History of Crimea

"Taurida" redirects here. For other uses, seeTaurida (disambiguation).

Ancient settlements in Crimea and surrounding area

Coin fromChersonesuswithArtemis,deer, bull, club andquiver(c. 300 BC)

The recorded history of theCrimean Peninsula,historically known asTauris,Taurica(Greek:Ταυρική or Ταυρικά), and theTauric Chersonese(Greek:Χερσόνησος Ταυρική,"Tauric Peninsula" ), begins around the 5th century BCE when severalGreek colonieswere established along its coast, the most important of which wasChersonesosnear modern daySevastopol,withScythiansandTauriin the hinterland to the north. The southern coast gradually consolidated into theBosporan Kingdomwhich was annexed byPontusand then became aclient kingdomofRome(63 BC – 341 AD). The south coast remained Greek in culture for almost two thousand years including under Roman successor states, theByzantine Empire(341–1204), theEmpire of Trebizond(1204–1461), and the independentPrincipality of Theodoro(ended 1475). In the 13th century, some Crimean port cities were controlled by theVenetiansand by theGenovese,but the interior was much less stable, enduring along series of conquests and invasions.In the medieval period, it was partially conquered byKievan Rus'whose princeVladimir the Greatwas baptised atSevastopol,which marked the beginning of theChristianization of Kievan Rus'.During theMongol invasion of Europe,the north and centre of Crimea fell to theMongolGolden Horde,and in the 1440s theCrimean Khanateformed out of the collapse of the horde but quite rapidly itself became subject to theOttoman Empire,which also conquered the coastal areas which had kept independent of the Khanate. A major source of prosperity in these times wasfrequent raids into Russia for slaves.

In 1774, the Ottoman Empire wasdefeatedbyCatherine the Great.After two centuries of conflict, the Russian fleet had destroyed theOttoman navyand theRussian armyhad inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottoman land forces. The ensuingTreaty of Küçük Kaynarcaforced theSublime Porteto recognize the Tatars of the Crimea as politically independent. Catherine the Great'sincorporation of the Crimeain 1783 from the defeated Ottoman Empire into the Russian Empire increased Russia's power in the Black Sea area. The Crimea was the first Muslim territory to slip from the sultan's suzerainty. The Ottoman Empire's frontiers would gradually shrink, and Russia would proceed to push her frontier westwards to the Dniester. From 1853 to 1856, the strategic position of the peninsula in controlling the Black Sea meant that it was the site of the principal engagements of theCrimean War,where Russia lost to a French-led alliance.

During theRussian Civil War,Crimeachanged hands many timesand was whereWrangel's anti-BolshevikWhite Armymade their last stand in 1920, with tens of thousands of those who remained being murdered as part of theRed Terror.In 1921, theCrimean ASSRwas created as an autonomous republic of theRussian SFSR.DuringWorld War II,Crimea wasoccupied by Germanyuntil 1944. The ASSR was downgraded toan oblastwithin the Russian SFSR in 1945 following theethnic cleansing of the Crimean Tatarsby the Soviet regime, and in 1954, Crimea wastransferredto theUkrainian SSRas part of celebrations of the 300th anniversary of theTreaty of Pereyaslav,called the "reunification of Ukraine with Russia" in the USSR.

Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union,theRepublic of Crimeawas formed in 1992, although the republic was abolished in 1995, with theAutonomous Republic of Crimeaestablished firmly under Ukrainian authority andSevastopolbeing administered as acity with special status.A 1997treatypartitioned theSoviet Black Sea Fleetallowing Russia to continue basing its fleet in Sevastopol with the leaseextendedin 2010.Crimea's statusis disputed. In 2014, Crimea saw intense demonstrations against theremovalof theUkrainian presidentViktor Yanukovychculminating in pro-Russian forcesoccupying strategic points in Crimeaand theRepublic of Crimeadeclared independencefrom Ukraine following a disputedreferendumsupporting reunification. Russia thenformally annexed Crimea,although most countries recognise Crimea as part of Ukraine.

Prehistory

Bone and tool from the Buran-Kaya caves.

Archaeological evidence of human settlement in Crimea dates back to theMiddle Paleolithic.Neanderthalremains found at Kiyik-Koba Cave have been dated to about 80,000BP.Late Neanderthal occupations have also been found at Starosele (c. 46,000 BP) and Buran Kaya III (c. 30,000 BP).

Archaeologists have found some of the earliestanatomically modern humanremains in Europe in the Buran-Kaya caves in theCrimean Mountains(east ofSimferopol). The fossils are about 32,000 years old, with the artifacts linked to theGravettianculture. During theLast Glacial Maximum,along with the northern coast of theBlack Seain general, Crimea was an importantrefugefrom which north-central Europe was re-populated after the end of the Ice Age. TheEast European Plainduring this time was generally occupied byperiglacialloess-steppeenvironments, although the climate was slightly warmer during several briefinterstadialsand began to warm significantly after the beginning of theLate Glacial Maximum.Human site occupation density was relatively high in the Crimean region and increased as early as c. 16,000 years before the present.

