SIMFEROPOL, March 17. /ITAR-TASS/. The words “prosperity in unity” written on the coat of arms of Crimea, which voted for independence from Ukraine in a referendum on March 16, will mean “prosperity in unity with Russia”, Mikhail Malyshev, head of the committee that organized the plebiscite, said on Monday, March 17.

He believes that the words inscribed on the Crimean coat of arms have now acquired a new meaning. “This is the choice the people of Crimea have made, and the words on the Crimean coat of arms — Prosperity in Unity — will now sound as prosperity in unity with Russia,” he said.

At the referendum held on March 16, two questions were asked:

1. Do you support Crimea’s reunification with Russia as its constituent member?

2. Do you support the restoration of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea of 1992 and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?

The ballots in Sevastopol also included a question on its accession to Russia as a city with a special status.

According to the results announced by the Central Electoral Commission, 96.77% of people who came to the polling stations voted for Crimea’s accession to Russia.

In Sevastopol, 95.6% of people who voted in the referendum also supported accession to Russia.