SIMFEROPOL, Crimea -- Horror and elation that followed the March 16 referendum in Crimea have begun to subside, with many of the Crimean peninsula’s two million residents now pondering what it means to leave Ukraine and join Russia.
The next formality is March 30, when the Republic of Crimea will officially drop “autonomous” from its name, move two hours ahead of Ukraine to Moscow time and begin using the Russian ruble alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia as the national currency.
People expect to be able to get Russian passports on April 1.
All business and property will have to be re-registered under Russian law.
The education system will be brought in line with the Russian Federation.
Industry and tourist complexes will be nationalized, according to the Crimean government.
Crimean parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantinov said on March 17 that the authorities try to make the transition “as comfortable as possible for all residents of Crimea.”
But details are scant.
“There’s no normal information at all,” said Viktoria Belinskaya, an accountant in Simferopol. “It’s really hard for me as an accountant to switch to a different system. I read that… we’ll still be using the Ukrainian payment system until the end of March, but no one knows what’s going to happen after that.”
Business and property
Crimean business owners must decide whether to follow Russian or Ukrainian law, according to Vladyslav Kysil, a partner at KDP Consulting in Kyiv. Kysil suggests his clients register their titles with both the Ukrainian and the Russian governments.
Viktoria Belinskaya works for a private company registered in Crimea, but its head office is registered in Dnipropetrovsk.
Oksana Kobzar, a partner at FELIX Law Firm, said Crimean companies will find it impossible to make transactions across the border, as Ukrainian banks will lose their right to work in Crimea and Russian banks cannot serve clients who don’t have legal confirmation that they are residents of the Russian Federation.
Property will also have to be re-registered under Russian law.
“We’ll need new documents for everything – house, car, allotment,” said Belinskaya. “It’s going to cost so much – not just in financial terms, although I’m sure it’ll cost us financially too.”
Citizenship
The Russian government has announced that all Crimean residents will receive Russian citizenship unless they formally renounce it.
Kysil from KDP Consulting said he expects the Russian government to put “serious pressure on people to receive Russian passports.” Residents of Crimea will not be able to receive pensions from the Russian government without a Russian passport. Those who do not accept Russian citizenship will be considered foreigners and may be forced to leave.
Many Crimeans already hold Russian passports, particularly in Sevastopol. Many others are pleased at the prospect of becoming Russian citizens. But others fear the consequences.
“Either we’ll be forced to change our passports and take Russian citizenship, or we’ll be left here without rights. What rights will I have if I’m a Ukrainian national but my house is registered and my job is in Russian territory?” asked Eniye Ganiyeva, a teacher.
Money
The Ukrainian hryvnia will stay in use in Crimea with the Russian ruble until 2016. According to Kobzar from FELIX Law Firm, Ukrainian companies will not be able to purchase rubles to transfer to Crimea, since Ukraine has not recognized Crimea’s annexation by Russia. Ukrainian legislation only permits operations in hryvnia.
After a referendum campaign that compared Russian and Ukrainian prices and benefits, Crimeans are eagerly expecting higher salaries and pensions. On March 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered that pensions in Crimea be increased to the average Russian level as “quickly as possible.” The average pension in Russia is over 10,000 rubles per month (about $275), while the average pension in Crimea is 5,570 rubles (about $150) and 6,200 rubles (about $170) in Sevastopol.
However, authorities in Kyiv have said that since accounts are blocked, for the moment pensions cannot be transferred. Irina Tikhonova, a pensioner from Sevastopol, said she was unable to get her pension from Privat Bank, which suspended operations in Crimea on March 18.
Teachers on the payroll of the Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University Simferopol have been unable to access their salaries, paid via Privat Bank, for almost a week. Meanwhile, university staff members paid from the Ukrainian state budget have not received their latest salaries.
Education
Salaries are not the only uncertainty. Lekiye Mamutova, dean of the Turkish and Crimean Tatar language faculty at the Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University, said she had been informed by the university administration that this year’s graduating students will receive Russian diplomas.
“There are no official documents about it yet,” she said. “Today we’re still teaching according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, we’re accredited to teach that program.”
Natalia Goncharova, the Crimean minister of education, has said that transfer to a Russian system of education will take three years for schools and five years for universities.
Kyiv Post staff writer Lily Hyde can be reached at [email protected]. Kyiv Post staff writers Oksana Grytsenko and Isaac Webb contributed to this story.
Editor’s Note: This article has been produced with support from the project www.mymedia.org.ua, financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and implemented by a joint venture between NIRAS and BBC Media Action.The content in this article may not necessarily reflect the views of the Danish government, NIRAS and BBC Action Media.
