SIMFEROPOL — Kremlin officials are overjoyed at the passage of a referendum Crimean residents voted on Sunday, after a landslide 140 percent of the two million citizens decided to break away from Ukraine to join Russia later this month.

The free and fair election was celebrated far beyond Moscow, as praise poured into the region from democratic republics as diverse as Syria, Iran, and North Korea. While confident in the vote, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un offered cautious praise: "We commend President Putin, but at least in our elections we have the grace and fairness to win with only a 100 percent margin," Jong-un said through a translator. "This seems like amateur hour."

Still, the vote attracted widespread condemnation from others on the world stage.