The Fifth Anniversary of Crimea's Reunification with Russia

The people of the Crimean peninsula - the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol are going to celebrate soon the fifth anniversary of reunification with the Russian Federation (March 18, 2019).

Despite the challenging legacy of the "Ukrainian period", including poor state of the major part of key assets as well as accruing sanctions pressure, Crimea's social and economic situation is improving.

Crimea is one of the most dynamically developing Russian regions. Though the peninsula is currently "aligning" its social and economic indicators with the Russian average, its growth rates are among the highest in the country. Positive dynamics is observed in almost all main economy sectors of Crimea along with sustainable regional budget revenue increase, residential development is gaining momentum, signs of industrial and agricultural recovery are visible, and traditionally important resort and tourism industry is flourishing.

The Federal Special Purpose Program "The Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol until 2022" with a budget of about 1 trillion rubles has been being implemented since 2015. It is designed to redress imbalances in regional development, upgrade the living standards of the population and the rate of economic development of Crimea to the all-Russia level, as well as to establish conditions conducive to sustainable economic growth in the peninsula, harmonize inter-ethnic relations, effectively use tourism and recreational capacity, build a network of motorways and ports, and ensure transport communication with mainland Russia.

The positive atmosphere of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations continues to prevail in the peninsula. The re-registration of citizens' associations, including religious organizations, is nearly completed. Federal and regional authorities work on ensuring cultural, religious and other interests of all national minorities in Crimea, including Crimean Tatars, which are set forth in the Constitution of the Republic.

Living standard

Since Crimea's reunion with Russia actual wages of people working in the public sector as well as pensions and allowances in Crimea have increased by 2-2.5 times and approached the all-Russia level. At the same time, prices of basic commodities, including food products, have risen as well as the cost of utilities, housing and rent. In that light, unfortunately, Crimea is still at the "bottom" of the list of Russian regions by per capita income. The region's labour market is not sufficiently large, particularly during the off-season. Accelerated development focused on improving living standards of Crimean residents remains the key objective of regional social and economic development.

Free economic zone

There is a free economic zone in the territory of Crimea. Over 250 investment agreements were signed, 183 projects with a total investment of over 156 billion rubles are being implemented, and 14,000 jobs are to be created within its framework (including 34 investment agreements worth 12 billion rubles and providing 1,300 jobs that were signed in 2018). Major investment areas include agriculture (60 investment projects), development (39), industry (32), resorts and tourism (26) and transport (10).

Energy

Due to energy blockade of Crimea by Ukraine in November 2015 interim schemes were promptly established to supply power via an "energy bridge": hundreds of mobile higher-capacity generators were brought in and supply cables and a cross-country twin gas pipeline were laid from Kuban through the Kerch Strait.

Thus, the problem of power supply in Crimea is now successfully resolved. To ensure a stable generating capacities surplus and to end Crimea's energy dependence on Ukraine, two new high-capacity thermal power plants – Balaklavskaya TPP (Sevastopol) and Tavricheskaya TPP (Simferopol district), each equipped with a couple of foreign-made gas turbines (235 MW), have been constructed and already put into operation. The Sakskaya CHP Plant (with additional capacity of 120 MW) has also become operational, its distinguishing feature being that its equipment consists entirely of domestically-produced items (for the first time in the post-Soviet history). The comprehensive large-scale work has been conducted to allow Crimea to overcome the energy crisis and considerably improve its security situation.

Elaboration of plans on further development of green energy in Crimea is underway, with a primary focus on solar and wind energy as the peninsula has considerable natural potential for exploiting these energy sources (the Crimean wind park consisting of mostly Japanese and licensed Ukrainian wind turbines is the largest of its kind in Russia).

Transport infrastructure

The main cargo flow, including food products and medicines, is still transported through the Kerch Strait ferry line, and the demand for passenger transport is satisfied primarily by aviation.

In 2018, the Simferopol International Airport came into operation (in December 2018, it was officially named after Ivan Aivazovsky), which significantly increased the passenger transport capacity of the peninsula. The new international airport terminal can accommodate up to 7 million people annually.

In 2015-2016, 520 kilometers of Crimean roads were repaired, and there are plans to upgrade 700 more kilometers of roads by 2021. According to a survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), 76% of drivers noted the improvement in the condition of the region's roads, while as far back as 2014 the level of road surface wear was 80%.

The opening of the Crimean Bridge for road traffic in May 2018 has significantly benefited the dynamics of Crimea's socio-economic development. Additional impetus to the region's development is expected to be given by the construction of the four-lane federal highway "Tavrida" stretching across the entire peninsula from east to west (Kerch – Simferopol – Sevastopol, 250 km long, total cost – 130 billion rubles), as well as by the establishment of a regular railway communication through the transport passage across the Kerch Strait (planned for autumn 2019).

