Putin Says Russia Regained 'Historic Roots' In Crimea [View all]

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters just outside the Kremlin walls, President Vladimir Putin has described Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as a move to protect ethnic Russians and regain the nation's "historic roots."

Addressing Wednesday's rally marking the anniversary of the annexation, Putin said Crimea lies at the "roots of our spirituality and statehood."

Crimea's annexation and the subsequent Moscow-backed rebellion in eastern Ukraine prompted the West to impose economic and financial sanctions on Russia. Along with slumping oil prices, they have driven the Russian economy into a recession this year.

But despite the economic downturn and a sharp devaluation of the ruble, Putin's popularity has remained strong at more than 80 percent. He told the rally that Russia would overcome the "difficulties created from the outside."

Read more: http://www.12newsnow.com/story/28552111/putin-says-russia-regained-historic-roots-in-crimea

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Crimea Celebrates One Year of Its Reunification with Russia

On March 16, 2014, 96 percent of Crimeans voted in favor of the accession to Russia. Thousands of Crimeans poured into the streets of the capital Simferopol and the city of Sevastopol Wednesday as they celebrated with fireworks and parties the first year since the region overwhelmingly voted to reunite with Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, is scheduled to give speech.

On March 16, 2014, over 96 percent of Crimeans voted against continuing as part of Ukrainian territory and in favor of joining Russia.

Russia’s Parliament, the Duma, considered the accession of Crimea to Russia to be legal, but the Ukraine and the West nonetheless rejected it.

On March 18, 2014, Putin assured, “Crimea has always been a part of Russia,” the United States put into place a series of sanctions – which until recently have been steadily augmented – with which it wants to “punish” the Russian Federation for having accepted the will of the majority of Crimeans.

Putin’s speech last year highlighted that, “More than 82 percent of the electorate took part in the vote. Over 96 percent of them spoke out in favor of reuniting with Russia. These numbers speak for themselves."

In that speech, Putin also highlighted the shared ethnic and cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. At least 60 percent of the population of Crimea is Russian, 25 percent is Ukrainian, and 12 percent is Tartar.

"Crimea is a unique blend of different peoples’ cultures and traditions. This makes it similar to Russia as a whole, where not a single ethnic group has been lost over the centuries," Putin said, according to Russian government’s official website. ​

During his comments last year, President Putin went on to criticize the NATO's presence along the Russian-Ukrainian border.

"But let me say too that we are not opposed to cooperation with NATO, for this is certainly not the case,” said the Russian president. “For all the internal processes within the organization, NATO remains a military alliance, and we are against having a military alliance making itself at home right in our backyard or in our historic territory."

After Crimea’s referendum a year ago, Putin began expressing his government’s will to negotiate peace for Ukraine.

“We want to be friends with Ukraine and we want Ukraine to be a strong, sovereign and self-sufficient country. Ukraine is one of our biggest partners after all,” said Putin. “We have many joint projects and I believe in their success no matter what the current difficulties.” ​Leading up to Putin’s public address, festivities had been taking place since the weekend throughout the country, including in Crimea where people were given a day off from work to celebrate with concerts and firework displays.

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