Will Crimea's Declaration of Independence Trigger an International Showdown? Listen Download Embed Share Share this on Facebook (Opens in a new window) Share this on Twitter (Opens in a new window) Share this via Email Men hold Russian (R) and Soviet Union flags in Simferopol's Lenin Square on March 16, 2014. Polls opened yesterday for a referendum on the peninsula of Crimea. ( FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP / Getty ) Produced by Ellen Frankman Produced by PRI and WNYC