The spelling "Crimea" is from the Italian form,la Crimea, since at least the 17th century[3] and the "Crimean peninsula" becomes current during the 18th century, gradually replacing the classical name ofTauric Peninsula in the course of the 19th century.[4][better source needed] In English usage since theearly modern period the Crimean Khanate is referred to asCrim Tartary.[5]
Today, the Crimean Tatar name of the peninsula isQırım, while the Russian is Крым (Krym), and the Ukrainian is Крим (Krym).[6]
The cityStaryi Krym ('Old Crimea'),[7] served as a capital of the Crimean province of theGolden Horde. Between 1315 and 1329 CE, the Arab writerAbū al-Fidā recounted a political fight in 1300–1301 CE which resulted in a rival's decapitation and his head being sent "to the Crimea",[8] apparently in reference to the peninsula,[9] although some sources hold that the name of the capital was extended to the entire peninsula at some point duringOttoman suzerainty (1441–1783).[10]
The wordQırım is derived from theTurkic termqirum ("fosse, trench"), fromqori- ("to fence, protect").[11][12][13]
Other suggestions either unsupported or contradicted by sources, apparently based on similarity in sound, include:
the name of theCimmerians, although this derivation is however no longer generally held.[15]
a derivation from theGreekCremnoi (Κρημνοί, in post-classicalKoiné Greek pronunciation,Crimni, i.e., "the Cliffs", a port onLake Maeotis (Sea of Azov) cited byHerodotus inThe Histories 4.20.1 and 4.110.2).[16] However, Herodotus identifies the port not in Crimea, but as being on the west coast of the Sea of Azov. No evidence has been identified that this name was ever in use for the peninsula.
The Turkic term (e.g., inTurkish:Kırım) is related to theMongolian appellationkerm "wall", but sources indicate that the Mongolian appellation of the Crimean peninsula ofQaram is phonetically incompatible withkerm/kerem and therefore deriving from another original term.[17][18][19]
Strabo (Geography vii 4.3, xi. 2.5),Polybius, (Histories 4.39.4), andPtolemy (Geographia. II, v 9.5) refer variously to theStrait of Kerch as the Κιμμερικὸς Βόσπορος (Kimmerikos Bosporos, romanized spelling:Bosporus Cimmerius), itseasternmost part as the Κιμμέριον Ἄκρον (Kimmerion Akron, Roman name: Promontorium Cimmerium),[20] as well as to the city ofCimmerium and thence the name of theKingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Κιμμερικοῦ Βοσπόρου).
The recorded history of Crimea begins around 5th century BCE when severalGreek colonies were established on itssouth coast, the most important of which wasChersonesos near modern-daySevastopol, withScythians andTauri in the hinterland to the north. The Tauri gave the name the Tauric Peninsula, which Crimea was called into theearly modern period. The southern coast gradually consolidated into theBosporan Kingdom which was annexed byPontus in Asia Minor and later became aclient kingdom ofRome from 63 BCE to 341 CE.
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.[26]
In 2014, Crimea saw demonstrations against the removal of the Russia-leaningUkrainian presidentViktor Yanukovychin Kyiv and protests in support ofEuromaidan.[32][33] Ukrainian historian Volodymyr Holovko estimates 26 February protest in support of the integrity of Ukraine in Simferopol at 12,000 people, opposed by several thousand pro-Russian protesters.[34] On 27 February, Russian forces occupied parliament and government buildings[35] and other strategic points in Crimea[36] and the Russian-organizedRepublic of Crimea declared independence from Ukraine following an illegal and internationally unrecognizedreferendum.[37] Russia then annexed Crimea, although most countries (100 votes in favour, 11 against, 58 abstentions) continued to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine.[38][39][2][40]
Covering an area of 27,000 km2 (10,425 sq mi), Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of theSea of Azov; the only land border is shared with Ukraine'sKherson Oblast on the north. Crimea is almost an island and only connected to the continent by theIsthmus of Perekop, a strip of land about 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) wide.
