MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – The parliament of Crimea, which reunified with Russia last month, approved the adoption of a new constitution for the Russian republic on Friday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
The text of the constitution was overwhelmingly supported by deputies, with 88 out of 100 lawmakers voting in favor of its adoption.
The Ukrainian economy has been hard hit by the ongoing political crisis following the unconstitutional seizure of power in February by the country's new leadership, which includes a number of far-right ultranationalists in key positions.
Crimea declared independence from Ukraine last month and signed a treaty to rejoin Russia. The reunification treaty was ratified by the Russian president and parliament the same week.
Crimea, a predominantly ethnic Russian region, moved for independence from Ukraine after having refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government that came to power following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February and then introduced measures aimed against Russian-speakers in the country.
Moscow has described the uprising in Kiev as an illegitimate fascist coup.
