The capital and administrative seat of the republic's government is the city of Simferopol, located in the centre of the peninsula.

Following the end of Nazi occupation during World War II, indigenous Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported and the autonomous republic was abolished in 1945, replaced with an oblast-level jurisdiction.

On 17 March 1995, the parliament of Ukraine abolished the Crimean constitution of May 1992, all the laws and decrees contradicting those of Kyiv, and also removed Yuriy Meshkov, the then president of Crimea, along with the office itself.

Following the ratification of the May 1997 Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty, in which Russia recognized Ukraine's borders and sovereignty over Crimea, international tensions slowly eased.

[27] Crimea voted strongly for the pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions in presidential and parliamentary elections,[28] and his ousting on 22 February 2014 during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution was followed by a push by pro-Russian protesters for Crimea to secede from Ukraine and seek assistance from Russia.

[29] On 28 February 2014, Russian forces occupied airports and other strategic locations in Crimea[30] though the Russian foreign ministry stated that "movement of the Black Sea Fleet armored vehicles in Crimea (...) happens in full accordance with basic Russian-Ukrainian agreements on the Black Sea Fleet".

[31] Aksyonov then said that he asserted sole control over Crimea's security forces and appealed to Russia "for assistance in guaranteeing peace and calmness" on the peninsula.

[34][35] Ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych sent a letter to Putin asking him to use military force in Ukraine to restore law and order.

[citation needed] On 1 March, the Russian parliament granted president Vladimir Putin the authority to use such force.

"[39] International monitors arrived in Ukraine to assess the situation but were halted by armed militants at the Crimean border.

[42] The 16 March referendum required voters to choose between "Do you support rejoining Crimea with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation?"

[10] Since then six countries (Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria, Afghanistan, and North Korea) have publicly recognized Russia's annexation of Crimea while others have stated support for the 16 March 2014 Crimean referendum.

[57] An administrative reform, enacted by the Verkhovna Rada on 17 July 2020, envisages redivision of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea into 10 enlarged raions (districts), into which cities (municipalities) of republican significance will be absorbed.