OREANDA-NEWS. On Tuesday, Crimea's State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek said that Crimea was surrendered in 1954 under Khrushchev, and not in 2014, when historical justice was restored.

This was a kind of response to Vladymir Zelenskiy, who earlier on Tuesday in his message to the Verkhovna Rada said that those responsible for the surrender of Crimea "without a fight" in 2014 should take responsibility for it. The Ukrainian President noted that this is not about revenge, but about justice.

Ruslan Balbek noted, as for the so-called surrender of Crimea, this is also a lie and falsehood: the residents of Crimea themselves wanted to become the part of Russia, and the Ukrainian military did not dare to shoot at civilians, because they understood the consequences for themselves. Crimea was treacherously given to Ukraine under Khrushchev in 1954, and in 2014, in his opinion, justice triumphed.

The historical fact is that the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR was carried out on the basis of the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 19, 1954, approved by the USSR law of April 26 of the same year. The need to transfer the Crimean region to the Ukrainian SSR in the corresponding decree was explained by “the common economy, territorial proximity and close economic and cultural ties between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR.”