Information on the situation in the Republic of Crimea (the Russian Federation) within the scope of UNESCO competence. As of April 8, 2015

The Russian Federation calls attention that the decisions on the Crimea of the 194th and the 195th sessions of the UNESCO Executive Council are legally null and void due to the fact that they exceed the scope of Organization's competence. Article I, para 3 of the Constitution of UNESCO firmly establishes that the Organization is prohibited from intervening in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of States Members. Resolutions on the Crimea adopted at the sessions of the Executive Council contradict not only the Constitution of UNESCO but also the fundamental right of peoples to self‑determination, established in the UN Charter and international covenants on human rights.

"Information on the current events in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" circulated by the Ukrainian delegation distorts the real state of affairs in the peninsula in the spheres of education, security of cultural heritage sites, freedom of expression, rights of national minorities and other areas of competence of UNESCO. In this regard Russia brings to the notice of the Director-General of UNESCO and the States Members of the 196th session of the Executive Council the following information on the real situation in the Republic of Crimea (the Russian Federation) in the above mentioned spheres that was provided by the relevant Russian ministries and agencies.

I.       The Right to Education

The Russian Federation in accordance with Article 28, para 1, of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 3, para (e), of the UNESCO 1960 Convention against Discrimination in Education recognizes the right of any child to education and takes all necessary measures to ensure it.

As it is established by Article 2, para 4, of the Federal Constitutional Law No. 6-FKZ and Article 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea of April 11, 2014, the state languages of the Republic of Crimea are Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar. Besides, Article 1, para 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea guarantees everyone the right to use his or her native language, as well as the right to a free choice of the language of communication, upbringing, education and creative work.

Education in the Republic of Crimea is provided in state languages of the Republic in accordance with the procedure established by Federal Laws No. 273‑FZ of December 29, 2012, "On Education in the Russian Federation" and No. 84-FZ of May 5, 2014, "On the Peculiarities of the Legal Regulation of the Relations in Education in Connection with the Admission of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the Establishment of New Constituent Entities within the Russian Federation – the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol and on the Introduction of Changes to the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”".

Article 36 of the Constitution of Crimea guarantees general access to and free pre-school, secondary and high vocational education in state or municipal educational establishments and at enterprises. Everyone shall have the right to receive on a competitive basis a free higher education in a state or municipal educational establishment and at an enterprise.

Decree No. 651 of December 30, 2014 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea established the State Program for the Development of Education and Sciences in the Republic of Crimea for 2015–2017 according to which comprehensive measures are taken to preserve and develop the network of classes and schools teaching in Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar, covering the issues of material and technical support of such schools.

According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the Republic of Crimea, general educational establishments of the Republic provide education to 184,869 children, including 177,984 children (96,2%) with Russian as the language of learning, 4,895 children (2,7%) with Crimean Tatar as the language of learning and 1,990 children (1,1%) with Ukrainian as the language of learning. There are 15 general educational establishments with Crimean Tatar as the language of learning (in Yevpatoria and Sudak, Bakhchysarai, Belogorsk, Dzhankoy, Kirovski, Krasnogvardeiski Pervomaiski, Simferopolski and Sovetski districts).

Numbers of students taught in the three official languages of the Republic of Crimea as well as students learning these languages as subjects in pre-school and general educational establishments in 2014/2015 and similar numbers in 2013/2014 school years are given below. Comparative analysis of the data clearly demonstrates the absurdity and political bias of accusations against Russian authorities of "flagrant violations of children's right to receive education in their native language".

In the 2014/2015 school year in the Republic of Crimea:

а)      pre-school educational establishments provided education to:

–       63,158 children in Russian (57,508 in 2013/2014);

–       1,740 children in Ukrainian (1,760 in 2013/2014);

–       837 children in Crimean Tatar (830 in 2013/2014)

б)      general educational establishments provided education to:

–       177,984 children in Russian (158,174 in 2013/2014);

–       1,990 children in Ukrainian (12,694 in 2013/2014);

–       4,895 children in Crimean Tatar (5,551 in 2013/2014);

         Apart from that, general educational establishments provide the study            of the following languages:

–       Russian (in organizations and classes with non-Russian as the language of learning) – 6,885 students in the 2014/2015 school year (16,839 in 2013/2014);

–       Ukrainian (in organizations and classes with Russian as the language of learning) – 39,150 students in the 2014/2015 school year (162,764 in 2013/2014);

–       Crimean Tatar (in organizations and classes with Russian as the language of learning) – 13,040 students in the 2014/2015 school year (12,396 in 2013/2014).