Proponents of theBlack Sea deluge hypothesisbelieve Crimea did not become a peninsula until relatively recently, with the rising of the Black Sea level in the 6th millennium BC.

The beginning of theNeolithicin Crimea is not associated with agriculture, but instead with the beginning of pottery production, changes in flint tool-making technologies, and local domestication of pigs. The earliest evidence of domesticated wheat in the Crimean peninsula is from theChalcolithicArdych-Burun site, dating to the middle of the 4th millennium BC

By the 3rd millennium BC, Crimea had been reached by theYamna or "pit grave" culture,assumed to correspond to a late phase ofProto-Indo-European culturein theKurgan hypothesis.

Antiquity

Tauri and Scythians

Main articles:TauriandScythians

The Scythian treasure ofKul-Oba,in eastern Crimea.

Orestes, a curly-haired young man in a Greek robe, is seated before a small group of trees, clasping the right hand of another Greek man, who is standing with his left hand on the seated man's arm. Standing to their left but in the right of the painting is a tall, robed woman of elegant bearing. Behind her are two columns of a classic Greek temple. Low mountains are in the far background.

EarlyIron AgeCrimea was settled by two groups separated by theCrimean Mountains,theTaurito the south and theIranicScythiansin the north.

Taurians intermixed with the Scythians starting from the end of 3rd century BC were mentioned as "Tauroscythians" and "Scythotaurians" in the works of ancient Greek writers.InGeographica,Straborefers to the Tauri as a Scythian tribe.However,Herodotusstates that the Tauri tribes were geographically inhabited by theScythians,but they are not Scythians.Also, the Taurians inspired theGreek mythsofIphigeniaandOrestes.

TheGreeks,who eventually establishedcoloniesin Crimea during theArchaic Period,regarded the Tauri as a savage, warlike people. Even after centuries of Greek andRomansettlement, the Tauri were not pacified and continued to engage inpiracyon the Black Sea.By the 2nd century BC they had become subject-allies of the Scythian kingScilurus.

The Crimean Peninsula north of the Crimean Mountains was occupied byScythiantribes. Their center was the city ofScythian Neapolison the outskirts of present-daySimferopol.The town ruled over a small kingdom covering the lands between the lowerDnieperRiver and northernCrimea.In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Scythian Neapolis was a city "with a mixed Scythian-Greek population, strong defensive walls and large public buildings constructed using the orders of Greek architecture".The city was eventually destroyed in the mid-3rd century AD by theGoths.

Greek settlement

Further information:SpartocidsandBosporan Kingdom

Chersonesosin modernSevastopol

Main article:Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea

Theancient Greekswere the first to name the regionTauricaafter theTauri.As the Tauri inhabited only the mountainous regions of southern Crimea, the name Taurica was originally used only for this southern part, but was later extended to refer to the whole peninsula.

Greek colonies along the north coast of the Black Sea in the 5th centuryBCE.

Greek city-states began establishingcoloniesalong the Black Sea coast of Crimea in the 7th or 6th century BC.TheodosiaandPanticapaeumwere established byMilesians.In the 5th century BC,DoriansfromHeraclea Ponticafounded the sea port ofChersonesos(in modernSevastopol).

The PersianAchaemenid EmpireunderDarius Iexpanded to Crimea as part ofhis campaignsagainst theScythiansin 513 BCE.

In 438 BC, the Archon (ruler) of Panticapaeum assumed the title of theKing of Cimmerian Bosporus,a state that maintained close relations withAthens,supplying the city with wheat, honey and other commodities. The last of that line of kings, Paerisades V, being hard-pressed by the Scythians, put himself under the protection ofMithridates VI,the king ofPontus,in 114 BC. After the death of this sovereign, his son,Pharnaces II,was invested byPompeywith theKingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporusin 63 BC as a reward for the assistance rendered to theRomansin their war against his father. In 15 BC, it was once again restored to the king of Pontus, but from then ranked as a tributary state of Rome.

The "Chersonesus Tauricus" ofAntiquity,shown on a map printed inLondon,c. 1770

Roman Empire

Main articles:Crimea in the Roman eraandBosporan Kingdom

Fragment of a marble relief depicting aKore,3rd century BC, fromPanticapaeum,Taurica(Crimea),Bosporan Kingdom

In the 2nd century BC, the eastern part of Taurica became part of theBosporan Kingdom,before becoming a client kingdom of theRoman Empirein the 1st century BC.

During the AD 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries, Taurica was host to Roman legions and colonists inCharax, Crimea.The Charax colony was founded underVespasianwith the intention of protectingChersonesosand other Bosporean trade emporiums from theScythians.The Roman colony was protected by avexillatioof theLegio I Italica;it also hosted a detachment of theLegio XI Claudiaat the end of the 2nd century. The camp was abandoned by the Romans in the mid-3rd century. This de facto province would have been controlled by thelegatusof one of the Legions stationed in Charax.

