Summary of Findings
@yurrtz.bsky.social published a post on BlueSky, stating "The annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014 is seen by most Crimean Russians as a liberation." This post is part of a longer threat in which the original poster appears to argue with other BlueSky users over the opinions of Crimeans on the 2014 annexation. "Yurrtz" claims that the majority of Crimea's population are ethnically Russian, and that the majority of Crimeans wanted to secede from Ukraine "during the Soviet Union." This claim is misleading, as it makes broad overgeneralizations about a large group of people. Research suggests that the opinions of Crimeans regarding the 2014 annexation were far more complex, and many Crimeans did not desire Russian citizenship. Although polling and research on public opinion is fallible, there is no concrete research supporting Yurrtz's claim that Crimeans viewed the 2014 annexation to Russia as a "liberation."
Sources and Evidence
https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/society/were-crimeans-really-pro-russian-before-annexation
Dr. Ellie Knott's research is presented in this article published by the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Knott's research and previous book publications display a complicated relationship between Russia and Crimea, and Knott states that "Russia held a referendum seemingly to demonstrate support for annexation. But referenda do not tell us about how citizens feel or identify, especially when held during an armed occupation by Russian soldiers." Further, Knott's research shows that only a minority of Crimeans wanted Russian citizenship prior to the 2014 annexation, and that most "viewed Russian citizenship as inaccessible, undesirable, illegitimate, and illegal."
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/daily-videos/2014/03/crimeans-vote-to-join-russia
This 2014 PBS article reports that "Crimeans have overwhelmingly voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia." The article also notes that the vote came two weeks after the occupation of Crimea by Russian troops. This PBS article partially supports Yurrtz's claim that Crimeans supported the annexation, stating that "many Crimeans see alignment with Russia as practical rather than ideological." Even still, Yurrtz's claim about "liberation" is highly exaggerated compared to PBS's reporting.
https://www.iri.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/iri.org/2013%20October%207%20Survey%20of%20Crimean%20Public%20Opinion,%20May%2016-30,%202013.pdf
A Gallup Poll published in 2013, "Public Opinion Survey Residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" shows only 23% of Crimean respondents stating that "Crimea should be separated and given to Russia"; 53% responded that that status of Crimea should remain "[autonomous] in Ukraine." This poll was supported by USAID and the International Republican institute, both of which are self-declared pro-democracy institutions and may have anti-Russian biases.
https://www.usagm.gov/wp-content/media/2014/06/Ukraine-slide-deck.pdf
Notably, a Gallup poll published in 2014 (post-annexation) showed 73.9% of Crimeans agreeing with the statement that "becoming part of Russia will make life better for me and my family." This data partially supports Yurrtz's claim about broad support for annexation, but within the context of broader polls it seems to only reinforce the idea that Crimean public opinion is far more complicated than how Yurrtz represents it.
