presence. this vote, 97% almost was a huge achievement for the government here. it's, of course, very much a soviet-style statistic. and only three points shy of what kim appealed in north korea. i think the vote is overwhelming but there's a significant minority here, tatars, who did boycott the vote. russian foreign ministry is calling for the creation of an international suspect group to mediate the crisis in ukraine, including the adoption of of a new constitution. nbc's jim massceda is in moscow. is this just the tip of the iceberg? >> reporter: yes, there's a sense this is just the tip of the iceberg amongst some russian population. there's a reliable poll that came out today suggesting that