However, following the ousting of the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych during the Revolution of Dignity, Russia invaded Crimea.
Days after the official results showed overwhelming support for the proposal, Russia signed a Treaty of Accession with the self-declared independent Republic of Crimea that annexed Crimea to the Russian Federation as two federal subjects.
It was ratified on 11 April 2014 and, de facto, replaced the previous Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea that was repealed by the Crimean status referendum.
Elections are conducted under a system of mixed-member proportional representation, with 25 single-member constituencies and 50 seats filled through party-list PR.
In Russia, for serious and specific crimes (murder, kidnapping, rape with aggravating circumstances, child trafficking, gangsterism, large-scale bribery, treason, terrorism, public calls for violent change in the constitutional system or for the seizure of power, and select other crimes against the state), the accused have the option of a jury trial consisting of 12 jurors, who must be 25 years old, legally competent, and without a criminal record.
The capital of the Republic of Crimea is the City of Simferopol, located in the interior of the peninsula.