The Day of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea: why the celebration of this date needs to be rethought and what is happening on the peninsula
Kyiv • UNN
The Presidential Mission calls to rethink the celebration of the Day of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on January 20 due to its use in Russian propaganda. Repressions, militarization and persecution of pro-Ukrainian activists continue in the occupied Crimea.
Today, January 20, Ukraine celebrates the Day of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. UNN collected information on how Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars "survive" on the peninsula under Russian occupation, and the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea stated that the celebration of the "Day of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" needs to be rethought.
Given the common economy, territorial proximity, close economic and cultural ties, on January 25, 1954, the Crimean region was transferred from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. An all-Crimean referendum on January 20, 1991, determined the status of Crimea as part of Ukraine, which was enshrined in the Law of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR "On the Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic."
According to Section X of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine. However, contrary to international law, in February 2014, Russia occupied the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The international community has not recognized the occupation of Ukraine's territory and imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation. On December 9, 2021, the UN General Assembly adopted a strengthened resolution against the militarization of Crimea "The problem of the militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine), as well as parts of the Black and Azov Seas", which demonstrates the unchanging position of the international community in support of Ukraine, its readiness to further consolidate support on the way to ensuring the observance of the rights of Ukrainian citizens in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
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The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea emphasizes that the celebration of the "Day of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" on January 20 needs to be rethought and explains why. Key points:
⦁ The roots of the "Day of the ARC" go back to Soviet times, when a referendum on the restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was held on January 20, 1991. This referendum was initiated by the CPSU Central Committee in Moscow, which wanted to preserve Russian influence in the region and extend the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. And the key is to keep both Ukraine and Crimea under its control.
⦁ This day is used by the Russian occupation administration as part of its propaganda. After the occupation began in December 2014, this date was "approved" by the occupation administration as the "Day of the Republic of Crimea". The occupiers call the 1991 referendum the first stage of the "annexation of Crimea to Russia," linking this event to the illegal "referendum" of 2014.
⦁ It is the occupiers who organize mass celebrations, official events, conferences, and information campaigns on the "Day of the ARC" to promote the idea of "reunification with Russia.
"Instead, on January 20, we should honor the memory of the defenders of Donetsk airport and the heroism of the military, volunteers and medics who selflessly defended the airport from the Russian occupiers," the Presidential Administration said.
Crimea under occupation
For more than 10 years, Crimea has been occupied by Russia and suffers from the Kremlin's crimes. However, as the Presidential Mission emphasizes, the citizens of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied Crimea do not stop resisting the Russian invaders, steadily showing unbending spirit and confidence in the future de-occupation of the peninsula. The occupation administration systematically persecutes Crimean residents for supporting Ukraine, expressing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identity, and for any criticism of the Russian occupation and military aggression. Back in 2022, Russia amended its criminal and administrative legislation to introduce penalties for the so-called "discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation." This became an additional tool to suppress activists, journalists and ordinary citizens.
As of January 13, the Russian occupation administration illegally detained 218 people, including 132 members of the Crimean Tatar people, on charges of trumped-up crimes such as terrorism, extremism and treason. This is all part of Russia's broader repressive campaign against Crimean Tatars and all those who oppose the occupation and seek to preserve their cultural and national identity
The growing resistance to the occupation in Crimea is also evidenced by the increasing number of illegal administrative proceedings in the occupation "courts" under the article on the so-called "discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation". As of January 9, 2025, 1139 cases of materials drawn up under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation were recorded in the so-called "courts" in the temporarily occupied Crimea and other competent authorities. In 1022 of these cases, a decision was made to impose an administrative penalty in the form of a fine or to join the case to another case under another article and make a cumulative decision. In 20 cases, the materials are still being considered.
In terms of gender, 466 (46%) of the decisions were issued against women and 555 (54%) against men. In total, the total amount of fines imposed is already at least 33 million Russian rubles.
Militarization of Crimea
Russia has turned Crimea into a military base. Eskender Bariev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Head of the Department of External Relations and Human Rights of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, stated that Russians continue to use the occupied Crimean peninsula for training their military. In 2024, 124 exercises of the occupiers took place.
The ATESH guerrilla movement reported that the occupiers began to further strengthen air defense in the occupied Crimea. Also, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russian authorities have been using recreation centers in the occupied Crimea for rehabilitation and treatment of the Russian military. The report on the results of the activities of the Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for 2022-2024 states that since the beginning of the occupation of half the island, about 50 thousand Crimean residents have been mobilized into the Russian army.
Another painful topic is the militarization of Ukrainian children in Crimea. the Russian Federation continues to try to involve more and more Ukrainian children in its military training system.
In October 2024, Krym.Realii reported that about 45,000 children in Crimea are members of the Unarmy and other organizations associated with Russian patriotic education. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine does not recognize any occupied territory as Russian, including those seized since 2014, and is not ready to give up Crimea in a peace agreement. He emphasized that Crimea could be returned diplomaticallywithout significant human losses.