Number of teachers in general educational establishments, teaching the following languages:

–       Russian – 1,534 people in the 2014/2015 school year (1,354 in 2013/2014);

–       Ukrainian – 1,573 people in the 2014/2015 school year (1,566 in 2013/2014);

–       Crimean Tatar – 347 people (352 in 2013/2014).

Apart from that, Regulation No.436-р of May 27, 2014, of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea approved the Implementation plan on the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 268 of April 21, 2014, "On Measures to rehabilitate Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Crimean Tatar and German populations and State support for their revival and development". The plan includes modernization and enhancement of material and technical as well as educational and methodological base of the general educational establishments with Armenian, Bulgarian, New Greek, Crimean Tatar and German as the learning languages.

All students of general educational establishments in the Republic of Crimea are provided to the full extent with textbooks envisaged by the educational standards of the Russian Federation. Financial support to acquire textbooks included 899,077.6 thousand rubles allocated from the Federal budget of the Russian Federation to the budget of the Republic of Crimea on July 11, 2014.

Educational materials published in Ukraine that are not used in the academic process are kept in the libraries of the educational institutions. The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the Republic of Crimea or the educational administrations have not taken decisions to dispose of educational materials in the Ukrainian language.

In the City of Sevastopol educational materials based on the Ukrainian educational programmes have been collected and systematized and, then, sent to Donetsk and Lugansk to be used in academic process.

Textbooks of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian languages are currently being developed in accordance with the Federal State Education Standards of the Russian Federation. Until the textbooks are finished, these languages are being taught with the help of the textbooks established by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine basing on Ukrainian educational programmes.

Prosecution authorities of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol have not found any violations of the rights of children for education in the official language of the Russian Federation or the official languages of the Republic of Crimea. There have also been no complaints from the citizens concerning violations of the rights of minors.

There have been registered no cases of non-granting of education certificates. All school-leavers and graduates of higher education institutions of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol of the 2013/2014 school years have been given school certificates and diplomas. Ukrainian standards for issuing school certificates have been used as well. In March, 2014, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the Republic of Crimea ordered and paid the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for copies of such certificates, and in June, 2014, they were given to school-leavers upon parents' demand.

In compliance with Article 6, Part 1, of the Federal Law No. 84-FZ, the Russian Federation recognizes education, academic levels and academic qualifications, that had been awarded in Ukraine and prescribed in the education certificates and in academic qualification certificates approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and that belong to the persons who were recognized as citizens of the Russian Federation according to Article 4, Part 1, of the Federal Constitutional Law No. 6-FKZ and the persons who were permanently residing in the Crimea and Sevastopol on the day of their admission to the Russian Federation.

Pursuant to Article 12 of the Federal Constitutional Law No.6-FKZ of March 21, 2014, the documents that confirm, inter alia, marital status, education, property and other rights, issued by state or other official bodies of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, remain valid without any time limitation or the need of confirmation by the state of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Crimea, or the Federal City of Sevastopol.

On July 16, 2014, 1,089,801.5 thousand rubles were transferred to the accounts of the Republic of Crimea as part of modernization of the regional education system.

Upgrading courses for teachers, managers and other employees in the education sector of the Republic of Crimea were also funded in the amount of 458,254.7 thousand rubles.

There are 14 universities and branches in the Crimea, including the Crimean Industrial Pedagogical University, branches of the Russian Academy of Justice in Moscow, Academy of Law and the Academy of the Russian Interior Ministry. Until 2014, the language of learning was mainly Russian. Exceptions were only certain philological disciplines (Ukrainian language and literature) – teaching was conducted in the Ukrainian language even after the referendum of 2014.

