Crimea:
The Crimean peninsula has been part of Russia since the 18th century and all throughout the first half of the 20th century when it was offered as a gift from Russia to Ukraine by former (Ukrainian-born) leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, and became part of the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. The change in ownership was more symbolic than materialistic due to the fact that Ukraine was a region in the Soviet Union under Russian leadership. Consequently, this figurative transformation did not bring about any meaningful metamorphosis in the daily life of a citizen living in the Crimean peninsula.
With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1990, Crimea remained part of Ukraine, but unlike the rest of the Ukrainian administrative regions, it was able to preserve its special Russian character by becoming the only autonomous Ukrainian republic.
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