politics
March 17, 2026
FACTBOX: History of Crimea’s reunification with Russia
A treaty on Crimea’s and Sevastopol’s accession to Russia was signed on March 18, 2014
TL;DR
- Crimea first became part of the Russian state in 989 AD and was later incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1783.
- The region was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 and became part of independent Ukraine after the USSR's dissolution in 1991.
- Following a political crisis in Ukraine in 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea, with a majority voting for reunification with Russia.
- A treaty on Crimea's and Sevastopol's accession to Russia was signed on March 18, 2014, though unrecognized by Ukraine, the US, and the EU.
- The historical narrative includes significant demographic shifts, such as the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 and the adoption of three official languages in Crimea's constitution in 2014.
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