It was initially known that elections of the President of Russia in the Crimea amid determination of a great part of the world not to recognize its annexation was quite a problematic and painful point for the Russian government in the context of recognition of legitimacy of these elections. Considering neither of these states and acknowledged international public organizations will officially send their observers to the Crimea, Russia resorted to hybrid alternative with the invitation of pseudo-observers in the Crimea to monitor this event. Such observers were persons hand picked by the competent Russian authorities and entrusted to play a role of the international observers to monitor the elections of the President of the Russian Federation in the Crimea.
Thus, for the purpose of monitoring the elections Russia has organized the visit of “the international delegation” to the Crimea, which united the citizens of more than 20 countries of the world – France, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Israel, Ukraine, Germany, Norway, Cyprus, Greece, Denmark, Great Britain, Pakistan, Venezuela, Italy, Lebanon, Austria, Malaysia, Latvia, Afghanistan.
“The international observers” were accompanied by representatives of the Russian Federation who showed them designed and prepared in advance election districts. Foreign guests visited 10 districts in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Alushta, Bakhchisarai. At the same time in order to avoid abnormal situations the so-called observers were not admitted to the districts in sore points of the state where Crimean Tatars reside.
Those above-mentioned foreign citizens who feel sympathy for Kremlin policy and played a role of the international observers were:
Johan Bäckman – a citizen of Finland, a member of the Association of Friendship between Russia and Finland, the head of the “Antifascist Committee of Finland”, the representative of the so-called “DNR” in Finland;
Daria Skippari-Smirnova – a citizen of Finland, head of the Association of Friendship between Russia and Finland;
Thierry Mariani – a citizen of France, a deputy of the National Assembly of France, a representative of the Association Dialogue Franco-Russe;
Andreas Maurer – a citizen of Germany, head of the organization “People’s Diplomacy” in Germany;
Hendrik Weber – a citizen of Norway, head of the organization “People’s Diplomacy” in Norway;
Mette Rosenlund – a citizen of Norway, the wife of Hendrik Weber. Journalist;
Marco Marsili – a citizen of Italy, an associate of the Portuguese Center for International Studies;
Skue Kutra-Kukuma – a citizen of Cyprus, a member of the Cyprus Parliament;
Kline Preston – a citizen of the USA, head of the NGO Institute for Progress Through Law;
Elhas Tamim Mohammad – a citizen of Afghanistan, leader of the Afghan youth movement;
Ulf Grönlund – a citizen of Sweden, former head of the parish of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg;
Hollender Lars Bjoerndau – a citizen of Denmark, a former member of the OSCE missions;
Jacques Miyar – a citizen of France, mayor of the city of Meson-Laffitte;
Jerome Lambert – a citizen of France, a member of the Socialist Party, nephew of former French President François Mitterrand;
Vanya Dobreva – a citizen of Bulgaria, former Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Bulgaria;
Alexander Grönlund – a citizen of Sweden;
Maria Olshanskaya – a citizen of Israel;
Tatyana Mele – a citizen of Ukraine;
Elias Demetriou – a citizen of Cyprus;
Valdemgaberi Stefano – a citizen of Italy;
Selvarezh Neskhan – a citizen of Malaysia;
Daniel Christopher Valander – a citizen of Sweden;
Eyme Bernard Ulrich – a citizen of Germany;
Roma Monfa Narcissus – a citizen of Spain;
Diego Gulen Perez – a citizen of Spain;
Muhamed Al-Hamali – a citizen of Great Britain;
Diana Lutsker – a citizen of Israel;
Sophocles Jani Sophocli – a citizen of Cyprus;
Eero Hult – a citizen of Finland;
Gilbert Doktorov – a citizen of the USA;
Dragan Gifkovich – a citizen of Serbia;
Alexander Gaponenko – a citizen of Latvia.
Peculiar attention should be paid to the fact that the visit of representatives of the German pro-Russian party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) took place separately being organized by the Deputy Committee for Interethnic Relations the so-called “The State Council of Crimea”, the leader of the German diaspora of Crimea Mr. Hempel. The following AfD representatives visited the Crimea as “international observers” for the presidential elections in the Russian Federation:
Garold Latch – deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Berlin;
Roger Bekamp – deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Rhine-Westphalia;
Eugen Schmidt – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Rhine-Westphalia, head of the organization “Russian Germans for AfD”;
Nick Fogel – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Rhine-Westphalia;
Helmut Seifer – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Rhine-Westphalia;
Georg Pazdersky – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Berlin, a member of the AfD Presidium;
Güner Lindeman – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Berlin;
Hoog Bronson – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Berlin;
Rainer Balzer – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Baden-Württemberg;
Thomas Rekemann – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Rhine-Westphalia;
Markus Fronmaier – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Baden-Württemberg, leader of the youth wing of AfD;
Sven Tritschler – a deputy of the Landtag of the federal state of Nord-Rhine-Westphalia.