Crimean Newspaper Says 70 of 100 Members of Crimean Parliament Have Pledged Loyalty to Russia

BALTIMORE, Maryland March 11, 2014 - A Crimean newspaper that is published in Russian and apparently controlled by Moscow reports on its front page today that 70 of 100 members of the Crimean Parliament have signed documents indicating loyalty to the Russian Federation. The newspaper, "Pravda Crimea," has a name reminiscient of the Communist Party's Moscow newspaper, which called itself, simply, Pravda. It said that a new organization, called "The Supreme Council of Crimea," was soliciting members of the Crimean Parliament to join. The paper characterized the organization as "a new inter-factional parliamentary group for the new Russian Crimea." The article was the paper's lead story today and was accompanied by a full-color photograph of the Crimean Parliament's building.

The new organization is also described as being "sectarian." It was formed, according to the newspaper, to "support the actions of the Supreme Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov and chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Sergey Aksenov, [and is] aimed at stabilizing the situation on the peninsula and [working for] the reunification of the Crimea with Russia and the Rights of the Russian Federation."

The article went on to tell readers where members of the Crimean Parliament could obtain membership forms, and it boasted that 70 or the 100 members have already signed membership applications. The Crimean Parliament has already voted to cecede from Ukraine and join and become part of the Russian Federation. A referendum on the issue is scheduled for this weekend, eliciting widespread criticism from the new Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western Nations throughout the world. The Russian Army and Navy have invaded Crimea and have tens of thousands of soldiers, replete with tanks and other heavy armor, on the ancient peninsula into the Black Sea. Long before the current invasion, triggered, allegedly, by the Ukrainian Government's ouster of its Russian-leaning president in favor of a new Government that is staunchly pro-Western in its leanings.