Verkhovna Rada of Crimea or the Supreme Council of Crimea, officially the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, was the Ukrainian legislative body for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea before the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014.
The last election of parliament took place on 31 October 2010 (see 2010 Crimean parliamentary election) and was won by the Party of Regions and the Communist Party of Ukraine.
The chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea (prime minister of Crimea), is the head of government of the Republic of Crimea (previously the Autonomous Republic of Crimea located in the southern region of Ukraine).
Until 2014, the prime minister, whose nomination was proposed by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea (Crimean parliament) with the approval of the President of Ukraine and then the Crimean parliament, presided over the Council of Ministers of Crimea.
The Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukrainian: Рада міністрів Автономної Республіки Крим; Russian: Совет министров Автономной Республики Крым), briefly SovMin, is the executive branch of government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a republic within southern Ukraine that is currently suspended due to Russian occupation of the Crimean Peninsula since February 27, 2014. The Council of Ministers derived its authority from the Constitution and laws of Ukraine and normative acts of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea which bring them into its competency.
The Chairman, who is appointed by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) with approval of the President of Ukraine, headed the cabinet.
The Declaration of Independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was a joint resolution adopted on March 11, 2014 by the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council that proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol a sovereign state — the Republic of Crimea. The decision was taken after unmarked Russian soldiers ("little green men") invaded Ukraine and seized the Crimean parliament.
According to the Declaration, the newly formed state has the right to apply to Russia for the inclusion of the territory in the federation as a separate subject.