Crimea was Russian territory until Khrushchev gave it to Ukraine in what was essentially a symbolic gesture. Yeltsin was too drunk to bother asking for it back.
Crimea voted to become a part of Russia after Russian troops invaded the Ukraine and proscribed the vote for them.
LOL! You haven't spent too much time in Crimea or eastern Ukraine, have you? Have no delusions, these people would've voted the exact same way without the presence of Russian troops. They have no desire whatsoever to be any part of Kiev's unelected, bankrupt, facist junta.
The fact is, the Crimea was officially made a part of the Ukraine back then, and recognized by all parties as such. And not just then.
When the USSR dissolved, there was not concerted effort or outcry to make Crimea a part of Russia again. Then later, when Russia signed the agreement with the US, the UK, and the Ukraine, when the Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons on its soil, all of those nations, including Russia, garaunteed the Ukraine’s borders as they existed at the time...which of course included the Crimea. At theat time they all singed an agreement promising in fact to defend those borders if violated.
Russia has now violated that agreement but not defending them...but by violating them. The US and the UK have also violated that agreement by not defending them.
THose are the facts., and the fact is, the people in the Crimea made their vote to join Russian when Russian troops were on the ground there, having violated the Ukraine’s borders. That is also a fact. That can never be considered legal or appropriate.
The fact also remains that that vote was not taken in accordance with the Ukranian constitution, so it would be illegal in any case.
Now, from a Real Politik standpoint, it is clear that the Crimea was going to be heavily infleunced at the very least by Russia. The Naval facilities in Sevastapol are strategic to Russia and they were gonig to move to secure them. The west and Ukraine were in no position to stop Pitoin or his force. That was also a fact, and Putin knew it, so he acted, against international law and his own treaty with the Ukraine to do what he did.
Plain and simple.
And now, the real, pragmatic conditions are that the Crimea will not be going back to Ukraine or the west at any time in the forseeable future.
That’s reality...but do not dilude yourself or anyone else in to trying to make believe it was legal, or that it was Putin just being a nice guy to Crimea. I was not legal, and it was a blatant move by Russia to exert its power because it felt it was in its best interests alone to do so, and there would very likely be very little if any penalty for doing it.
That’s what happened...and it may happen with another one or two of the Ukraine’s southeastern provinces for exactly the same reasons.
Here is the real recent history of the Russian incursion and annexation of Crimea.
From Heritage foundation... http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3150796/posts?page=1
“On February 28, Russian troops, aided by pro-Russian local militia, occupied important sites across the Crimean Peninsula under the pretext of “protecting Russian people.” Now Crimea is under Moscow’s de facto control and the Russian parliament has voted to annex the region into the Russian Federation. The failure of the Obama Administration’s Russian “reset,” the unilateral disarming of Europe, and the U.S. reduction of forces and disengagement from Europe have led Russia to calculate that the West will not respond in any significant way. The Administration can demonstrate America’s commitment to its NATO allies and support for the Ukrainian people by bolstering the defenses of NATO countries in the region, lifting restrictions on energy exports to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas, and enacting meaningful sanctions.
After three months of mass street demonstrations, the Ukrainian people succeeded in ousting their corrupt and incompetent president, the Kremlin-backed Viktor Yanukovych. On February 22, the Ukrainian parliament acted in favor of the people it represents by granting amnesty to all political prisoners, bringing back the constitution of 2004 (which reduces the powers of the president), and announcing an early presidential election in May.[1]
This was more than Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to tolerate. On February 28, Russian troops, aided by pro-Russian local militia, violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity by occupying important sites across the Crimean Peninsula under the pretext of “protecting Russian people.” Soon after Russia’s invasion, an illegitimate referendum took place on March 16 to allow the people of Crimea a vote to determine whether they wanted to join the Russian Federation. This illegal referendum was denounced by the countries of the G-7 as well as the member states of NATO and the European Union (EU). Furthermore, it took place without international monitors and under armed occupation.
The outcome of this dubious referendum was obvious from the start. Over 96 percent of voters backed Crimea’s leaving Ukraine and joining Russia. Keeping in mind that this referendum took place under the watchful eye of thousands of Russian troops in Crimea, the outcome was not a surprise to many”