I am a resident of Sevastopol, Crimea, <Countryname>. AMA!

Hi, Romanian neighbour here.

What do you think are the chances of something like the Russo-Georgian war happening in Crimea ?

Oh, I hope the chances are slim. You see, Crimea isn't a terribly important piece of a territory for both countries involved as they both have their own ports and it's not like we have lots of oil or metals or whatever. Its occupation is more of a political statement than anything else

You live there, but I slightly disagree. Sevastopol is the headquarters of the Black Sea fleet and isn't Russia worried that the new pro-EU Ukrainian government will end the agreements Russia has to use the naval bases in Crimea? I may be totally off base, this is just the way I understand the situation..

That's the way most people understand the situation, and officially it is correct. However legendary Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol consists of like ten-fifteen vessels that look like proper warships and are able to move on their own. Oh, and one submarine. The rest is just motionless, standing in the same wharfs for years. And I really can't see any reasons for why the fleet can't be relocated to Novorossiysk. I mean, it'll cost Russia some money, but it's not that impossible.

Was the election legitimate? When people in the US see results like 90%+ tilted in one direction, I think we tend to think the election was rigged.

It just might be rigged, but the truth is - I wouldn't be surprised if it was legitimate (at least in Sevastopol). It's Russian naval base, everyone here is either a marine, or their relative, or came here from Russia years ago.

Was the vote anonymous / secret?

Yes, it was almost like the regular votes, though it was noticeable that everything - such as equipment and electorate lists - was put together in a hurry

How was the vote taken?

You were given paper sheet with 2 squares, one of which you could fill in to vote

People have said that voting for "status quo" was not an option. How would your vote have been received had you not filled in either square?

It goes straight to the trashcan

so Russian citizens, without Ukrainian citizenship, were allowed to vote?

Well, if you don't have Ukrainian citizenship, you're not a Crimean citizen. And if you're not Crimean, than you can't vote

Could you post another photo of your passport with a note that says "Reddit /u/UKRussia" so that we can be sure it is yours and not just one that you found online?

Fair enough; I've updated my post

Start with the most basic question - with or against the Russian invasion of Crimea?

Against, certainly. It's not like their military have made something terrible in here, it's just unnerving to see all these people with AK's around your city.

That, and the fact that it all resulted in Crimea becoming different country, of course

Do you believe that Crimea should be separate?

I personally had little to no problems with Crimea being a part of Ukraine - so no, I see no benefits in its separation

That was something I wondered. Does it really have any impact on the day to day lives of the people?

Well, if Crimea becomes part of Russia, than impact will be tremendous - we will have different currency, [official] language, law, you name it.

Scotland is currently in the midst of organizing an Independence referendum. The topic is never far away from anyone's lips and it is very emotional.

Is there a lot of debate and passionate conversation on the referendum? Or are people too united on the issue for their to be debate?

Conversation - yep, everytime you talk with people, it will inevitably boil down to this topic

Debate - absolutely not. Everybody I know are pro-Russian, so they support it 100%

Really? So you’re in the minority with your thought process? So does that mean that if Crimea did become part of Russia, there would be no backlash from the people?

May I also ask why your friends favor Russia over the Ukraine?

So does that mean that if Crimea did become part of Russia, there would be no backlash from the people?

Well, in my city Russian takeover is seemed as liberation from oh-so-awful Ukraine.

Tatars, on the other hand... I have literally no idea of how they will react to this. So far they skipped the vote, which doesn't look like something pro-Russian people will do

May I also ask why your friends favor Russia over the Ukraine?

Well, Russian economy is reportedly stronger than Ukrainian one, so there are higher salaries and possibly more jobs? And in a way it's understandable that they don't want to just leave their house/family/connections here and move to Russia for a chance of better life. So for them this situation, right now is like a ripe apple that is about to fall right into your arms.

And what I'm afraid of is that this apple is much heavier than it looks and might just break your arms (no reference intended) while falling. But let's hope that I'm wrong!

Why isn't/wasn't there the same hope with the approach to Europe? It should be clear that the likes of Poland, Romania etc are doing much better since their connection to Europe... And you actually get less corruption so more money for the common people...

Well, Maidan revolt in Kiev started as an attempt to force Ukraine to approach Europe because of the reasons you've mentioned; however people here in Crimea has different mindset

By next week, do you feel like the situation is going to get better or worse?

