SIMFEROPOL, April 2 (RAPSI) – About 25,000 Crimeans have received Russian passports, said Fyodor Karpovets, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service’ passport department.

“We have issued over 25,000 passports,” he said at a news conference in Simferopol, adding that Crimean residents had submitted about 75,000 passport applications.
Karpovets said at the news conference that the issuance of passports should be completed within three months.

He said that con artists are taking advantage of the rush demand for Russian passports and the migration service’s heavy workload. Explaining that the Federal Migration Service does not charge a state duty or any other payment for its services, he warned Crimeans against using intermediaries because those who do “risk losing their money and their documents.”

Crimea, a largely Russian-speaking republic within Ukraine, was part of Russia until it was given to Ukraine by Khrushchev in 1954. Putin said in an official address to federal and regional officials that the decision was made with clear violations of the constitutional standards at the time.

Crimea moved for independence from Ukraine after having refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government that came to power following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich in February.

On March 17, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea as an independent state. The same day leaders of Crimea and the city of Sevastapol and Putin signed a treaty unifying Crimea with Russia.