Throughout the later centuries, Crimea was invaded or occupied successively by theGoths(AD 250), theHuns(376), theBulgars(4th–8th century), theKhazars(8th century).

Crimean Gothic,an East Germanic language, was spoken by the Crimean Goths in some isolated locations in Crimea until the late 18th century.

Middle Ages

Rus' and Byzantium

Further information:Cherson (theme)andTmutarakan

TheChersonesus Cathedral,built on the site whereVladimir the Greatis believed to have beenbaptizedin 989 CE.

In the 9th century CE, Byzantium established theTheme of Chersonto defend against incursions by theRus' Khaganate.The Crimean peninsula from this time was contested between Byzantium, Rus' andKhazaria.The area remained the site of overlapping interests and contact between the early medieval Slavic, Turkic and Greek spheres.

It became a center ofslave trade.Slavswere sold to Byzantium and other places in Anatolia and the Middle East during this period.

In the mid-10th century, the eastern area of Crimea was conquered by PrinceSviatoslav I of Kievand became part of the Kievan Rus' principality ofTmutarakan.The peninsula was wrested from the Byzantines by theKievan Rus'in the 10th century; a major Byzantine outpost,Chersonesus,was taken in 988 CE. A year later,Grand Prince Vladimir of Kievaccepted the hand of EmperorBasil II's sisterAnnain marriage, and wasbaptizedby the local Byzantine priest at Chersonesus, thus marking the entry of Rus'into the Christian world.Chersonesus Cathedralmarks the location of this historic event.

Following theNorman Conquest of England,a large number ofEnglishfled to the Byzantine lands, where they were said to have settled in Crimea.

During the collapse of the Byzantine state some cities fell to its creditortheRepublic of Genoawho also conquered cities controlled by its rival theVenice.During the entirety of this period, the urban areas were Greek-speaking andeastern Christian.

The Crimean steppe

Throughout the ancient and medieval period the interior and north of Crimea was occupied by a changing cast of invadingsteppe nomads,such as theTauri,Cimmerians,Scythians,Sarmatians,Crimean Goths,Alans,Bulgars,Huns,Khazars,KipchaksandMongols.

TheBosporan Kingdomhad exercised some control of the majority of the peninsula at the height of its power, withKievan Rus'also having some control of the interior of Crimea after the tenth century.

Mongol invasion and later medieval period

Further information:Principality of Theodoro,Empire of Trebizond,Golden Horde,andMongol invasion of Rus'

Genoesefortress ofCaffa

Khan Uzbek Mosque 1314, Staryi Krym

The overseas territories ofTrebizond,Perateia,had already been subjected to pressure from the Genoese and Kipchaks by the timeAlexios I of Trebizonddied in 1222, before theMongol invasionsbegan its western sweep throughVolga Bulgariain 1223.

Kiev lost its hold on the Crimean interior in the early 13th century due to theMongol invasions.In the summer of 1238Batu Khandevastated the Crimean peninsula and pacifiedMordovia,reaching Kiev by 1240. The Crimean interior came under the control of theTurco-MongolGolden Hordefrom 1239 to 1441. ThenameCrimea(via Italian, from TurkicQirim) originates as the name of the provincial capital of theGolden Horde,the city now known asStaryi Krym.

Trebizond's Perateia soon became thePrincipality of TheodoroandGenoese Gazaria,respectively sharing control of the south of Crimea until theOttomanintervention of 1475.

In the 13th century theRepublic of Genoaseized the settlements that their rivals, theVenetians,had built along the Crimean coast and established themselves atCembalo(present-day Balaklava),Soldaia(Sudak),Cherco(Kerch) andCaffa(Feodosiya), gaining control of the Crimean economy and the Black Sea commerce for two centuries.Genoa and its colonies fought aseries of warswith the Mongol states between the 13th and 15th centuries.

In 1346 theGolden Hordearmy besieging GenoeseKaffa(present-day Feodosiya) in thesiege of Kaffacatapulted the bodies of Mongol warriors who had died ofplagueover the walls of the city. Historians have speculated that Genoese refugees from this engagement may have brought theBlack Deathto Western Europe.

Crimean Khanate (1443–1783)

Main article:Crimean Khanate

Further information:Crimean-Nogai raids into East Slavic landsandCrimean Goths

Crimea in the middle of the 15th century

The Crimean Khanate in 1600

AfterTimurdestroyed a Mongol Golden Horde army in 1399,the Crimean Tatars founded an independentCrimean KhanateunderHacı I Giray(a descendant ofGenghis Khan) by 1443.Hacı I Giray and his successors reigned first atQırq Yer,then – from the beginning of the 15th century – atBakhchisaray.

The Crimean Tatars controlled the steppes that stretched from theKubanto theDniester River,but they were unable to take control of the commercialGenoesetowns in the Crimea. In 1462,KaffarecognizedPolishsuzerainty, though this suzerainty was only nominal.After the Crimean Tatars asked for help from theOttomans,an Ottoman invasion of the Genoese towns led byGedik Ahmed Pashain 1475 brought Kaffa and the other trading towns under their control.

