In 2014 the party was involved in protests and the seizure of government buildings, including the Supreme Council of Crimea (the parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), during the 2014 Crimean crisis. Party leader Sergey Aksyonov was named Prime Minister of Crimea on 27 February 2014, and then called for a referendum on Crimea's autonomy. On 11 March Crimea adopted a declaration of independence and held on 17 March the 2014 Crimean status referendum that lead to the 21 March 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.