The enormous roadside billboard put up ahead of Crimea's referendum offers a stark choice.
On its right, the peninsula is draped in the white, blue and red of the Russian flag. On the left, it is fenced in with barbed wire, emblazoned with a Nazi Swastika.
"On March 16," the sign says, "we choose."
Less than three weeks after gunmen seized Crimea's parliament and installed a pro-Moscow government, voters here head to the polls on Sunday for a vote set to cement Russia's takeover of the strategic peninsula.
Few doubt that the results are a foregone conclusion. The status quo -- remaining an integral part of Ukraine -- is not even an option on the ballot.
But the region's new authorities, backed by thousands of Russian troops who have deployed across Crimea, insist the referendum is legitimate.
"All the voters of Crimea will be able to have their say in a democratic manner," deputy premier Rustam Temirgaliyev told journalists.
"We are sure that the Russian Federation will accept us among its members after the result."
Voters will be asked to choose between two options: "Do you support the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a member of the Russian Federation?" or "Do you support the restoration of the Crimean Constitution of 1992 and Crimea's status as part of Ukraine?"
The 1992 Constitution, adopted shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union but quickly abolished, essentially made Crimea an independent unit within Ukraine.
- 'Fascist' warnings -
Workers for the new administration have been busy putting up posters urging voters to take part.
Many of them have the same ominous tone as the Nazi billboard, warning of "fascists" from the rest of Ukraine -- the label slapped on the protest movement that ousted pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych, which critics in the south and east condemn as rife with neo-Nazis and radical nationalists.
The new pro-European government in Kiev has denounced the referendum as an illegal attempt to legitimise Russia's annexation of Crimea, where 60 percent of people identify themselves as Russian.
Western states have said they will not recognise the result.
There are no signs of an organised campaign against the vote on the peninsula, though leaders of the Tatar community, who represent 12 to 15 percent of the population, have urged a boycott.
Campaigners who backed the new Ukrainian authorities before the Russian takeover are keeping a low profile.
"There is no reason at all to vote on Sunday, this referendum is not serious and is a completely illegal attempt to justify the occupation," said Yevgeny, a 52-year-old activist of the pro-EU Euromaidan movement in the regional capital Simferopol.
While many here publicly declare their support for joining Russia, Yevgeny, who was afraid to give his last name, said they do so out of false hope for an economic resurgence, and out of simple fear.
- 'People afraid' -
"They don't really want to be part of Russia. We are under occupation here, people are afraid so of course this is what they say they want," he said.
The authorities have made every effort to give the appearance of a valid referendum.
Temirgaliyev said more than 1,200 polling stations will operate across the region on Sunday from 8:00 am (0600 GMT) to 8:00 pm (1800 GMT).
About 1.5 million people are registered to vote, based on electoral lists from 2012, and the result will only be valid if more than 50 percent take part.
"We are sure that more than 80 percent of the population in Crimea will participate," Temirgaliyev said.
The local assembly in Crimea on Tuesday said it would declare independence if the result is a "yes" vote for joining Russia and the region would then apply to join Russia as an autonomous entity.
But experts in Crimea said there was no way a properly democratic vote could be organised in time for Sunday.
"Nobody is pretending this is a democratic vote," said Keir Giles, a Russia and international security expert at London-based Chatham House.
"A democratic vote would also include the option of returning to the former status of Crimea as a region of Ukraine with limited autonomy. Which this referendum does not."
Giles said he expected Crimea's absorption into Russia to be "speedy" after the vote.
"Not only does Russia need to move fast in order to maintain the initiative, and keep the West scrambling for responses, but also 'frozen conflicts' in Russian doctrine are a security threat which needs to be resolved," he said.
Yevgeny, the pro-Ukraine activist, said unity supporters are trying hard not to think about after the vote.
"We don't know what will happen after the referendum," he said. "We are living with a war here, we are taking it day by day."