After the capture of the Genoese towns, the Ottoman Sultan held KhanMeñli I Giraycaptive,later releasing him in return for accepting Ottoman suzerainty over the Crimean Khans and allowing them rule astributary princes of the Ottoman Empire.However, the Crimean Khans still had a large amount of autonomy from the Ottoman Empire, and followed the rules they thought best for them.

Crimean Tatars introduced the practice ofraids into Eastern Slavic lands(theWild Fields), in which they capturedslavesfor sale.For example, from 1450 to 1586, eighty-sixTatar raidswere recorded, and from 1600 to 1647, seventy.In the 1570s close to 20,000 slaves a year went on sale inKaffa.

Slaves and freedmen formed approximately 75% of the Crimean population.In 1769 a last major Tatar raid, which took place during theRusso-Turkish Warof 1768-1774, saw the capture of 20,000 slaves.

Tatar society

Further information:List of Mongol and Tatar attacks in Europe

TheCrimean Tatarsas an ethnic group dominated the Crimean Khanate from the 15th to the 18th centuries. They descend from a complicated mixture ofTurkic peopleswho settled in the Crimea from the 8th century, presumably also absorbing remnants of theCrimean Gothsand theGenoese. Linguistically, the Crimean Tatars are related to theKhazars,who invaded the Crimea in the mid-8th century; theCrimean Tatar languageforms part of theKipchak or Northwestern branchof theTurkic languages,although it shows substantialOghuzinfluence due to historical Ottoman Turkish presence in the Crimea.

A small enclave ofCrimean Karaites,a people of Jewish descent practisingKaraismwho later adopted a Turkic language, formed in the 13th century. It existed among the Muslim Crimean Tatars, primarily in the mountainousÇufut Qalearea.

Cossack incursions

In 1553–1554CossackHetmanDmytro Vyshnevetsky(in office: 1550–1557) gathered together groups of Cossacks and constructed a fort designed to obstruct Tatar raids into Ukraine. With this action, he founded theZaporozhian Sich,with which he would launch a series of attacks on the Crimean Peninsula and the Ottoman Turks.

Independent Khanate

Main article:Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca

In 1774, the Ottoman Empire wasdefeatedbyCatherine the Great.After two centuries of conflict, the Russian fleet had destroyed theOttoman navyand theRussian armyhad inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottoman land forces.

TheTreaty of Küçük Kaynarcasigned in June 1774 forced theSublime Porteto recognize the Tatars of the Crimea as politically independent, meaning that the Crimean Khans fell underRussianinfluence.

The Crimea was the first Muslim territory to slip from the sultan's suzerainty. The Ottoman Empire's frontiers would gradually shrink, and Russia would proceed to push her frontier westwards to the Dniester.

The Khanate subsequently suffered a gradual internal collapse, particularly after apogromcreated a Russian aided exodus of Christian subjects who were overwhelmingly among the urban classes and created cities such asMariupol.

Russian Empire (1783–1917)

See also:Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire,Novorossiya Governorate,Taurida Oblast,andTaurida Governorate

Russian annexation

Main article:Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire

A map of what was called New Russia during the time of theRussian Empire.Only the parts of New Russia that are now in Ukraine are shown.

On 28 December 1783 theSublime Portenegotiated a trade agreement with the Russian diplomatBulgakovthat recognised the loss of Crimea and other territories that had been held by the Khanate.This increased Russia's power in the Black Sea area.

Crimea went through a number of administrative reforms after Russian annexation, first as theTaurida Oblastin 1784 but in 1796 it was divided into two counties and attached it to theNovorossiysk Governorate,with a newTaurida Governorateestablished in 1802 with its capital at Simferopol. The governorate included both Crimea as well as larger adjacent areas of the mainland. In 1826Adam Mickiewiczpublished his seminal workThe Crimean Sonnetsafter travelling through theBlack SeaCoast.

Detail ofFranz Roubaud'spanoramic paintingThe Siege of Sevastopol(1904)

Crimean War

Main article:Crimean War

The Crimean War (1853–1856), a conflict fought between theRussian Empireand an alliance of theFrench Empire,theBritish Empire,theOttoman Empire,theKingdom of Sardinia,and theDuchy of Nassau,was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of thedeclining Ottoman Empire.Russia and the Ottoman Empire went to war in October 1853 over Russia's rights to protectOrthodox Christians.To stop Russia's conquests, France and Britain entered in March 1854. While some of the war was fought elsewhere, the principal engagements were in Crimea.

The immediate cause of the war involved the rights of Christian minorities in Palestine, which was part of the Ottoman Empire. The French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, and Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of the Russian Empire in the preceding Russo-Turkish Wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe. It has widely been noted that the causes, in one case involving an argument over a key, had never revealed a "greater confusion of purpose" but led to a war that stood out for its "notoriously incompetent international butchery".