Water supply

To ensure stable water supply for the population of Crimea, 100 kilometers of new water pipelines have been built, and the creation of a multi-pipe water conduit for the replenishment of the North Crimean Canal, which was shut off by Ukraine, will be completed by 2020. The 32-billion-ruble project is implemented by the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

Tourism and recreation

The growth of the tourist flow in Crimea, which has continued in recent years, accelerated markedly in 2018 and reached 6.5 million people (during the "Ukrainian period" the peninsula was visited by about 5.5 million tourists annually; for instance, in 2014 the peninsula was visited by less than 4 million people). The opening of the Crimean Bridge for road traffic has led to a nearly 25% increase in the number of travelers coming to Crimea. The structure of the tourist flow has changed significantly: today Russian holidaymakers make up about 85% of the total (while before 2014 they accounted for only half of the tourist flow).

Changes in housing construction

The implementation of large transport and energy infrastructure projects in recent years has stimulated substantial growth in construction activity on the peninsula: the annual growth in the volume of industrial construction is 20-25%; rapid commissioning of apartment buildings is ensured.

fact. We are pleased to note that the majority of countries did not approve, in one form or another, of this document supported with no serious arguments.

- We regard the so-called "anti-Crimean" restrictions as absolutely groundless and illegitimate. They are hitting primarily the ordinary residents of the peninsula. The visa refusals practiced by some countries (and accordingly the restrictions on movement and participation in international events), as well as the non-recognition of higher education documents can be actually seen as the segregation policy that "punishes" the population of the peninsula for its choice in favor of Russia.

- The politically motivated nature of the information campaign launched against our country concerning the alleged human rights problems in Crimea is obvious. The case related to the adoption by the UN General Assembly in December 2018 of annual UN resolution on human rights situation in Crimea initiated by Kiev and supported by the US and the EU countries is illustrative as the majority of the countries either abstained from voting or did not support anti-Russian actions.

- The interests of all national minorities are fully taken into account in Crimea. Relevant measures for socio-economic support have been taken and are functioning effectively; political rehabilitation programs are being implemented. In general, the standard of living and the quality of life of the Crimeans have significantly increased in comparison with the "Ukrainian period". Furthermore, the State ensures compliance with all international human rights obligations in the peninsula. The multinational population of Crimea fully enjoys its rights to freedom of speech and assembly and mother-tongue education (including Ukrainian).

- Fabricated stories about the alleged suppression of the Crimean Tatars and violation of their rights are a deliberate falsification of the realities of life of these people. The full-fledged Crimean Tatar national-cultural autonomy has been established, the language of this ethnic group has been recognized as

the official language alongside with Russian and Ukrainian, and the participation of its representatives in the local government bodies has been ensured. Contrary to the speculations, the local Tatars are not massively leaving anywhere and overwhelmingly give a positive assessment to the situation in the peninsula. In order to strengthen cooperation with the republican authorities, in February 2018, the extended meeting of the Kurultai of the Crimean Tatar People established the Coordinating Council of Crimean Tatars to the Head of the Republic of Crimea.

- The aspiration of some countries to present the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and its leaders – Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov – as the voice of interests of all Crimean Tatar people is perplexing. This "body" is not officially registered in any country and has no influence in the peninsula. Today, there are more than 30 Crimean Tatar public associations which are not linked to the Mejlis and do not support its anti-Russian sentiment.

- The criminal prosecution of members of banned organizations in Russia (id. Mejilis and Hizb ut-Tahrir) is performed in strict compliance with the existing Russian legislation and has no any political, religious or ethnic underlying reasons. In this context, the decisions taken by the judicial authorities of the Russian Federation on the grounds of transparent and evidence-based processes, irrespective of whether they concern individuals or organizations, should be respected by the international community.

- The International Court of Justice, in its prior/preliminary decision of April 19, 2017, acknowledged the unsubstantiated nature of allegations of "suppression" against the Crimean Tatar People under the suit for the Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1956 (Ukraine v. Russian Federation). The same has been acknowledged by many foreign public figures, including from Western countries, who visited Crimea.

- The allegations that the Russian authorities supposedly impede visiting the peninsula are absolutely untrue. Over the past year, over 40 major international events took place, the most informative and productive of which are the IV Yalta International Economic Forum (April), XII International Festival "The Great Russian Word" (April) and the Third International Livadia Forum (June). The objective perception of the realities of the Crimean Tatars' live in the peninsula by their most numerous diaspora abroad, in Turkey, was promoted by the event "Days of the Crimean Tatar culture" in December 2018.

- Russia is committed to fulfilling its international obligations throughout the territory of the country, including in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. We are ready to conduct a dialogue with the specialized intergovernmental entities within the procedures applicable to their compliance by the Russian Federation in its territory, as well as accept their missions in Crimea if they are sent within the mandate of a particular organization in accordance with all procedures applicable to visiting our country.