In order to prepare employees for comprehensive socio-economic development of the Crimean Federal District and the Federal City of Sevastopol, the Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, a Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education, was founded in Simferopol by the Russian Federation Government Decree No. 1465‑r of August 4, 2014, as well as the Sevastopol State University, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education, was founded in Sevastopol by the Russian Federation Government Decree No. 1988‑r of October 8, 2014.

II.      Cultural Heritage

According to the government report submitted to the State statistical authorities of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as of January 1, 2014, had 24 museums of which 12 were under the supervision of republican institutions with the remaining 12 under the supervision of municipal institutions. The total number of exhibits and valuables in museum collections is 1,270,847 items.

According to the data from to the State statistical authorities of Russia in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea there were, as of January 1, 2015, 27 museums of which 15 were of republican significance while the remaining 12 are of municipal significance. The total number of exhibits and artifacts in museum collections is 1,291,937.

There are 6 museums in the city of Sevastopol counting 523,925 exhibits.

According to the State Committee for Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Crimea there are 11,000 objects of cultural heritage in the territory of the region. 5,846 of them are monuments of archeology (including primitive sites, Tauri burial grounds and those of the Migration Period, Scythian settlements and mounds, and ancient cities), almost 4,360 are historical monuments (most of them relate to the events of World War II) and there are almost 1,000 architectural monuments and some 230 monuments. There are 2,063 objects of cultural heritage in the city of Sevastopol registered and protected by State.

While under the Ukrainian jurisdiction, the objects of cultural-historical heritage in the territory of Crimea were falling into disrepair due to systematic underfunding. The authorities which maintained and supervised these objects were not taking necessary steps to restore them or to mitigate the destructive effects of natural phenomena. Some objects of cultural heritage were illegally privatized and also partly transferred to the Presidential Affairs Department of Ukraine or to individuals who were closely associated with the Ukrainian senior government officials. Palaces, park complexes and other monuments were maintained only to the extent required for their commercial use.

The cultural-historical monuments in the territory of the Republic of Crimea and in the city of Sevastopol are protected by Russian legislation notably by the Federal Law No. 9-FZ of February 12, 2015, "On basic principles of legal regulation of relations in the field of culture and tourism in connection with the accession of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and establishment of new constituent entities within the Russian Federation – the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal importance Sevastopol". Under this law, the classification of objects of cultural heritage of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as objects of federal significance or objects of local (municipal) significance and their entry in the National Register are to be conducted within a year from the day on which this law enters into force.

The accusations against Russia of pillage of the Crimean cultural valuables are absurd. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General and other competent authorities of the Russian Federation the facts of transportation of museum exhibits or cultural valuables from Crimea to other regions of Russia since March 18, 2014, have not been registered. On the contrary, over the past year the number of museum exhibits and valuables in Crimea has increased by more than 20,000 items.

On September 1, 2014, the federal government funded institution of the Republic of Crimea East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum‑Preserve, successor of the Kerch National Preserve, signed an agreement on cooperation with the federal government cultural institution the State Hermitage Museum. However, no artifacts or cultural items of the Crimean museum have been transferred to the State Hermitage Museum. The agreement on scientific and cultural cooperation – signed by the State Hermitage Museum and the federal government funded cultural institution the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve on July 4, 2014 – does not provide for the transfer of any cultural items either.

In addition, contrary to the widespread claims, no damage has been caused to the Sudak Fortress Monument Site over the past year. No cases of destroyed artifacts or illegal alienation of museum property have been registered. On June 24, 2014, by the regulation of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, the management of the Museum Complex was transferred under the jurisdiction of the federal government institution of the Republic of Crimea the Sudak Fortress Museum Preserve which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Crimea.

The world heritage site the Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora is under the supervision of the Russian Federation and managed by the federal government cultural institution the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve established by the Decree of the Government of Sevastopol No. 569 of December 11, 2014. In January 2015, the Preserve was incorporated in the United Museum of History of Sevastopol, but by the Decree of the Government of Sevastopol No. 142 of March 6, 2015, it was removed from the museum association together with the land allocation system of the Chersonese Chora on the Heraclean Peninsula, as well as the Calamita and Chembalo fortresses – thus regaining its status of a separate legal entity.

