What has life been like in Crimea after the refendum?

[strannik01]

The Tut.by News (the news section of Tut.by, a popular Belorussian online portal) recently posted an article looking at what life has been like at the Crimean Peninsula since the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol joined the Russian Federation.



Man holds up Ukrainian and Russian passports (Reuters/Tut.by)
You know the drill by now. The article is too big for me to translate (especially since I got an assignment for my day job in a little under two hours), so here are the highlights.

• Residents are allowed to exchange their Ukrainian passports for Russian passports. The lines have been so long that one of the interviewees joked that you could get married before you reach the end. Some residents hesitate to exchange passports, because Russian citizenship would make them eligible for draft (Ukraine doesn't have a draft). But according to Angela Starovoytova, head of a Ukrainian community organization dedicated to facilitating peace between Ukrainians and Russians, there are practical benefits to getting Russian passports.
  
  At first, I was sure I wouldn't get a Russian passport. But then I cooled down and realized: if I don't get a Russian citizenship, I would need to get a permit to live in my own apartment. Having a residential permit would complicate dealing with any bureaucracy. For example, an employee who gets taxed more for employees with permits would most likely not want to hire me.
  
  Which is why she, personally, isn't sure what to do.
• There is a bit of a confusion over whether permits issued by what is now a foreign country would be recognized. That's a problem for boat owners, lifeguards and other people who need permits as part of their jobs.  And people who get pensions and discounts based on age and/or disability seems to find themselves in a legal limbo - their Ukrainian documents aren't recognized in stores, but neither are Russian documents.
• The question of how the recent events are going to affect summer tourism (which much of the peninsula's economy depends on). Hotel bookings have been down compared to last year, and the Crimean government, which has been optimistically telling people that Russian tourism will help the economy rebound, aren't so confident anymore. And, as Starovoytova notes, Ukrainian tourists who would normally come to Crimea might hesitate to visit a foreign/contested territory
• After the referendum, loads and loads of people lined up to get their money out of banks. And because the banks didn't have nearly as much actual cash as before, a lot of residents found that their credit/debit cards were no longer working.
• Food and prices have increased by roughly 10% and 20%, respectively. Transit prices also jumped by about 20%. What's worse is that supply of food and some other products has decreased. Keep in mind, Crimea's only connection to the mainland was through Ukraine. Now that there's a border, suppliers have to pay bribes to get their cargo through.
• The article also points out something interesting. The salaries in Crimea are now paid in Russian rubles, at the rate of 1 Ukrainian grivna = 3.8 rubles. Meanwhile, the rate at currency exchanges is 1 grivna = 3.1 ruble. This means that for now, at least, Crimeans can take their salaries to currency exchanges and get 0.82 extra grivna for every ruble. That can add up quickly - and so long as Crimean stories continues to accept both grivna and rubles (and son long as currency exchange rate doesn't increase), it's going to keep adding up.
• Travel by rail to Crimea got more complicated. Leaving Crimea by car, on the other hand, got easier, as the long lines formed by police checkpoints have gotten smaller.
• Real estate transactions have essentially been frozen since Ukrainian government bodies that used to be necessary for that sort of thing were shut down, and their Russian equivalents aren't in place yet. Not that it has stopped Russian businessmen who are looking to buy property from coming to Crimea.
• The Polite Armed Men are still around, patrolling the streets. The ones guarding the Crimea/Ukraine border have now been replaced by men in uniforms with "Crimean Border Guard" badges.

Suffice to say, the referendum still causes some tensions. When asked how her relationship with her family changed, Starovoytova offered the following answer:

My dad called me [from St. Petersburg] and congratulated us on finally becoming [a part of] Russia. And my soul hurts, because they took away my homeland. My mom and I talk, but we sometimes get into heated arguments. Mom voted for Crimea to join Russia. She says that they've always looked at Russians with envy because their financial conditions are better and they live in a large, protected country.

Igor Bostan, a 26-year-old resident, on the other hand, offered a perspective that I suspect a pretty good chunk of Crimeans share

There is nothing that our "free Ukraine" gave me other then debt, dental problems and thoughts that they won't let you say or do anything, so long as you don't have money. In Russia, at least, I can get a college education. In Ukraine, even the [cheapest options] cost money! Spiritually, I've come home. After all, I was born in USSR!

----
H/t kafka_chan