Depends on what is better and worse in your book.

I think we'll slowly start adopting Russian things such as bank accounts in its national currency, Russian language as official one and so on

were the russian speakers in any danger before the russians came in?

Actually Russia came in pretty quickly, so we had no chances of seeing whether there was a real danger

Are you scared? As iv read you are a student as am I. As in American, if i saw any foreign troops where i lived i would be scared out of my mind. Also has daily life changed at all for you since the invasion? and last one; do you believe the war will start? Thanks man and please be safe over there.

Are you scared?

Right now? No.

For my future? Shitless - it's pretty hard to wrap my head around the consequences of current events

if i saw any foreign troops

Well, Sevastopol IS a military city, with dozens of both Ukrainian and Russian military bases, so this is not an entirely new scenery for me. But the scale of it is obviously much bigger than ever

has daily life changed

Some of my friends are afraid of going out in nighttime... which is kinda understandable. Other than that, and not being able to visit some places as they are guarded by military - no, not really

do you believe the war will start?

Nope, that'd be pretty ill-advised move from the Ukrainian side

Thanks for the warm words!

Hi and thanks for AMA I Am from Poland

How do you feel about international coverage of the situation? As there is two sides to it, would you rather World let it go its course with Russia?

To me it looks like Europe (including us in Poland) and USA are fighting against a current in Crimea. Our Politicians are bent over backwards on Ukraine side to take it to EEU and absolutely against anything Russia does. ( I personally don't). Do you think , from your perspective, World should let Crimea to be closer to Russia?

How do you feel about international coverage of the situation?

It's pretty much like with any other coverage, where everything is blown out of proportions

World should let Crimea to be closer to Russia?

Well, one country, just biting the piece off another country is not really something that should be patronized, is it?

Ukraine was always a buffer zone between Europe and Russia and it's only natural that Europe wants to keep it this way.

Where did you learn your English? What are you studying? How many fingers am I holding up?

Thanks.

Where did you learn your English?

In a school

What are you studying?

Engineering, let's put it this way

How many fingers am I holding up?

Depends whether you had or had not had any accidents involving angle grinder... I'll say 4

"What are you studying? Engineering, let's put it this way"

Clarification for anyone wondering in case OP doesn't come back to this: This almost certainly isn't the guy being evasive. In Ukraine, people often study crazily specific subjects, and a lot of them are not easy to translate.

crazily specific subjects

Haha, spot on! I mean, I am in fact a little evasive too, it's just this extra information will do you less good than me - [possible] harm, so...

Have you or your family given any thought into leaving Crimea?

Leaving as in leaving for good? No, we did not - the whole situation is crazily unstable, it's really not the time for some permanent (or very long-term) decisions

You are at University - are there many engineering jobs in Crimea? Are your prospects of a career better under Russian or Ukrainian leadership?

are there many engineering jobs in Crimea?

Pretty much 0

prospects of a career better under Russian or Ukrainian leadership?

Depends whether I am or I am not staying in the country after I've finished studying. Ukraine [used to] have lots of various exchange programms for its students while Russia has adopted this thing only recently.

But in terms of staying in the country - that's Russia for sure, Ukrainian industry is nowhere close.

Did you vote yesterday about Crimea's separation from Ukraine?

I didn't as I my vote won't change anything. I know it sounds really ignorant, but it's this rare case of when it is true. After all, Russia scored ~90% of votes in my city.

Interesting.

Did you ever suspect Russia would make such a move before it actually happened? If so, what do you think was the point?

You know, I look at people right now and realise that everybody had prayed for this day for come for a long time.

But when I personally heard the rumours of what might happen to Crimea, I just laughed it off. The idea just seemed so ridiculous at the time...

hi, sorry to be late. I'm curious - what is your background? Ukranian, Russian, or Tartar?

Neither - I'm a national minority

I'm finding it difficult to decide who, if anyone, I should believe on this issue.

Russia says Ukraine was taken over in a coup, that the government is full of fascists and that the ethnic Russians are being threatened by those fascists and need protection.

Ukraine says that Russia has invaded and occupied Crimea, that the election was a farce of a sham of a travesty of a fake, that the Russian army is threatening to take eastern Ukraine, and that the whole business of carving chunks out of a country is illegal.

Both sides have overblown rhetoric, in my opinion. But just damping down the emotion doesn't help me figure this out. What is really going on?