On March 18, 2014, the main collection of the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve was supplemented by 731 museum items. Today, the total number of the artifacts reaches 217,310 items.

In August 2014, the President of the Russian Federation instructed the government of the country – together with the presidential administration and executive authorities of Sevastopol – to ensure protection of the world heritage site the Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora" in accordance with the requirements of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and to introduce proposals to add the site to the State Code of Particularly Valuable Objects of Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation.

Currently, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, together with the authorities of the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve, is preparing necessary documentation to complete the process of granting the heritage site the Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora the status of a federal site of interest. Upon gaining the status, Chersonese will enjoy greater protection, which will fully comply with the conservation measures taken in relation to other UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Russian Federation.

For the campaign of accusations against Russia a large-scale fraud in the territory of the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve in the area of the Sandy cape is characteristic. Those who carry out that campaign present as an evidence of predatory policy of Russia a criminal case initiated by the Department of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation for the city of Sevastopol on December 19, 2014, in connection with unlawful occupation of a 1.5-hectar plot of land located there, but they even did not try to check the dates when that unlawful act had been committed.

Meanwhile, the investigators determined that in 2009 the plot had been unlawfully passed to the cottage building cooperative “Zolotoye Runo” in collusion with officials from various administrative bodies of the city of Sevastopol responsible for the cultural heritage protection.

Other cases of unlawful occupation of lands in the conservation zone of the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve were also identified to confirm only that unlawful acts had been committed in Sevastopol when it belonged to Ukraine. Criminal cases were initiated in connection with all those events with a view to returning unlawfully occupied lands to the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve.

Grave violations were identified with respect to archeological excavations carried out in the Crimean Peninsula when it belonged to Ukraine. Unlawful excavations were regularly carried out in the territories of about 25 archeological monuments of Crimea. As a result of actions by unlicensed archeologists, some historic sites of the peninsula were fully demolished, e.g. the Funa settlement in the territory of Big Alushta and the Kitey necropolis in the Leninsky district.

With a view to preserving archeological heritage sites in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, according to the established procedure the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation issues permits (“laissez passer”) to identify and explore archeological heritage sites. 68 such permits were issued in 2014, and 8 – in 2015.

Field surveys are carried out by both archeologists from Crimea and those from other Russian regions who are highly qualified professionals having been engaged in the exploration and popularization of the archeological sites of the peninsula for many years.

As in the previous years, archeological finds are being passed to museums in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

To the contrary, the demands of the Ukrainian side to pass to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kiev exhibits from four Crimean museums which had participated in the exhibition “Crimea. The Golden Island in the Black Sea” organized by the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam lead to the disintegration of museum collections in Crimea.

The Federal Target Program “Culture of Russia (2012 - 2018)” provides for monitoring of the archeological heritage sites in the territory of the Kerch Peninsula. As instructed by the President of the Russian Federation, a plan of actions was developed to preserve such sites in the process of designing, building and reconstructing facilities of transport infrastructure, communications and mass media, energy and water supply.

With a view to preserving the World Heritage Site “Ancient city of Chersones and its Chora”, archeological heritage sites located in the territory of the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve will be subject to monitoring. The Russian side is also ready to receive a mission of the World Heritage Centre and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in Chersones and create all necessary conditions for its work.

 III.           Freedom of Expression

In the Russian Federation, the principle of the freedom of mass communications is enshrined in the Russian Constitution (paragraph 4 of Article 29), Law of the Russian Federation “On mass media” of December 27, 1991 (with amendments and additions) and other information-related legislative acts.

Legal mechanisms existing in Russia govern in a balanced manner both the freedom of mass media, on the one hand, and obligations and responsibilities of media community with respect to the citizens and the state, on the other hand. In particular, the Law “On mass media” contains requirements concerning the registration of actors in the media space, rules of professional and ethic conduct, the limits of state and public control which makes it possible to exercise one of the main democratic principles reading that the implementation of rights and freedoms by one actor of public relations should not inflict harm or damage on the rights and legitimate interests of other actors.

