Russia celebrates its annexation of Crimea by blowing up tons of fireworks

(Image credit: Screenshot/RTV/ITV)

last updated 8 January 2015

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

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.

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