On March 27, 1994, a referendum was held in the Republic of Crimea , formally called a poll [1] , simultaneously with elections to the regional and Ukrainian parliaments. 3 questions were put to the vote:
- On expanding the powers of local authorities,
- Should permanent residents of Crimea have dual citizenship (Russia and Ukraine),
- Should the decrees of the President of Crimea have the status of laws.
| A survey of citizens of the Republic of Crimea (1994) |
|---|
To all 3 questions, the majority of voters gave a positive answer. 1.3 million people took part in the referendum [2] . The turnout was about 60% [3] .
Content
Previous Events
On May 5, 1992, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted an act of state independence, which was supposed to be submitted to a referendum scheduled for August 1992. However, on May 13, 1992, the Ukrainian parliament declared this act unconstitutional and set a deadline until May 20, 1992 for its repeal. Then the Supreme Council of Crimea canceled the declaration of independence, but did not cancel the referendum, but postponed it to a later date [2] .
The idea of holding a referendum was again voiced in January 1994 before the election of February 4, 1994, Yuri Meshkov, President of the Republic of Crimea . Although the CEC of Ukraine and President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk called the referendum illegal, it still took place [2] .
On March 10, 1994, the President of the Republic of Crimea, Yuri Meshkov, issued a Decree “On a survey of citizens of the Republic of Crimea on March 27, 1994” [4] .
Oleg Arshavirovich Gabrielyan described the period of confrontation between the Crimean authorities and the central government of Ukraine, during which a referendum took place, as a period of legal instability, accompanied by the penetration of crime into power and the loss of property by local authorities [5] .
Voting result
More autonomy
| Are you for restoring the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea of May 6, 1992, which determined the relationship between the Republic of Crimea and Ukraine on the basis of the Treaty and Agreement? [6] |
| Possible answer | % [2] |
|---|---|
| Behind | 77.9 |
| Vs | 22.1 |
| Invalid and damaged forms | - |
| Total | 100 |
Dual Citizenship
| Are you for the proclamation of the right of citizens of the Republic of Crimea to dual citizenship? [6] |
| Possible answer | % [2] |
|---|---|
| Behind | 82.8 |
| Vs | 17,2 |
| Invalid and damaged forms | - |
| Total | 100 |
Status of Decrees of the President of the Republic of Crimea
| Are you for providing the decrees of the President of the Republic of Crimea on issues not temporarily regulated by the legislation of the Republic of Crimea with the force of laws? [6] |
| Possible answer | % [2] |
|---|---|
| Behind | 77.9 |
| Vs | 22.1 |
| Invalid and damaged forms | - |
| Total | 100 |
Consequences
Although the majority of the Crimean population voted in favor of these changes, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on March 17, 1995 abolished the Crimean Constitution and the post of President of Crimea, in spite of the democratic expression of will [8] , by the law “On the abolition of the Constitution and some laws of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” [7 ] . Crimea received a new constitution in 1998 , which limited the autonomy of the Republic of Crimea. Crimean officials subsequently sought to restore authority [9] [10] .
During the 1990s, many previously deported Crimean Tatars and their descendants returned to Crimea [11] . However, the Crimean Tatars also protested against the new constitution of 1998, noting that the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea should contain guarantees for the political representation of Crimean Tatars in the Crimean parliament and in local governments, guarantees for the equal rights of the Crimean Tatar language with Ukrainian and Russian languages, and also guarantees the real participation of Crimean Tatars in the economic and cultural life of Crimea. Crimean Tatars protested against the new Constitution, emphasizing that the interests of more than 260,000 Crimean Tatars were not taken into account [12] .
See also
- The referendum in Donetsk and Lugansk regions of 1994
Notes
- ↑ On conducting a survey of citizens of the Republic of Crimea on March 27, 1994 . Date of treatment July 13, 2015. Archived July 13, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chronology for Crimean Tatars in Ukraine . Minorities at Risk (MAR) (07/16/2010). Archived March 1, 2014.
- ↑ Sergey Babkin. The Electoral History of Crimea // Newspaper "Kommersant". - 2014-03-17. - No. 43 . - S. 2 .
- ↑ Decree No. 05/94 of 03/10/1994, On carrying out the nutrition of the population of the Republic of Crimea, 27 birch forests of 1994 . search.ligazakon.ua. Date of appeal October 21, 2016.
- ↑ Gabrielyan, 2000 , p. 18.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Mark Clarence Walker. The Strategic Use of Referendums: Power, Legitimacy, and Democracy. - New York : Palgrave Macmillan , 2003 .-- P. 108. - 156 p. - ISBN 9781403973771 .
- ↑ About the reduction of the Constitution and the laws of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea | Part 17.03.1995 No. 92/95-BP . zakon2.rada.gov.ua. Date of treatment October 24, 2016. (Ukrainian)
- ↑ Ukraine Moves To Oust Leader Of Separatists , The New York Times (March 19, 1995). Date of appeal October 21, 2016.
- ↑ Crimean autonomy: A viable alternative to war? . Washington Post. Date of appeal October 21, 2016.
- ↑ Crimea wants to equate its Constitution with Ukraine s Basic Law - 07/18/2012 17:28 - Ukrinform News . Date of appeal October 21, 2016.
- ↑ Linda Kinstler. The Crimean Tatars: A Primer . New Republic (March 2, 2014). Date of appeal October 21, 2016.
- ↑ Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian state: the challenge of politics, the use of law, and the meaning of rhetoric . www.iccrimea.org. Date of appeal October 21, 2016.
Literature
- Political processes in the Crimea. The last decade of the XX century. Gabrielyan Oleg Arshavirovich . - Simferopol: Tavria, 2000. - S. 160. - 300 copies. - ISBN 966-572-028-7 . Archived March 4, 2016 on Wayback Machine