Staff and political changes in the Crimean government and Parliament took place on September 29. There is a new majority in the Crimean Parliament. It was formed by the Rukh-Qurultay, Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Communist factions, and part of the Party of Regions. The new coalition appointed new deputy prime ministers to the government. The Crimean leadership insists that the changes were made to curb political emotions on the peninsula. The opposition, which now consists of the For Yanukovych bloc and Russian Bloc, describe the new parliamentary coalition as an artificial one and says it will be a short-lived one.

The session of the Crimean Parliament, chaired by speaker Anatoliy Hrytsenko approved several issues as a package. In particular, the heads of five parliamentary commissions were dismissed and new deputy prime ministers of the government were appointed, after which the sitting immediately closed.

The opposition said that the deputy speaker and two heads of committees resigned of their own volition. However, the head of the Crimean Parliament is satisfied with the decisions, and believes that it will now work normally. Hrytsenko said: “The approved decisions will ensure the normal working of the presidium of the Crimean Supreme Council, because a number of MPs regularly disrupted it. Everything was done in accordance with parliamentary rules, so any attempts to appeal against any decision, I believe, are doomed to fail.”

However, Crimean MP Oleh Rodyvilov said: “We believe that it is immoral to be part of the parliamentary presidium. Can you imagine a coalition of the Communists and Rukh-Qurultay, Party of Regions and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc? Regardless of rumours in Kyiv, this is a cross between a grass snake and a hedgehog.” Members of the coalition say they see nothing strange in this union and say that they are ready to work fruitfully.