Crimea completes Ukrainian property nationalisation

The Crimean parliament took last decisions on assigning the property of Ukrainian companies located on the peninsula to state ownership, Crimea Head Sergey Aksyonov said on Friday.
"The decisions [on nationalization] are legitimate and justified. And these are the last decisions. The nationalization procedure is over," Aksyonov said.
The Crimean authorities have nationalized about 260 properties on the peninsula since Crimea was reintegrated into Russia in March 2014, Aksyonov said.
The largest properties nationalized by the Crimean authorities on February 27 include the Yalta Film Studios, the assets of the auto transport company Krymavtotrans, all local auto and bus stations, a 46% stake in the electric power operator "East-Crimean Energy Company" and the property of the Ukrainian mobile phone firm Kyivstar.
"We studied all the decisions [on nationalization] and assessed them from the legal viewpoint. They [the decisions] fully comply with the requirements of federal legislation and we found no violations when these decisions we passed," Crimean Prosecutor General Natalia Poklonskaya said, assessing the Crimean authorities’ nationalization process.
Since Crimea’s re-integration into Russia, the Crimean authorities have nationalized the property of Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, including filling stations, health resorts and the assets of PrivatBank owned by him.
The Crimean authorities have also nationalized the Aivazovskoye sanatorium owned by Ukrainian oligarch Sergey Taruta, and also the local strategic companies, such as KrymKhleb bread and bakery producer, the power utility Krymenergo and the telecoms operator Ukrtelekom.
Crimea used to be part of Russia from 1784 until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev handed it over to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in a voluntaristic act. Crimea remained part of independent Ukraine after the USSR collapsed in 1991.
A people’s referendum was held in Crimea on March 16, 2014, in which most people voted for reuniting with Russia. On March 18, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Crimea’s integration into Russia.