Thing is - this Russian occupation, this referendum thingy, the takeover of Crimean 'White House' - this is real for me, it's just outside my window (or at least within 100km).

Ukrainian fascists, on the other hand... I have to rely mostly on the information from the news, which is obviously not a very good source. Whether we were 'saved' from them by Russians, or they never existed in the first place - I guess we'll never know. Though I do have a relative living in a city in southern Ukraine. He said that the atmosphere is a bit tensed but so far nothing terrible have happened there.

Russia has been claiming - may still be claiming - that the masked Russian troops in Crimea are just local defense forces. Are they, or are they Russian Army soldiers?

thingy

Your English is excellent, including idioms like 'thingy'. I'm very impressed.

Well, my city was (and still is) full of Russian military bases, so they might be local, if that's what you mean.

But if by 'local' you meant just ordinary citizens, then no - we already have dozens of self-defence-whatever-they-call-themselves organisations that 'guard' the city from troubles of sorts

Do you personally know any Tatars or do you live near any Tatars? Please discuss.

No, not really. Tatars mainly live in our capital - Simferopol - and in central and northern Crimea. How these events will turn out for them is not something I can speculate on.

The only thing I know is that they boycotted the recent referendum about Crimea separation - almost no one came to vote here.

American here, If (and when) Crimea becomes part of Russia, will you all become Russian citizens? Will it change much besides currency and laws? I'm sure it's a stressful thing, this 'referendum', invasion, takeover, whatever you call it.

We get all sorts of news, but honestly most Americans know not to trust the hype of news stations.

will you all become Russian citizens?

Yep, that's the plan

Will it change much besides currency and laws?

Wait, is this not enough for you?

No, but seriously, there would be shit ton of problems e.g. connected with documents for which we used Ukrainian passports or identification codes. Plus, lots of people such as teachers of Ukrainian language/history or lawyers are likely to face the choice of either becoming unemployed or moving to actual Ukraine

What exactly do you believe in terms of all of this? Will it end with that or do you think something bad is gonna go down? American news says that major western governments are saying the "annexation" or what ever you want to call it isn't valid and is illegal to international law. Personally, I've been keeping up with this because it is very interesting.

American here fyi.

Will it end with that or do you think something bad is gonna go down?

Well, we have to switch to Russian timezone by the end of March which means that I'll have to get up at 5 a.m instead of 7. So this is bad.

Speaking seriously - as of now, Russia stuck its claws pretty deep in Crimea; however if the situation is to change, I don't see it changing to something violent. I just don't think Crimea is worth it

major western governments are saying the "annexation" or what ever you want to call it isn't valid

Well, Russia and Crimea are the only ones that call it legal actually

I've seen the information that literally anybody in Crimea can easy receive a Russian pasport. Is it true?

No, it didn't come to this...yet

To be fair and balanced I'm going to give you a hard time for trying to keep politics out of a situation that is all politics just like I did to that (obviously delusional) Syrian AMA yesterday. You are more educated and not as biased about the situation though. Anyway I hope what ever happens it is a peaceful outcome, especially with the Tatar minority.

trying to keep politics out of a situation

Yeah, well, I don't have thorough understanding of everything that has happened/is happening right now politically that lead to this situation. And when I don't understand things, I prefer just not to talk about them

Are you Russian or Ukrainian?

Neither, I am a national minority here in Crimea

Do people in Crimea want Russia to advance more in Ukraine's East or believe that just annexing Crimea is sufficient enough?

Well that really depends on people you're speaking with. However as of right now the majority is in some sort of euphoria of what have happened to Crimea, so they don't really care about the rest of Ukraine.

Hi, I don't have a question.

I just wanted to thank you for the AMA. I'm from Taiwan, and between us and China we have sort of that Ukraine-Russia relationship. I suspect something like this will probably play out between Taiwan-China in my life time.

Again, thank you for your insights and your thoughts on the matter.

You are welcome and I hope that no one else will have to experience this. It is rather awkward and unstable situation

Hi Thanks for doing this!

I have 3 Questions!

Is there much happening outside your home? (ie: looking out the window)

Do you want to be in Ukraine or in Russia without packing up your things?

Do you think Crimea could become an independent country with respect to Ukraine and Russia?

Is there much happening outside your home? (ie: looking out the window)

There are heaps of trees growing in front of my windows, so I won't even see tanks riding my street.