At the same time, the materials distributed by the Ukrainian side present a distorted picture of the real situation in the information domain in the Russian Federation, in particular in Crimea.

When an independent Republic of Crimea was admitted to the Russian Federation, Russian standards of accreditation of local and foreign journalists were introduced there. We see no discrimination of Ukrainian media representatives in contrast to the actions by the Kiev authorities with respect to Russian mass media. In Crimea, Ukrainian journalists are treated as other foreign journalists. The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Crimea has not received any complaints related to exerting pressure on mass media.

In accordance with Article 6 of the Federal Constitutional Law of the Russian Federation of March 21, 2014, No. 6-FKZ “On admitting to the Russian Federation the Republic of Crimea and establishing within the Russian Federation the new constituent entities of the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal importance Sevastopol”, a transitional period has been declared to settle the issues of integration of new constituent entities in the economic, financial, credit and legal systems of the Russian Federation. In this context, the process of re-issuance of licenses for Crimean mass media and their re-registration was launched in May 2014. At the same time, up to April 1, 2015, a simplified procedure of registration was in effect, including financial benefits and established in accordance with Federal Law of December 1, 2014, No. 402 –FZ “On certain aspects of legal regulation of relations in the field of mass media in connection with admitting the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and establishing within the Russian Federation new constituent entities of the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal importance Sevastopol”.

As of April 2, 2015, in the Republic of Crimea and in the city of Sevastopol 232 mass media were registered, including 19 television channels, 42 radio channels, 8 online media, 163 print media and information agencies. Up to April 1, 2015, from among the mass media mentioned above 207 operated with Ukrainian registration and licenses and 25 came to media market for the first time. Since April 1, entitling documents issued by the Ukrainian authorities to Crimean mass media lose their force and the procedure of registration as Russian mass media will continue in the ordinary course.

It should be noted that currently far from every Crimean mass medium took part in the re-registration process. First of all, this is due to the fact that at this stage mass media which had closed for some reason did not take part in that process. In this context, Russian authorities are considering the request of the representatives of Crimean media community to grant the necessary support to mass media in the crisis period.

It is important to stress that Russia does not view the consistent work to counter the distribution of Nazi or neo-Nazi, terrorist or extremist materials as a practice of interfering with media activities in Crimea. The aim of such publications is evident, i.e. to provoke conflicts, undermine the constitutional foundations of the state and its sovereignty. The law prohibits the distribution of such information in Russia. We would like to cite a few examples interpreted by the Ukrainian side as an interference with media activities.

Termination of broadcasting by the LLC “Black Sea TV and Radio Company”. As of March 2015, the LLC “Black Sea TV and Radio Company” was not registered as mass medium with no application for registration having been filed.

The activities of the LLC “Black Sea TV and Radio Company” was terminated by the SimStar Internet provider in view of the fact that broadcasting of the channels with no license for broadcasting in the territory of the Russian Federation is prohibited. That issue falls under the competence of the Ministry of Domestic Policy, Information and Communications of the Republic of Crimea. The movable and immovable property owned by the LLC “Black Sea TV and Radio Company” was seized and put in safe custody based on the decision of the Commercial Court of the Republic of Crimea after the consideration of an application to introduce protective measures as a follow-up to the claim of the Ukrainian legal entity “Radio and TV Broadcasting Centre of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” to recover the debts amounting to more than 3 million roubles and resulting from the violation of contractual obligations to provide services of distribution and broadcasting of television programmes.

Delivery of official warning to the Crimean Tatar Newspaper “Avdet”. Russia consistently respects and supports the activities of ethnic organizations and at the same time stands for strict observance of national legislation by such organizations. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and the “Avdet” newspaper controlled by it which had been repeatedly warned of an inadmissibility of public encouragement of extremist activities refused to work within the legal framework.

On September 17, 2014, in accordance with Articles 13 and 13.1 of the Federal Law of April 3, 1995, No. 40-FZ “On Federal Security Service” and with a view to preventing a crime treated as the promotion of extremists ideas through mass media, Shevkey Kaybullayev, editor-in-chief of the Crimean Tatar Newspaper “Avdet”, was given an official warning of an admissibility of actions creating conditions for committing crimes.