Following action in theDanubian Principalitiesand in the Black Sea, allied troops landed in Crimea in September 1854 andbesieged the city of Sevastopol,home of the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet and the associated threat of potential Russian penetration into the Mediterranean. After extensive fighting throughout Crimea, the city fell on 9 September 1855. The war ended with a Russian loss in February 1856.

Late Imperial era

TheSwallow's Nest,a symbol of Crimea, one of the best-known, romantic castles nearYalta.It was built in 1912 forBaltic Germanbusinessman Baron Pavel von Steingel in theNeo-Gothicstyle. It was designed by Russian architectLeonid Sherwood.

The war devastated much of the economic and social infrastructure of Crimea. The Crimean Tatars had to flee from their homelanden masse,forced by the conditions created by the war, persecution, and land expropriations. Those who survived the trip, famine, and disease, resettled inDobruja,Anatolia,and other parts of theOttoman Empire.Finally, the Russian government decided to stop the process, as agriculture began to suffer due to the unattended fertile farmland. By the late 19th century,Crimean Tatarscontinued to form a slight plurality of Crimea's still largely rural populationand were the predominant portion of the population in the mountainous area and about half of the steppe population.

There were large numbers ofRussiansconcentrated in the Feodosiya district and Ukrainians as well as smaller numbers of Jews (includingKrymchaksandCrimean Karaites),Belarusians,Turks,Armenians,andGreeksand Roma.GermansandBulgarianssettled in the Crimea at the beginning of the 19th century, receiving a large allotment and fertile land and later wealthy colonists began to buy land, mainly in Perekopsky and Evpatoria uyezds.

Russian Civil War (1917–1922)

Main article:Crimea during the Russian Civil War

Following theRussian Revolution of 1917,the military and political situation in Crimea was chaotic like that in much of Russia. During the ensuingRussian Civil War,Crimea changed hands numerous times and was for a time a stronghold of the anti-BolshevikWhite Army.It was in Crimea that the White Russians led byGeneral Wrangelmade their last stand againstNestor Makhnoand theRed Armyin 1920. When resistance was crushed, many of the anti-Bolshevik fighters and civilians escaped by ship toIstanbul.

Approximately 50,000 White prisoners of war and civilians were summarily executed by shooting or hanging after the defeat of General Wrangel at the end of 1920.This is considered one of the largestmassacresin the Civil War.

A 25-ruble banknote of theCrimean Regional Government

Between 56,000 and 150,000 of the civilian population were then murdered as part of theRed Terror,organized byBéla Kun.

Crimea changed hands several times over the course of the conflict and several political entities were set up on the peninsula. These included:

Country	Jurisdiction	Period	Details
RussianRevolutionandCivil War(1917–1921)	Crimean People's Republic	December 1917 – January 1918	Crimean Tatar government
	Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic	19 March – 30 April 1918	Bolshevik government
	Ukrainian State	May–June 1918
	FirstCrimean Regional Government	25 June – 25 November 1918	German puppet state under Lipka Tatar GeneralMaciej (Suleyman) Sulkiewicz
	SecondCrimean Regional Government	November 1918 – April 1919	Anti-Bolshevik government underCrimean KaraiteformerKadetmemberSolomon Krym
	Crimean Socialist Soviet Republic	2 April – June 1919	Bolshevik government
	South Russian Government	February 1920 – April 1920	Government ofWhite movement's GeneralAnton Denikin
	Government of South Russia	April (officially, 16 August) – 16 November 1920	Government of White movement's GeneralPyotr Wrangel
	BolshevikRevolutionary committeegovernment	November 1920 – 18 October 1921	Bolshevik government underBéla Kun(until 20 February 1921), thenMikhail Poliakov
	Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic	18 October 1921 – 30 June 1945	Autonomous republic of theRussian SFSR
Soviet era (1921–1991)

Soviet Union (1922–1991)

Interbellum

See also:Crimea in the Soviet Union

London Geographical Institute's 1919 map of Europe showing Crimea

Stalin on board the"Red Ukraine" warship,Crimean coast near the village of Mukhalatka, 1929

Crimea became part of theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republicon 18 October 1921 as theCrimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,The Russian SFSR founded theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republicsin1922,with the Crimean ASSR retaining a degree of nominal autonomy and run as a Crimean Tatar enclave.

However, this did not protect the Crimean Tatars, who constituted about 25% of the Crimean population,fromJoseph Stalin's repressions of the 1930s.TheGreekswere another cultural group that suffered. Their lands were lost during the process ofcollectivisation,in which farmers were not compensated with wages. Schools which taughtGreekwere closed andGreek literaturewas destroyed, because the Soviets considered the Greeks as "counter-revolutionary" with their links tocapitaliststateGreece,and their independent culture.

From 1923 until 1944 there was an effort to createJewish settlements in Crimea.There were two attempts to establishJewish autonomy in Crimea,but both were ultimately unsuccessful.