But there are several street self-defence venues within 2 minute walk from my house, so there's that.

Do you want to be in Ukraine or in Russia without packing up your things?

Can I choose Ukraine without packing my things? Cause I would like that.

If not - well, than Russia

Do you think Crimea could become an independent country with respect to Ukraine and Russia?

No way, we have literally no resources that we can export, in such quantities so as to keep us alive (let alone prosperous)

I had planned a stay in Crimea in a few months. I guess that is off now :(

Yep, and you're not alone. Crimea won't even be visited by Russian tourists this summer, which will hit economy of our resorts really, really hard.

[deleted]

Is it really perceived that the current Ukrainian government is now run by Nazis?

Yes, that's one of the reasons - some people are just choosing lesser of two evils.

And if you are talking about the graph on p.17, than you can also notice that percentage of "Crimean Tatar autonomy.." votes has also increased. It seems likely that researchers just questioned more Tatars in 2013 than they did before.

How are the university dorms? I recently saw pictures in another thread of a dorm in Macedonia. They were in absolutely horrible condition and there's no way in hell that they would considered livable here in the US.

Dorms are livable alright. Nothing too fancy, and bathrooms sometimes are out of order, but you get what you pay for - they are really cheap

How does it feel to be a resident of Russia now?

Well, Putin has announced 'official' status of Crimea just several hours ago, so nothing changed so far..

Do people in Crimea know why it is bad to have a country that is not connected by a land mass?

Do you guys have an electricity plant in Crimea or are you under the risk of losing power?

Do people in Crimea know why it is bad to have a country that is not connected by a land mass?

Sure we knew, it just never came to the situation where we had to actually feel it

Do you guys have an electricity plant in Crimea or are you under the risk of losing power?

I believe we have a few, but mostly we use Ukrainian electricity. How this will work in the future is beyond my understanding.

I think that Russia will pay part of the price (that will now rise dramatically) so we won't have huge electricity bills.

Why is it that people (from Crimea) seem to be attracted more towards Russia, rathan than towards Europe? Is it because of heritage and your history, or because of the crisis? Cause to us, it just seems like Putin is invading countries, neglecting his people for the Olympics, and rewarding those who discriminate and use violence against those who differ from them. Yes, I'm aware that this is just the synopsis of his worst actions.

What I'm really interested in is, what is the appeal/are the advantages of Russia?

Why is it that people (from Crimea) seem to be attracted more towards Russia

Now, the thing about Crimea being pro-Russian is that it's not entirely correct. I believe it's really only my city that takes this position; and you guessed correctly, it's mainly because of heritage - Sevastopol has always had, so to say, 'Russian spirit'. [Adult] people always despised Ukraine as they were forced to work with the documents that were written in Ukrainian, watch TV and movies which were translated to Ukrainian - language they did not understand. And that's just an example from the top of my head.

Other cities include our capital, which is full of non-Russian ethnicities and resorts which located on the west and south coasts. People were heavily investing in the estate in these resorts, and now they are on the verge of losing their investments as it is not clear on what land is their property standing right now. So yeah, pro-Russian? Not so much

what is the appeal/are the advantages of Russia?

Well, Russia has stronger economics. That's pretty much what any Sevastopol citizen will be able to tell you.

And while I understand it, I still don't think it will be worth all the transformations we will have to go through to become part of Russia.

I do not find this to be proof. I know the internet is being filtered now in spots and Russian and Ukrainian authorities both have a lot to gain by swaying public opinion.

How can you really prove you are from where you say you are from and why should I believe you? How do I avoid being part of the propaganda machine your country/area has turned into?

Well, it's the internet - you take it or leave it.

Besides, if I was payed by either side, I could at least be able to show you the paycheck I got. But since I'm not, what kind of proof do you expect me to provide? Not having a paycheck?

Are you gay?

I am most definitely not

Ок маня, давай чекнем хто ты по масти, чухан обосранский, туз иль казачёк засланный.

Мне нужно подробное разъяснение каждому вашему "термину" прежде чем я себя смогу к кому-нибудь причислить

чот твой ответ не похож, что ты понимаешь русский, казачёк засланный. =\

don't trust him, till he answer in good Russian or ukranian -_-. His answer looked like non-native.

чухан обосранский, туз иль казачёк засланный

Ахаха, вы это называете "русским"?