--- description: Crimea, an internationally recognized Ukrainian territory, was annexed by the Russian Federation a year ago today. title: Crimea Celebrates Its First Anniversary Of Annexation By Russia image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt355d6527abff74a0/6987843355a859cf66a865bb/crimea-annexation-anniversary-8.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Crimea Celebrates Its First Anniversary Of Annexation By Russia by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2015 9:17 PM CUT  Soldiers of the honor guard prepare to march as people celebrate the first anniversary of the signing of the decree on the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation, on March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol, Crimea. Soldiers of the honor guard prepare to march as people celebrate the first anniversary of the signing of the decree on the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation, on March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol, Crimea.Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2015 9:17 PM CUT  Soldiers of the honor guard prepare to march as people celebrate the first anniversary of the signing of the decree on the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation, on March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol, Crimea. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  People celebrate the first anniversary of the annexation, March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  Soldiers march in Sevastopol, March 18, 2015. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  Anniversary celebrations in Sevastopol, March 18, 2015. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  People celebrate the annexation in Sevastopol, March 18, 2015. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  People sing on the first anniversary of the annexation to Russia, March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  People celebrate the first anniversary of the annexation, March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images  A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin signing the decree is shown on the first anniversary of the annexation, March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol. Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3749811/crimea-russia-annexation-anniversary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3749811/crimea-russia-annexation-anniversary/"},"headline":"Crimea Celebrates Its First Anniversary Of Annexation By Russia","datePublished":"2015-03-18T21:17:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:59.675Z","description":"The international community has piled sanctions on Russia in the 12 months since it annexed Crimea — but the people of Sevastopol don't seem to mind as they mark the day","url":"https://time.com/3749811/crimea-russia-annexation-anniversary/","keywords":["russia","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt355d6527abff74a0/6987843355a859cf66a865bb/crimea-annexation-anniversary-8.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt355d6527abff74a0/6987843355a859cf66a865bb/crimea-annexation-anniversary-8.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"First Anniversary Of The Referendum Which Annexed The Crimea To Russia","caption":"Soldiers of the honor guard prepare to march as people celebrate the first anniversary of the signing of the decree on the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation, on March 18, 2014 in Sevastopol, Crimea.","creditText":"Alexander Aksakov—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3749811/crimea-russia-annexation-anniversary/","name":"Crimea Celebrates Its First Anniversary Of Annexation By Russia"}}]}] ```