Four blockades of Crimea

Yesterday, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, held a guest session in Yalta, where additional measures on prevention of threats to destabilization of the socio-political situation on Crimean territory were discussed. According to the Security Council, threats to national security are still present in the Crimean Federal District. They are connected with political, propaganda and economic tension created by some countries, as well as with the activities of Kiev and nationalist forces in Ukraine. They also discussed the need to provide inter-ethnic and inter-religious consent, resistance to extremism and xenophobia. It should be noted that the session was held right after the celebration of the second anniversary of Crimea and Russia’s unification.

Summing up the results of these two years in Moscow, a member of the Federation Council from the Republic of Crimea, Sergey Tsekov, stated: “Prior to the referendum, before the reunification of Crimea with Russia, we thought that the transition period will pass much harder for us. But the fact that we actually managed to complete this period by January 1st 2015 was certainly a great achievement. We resolved social issues literally in the first months. We recalculated and increased pensions, we have provided the payment of all social benefits, stable work of the public sector, especially healthcare and education. In a few months we abandoned the hryvna and moved to rubles. Initially we assumed that it would be very hard and difficult. We overcame all of the blockades that happened with us during these two years very successfully.”

Crimea has to overcome four blockades. The first was a water blockade – the North Crimean Canal was blocked. Secondly, there was a transport blockade. Thirdly, there was a food blockade. And the fourth blockade was in the energy sphere.

“Regarding the transport blockade, we are experiencing some difficulties so far, but our airport is reconstructed rapidly, and the number of people arriving in Crimea has increased more than tenfold. We are carrying out construction of the bridge very actively, and I have confidence that in 2018 we will cease to be an island,” Tsekov stated.

As for the food blockade, according to him, Crimea did not feel it: “This was actually a blockade of Ukrainian producers. They grew vegetables, fruits, produced meat, milk, they had a good market in Crimea. They have lost this market, and literally within one week, a total replacement of products from Russia occurred. Russian entrepreneurs have to thank those who actually organized a food blockade of Ukraine, in fact, rather than the blockade of Crimea.”

The energy blockade was more complicated. “Blackouts occurred in some areas, especially in the early days. But generally, what we did with providing electricity in Crimea is a unique thing. Crimea is a completely closed system, and in fact everything was supposed to fall apart there, everything was supposed to stop. But we got a hold of the situation thanks to Russia. Just within a month, a cable across the Kerch Strait was deployed. We are now working very substantively on the launch of the third line of the electricity bridge. For the resort season, we will be supplied 100% with electricity. And two years later, when two thermal power plants operating on gas will be built, we will be provided with electricity in abundance. We will have an additional 600 MW of power, which we will direct at the development of our industry,” Tsekov hopes.

He thinks that this year Crimea will have more tourists than last year. “Crimea has perfect conditions to improve your health. We have a great world-class medical loam, excellent balneological conditions. I believe by at least 15%. We are doing a lot of work on transport logistics. We work with our tourism facilities, recreational facilities, try to convince that it is not necessary to increase prices. We will not only regain the status of all-union health resort, which we had before the destruction of Soviet Union, but also we will reclaim the status of a health resort, or place of recreation and tourism, which will be interesting not only for Russians, but also for the citizens of the entire world community. Crimea is an open air museum which is unexplored, unexcavated, undiscovered.”