Crimea on edge
Pro-Russian forces are in control of Crimea. The Crimean parliament is vying for Crimea to become part of Russia, a move the pro-Western government in Kyiv is trying to prevent. The situation could quickly escalate.
Emotions run high
According to NATO sources, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent thousands of soldiers to Ukrainian Crimea. On the weekend, protesters on the controversial peninsula and in Simferopol in particular were calling for Crimea to join the Russian Federation.
Pro-Russian units guard buildings
Putin denies having sent Russian troops to Crimea and has instead spoken of "self-defense units." Informal militias have indeed formed in Crimea. Many of their members are Cossacks, who are part of cavalry ogranization that used to patrol the borders of the Russian Empire. Cossacks can often be recognized by their traditional fur hats.
Ukrainian or Russian?
The majority of the Crimean population is ethnically Russian. The peninsula is divided into the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the municipality of Sevastopol, which is directly controlled by Kyiv. The Crimean parliament has set a referendum about whether Crimea should join Russia for March 16. In the Crimean capital Simferopol, hundreds of people protested the move.
"Look at how the West is provoking us!"
Two Femen activists were recently detained during pro-Russian protests in Simferopol. They shouted "Stop Putin's War!" but were greeted with exclamations like "You should be ashamed of yourself!" and called prostitutes. One of the two Femen protestors grabbed a microphone and told crowds: "Look how the West is provoking us!" Femen staged a similar topless protest in New York's Times Square.
Out in force for Putin
On Friday (07.03.2014), around 65,000 people took to the streets in support of Putin's Ukraine policies in Moscow. Political scientist and Kremlin critic Dmitry Oreshkin explains: "Russians applaud Putin because he has bolstered the strength of the Russian soul. He has put the West in its place." According to Oreshkin, that is the message that Russian state television constantly repeats.
Shades of Stalinism
Apart from Russians and Ukrainians, the Crimean population also includes a minority of Muslim Crimean Tatars. They were the majority on the peninsula at the beginning of the 20th century, but were accused of Nazi collaboration by Stalin during World War II and deported. After the fall of the Soviet Union, many returned to Crimea. Fearing new deportation, some, like this family, are fleeing.
Yes to Ukraine
The city with the largest percentage of Crimean Tatars is Bakhchysarai, where hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets for peace and a united Ukraine. Here, as in other Crimean cities, allegedly Russian soldiers have blocked Ukrainian military bases and have brought border posts under their control.
Warning shots
Military observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were on a fact-finding mission to establish whether the occupying forces currently in Crimea are actually Putin's soldiers. But until now, they have been blocked from entering Crimea by pro-Russian forces at checkpoints who have fired warning shots at the observers.
Switch to the Ruble?
But the population in Crimea has other worries as well. The new pro-Western interim government in Kyiv has cut off the peninsula's money supply, which has led to problems with financial transactions. Salaries can only be paid via Russian banks, so many people have had to open new bank accounts. If it becomes part of the Russian Federation after the referendum, Crimea will have the Ruble.
No political solution in sight
On a political level, decision-makers are currently exchanging threats. The new Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk - pictured here with Chancellor Angela Merkel - said Ukraine will not relinquish "a single centimeter" of its territory. He wants to hold talks in the US in the coming days. Russia and the West have threatened each other with sanctions and other punitive measures.