The politics of

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

today is that of the

Republic of Crimea The Republic of Crimea, translit. ''Respublika Krym'' ; uk, Республіка Крим, translit. ''Respublika Krym'' ; crh, , is an unrecognized federal subject ( republic) of Russia, located in the Crimean Peninsula. Its territory ...

on one hand, and that of the

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the unique title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''). Since 28 April 1994, it ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

on the other, within the context of the largely unrecognised

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv t ...

in March 2014. The ousting of Ukrainian president

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

during the 2013–14 Ukrainian revolution initiated a chain of events that culminated in an illegal referendum in Crimea on whether it should rejoin Russia or become independent (the referendum did not offer an option to maintain Crimea's status quo). Days after the official results showed overwhelming support for the proposal, Russia signed a Treaty of Accession with the self-declared independent

that annexed Crimea to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. While the

both claims and administers the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as two of its federal subjects, Ukraine continues to assert that Crimea is an integral part of its territory.

Institutions

The

Constitution of the Republic of Crimea The Constitution of the Republic of Crimea is the basic law of the Republic of Crimea as a claimed federal subject of Russia formed in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. It was ratified on 11 April 2014. Its p ...

is the basic law of the Republic of Crimea within the Russian Federation. It was ratified on 11 April 2014 and, de facto, replaced the previous

Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea The constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea ( uk, Конституція Автономної Республіки Крим ''Konstytutsiya Avtonomnoyi Respubliky Krym''; russian: Конституция Автономной Респ� ...

that was repealed by the Crimean status referendum. The Russian constitution was updated to list the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as the 84th and 85th Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation.

Parliament of Crimea

The 75-seat

State Council of Crimea The State Council of Crimea (russian: Госуда́рственный Сове́т Респу́блики Крым, uk, Державна Рада Республіки Крим, crh, Къырым Джумхуриетининъ Девлет Ш ...

is the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

of the Republic of Crimea. Elections are conducted under a system of

mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...

, with 25 single-member constituencies and 50 seats filled through party-list PR. At the

2014 Crimean parliamentary election Parliamentary elections took place in the Republic of Crimea on 14 September 2014. These were the first elections since Crimea's annexation into the Russian Federation earlier that year. The outcome was an overwhelming victory for President Vla ...

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

won 70 seats, including all 25 single-member constituencies, with the

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia LDPR — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (russian: ЛДПР — Либерально-демократическая партия России, LDPR — Liberal'no-demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii) is a right-wing populist and ultranationalist ...

winning 5 seats. Before 2014, the 100-seat

of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was called the

Supreme Council of Crimea Verkhovna Rada of Crimea or the Supreme Council of Crimea, officially the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea ( uk, Верховна Рада Автономної Республіки Крим, Verkhovna Rada Avtonomnoï Respubl ...

. This parliament had no right of

legislative initiative The right of (legislative) initiative is the constitutionally defined power to propose a new law (bill) in a legislature. The right of initiative is usually given to both the government (executive) and individual legislators. However, some sys ...

. It was responsible for appointing the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

. Following the decision of the Ukrainian parliament to dissolve the supreme council of Crimea in March 2014, the Supreme Council decided to rename itself as the State Council of Crimea, and to continue as the parliament of Crimea.

Government of Crimea

The

Head of the Republic of Crimea The Head of the Republic of Crimea is the highest official and the head of the executive power of the Republic of Crimea; an internationally disputed federal subject of the Russian Federation located on the Crimean Peninsula. Crimean Head's pol ...

is the highest office holder within the Republic of Crimea. This position replaced the post of

Prime Minister of Crimea The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea is the head of government of the Republic of Crimea (previously the Autonomous Republic of Crimea located in the southern region of Ukraine). Until 2014, the Prime Minister, ...

which is the head of the

according to the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. After Russia's 2014 annexation most Crimean public officials weren't replaced.Dreams in Isolation: Crimea 2 Years After Annexation

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

(18 March 2016)

Judiciary

The

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is independent of the executive and the legislature branches and the responsibility of the national authorities. In Russia, for serious and specific crimes (murder, kidnapping, rape with aggravating circumstances, child trafficking, gangsterism, large-scale bribery, treason, terrorism, public calls for violent change in the constitutional system or for the seizure of power, and select other crimes against the state), the accused have the option of a

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a signific ...

consisting of 12

juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England dur ...

s, who must be 25 years old, legally competent, and without a criminal record. In Ukraine, "jury trials" have 2 judges and 3 jurors, but there is confusion over whether or not these are jurors or

lay judge A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not permane ...

s. Russian juries are similar to

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

juries, and unlike lay judges, in that they sit separately from the judges and decide

questions of fact In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by applying relevant legal principles to interpretation of the law. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by reference ...

alone while the judge determines

questions of law In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by applying relevant legal principles to interpretation of the law. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by referenc ...

. (Russia used jury trials from 1864 to 1917, reintroduced the jury trial in 1993, and extended it to another 69 regions in 2003; Ukraine's first "jury trial" ended in October 2013 in

Sumy Sumy ( uk, Суми ) is a city of regional significance in Ukraine, and the capital of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel River in northeastern Ukraine with a population of according to the 2021 census, making it the 23 ...

Administrative divisions

The Republic of Crimea, just as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, is subdivided into a total of 25 regions: 14

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

s (districts) and 11 city municipalities. Though the City of Sevastopol is located on the Crimean peninsula, it is administratively separately from the Republic of Crimea as a federal city. The capital of the Republic of Crimea is the City of

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

, located in the interior of the peninsula.

Elections and referendums

Under Russian supervision

Russian legislative election, 2016

The most recent election across Crimea was the Russian legislative election on 18 September 2016. Turnout, at 49.1% was slightly ahead of that for Russia as a whole which was only 47.8%.

was the most supported political party in Crimea, achieving 72.8% of the vot

Crimean parliamentary election, 2014

The latest parliamentary elections in Crimea were held in 2014.

Crimean Status Referendum, 2014

The referendum, held in 2014, concerned whether Crimea should declare independence and seek to join Russia.

Under Ukrainian supervision

* 1994 Crimean parliamentary election * 1998 Crimean parliamentary election * 2002 Crimean parliamentary election *

2006 Crimean parliamentary election The 2006 Crimean parliamentary election were held on 26 March 2006. These were the first elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea, which were conducted on the proportional election system. In order to gain representation in the Parliament of the ...

* 2010 Crimean parliamentary election

References

External links

*
Constitution of the Republic of Crimea
* {{Crimea topics Politics of Russia