SIMFEROPOL, March 16. /TASS/. Crimea on Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the historic referendum that returned the peninsula to Russia.

Marches, a flash mob, a car rally, exhibitions and other events will take place across Crimea, republic’s culture Minister Arina Novoselskaya told Tass. March 18, when the Republic of Crimea and Russia signed a treaty making the peninsula a constituent territory of the Russian Federation, will be celebrated on a wider scale and will be a day off in the republic.

The main events will take place in Simferopol, where at least 1,500 people are expected to march through the streets to celebrate reunification.

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification deals March 18, 2014.