March 18, 2014 (February 18, 2014 in the lunar calendar), Ukraine Crisis: Crimea was merged into Russia. On March 18, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Konstantinov, Crimean Prime Minister Aksyonov and Sevastopol City Council Chairman Chare jointly signed the treaty. The Russian national anthem was played after the signing ceremony. Before signing the Treaty allowing Crimea to join The Russian Federation, Putin signed a presidential order on the 17th recognizing Crimea as an independent and sovereign state. The presidential decree stated: "In view of the expression of the people's will in the Crimean referendum held on March 16, 2014,(Russia) decided to recognize the Republic of Crimea, in which the city of Sevastopol has special status and is a sovereign and independent country. This presidential order will take effect as of the date of signature." Before the signing ceremony, Putin asked Parliament to approve the treaty on Crimea's accession to the Russian Federation, and expressed his belief that he would gain parliamentary support. Putin also pointed out that the constitutional law on the accession of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation was submitted to Parliament on Tuesday. According to the Kremlin website, Russian laws and other regulations have been officially implemented in Crimea and Sevastopol since March 18. Can Western sanctions crush Russia? The United States and the European Union announced sanctions against Russia on the 17th. Analysts believe that although the current sanctions have not yet touched Russia's major economic interests, the Russian economy may face zero growth or even fall into recession this year. After the announcement of the above-mentioned sanctions, the New York stock market and Moscow stock market all rose, indicating that most investors believe that the sanctions are "quite small" and will not trigger a fierce response from Russia. Indeed, the visa ban and asset freezes have limited impact on the Russian economy. However, both the European Union and the United States have reserved the possibility of adopting further sanctions, and the next step of sanctions may really affect the Russian economy. Eric Nelson, global chief economist at UniCredit, said that the Russian economy is inherently fragile, and this sanctions, even if limited to the political and diplomatic fields, will drag down the Russian economy. If more stringent sanctions are introduced, Russia's economy will surely fall into recession. In fact, the Russian economy is ready to deal with the severe situation. In the week ended March 12, U.S. government bonds held by foreign banks fell by more than $100 billion. Analysts said that this was an early "escape" by Russian investors who foresaw the possibility of facing asset freezes. There are also reports that Russian state-owned banks have recently been diverting funds stored in Western banks due to concerns about sanctions. In recent years, Russia's economic ties with the West have become increasingly close. Major Western energy companies have investments in Russia, and Western companies play an important role in Russian infrastructure projects. Deutsche Bank analyst Alan Ruskin believes that reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the Crimean issue will be beneficial to all economies. Similarly, if all parties are tit-for-tat, the damage to the economy cannot be underestimated. The speed of capital flight from Russia is also quite alarming. Data shows that since the beginning of this year, the net value of funds withdrawn from Russia by foreign investors has reached US$50 billion. If this trend continues, Russia's capital flight in the first quarter of this year will reach US$70 billion, accounting for about 3.2% of Russia's GDP, which may push the Russian economy into recession. The Russian Federation Overview After Putin announced the entry of Crimea into Russia, The Russian Federation has 84 federal entities, including 22 republics, 8 border regions, 46 states, 1 autonomous prefecture, 2 federal municipalities and 5 autonomous regions. On the 18th, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty with representatives of Crimea and Sevastopol, and Crimea and Sevastopol will join Russia as federal entities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated on the same day that Ukraine does not recognize Crimea's accession to The Russian Federation. At the same time, Western countries have announced sanctions one after another to increase pressure on Russia. Chronicle of Crimea In 1918, Crimea belonged to Russia. In 1954, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the unification of Ukraine and The Russian Federation, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union ordered the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine. In 1992, the Crimean Parliament successively passed the "Crimean National Independence Law" and the "Constitution of the Republic of Crimea". Since then, due to opposition from the Ukraine government, the constitution was banned. On March 16, 2014, Crimea held a referendum to decide whether to join Russia. More than 96% of the people supported joining Russia. On March 17, 2014, the Crimean Parliament declared its independence from Ukraine and applied to join Russia. On March 18, 2014, Putin signed a treaty with representatives of Crimea and Sevastopol, and Crimea and Sevastopol will join Russia as federal entities.