Russian President Vladimir Putin officially completed his controversial annexation of Crimea on Friday, so he dispatched officials to the peninsula to welcome their new neighbors. In the words of a Russian news agency, "festive fireworks" were set off in the cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol, plus a large party in Moscow.
Putin hailed the taking of Crimea as a "remarkable event" while signing a treaty that made everything official. Footage of the celebrations in Crimea were uploaded to YouTube. It remains unclear if hor d'oeuvres were served. --Jordan Valinsky
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rainSpeed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminderSpeed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 yearsSpeed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market gunsSpeed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraudSpeed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking caseSpeed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black menSpeed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughterspeed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
