The Russian government's claims that the March 16 referendum in Crimea resulted in a 96.7% vote in favor of annexation were always extremely dubious. But now, as Paul Roderick Gregory of Forbes points out, a report by Russia's official Presidential Council on Civil Society and Human Rights suggests that the real numbers were far different from those previously claimed:
The website of the "President of Russia's Council on Civil Society and Human Rights" posted a blog that was quickly taken down as if it were toxic radioactive waste. According to the Council's report about the March referendum to annex Crimea, the turnout was a maximum 30%. And of these, only half voted for annexation -- meaning only 15 percent of Crimean citizens voted for annexation. |