Crimea. The Way Home

Updated on Dec 28, 2023

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Genre Documentary Directed by Sergey Kraus Original language(s) Russian Director Sergey Kraus Screenplay Olga Dyomina		Created by Andrey Kondrashov Country of origin Russia Initial release 15 March 2015 Number of episodes 1 Program creator Andrey Kondrashov
Starring Andreii Kondrashov Vladimir Putin Sergey Shoygu Sergey Aksyonov Natalia Poklonskaya Dmitrii Tkachiov Andreii Makarenko Awards TEFI Special Prize for Analysis of Modern History Similar Water, President, World Order, Kidnapped, The Way

Crimea. The Way Home (Russian: «Крым. Путь на Родину») is a Russian documentary television film about the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. The film premiered both on Russian channel Rossiya 1 and on YouTube on March 15, 2015. The film features an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosing various aspects of Crimean crisis. Putin, in particular, revealed that he had taken personal charge of Crimean annexation and that in case of "unfavorable scenario on the peninsula" Russia could have placed its nuclear weapons on combat readiness. Before the film's release the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk asked the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice to send the film to the International Criminal Court.

Premise

In an interview for the film Putin accused the United States for being the mastermind of the armed coup, referring to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Putin said he ordered the Defense Ministry to "deploy the special forces of the GRU, together with marine forces and paratroopers". According to Putin, part of the reunion was the deployment of K-300P Bastion-P coastal defense missiles "to demonstrate Russia’s willingness to protect the peninsula from military attack". At the same time, according to Putin, the number of Russian troops in Crimea did not exceed 20,000 permitted under the Kharkiv Pact.

Putin also described how Viktor Yanukovych left Ukraine for Russia following the Ukrainian revolution. Special forces units were deployed on Ukrainian territory to bring Yanukovych safely to the Russian Rostov Oblast.

Production

The film has been produced over the course of eight months in Sevastopol, Simferopol, Kerch, Yalta and other Crimean localities. Aside from Putin's interview, other interviews with participants and witnesses of Crimean crisis were recorded. A total of 398 hours were shot, of which roughly 2.5 hours were chosen for the film.

Reception

According to TNS Gallup Media, on the next day after the premiere the film had a TV rating of 40.6%. In Moscow, the film was watched by over 3 million people. The film was not without its critics in Russia, such as Liya Akhedzhakova and Victor Shenderovich.

The Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs said that Putin's words about the Crimean reunion only confirm what was already known or suspected in the European Union.

Awards and nominations

On 25 July 2015, the film was a nominee in the category "TV Event of the Season" at Russia's 19th annual TEFI awards, and won a special jury prize "For the comprehension of contemporary history". On 25 August 2015, it received the Grand Prix of the 16th International TV & Cinema Forum "Together" in Yalta.