People holding Crimean flags gather at Lenin Square in central Simferopol, ready to celebrate the referendum on Sunday. Photo: Li Qian/GT

A 10-minute drive north of the Crimean capital Simferopol stands the most populated township in all Ukraine, where fighter jets from the nearby Russian air force base can be spotted occasionally in the air from the streets.

On Sunday, Gvardeyskoye embraced the referendum scheduled by the Crimean Parliament in pursuit of rejoining the Russian Federation.

Its more than 20,000 residents don't make it a populous town by the Chinese definition, neither is it busy as it preserves the serenity of the countryside.

Walking in the streets, the tranquil and refreshing environment of early spring makes it hard to imagine that this region is home to Crimea's best pig farms and pork processing enterprises, as well as some of the region's wealthiest and most influential entrepreneurs.

Casting their vote

On the day of the referendum, 10 polling stations were set up in schools and activity centers in the town for the 16,174 people who are eligible to vote.

By 3 pm, more than 65 percent of the electorate had cast their vote.

Vladimir Diyuk, the town's council head, estimated about 80 percent of the voting population in his jurisdiction cast their ballots, with up to 95 percent in favor of joining Russia. His estimates were very close to the official calculation for the whole peninsula that the Crimean Republican Election Committee, which oversees all major voting events in the region, announced Monday -  83.1 percent of qualified voters participated, with the approval rate for joining Russia 96.77 percent.

The population structure of Gvardeyskoye roughly resembles that of Crimea. About 80 percent of the local population are Russian speakers. Gvardeyskoye is a bit more densely populated with Tartars at 20 percent of its residents than the regional average of 12 percent.

The Tartars, with their history of being persecuted by Stalin and forced to move out of the region, are generally against the idea of further merging into Russia. Understandably, leaders of the Tartar community called for a boycott of the referendum and therefore, very few Tartars showed up to vote.

Of the roughly 2,000 Tartars qualified to vote in the town, most abstained with a little more than 100 exercising their right to vote.

Anticipation of change

Several days after the vote, world powers continue to wrestle over the controlling power of this strategic geopolitical center.

While the outside world still wonders what will be the next step for Crimea, local politicians and officials are already anticipating with eagerness the life of moving closer to Russian administration.

Council head Diyuk ticked off a number of benefits that await Crimeans joining Russia.

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Diyuk said that Crimea will be allowed to spend more tax revenue locally, as Russia would require half of the tax revenue be handed to the central government, instead of the current 75 percent mandated to be handed to Kiev.

Also, once Crimea joins Russia, in order to catch up with the average living standard of the federation, the region's average income would double.

Tourism and agriculture are the chief industries of Crimea. For a region that lacks energy resources, fuel supply is vital. Electricity, heating and water in Crimea are all supplied by Ukraine, while Ukraine itself has been heavily dependent on Russia. Many people in Crimea now eye the possibility of direct power supply from Russia. If the region joins Russia, fuels such as natural gas would be made available up to 30 percent cheaper, Diyuk estimates.

Local business tycoon Vitaliy Polischuk shares the view of the council head, emphasizing the benefits of joining Russia for doing business and improving finance.

Polischuk runs pig farms, grows vast quantities of vegetables and owns meat processing companies. Sausages, a key product of his enterprises, are sold across Crimea and to adjacent countries.

For the businessman, joining Russia only benefits his enterprises. Reduced energy prices, lower loan interest from Russian banks than that of Ukrainian ones and the opportunity for seizing a much bigger Russian market top the reasons why Polischuk supports Crimea joining Russia.

On the afternoon of referendum day, Polischuk drove to a polling station and cast his ballot on which he ticked joining the Russian Federation.

But what will Crimeans lose once the peninsular secedes from Ukraine's rule? The answer from local political and social elites still focuses on the energy supply.

"If Ukraine severs power and water supply [as retaliation], that will pose a problem for Crimea. But Crimea has started searching for new channels of supply," said Diyuk.

When asked about his concerns over the possibility of increased tensions in Crimea following the referendum, Diyuk expressed confidence.

"With the support from Russia, there is nothing we are afraid of," Diyuk said.

In one of the 10 voting station in the town, blue kiosks and glass ballot boxes lined up awaiting voters. Unlike the public venues in Simferopol where Russian soldiers and pro-Russian forces were everywhere, no guards or military personnel were within sight of this station, which town authorities noted meant that voters were totally free with their choice.

Even though the poll results seemed a landslide, a small proportion of people voted against joining Russia. That's where Igor Chichkin, a civil deputy working in the town's council, came in.

"As a deputy of the people, I will explain to them how their livelihood will improve after joining Russia," he said. "No one wants conflicts, so people should move on with the new situation."

Diyuk seemed indifferent to the current political crisis in Kiev, and said his only concern is how the new Ukrainian president, after the general election later this year, will balance the powers.

The legal process of Crimea becoming part of Russia is still ongoing, with the state Duma seeking to shorten the timeframe, while the West and Ukraine firmly deny any legitimacy of the referendum and try to block the sovereignty change from becoming reality.

"If the referendum in Crimea succeeds, the next presidential election we vote for will be for Russia, not Ukraine," Diyuk said.

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