Valeriya Novodvorskaya: Putin has reasons to be nervous

No one will recognise the “referendum” in Crimea, a famous Russian human rights defender says.

According to Valeriya Novodvorskaya, what happened in Crimea on March 16 looked like the events in the 1940s, Channel 5 reports.

Novodvorskaya recalls how the Baltic States were forced to join the Soviet Union at gunpoint.

“Putin has reasons to be nervous,” she says. “It's a bluff, of course. Nobody will use nuclear weapons.” Crimea shouldn't be given to Russia, she thinks. If it happens, the locals will found themselves in the occupation regime resembling the Stalin regime.

Crimea held an unconstitutional referendum on March 16. 96% “voted” for joining Russia.