Russian lawmakers have submitted a draft law to the State Duma that would rewrite a chapter of history by reversing a 1954 Soviet decision to transfer Crimea from Russia to Ukraine, on Monday the 11th of March, reports Reuters.
The move appears aimed at creating a legal basis for Russia to claim that Crimea was never actually part of Ukraine.
The draft, submitted by both houses of the Russian parliament, describes the 1954 transfer as arbitrary and illegal because no referendum was held and the Soviet authorities had no right to transfer territory from one constitutional republic to another without consent.
No announcement was made as to when the legislators would review it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the transfer of Crimea in 1954 under then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev as a violation of the law in force at the time.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Crimeans, along with the rest of Ukraine, initially voted for independence, leading to the mutual recognition of borders between Russia and Ukraine.
However, in 2014, Moscow took military control of Crimea and annexed it in a disputed referendum. In 2022, Russia used Crimea as a launching pad for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has frequently attacked Russian targets in Crimea and has vowed to regain all Russian-occupied territory.
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