MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws on ratifying the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) as well as of the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions to Russia.
Now the country consists of 89 regions. The residents of the new regions are recognized as Russian citizens while the transitional period will last until January 1, 2026. That said, resources for the integration and recovery of Donbass and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions have already been provided for in the Russian budget for the next three years.
Denis Pushilin was appointed as acting head of the DPR, Leonid Pasechnik - as acting head of the LPR, Yevgeny Balitsky became acting governor of the Zaporozhye Region and Vladimir Saldo was designated as acting governor of the Kherson Region.
TASS put together main information on the new regions joining Russia.
The signing of laws
Russia now officially has 89 regions - the president signed the drafts of federal constitutional laws on accession to Russia as well as international treaties sent by the Federation Council.
On Tuesday, at a plenary session, the Federation Council unanimously approved the documents. This happened the day after the parliament’s lower chamber approved the laws introduced by the president to the State Duma on October 2. On Saturday, Russia’s Constitutional Court gave its approval.
On September 30, in the Kremlin, Putin and the heads of the DPR and the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia. Then, the president noted that the residents of these regions made "their unambiguous choice" and became Russian citizens "for good." Russia will do everything to make them feel the support of the entire country, including restoring their territories, while the status of the new regions won’t be discussed in talks with Ukraine.
Referendums in the new regions
Heads of the military-civilian administrations of the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions Yevgeny Balitsky and Vladimir Saldo as well as LPR head Leonid Pasechnik addressed Putin requesting him to consider the issue of the regions and the republic joining Russia as the federation’s entities following the holding of referendums on the matter. DPR head Denis Pushilin did so before the vote.
The referendums on these territories were held from September 23 through 27. In the LPR, 98.42% of participants voted in favor of acceding to Russia, while 99.23% in the DPR, 93.11% in the Zaporozhye Region and 87.05% in the Kherson Region supported this decision. At polls in Russia, 97.93% of the LPR voters, 98.69% of the DPR voters, and 97.81% and 96.75% of voters from the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, respectively, voted in favor of joining Russia.
Integration with Russia
The residents of the new regions automatically become Russian citizens yet they can reject citizenship within a month. In order to obtain a passport, they need to submit an application and be sworn in as a Russian citizen.
The new regions in Russia will retain their status as republics and regions and will keep their old names. According to the documents, their borders will be defined by the borders of territories which "existed on the day of their establishment and accession to Russia." The territory of the DPR and LPR is determined by the 2014 borders enshrined in their constitutions. The Zaporozhye Region joins Russia within its administrative borders while the Kherson Region accedes with two districts of the Nikolayev Region, head of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov explained.
Russian will be the official language of the new regions. The study of Ukrainian will not be banned.
The transitional period will last until January 1, 2026. The residents of the new regions will receive all social and economic guarantees, ranging from pensions to medical aid.
Local authorities
The territorial bodies of federal executive power will be formed before June 1, 2023. During the transitional period, state prosecution bodies will also be created and the operation of Russia’s justice system will be ensured. Within six months, city and municipal districts will be created in the regions and the borders of municipalities will be defined. The armed forces of the new regions will become part of Russia’s Armed Forces.
Until 2023, the Ukrainian hryvnia will be allowed for cash and non-cash payments and from January 1, the currency on the territories of the new subjects will shift to the ruble. The draft of Russia’s 2023-2025 federal budget provides for the funds for the integration, current support and recovery of the new regions’ economies, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov specified. The new regions’ budgets will be approved before December 15, 2022. It will be possible to register rights for real estate using the republics’ and Ukrainian documents until January 1, 2028.
Work of the State Duma in the LPR will be coordinated by legislator Viktor Vodolatsky, in the DPR - by Dmitry Sablin, in the Zaporozhye Region - by Andrey Krasov and in the Kherson Region - by Gleb Khor. The new entities’ senators will be elected in the near future. That said, only one senator from executive power bodies will go to the Federation Council per region. The senators from legislative power bodies will be designated after such bodies are formed, Krasheninnikov specified. Parliamentary elections in these regions will be held in September, 2023.