The Democratic process worked in Crimea. It is the fault of non-voters that they did not win. It happens all the time. In the United States only a small percentage of voters actually VOTE FOR the president that wins.
The people of Crimea voted. And the result is that they joined the referendum.
However, the government and economy of Ukraine is struggling. They do not want to simply lose Crimea.
Russia should understand this. In exchange for recognizing the democratic vote in Crimea, the Russian Federation should offer to forgive Ukraine the debt that it has accrued for Natural gas.