In the referendum of March 16, 2014, over 80% of Crimeans came out to a referendum hastily organized by weary Crimean authorities. More than 95% of the peninsula's residents voted in favor of rejoining Russia, almost exactly 60 years after it was handed to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic by Nikita Khrushchev in 1954.
According to the recent poll released by Sputnik, more than a third of Italians and Germans perceive Crimea as part of Russia; the viewpoint is also held by 26 percent of Britons, 23 percent of Americans and 20 percent of French people.
