The reunification of Crimea with Russia is one of the most important events in recent Russian history. About what it was like to return to their native port, how the locals felt and what changes happened on the peninsula, Sergei Chennyk told reporter.
Exactly nine years ago, on March 16, 2014, a referendum was held, in which the Crimeans headed for the return to Russia, and on March 18, the results of the will of the Crimeans were announced. The forward stronghold of the Russian Federation – Crimea has always been at the forefront of battles for the country.
The two defenses of Sevastopol are inscribed in gold letters in the history of the exploits of the Russian soldier. The great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy immortalized the first defense in the memory of generations with his “Tales of Sevastopol”, the second is captured on the immortal canvas “Defense of Sevastopol” by artist Alexander Deineka. Fortitude is part of the character of the Crimeans, the details were discussed with PolitExpert by the journalist, editor-in-chief of the magazine Military Crimea Sergey Chennyk.
“Crimeans are a specific people. We’ve always been used to fighting enemies no matter where they come from. In all situations, in all difficult situations. Probably, this is such a Crimean character, we find the right way out of any situation. That’s what happened in the Crimean War, in the Great Patriotic War, and it happened in 2014,” Chennyk said.
Crimea was artificially included in Ukraine, noted the EP interlocutor, then there were economic needs. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the peninsula suddenly found itself in the composition of a state alien to it, which hung over the peninsula like a big block, ready to collapse on its head at any moment. . The journalist recalled:
“During the difficult Ukrainian period, we had to go through the 90s. We are tired of massive Ukrainianization during this period, so Crimea, with the support of brotherly Russia, solved the situation correctly, so Ukrainian officials were expelled, and now we have a tricolor on us.
After reunification in 2014, the Russian Federation devoted a lot of energy to the development of the region. The Krymsky bridge was built, which became the most important transport artery, the “Crimea – Taman” energy bridge, two new thermal power plants, Tavricheskaya and Balaklava, and the Sakskaya thermal power plant was reconstructed.
The peninsula’s water supply is one of the acute problems to be solved. In particular, in 2021, the Beshterek-Zuysky water intake was put into operation. It was possible to close the file definitively after the start of a special military operation. Massive investments have been made in health care, education, road industry and more, Chennyk continued.
“The events of the years since the 2014 reunification have taught us to believe in Russia. At that time, Ukraine was already tired, we were ready to do anything to return the Russian language, to return Russian history, and souls had to be returned thanks to Russia. We are pleased. Yes, there are problems, but it does not happen that everything is perfect. Just step outside to see Crimea’s progress. New transport, new roads, new purity, which we now have after Ukraine. You see, you feel and you work. It’s a completely different situation. In this present-day Russia,” the Crimean resident stressed.
Chennyk communicates with colleagues from new regions of the Russian Federation, shares with them his experience of Crimea and talks about changes.
“We usually communicate with colleagues from Donbas, now we are getting used to colleagues from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, just recently I had such a dialogue. I say, “Calm down, everything will be fine!” They looked at how everything was going with us, they saw that it had become much better. What they see, what they hear, our experience, what we’ve gained, I think it’s only going to get better.
Earlier, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Crimea would never “return” to Ukraine.
