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It's official, Crimea is Russian. In the words of Vladimir Putin, "In people's hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an inseparable part of Russia." Indeed Russia said that in Sunday's referendum 97% of its participants, mostly ethnic Russians, insisted that to belong to the Great Russia versus Small Russia (Malorossiya, another name for Ukraine) had been their dream for 60 years since the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, my great-grandfather, transferred the peninsula's jurisdiction to Kiev. Shouldn't she say that Russia said 97% of the referendum's participants, or something to show some skepticism of the vote? Not everyone believes the 97% is a fair representation of the feelings of Crimeans. 
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