The little green men A look at the people behind the annexation of Crimea. A photo series by Sergey Ponomarev

One year ago, the fate of Crimea was sealed: it would secede from Ukraine and become a new region of Russia. Sergei Ponomarev is one of the few Russian photographers who was working on the peninsula during February and March 2014. Ponomarev visited the major cities of Crimea and took photos of uniformed “little green men” who flooded the towns throughout the peninsula. They had no insignia, wore masks and were armed to the teeth with the latest military weapons. Ponomarev's photo series shows us what they looked like and how they acted.

Read more about the people behind the annexation of Crimea in Meduza's special project, “The polite men” (in Russian).

Outside Simferopol airport, February 28

Outside Simferopol airport, February 28

Outside the parliament building of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, then a region of Ukraine. March 1, 2014

A local government building in the capital city of Crimea, Simferopol, March 1

Bakhchisaray, March 3

Bakhchisaray, March 3

Bakhchisaray, March 3

Balaklava Bay, March 1

Evpatoria in western Crimea, March 5 (Ukrainian soldiers in the background)

Belbek, March 4 (Ukrainian soldiers in the foreground)

Sevastopol, March 3

Perevalnoe, near Simferopol, March 2 (Ukrainian soldier on the left)

Perevalnoe, March 2

Perevalnoe, March 2

Perevalnoe, March 6

Perevalnoe, March 2

Feodosia, a port and resort in eastern Crimea, March 9

Simferopol, March 10 (in the center is a member of a local “self-defense” group, technically not a part of the group of “little green men”)