TV Channel “ATR”. The Department of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea initiated a criminal case in accordance with Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“mass disturbances”) in connection with mass disturbances around the building of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on February 26, 2014, during which 2 persons died. On January 26, 2015, the office of the TV company “ATR” was searched in response to the information that video records contained data on events having a substantial significance for investigating the said criminal case, as well as a refusal of the TV company’s managers to provide such records as requested by the investigator.

Operational checks confirmed the information on the availability of records required by the investigators. The video records of mass disturbances which had been found and computer system unit with recording media were seized. The staff members of the TV channel were given an opportunity to copy all the information required to avoid interruptions in broadcasting. The seized system unit was inspected by an investigator within 24 hours.

In October 2014, the TV Channel “ATR” filed a request to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technologies and Mass Media of Russia to issue a license for TV broadcasting in the Russian Federation. The inspection revealed discrepancies in license documents which did not allow issuing a license. On April 1, 2015, the ATR terminated television and radio broadcasting in the Republic of Crimea, since it failed to undergo a procedure of registration as Russian mass medium within a prescribed period.

The ATR has an illustrative background. Along with the Meydan Radio (102.7 FM) and information portal “crimeantatars.org”, the TV channel is part of the LLC “Atlant-SV” media holding owned by one of the leaders and ideologists of the Crimen Tatar community, citizen of Russia Lenur Islyamov.

The TV channel has been broadcasting for Crimea since 2006. In September 2012, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine rejected an application of the LLC “Atlant-SV” to issue a license for broadcasting in the multi-channel TV network MX-5 of Ukraine. In August 2013, the media holding was refused the right to FM broadcasting in Crimea. The fact that the holding had three warnings given by the National Council of Ukraine was cited as an official reason for refusal. Thus, the Ukrainian authorities opposed the expansion of the sphere of influence of that media holding due to its apparently anti-State information policy.

At the present day, the Kiev authorities has given the TV Channel “ATR” a priority right of broadcasting through the Ukrainian cable-based network probably due to the current anti-Russian focus of that TV channel.

With regard to freedom of expression in today’s Crimea, it should be taken into account that the language of the Crimean Tatars was recognized there as a state language for the first time in the modern history.

IV. The Rights of Minorities

The rights and freedoms of person and citizen in the Republic of Crimea are recognized and guaranteed in accordance with the generally recognized principles and norms of international law and in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea.

The Republic of Crimea is home to more than 125 different nationalities, of which 58–60 per cent are Russians, 20–24 per cent – Ukrainians, 10‑12 per cent – Crimean Tatars, as well as Greeks, Armenians, Georgians and other ethnic groups.

Restoration of historical justice and elimination of consequences of unlawful deportation from the territory of Crimea of representatives of some nations during the Soviet period would contribute to resolving international issues in the Crimea. In this regard the President of the Russian Federation adopted a decree on April 21, 2014, No. 268 "On Measures for the Rehabilitation of the Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Crimean Tatar and German Peoples Subjected to Unlawful Deportation and Political Repressions on ethnic and other Grounds".

The Federal Target Program Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol until 2020 adopted by decision No. 790 of the Government of the Russian Federation of 11 August 2014 stipulates the activities, including those aimed at ensuring interethnic unity, harmonizing interethnic relations and providing favorable conditions for the development of Crimean peoples living in the territory of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. This Program earmarks federal funds in the amount of 10,321.74 million rubles for 2015–2020.

In general, the interethnic situation in the Republic is considered to be stable. No acts of intimidation, violence, persecution of ethnic Ukrainian or Crimean Tatar population, representatives of other nationalities, including resulting from the use of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages or national symbols in public places have been registered. Law-enforcement authorities of a Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol have not received any claims concerning any ban on entry or departure of public figures or persons of public professions or about obstacles to staging mass cultural events.

Besides, the interethnic and, as a consequence, the sociopolitical situation is aggravated by the attempts to provoke a conflict between Crimean Tatar and Slavic peoples. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, a non-registered body created by the Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People (National Congress) in 1991, is playing a destructive role in this.

