events in the autonomous republic. So the developments in that region deserve close attention, particularly from the EU.

So far, the official Russian position is that Ukraine’s territorial integrity can’t be questioned. At the same time, the Russian government may try a scenario already tested in Georgia, where it granted Russian citizenship to some people in the region and initiated a military invasion to protect these new citizens. We believe this scenario will be hard to implement in Crimea, given that neither the government nor its citizens will give Russia the grounds “to protect its citizens.” Moreover, we believe that pro-Russian protests will calm down after the formation of a new government in Ukraine and appointment of a new Crimean prime minister.