Crimea experienced two severe famines in the 20th century, theFamine of 1921–1922and theHolodomorof 1932–1933.A large Slavic population (mainly Russians and Ukrainians) influx occurred in the 1930s as a result of the Soviet policy of regional development. These demographic changes permanently altered the ethnic balance in the region.

World War II

Further information:Taurida Subdistrict,Crimean campaign,andCrimean offensive

DuringWorld War II,Crimea was a scene of some of the bloodiest battles. The leaders of theThird Reichwere anxious to conquer and colonize the fertile and beautiful peninsula as part of their policy of resettling the Germans in Eastern Europe at the expense of the Slavs. In theCrimean campaign,German and Romanian troops suffered heavy casualties in the summer of 1941 as they tried to advance through the narrowIsthmus of Perekoplinking Crimea to the Soviet mainland. Once the German army broke through (Operation Trappenjagd), they occupied most of Crimea, with the exception of the city of Sevastopol, which wasbesiegedand later awarded the honorary title ofHero Cityafter the war. TheRed Armylost over 170,000 men killed or taken prisoner, and three armies (44th, 47th, and 51st) with twenty-one divisions.

The "Big Three"at theYalta Conferencein Crimea:Winston Churchill,Franklin D. RooseveltandJoseph Stalin.

Sevastopol held out from October 1941 until 4 July 1942 when the Germans finally captured the city. From 1 September 1942, the peninsula was administered as theGeneralbezirk Krim(general district of Crimea)und Teilbezirk(and sub-district)Taurienby the NaziGeneralkommissarAlfred Eduard Frauenfeld(1898–1977), under the authority of the three consecutiveReichskommissarefor the entire Ukraine. In spite of heavy-handed tactics by the Nazis and the assistance of theRomanianandItaliantroops, the Crimean mountains remained an unconquered stronghold of the native resistance (the partisans) until the day when the peninsula was freed from the occupying force.

TheCrimean Jewswere targeted for annihilation during the Nazi occupation. According toYitzhak Arad,"In January 1942 a company of Tatar volunteers was established in Simferopol under the command ofEinsatzgruppe 11.This company participated in anti-Jewish manhunts and murder actions in the rural regions. "Around 40,000 Crimean Jews were murdered.

The successfulCrimean offensivemeant that in 1944 Sevastopol came under the control of troops from theSoviet Union.The so-called "City of Russian Glory" once known for its beautiful architecture was entirely destroyed and had to be rebuilt stone by stone. Due to its enormous historical and symbolic meaning for the Russians, it became a priority for Stalin and the Soviet government to have it restored to its former glory within the shortest time possible.

The Crimean port ofYaltahosted theYalta Conferenceof Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill which was later seen as dividing Europe between the Communist and democratic spheres.

Deportation of the Crimean Tatars

See also:Deportation of the Crimean TatarsandDe-Tatarization of Crimea

On 18 May 1944, the entire population of theCrimean Tatarswereforcibly deportedin the "Sürgün"(Crimean Tatar for exile) to Central Asia byJoseph Stalin's Soviet government as a form ofcollective punishmenton the grounds that they allegedly had collaborated with theNazioccupation forces and formed pro-GermanTatar Legions.On 26 June of the same yearArmenian,BulgarianandGreekpopulation was also deported to Central Asia, and partially to Ufa and its surroundings in the Ural mountains. A total of more than 230,000 people – about a fifth of the total population of the Crimean Peninsula at that time – were deported, mainly toUzbekistan.14,300 Greeks, 12,075 Bulgarians, and about 10,000 Armenians were also expelled. By the end of summer 1944, theethnic cleansingof Crimea was complete. In 1967, the Crimean Tatars were rehabilitated, but they were banned from legally returning to their homeland until the last days of the Soviet Union. The deportation was formally recognized as a genocide by Ukraine and three other countries between 2015 and 2019.

The peninsula was resettled with other peoples, mainly Russians and Ukrainians. Modern experts say that the deportation was part of the Sovietplan to gain accessto theDardanellesand acquire territory inTurkey,where the Tatars had Turkic ethnic kin, or to remove minorities from the Soviet Union's border regions.

Nearly 8,000 Crimean Tatars died during the deportation, and tens of thousands perished subsequently due to the harsh exile conditions.The Crimean Tatar deportation resulted in the abandonment of 80,000 households and 360,000 acres of land.

Post-World War II

The autonomous republic without its titled nationality was downgraded toan oblast(province) within theRussian SFSRon 30 June 1945. A process ofde-Tatarization of Crimeawas started to remove the memory of the Tartars, including a massive name change of the vast majority of toponyms, which were given Slavic and communist names. Very few localities –Bakhchysarai,Dzhankoy,İşün,Alushta,Alupka,andSaky– were given their original names back after the fall of the Soviet Union.

1954 transfer to Ukraine SSR

Main article:1954 transfer of Crimea

1954 Soviet propaganda stamp marking the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's reunification with Russia.