At the same time the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, having a significant number of supporters, does not express the opinion of the whole Crimean Tatar nation. Other organizations and movements with the participation of Crimean Tatars who have other views on the situation have been established in Crimea. Among them are, in particular, non-governmental organizations Milliy Firqa and Qirim Birligi, and the Qirim public movement. Chairman of the movement R.I. Ilyasov is Deputy Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea. Crimean Tatar representatives hold important positions also in all other bodies of the legislative and executive branches of the Republic of Crimea.

Interethnic relations in Crimea go hand in hand with sectarian ones.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea of April 11, 2014, and the Charter of the Federal City of Sevastopol of April 14, 2014, guarantee the nations of the Crimean Federal District the freedom of conscience, the freedom of worship, including the right to practice any religion individually or with others or practice none, freely chose, profess or disseminate religious and other convictions and act according to such.

As of January 1, 2014, 1409 religious organizations were registered in Crimea; however, some 674 communities, mainly Muslim ones, operated without registration. As of March 1, 2015, in Crimea 60 religious organizations, including 9 communities, were re-registered in accordance with the Russian law; others – who have filed documents pursuant to the procedure established by law – are being registered.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is still the largest confession in Crimea (in a canonical unity with the Moscow Patriarchate). It is represented by three dioceses – the diocese of Simferopol and Crimea, the diocese of Dzhankoy, and the diocese of Feodosiya. They consist of 532 religious organizations – the diocese of Simferopol and Crimea incorporates 4 monasteries, 4 brotherhoods, a religious educational establishment, and 323 religious communities; the diocese of Dzhankoy consists of 137 communities; and the diocese of Feodosiya is represented by 2 monasteries and 61 communities.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC of the KP) is represented in Crimea by 44 religious organizations including one Spiritual Board, three missions, one brotherhood and 39 religious communities. The churches and cathedrals continue to receive parishioners. Archbishop Clement, Head of the Crimean Diocese of the UOC of the KP, has residence in Crimea and regularly attends public and religious events.

The Islamic religious organizations are the second largest confession of all existing in Crimea. They are represented by the Spiritual Board of the Muslims of Crimea (SBMC) and Spiritual Centre of the Muslims of Crimea (SCMC).

There are 346 religious organizations, including one Board, 5 religious educational establishments (madrasah) and 340 religious communities within the SBMC. On February 27, 2015, the SBMC underwent the re-registration procedure under the legal name "Centralized Religious Organization "Spiritual Board of the Muslims of the Republic of Crimea and of the city of Sevastopol". Besides, the SBMC resumed its work within the Interreligious Council "World is a Gift of God" under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea. However, the leaders of the SBMC do not intend to join the established Islamic religious centres of the Russian Federation. The proposals of the Council of Muftis of Russia to join this organization addressed to the leaders of the SBMC were also declined.

There are 15 religious organizations, including 1 spiritual centre and 14 religious communities, within the SCMC. Moreover, the charters of 49 independent Islamic communities are registered in the Republic of Crimea. 

There are no cases of enforced closing of churches, cathedrals of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate or of other confessions, or harassment of Orthodox Ukrainians by preventing priests and believers from entering church buildings. No searches of churches, mosques or cathedrals were carried out, nor any pressure was exerted on religious communities. The representatives of the UOC of the KP, the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine (headed by Jacek Pyl), the SBMC (mufti Emirali Ablayev) do not see any threats against themselves or organizations they head.

The inter-confessional situation in the Crimean Federal District of the Russian Federation in general can be characterized as stable and predictable. Believers in that district have all opportunities to realize their right to freedom of religion. The representatives of the clergy and general public support the position of state and law-enforcement bodies to ensure law and order, including in the field of interethnic relations, countering radicalism and extremist manifestations.

At the same time, those who are against the stabilization of the situation on the Crimean Peninsula use any far-fetched pretext to separate peoples living here and foment ethnic and confessional strife. In their activity, they often proceed from an information war and instigation to direct extremist action.

Taking this into account, the law enforcement authorities of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol are thoroughly checking any information on violations of the law and taking adequate measures to prevent illegal activities whoever commits such.

