OREANDA-NEWS. On March 18, Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, is going to visit Crimea and, in particular, Sevastopol. He will also take part in various celebrations, which will be held on occasion of the 5th anniversary of reunification of Russia and Crimea.

Today, March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting the Crimea and, in particular, Sevastopol, where he will attend festive events dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, the Kremlin press service said.

During the visit of the Russian leader, a number of events are planned. Particularly, Putin is launching two hydroelectric (thermal) power stations, Balaklavskaya and Tavricheskaya, and also the Port substation (Taman, Krasnodar Territory), during a video link-up. The head of state will meet people of Crimea and Sevastopol, visit the memorial complex of 1854-1855, and also the Malakhov Kurgan memorial complex, dedicated to Soviet soldiers who fought during the World War 2, in 1941-1944.

This very day, March 18, Putin is going to meet members of the public in Simferopol on occasion of the anniversary of referendum, which took place in Crimea in 2014.

The head of state will possibly meet the head of the delegation of French politicians Thierry Mariani, who also came to Russia for the anniversary of the so-called Crimean Spring.

The Republic of Crimea and also Sevastopol (a “special status city” on the peninsula, where most of the population consists of ethnic Russians) rejected to recognize the legitimacy of the government that came to power after the riots in February 2014 in Ukraine.

On March 16, 2014 a referendum on the reunification with Russian Federation took place in Crimea. 96.77% of Crimean citizens (95.6% of voters in Sevastopol) chose for the region to leave Ukraine and to become part of Russia. The voter turnout that day has been 83.1%. On March 17, after the results were announced, the Russian president signed a decree, according to which the Republic of Crimea was becoming as a sovereign and independent state. The next day Vladimir Putin, chairmans of the Crimean State Council and Council of Ministers, and also Alexey Chaly (mayor of Sevastopol) signed the Reunification Treaty about adoption of Crimea and formation of new federal subjects within Russia.