On 19 February 1954, the oblast wastransferredfrom the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR jurisdiction,on the basis of "the integral character of the economy, the territorial proximity and the close economic and cultural ties between the Crimea Province and the Ukrainian SSR"and to commemorate the 300th anniversary ofUkraine's union with Russia.

Sevastopolwas aclosed citydue to its importance as the port of the SovietBlack Sea Fleetand was attached to the Crimean Oblast only in 1978.

The construction ofNorth Crimean Canal,a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine, and the Crimean peninsula, was started in 1957 soon after the transfer of Crimea. The canal also has multiple branches throughout Kherson Oblast and the Crimean peninsula. The main project works took place between 1961 and 1971 and had three stages. The construction was conducted by the Komsomol members sent by the Komsomol travel ticket (Komsomolskaya putyovka) as part of shock construction projects and accounted for some 10,000 "volunteer" workers.

In the post-war years, Crimea thrived as atourist destination,with new attractions and sanatoriums for tourists. Tourists came from all around the Soviet Union and itssatellite countries,particularly from theGDR.In time the peninsula also became a major tourist destination for cruises originating in Greece and Turkey. Crimea's infrastructure and manufacturing also developed, particularly around the sea ports atKerchandSevastopoland in the oblast's landlocked capital,Simferopol.Populations ofUkrainiansandRussiansalike doubled as a result of assimilationist policies, with more than 1.6 million Russians and 626,000 Ukrainians living on the peninsula by 1989.

Post-Soviet Union

Ukraine (de jure since 1991, de facto 1991–2014)

Main article:History of Crimea (1991–2014)

Crimea's southernmost point is theCape of Sarychon the northern shore of theBlack Sea,currently used by theRussian Navy.

With thedissolution of the Soviet UnionandUkrainian independencethe majorityethnic RussianCrimean peninsulawas reorganized as theRepublic of Crimea,after a1991 referendumwith the Crimean authorities pushing for more independence from Ukraine and closer links with Russia. In 1995, the Republic was forcibly abolished by Ukraine with theAutonomous Republic of Crimeaestablished firmly under Ukrainian authority.There were also intermittent tensions with Russia over the Soviet Fleet, although a 1997treatypartitioned theSoviet Black Sea Fleetallowing Russia to continue basing its fleet in Sevastopol with the leaseextendedin 2010. As a result of theoverthrowof the relatively pro-RussianpresidentYanukovych,Russian annexed Crimeain 2014.

Russian annexation

Main articles:Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federationand2014 Crimean status referendum

Theevents in Kyivthat ousted Ukrainian presidentViktor Yanukovychsparkeddemonstrationsagainst thenew Ukrainian government.At the same time Russian presidentVladimir Putindiscussed Ukrainian events with security service chiefs remarking that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia".On 27 February,Russian troopscaptured strategic sites across Crimea.This led to the installation of the pro-RussianAksyonovgovernment in Crimea, theCrimean status referendumand the declaration ofCrimea's independenceon 16 March 2014.Although Russia initially claimed their military was not involved in the events,it later admitted that they were.Russia formally incorporated Crimea on 18 March 2014.Following the annexation,Russia escalated its military presence on the peninsula and madenuclearthreats to solidify the new status quo on the ground.

Ukraine andmany other countriescondemned the annexation and consider it to be a violation ofinternational lawand Russian agreements safeguarding theterritorial integrityof Ukraine. The annexation led to the other members of the then-G8suspending Russia from the groupand introducingsanctions.TheUnited Nations General Assemblyalso rejected the referendum and annexation, adoptinga resolutionaffirming the "territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders".

According to survey carried out byPew Research Centerin 2014, the majority of Crimean residents say they believed the referendum was free and fair (91%) and that the government in Kyiv ought to recognize the results of the vote (88%).

The Russian government opposes the "annexation" label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of theself-determinationof peoples.

Aftermath

Main article:Republic of Crimea (Russia)

May Dayparade inSimferopol,1 May 2019

Within days of the signing of the accession treaty, the process of integrating Crimea into the Russian federation began with theRussian rublegoing into official circulationand later to be the sole currency for legal tenderwith clocks also moved to Moscow time.A revision of theRussian Constitutionwas officially released with the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol added to thefederal subjects of the Russian Federation,and the Russian Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedevstated that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia.Since the annexation Russia has supported large migration into Crimea.

Once Ukraine lost control of the territory in 2014, it shut off the water supply of theNorth Crimean Canalwhich supplies 85% of the peninsula's freshwater needs from theDnieper river,the nation's main waterway.Development of new sources of water was undertaken, with huge difficulties, to replace closed Ukrainian sources.In2022,Russiaconqueredportions of Kherson Oblast, which allowed it to unblock the North Crimean canal by force, resuming water supply into Crimea.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Main article:Crimea attacks (2022–present)

Beginning in July 2022, a series of explosions and fires occurred on theRussian-occupiedCrimean Peninsula from where the Russian Army had launched itsoffensive on Southern Ukraineduring thefull-scale invasion of Ukraine.Occupied Crimea was a base for the subsequentRussian occupation of Kherson OblastandRussian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.The Ukrainian government has not accepted responsibility for all of the attacks.