The enormous roadside billboard put up ahead of Crimea’s referendum offers a stark choice.
On its right, the peninsula is draped in the white, blue and red of the Russian flag. On the left, it is fenced in with barbed wire, emblazoned with a Nazi Swastika.
“On March 16,” the sign says, “we choose.”
Less than three weeks after gunmen seized Crimea’s parliament and installed a pro-Moscow government, voters here head to the polls on Sunday for a vote set to cement Russia’s takeover of the strategic peninsula.
Few doubt that the results are a foregone conclusion. The status quo — remaining an integral part of Ukraine — is not even an option on the ballot.
But the region’s new authorities, backed by thousands of Russian troops who have deployed across Crimea, insist the referendum is legitimate.
“All the voters of Crimea will be able to have their say in a democratic manner,” deputy premier Rustam Temirgaliyev told journalists.
“We are sure that the Russian Federation will accept us among its members after the result.”
Voters will be asked to choose between two options: “Do you support the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a member of the Russian Federation?” or “Do you support the restoration of the Crimean Constitution of 1992 and Crimea’s status as part of Ukraine?”
The 1992 Constitution, adopted shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union but quickly abolished, essentially made Crimea an independent unit within Ukraine.
– ‘Fascist’ warnings –
Workers for the new administration have been busy putting up posters urging voters to take part.
Many of them have the same ominous tone as the Nazi billboard, warning of “fascists” from the rest of Ukraine — the label slapped on the protest movement that ousted pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych, which critics in the south and east condemn as rife with neo-Nazis and radical nationalists.
The new pro-European government in Kiev has denounced the referendum as an illegal attempt to legitimise Russia’s annexation of Crimea, where 60 percent of people identify themselves as Russian.
Western states have said they will not recognise the result.
There are no signs of an organised campaign against the vote on the peninsula, though leaders of the Tatar community, who represent 12 to 15 percent of the population, have urged a boycott.
Campaigners who backed the new Ukrainian authorities before the Russian takeover are keeping a low profile.
“There is no reason at all to vote on Sunday, this referendum is not serious and is a completely illegal attempt to justify the occupation,” said Yevgeny, a 52-year-old activist of the pro-EU Euromaidan movement in the regional capital Simferopol.
While many here publicly declare their support for joining Russia, Yevgeny, who was afraid to give his last name, said they do so out of false hope for an economic resurgence, and out of simple fear.
– ‘People afraid’ –
“They don’t really want to be part of Russia. We are under occupation here, people are afraid so of course this is what they say they want,” he said.
The authorities have made every effort to give the appearance of a valid referendum.
Temirgaliyev said more than 1,200 polling stations will operate across the region on Sunday from 8:00 am (0600 GMT) to 8:00 pm (1800 GMT).
About 1.5 million people are registered to vote, based on electoral lists from 2012, and the result will only be valid if more than 50 percent take part.
“We are sure that more than 80 percent of the population in Crimea will participate,” Temirgaliyev said.
The local assembly in Crimea on Tuesday said it would declare independence if the result is a “yes” vote for joining Russia and the region would then apply to join Russia as an autonomous entity.
But experts in Crimea said there was no way a properly democratic vote could be organised in time for Sunday.
“Nobody is pretending this is a democratic vote,” said Keir Giles, a Russia and international security expert at London-based Chatham House.
“A democratic vote would also include the option of returning to the former status of Crimea as a region of Ukraine with limited autonomy. Which this referendum does not.”
Giles said he expected Crimea’s absorption into Russia to be “speedy” after the vote.
“Not only does Russia need to move fast in order to maintain the initiative, and keep the West scrambling for responses, but also ‘frozen conflicts’ in Russian doctrine are a security threat which needs to be resolved,” he said.
Yevgeny, the pro-Ukraine activist, said unity supporters are trying hard not to think about after the vote.
“We don’t know what will happen after the referendum,” he said. “We are living with a war here, we are taking it day by day.”