In March 2014, the law enforcement bodies detained a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Nikolai Kvich in the City of Sevastopol. Ten armour vests and symbols of Ukrainian radical nationalist organizations were found in his apartment during the search. As a result of the check, Mr. Kvich was charged with an administrative offence. The law enforcement authorities have received no reports on violent actions against priests of the Parish of the Dormition Church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Sevastopol, there have been no reports either about any destruction of or damage to parish property. However, the fact of the voluntary departure from the territory of the Crimea of up to 10 priests of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who are Euromaidan supporters, was confirmed.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, during the period from March 18, 2014, to March 19, 2015, no statements or reports about crimes of intimidation of Crimean Tatar families or anonymous threats have been registered by the regional offices of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Crimea.

At the same time six reports about unlawful acts against representatives of Crimean Tatars and other persons, including reports about sectarian crimes, have been registered. A criminal investigation of one of the reports in question about the arson by unidentified persons of Chukurcha-Jami mosque in June 2014 was opened. In case of other reports, including about the inflammation of a guest room window of the mosque of the Khadzhibey Muslim community in Solnechnaya Dolina village, regional bodies of internal affairs opened procedural verification, the results of which revealed no grounds for criminal cases.

During the period from January 1, 2015, to March 6, 2015, the local agencies at the district level subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea received 287 statements and reports about missing persons, 189 of which were found within ten days. Among the total number of registered statements of citizens 18 concerned missing Crimean Tatars.

In 2014, search was stopped because 188 missing persons were found; the breakdown by nationality included 163 Russians, 13 Ukrainians, 9 Crimean Tatars, and 3 persons of other nationalities.

The law enforcement agencies have not received any reports from the representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People nor from other public organizations, religious confessions, political parties about abductions of their activists, or any other illegal acts regarding any organization or its members. There are still attempts to give some interethnic character to the events that do not in fact have such character. This refers, inter alia, to the detention of A. Chiygoz, one of the leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People.

A. Chiygoz, citizen of Ukraine, vice chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, was arrested on January 29, 2015, due to the fact that the investigation received proof of his leading role in the mass disturbances on February 26, 2014, near the building of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in the course of which two people died. The same day he was accused of committing a crime established by Article 212, para. 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Kiev district court of Simferopol imposed on him pre-trial detention.

A. Chiygoz is well known in Crimea for his regular extremist escapades, in particular the attempt to occupy the Svyato-Uspensky Monastery in the Bakhchisaray region in the 1990s, seizure of Bakhchisaray regional registry office, city council and regional administration, his active armed participation in bloody mass disturbances in the area of the old Azizler Muslim cemetery in the summer of 2006, aggressive actions against the decision of Ukrainian authorities to demolish illegal buildings in the territory of the Crimean State Natural Reserve on the Ai Petri plateau.

Cases on the adoption of children in the Crimea, as well as in the whole of the Russian Federation, are reviewed by the court on the basis of the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation with the mandatory participation of the adoptive parents, guardianship and trusteeship body and the Prosecutor. In the period from March 2014 to March 2015 39 orphans and children left without parental care, who have the citizenship of the Russian Federation, have been adopted in the Republic of Crimea and in the city of Sevastopol. 25 of them – in the territory of the Republic of Crimea, 14 – in Sevastopol. All children were adopted by the citizens of the Russian Federation in compliance with the norms. There are no cases of adoption of minor Ukrainian citizens.  

No complaints from citizens regarding the violation of the right of children for adoption were reserved by the Prosecution Offices of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, and no violations have been registered.

There were no violations in the actions of the Ministry of Land and Property Relations of the Republic of Crimea, which acting in accordance with the Decision of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea No. 2059-6/14 of April 18, 2014, and the Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea No. 312 of September 2, 2014, prepared and sent to the Crimean Eparchy Administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate an additional lease agreement to the Equiapostolic St. Vladimir and St. Olga Cathedral which provides for a new monthly payment of 90,906.62 rubles. Taking into account that the lessee is a religious organization, a corresponding reduction rate was applied when assessing the actual value of the lease.