See also

• Kizil-Koba culture
• Cimmerians
• Tauri
• Scythian Neapolis
• Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea
• Chersonesus
• Bosporan Kingdom
• Kingdom of Pontus
• Crimea in the Roman era
• Akatziri
• Crimean Goths
• Crimean Tatars
• Crimean Khanate
• Khazars
• Crimean Karaites
• Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire
• Taurida Oblast
• Novorossiya Governorate
• Taurida Governorate
• Crimean War
• Crimean People's Republic
• Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic
• Crimean Regional Government
• Crimean Socialist Soviet Republic
• South Russian Government
• Government of South Russia
• Crimea in the Soviet Union
• Crimean Oblast
• Crimean ASSR (1991–1992)
• Republic of Crimea (1992–1995)
• Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Further reading

See also:Bibliography of Ukrainian history

• Allworth, Edward (1998).The Tatars of Crimea: Return to the Homeland: Studies and Documents.Durham: Duke University Press.ISBN9780822319948.LCCN97019110.OCLC610947243.
• Barker, W. Burckhardt (1855).A short historical Account of the Crimea, from the earliest ages and during the Russian occupation.old fashioned and anti-Russian.
• Bezverkha, Anastasia (2017). "Reinstating Social Borders between the Slavic Majority and the Tatar Population of Crimea: Media Representation of the Contested Memory of the Crimean Tatars' Deportation".Journal of Borderlands Studies.32(2): 127–139.doi:10.1080/08865655.2015.1066699.S2CID148535821.
• Cordova, Carlos.Crimea and the Black Sea: An environmental history.(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.)
• Dickinson, Sara. "Russia's First 'Orient': Characterizing the Crimea in 1787."Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History3.1 (2002): 3-25.online
• Fisher, Alan (1981). "The Ottoman Crimea in the Sixteenth Century".Harvard Ukrainian Studies.5(2): 135–143.
• Kent, Neil (2016).Crimea: A History.Hurst Publishers.ISBN9781849044639.
• Kizilov, Mikhail B.(2005). "The Black Sea and the Slave Trade: The Role of Crimean Maritime Towns in the Trade in Slaves and Captives in the Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries".International Journal of Maritime History.17(1): 211–235.doi:10.1177/084387140501700110.S2CID162235937.
• Kirimli, Hakan.National Movements and National Identity Among the Crimean Tatars (1905 - 1916)(E.J. Brill. 1996)
• Magocsi, Paul Robert(2014).This Blessed Land: Crimea and the Crimean Tatars.University of Toronto Press.ISBN978-0-7727-5110-2.
• Milner, Thomas.The Crimea: Its Ancient and Modern History: the Khans, the Sultans, and the Czars.Longman, 1855.online
• O'Neill, Kelly.Claiming Crimea: A History of Catherine the Great's Southern Empire(Yale University Press, 2017).
• Ozhiganov, Edward. "The Crimean Republic: Rivalries for Control." inManaging Conflict in the Former Soviet Union: Russian and American Perspectives(MIT Press. 1997). pp. 83–137.
• Pleshakov, Constantine.The Crimean Nexus: Putin's War and the Clash of Civilizations(Yale University Press, 2017).
• Rywkin, Michael (1994).Moscow's Lost Empire.Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.ISBN9781315287713.LCCN93029308.OCLC476453248.
• Sasse, Gwendolyn.The Crimea Question: Identity, Transition, and Conflict(2007)
• Schonle, Andreas (2001). "Garden of the Empire: Catherine's Appropriation of the Crimea".Slavic Review.60(1): 1–22.doi:10.2307/2697641.JSTOR2697641.PMID18727221.S2CID159492185.
• UN-HABITAT (2007).Housing, Land, and Property in Crimea.UN-HABITAT.ISBN9789211319200.,recent developments
• Williams, Brian Glyn.The Crimean Tatars: The Diaspora Experience and the Forging of a Nation(Brill 2001)online

Historiography

• Kizilov, Mikhail;Prokhorov, Dmitry. "The Development of Crimean Studies in the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine,"Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae(Dec 2011), Vol. 64 Issue 4, pp437–452.

Primary sources

• Neilson, Mrs. Andrew (1855).The Crimea, its towns, inhabitants and social customs, by a lady resident near the Alma.;complete text online
• Albrecht, Stefan (2013).Quellen zur Geschichte der byzantinischen Krim.Monographien des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums. Vol. 101. Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums.ISBN978-3-88467-197-9.
• Wood, Evelyn.The Crimea in 1854, and 1894: With Plans, and Illustrations from Sketches Taken on the Spot by Colonel W. J. Colville(2005)excerpt and text search

External links

• Historical footage of Crimea, 1918,filmportal.de
• On the role of Crimea in the Russian discourseinThe Crimean Archipelago: A Multimedia Dossier