Much of the natural border between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland comprises theSyvash or "Rotten Sea", a large system of shallow lagoons stretching along the western shore of the Sea of Azov. Besides the isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast'sHenichesk Raion by bridges over the narrowChonhar andHenichesk straits and over Kerch Strait to theKrasnodar Krai. The northern part ofArabat Spit is administratively part of Henichesk Raion in Kherson Oblast, including its two rural communities ofShchaslyvtseve andStrilkove. The eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula comprises theKerch Peninsula, separated fromTaman Peninsula on the Russian mainland by theKerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, at a width of between 3–13 kilometres (1.9–8.1 mi).
Given its long history and many conquerors, most towns in Crimea have several names.
West: TheIsthmus of Perekop/Perekop/Or Qapi, about 7 km (4 mi) wide, connects Crimea to the mainland. It was often fortified and sometimes garrisoned by the Turks. TheNorth Crimean Canal now crosses it to bring water from the Dnieper. To the westKarkinit Bay separates theTarkhankut Peninsula from the mainland. On the north side of the peninsula isChernomorskoe/KalosLimen. On the south side is the largeDonuzlav Bay and the port and ancient Greek settlement ofYevpatoria/Kerkinitis/Gözleve. The coast then runs south toSevastopol/Chersonesus, a good natural harbor, great naval base and the largest city on the peninsula. At the head ofSevastopol Bay standsInkermann/Kalamita. South of Sevastopol is the smallHeracles Peninsula.
South: In the south, between theCrimean Mountains and the sea runs a narrow coastal strip which washeld by the Genoese and (after 1475) by the Turks. Under Russian rule it became a kind ofriviera. In Soviet times the many palaces were replaced withdachas and health resorts. From west to east are:Heracles Peninsula;Balaklava/Symbalon/Cembalo, a smaller natural harbor south of Sevastopol;Foros, the southernmost point;Alupka with theVorontsov Palace (Alupka);Gaspra;Yalta;Gurzuf;Alushta. Further east isSudak/Sougdia/Soldaia with its Genoese fort. Further east still is Theodosia/Kaffa/Feodosia, once a greatslave-mart and a kind of capital for the Genoese and Turks. Unlike the other southern ports, Feodosia has no mountains to its north. At the east end of the 90 km (56 mi)Kerch Peninsula isKerch/Panticapaeum, once the capital of theBosporian Kingdom. Just south of Kerch the new Crimean Bridge (opened in 2018) connects Crimea to theTaman Peninsula.
Sea of Azov: There is little on the south shore. The west shore is marked by theArabat Spit. Behind it is theSyvash or "Putrid Sea", a system of lakes and marshes which in the far north extend west to the Perekop Isthmus. Road- and rail-bridges cross the northern part of Syvash.
Interior: Most of the former capitals of Crimea stood on the north side of the mountains.Mangup/Doros (Gothic, Theodoro).Bakhchysarai (1532–1783).Southeast of Bakhchysarai is the cliff-fort ofChufut-Kale/Qirq Or which was used in more warlike times.Simferopol/Ak-Mechet, the modern capital.Karasu-Bazar/Bilohirsk was a commercial center. Solkhat/Staryi Krym was the old Tatar capital. Towns on the northern steppe area are all modern, notablyDzhankoi, a major road- and rail-junction.
Rivers: The longest is theSalhyr, which rises southeast of Simferopol and flows north and northeast to the Sea of Azov. TheAlma flows west to reach the Black Sea between Yevpatoria and Sevastopol. The shorterChorna flows west to Sevastopol Bay.
Nearby: East of the Kerch Strait the Ancient Greeks founded colonies atPhanagoria (at the head ofTaman Bay),Hermonassa (later Tmutarakan andTaman),Gorgippia (later a Turkish port and now Anapa). At the northeast point of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Don River wereTanais, Azak/Azov and nowRostov-on-Don. North of the peninsula the Dnieper turns westward and enters the Black Sea through the east–westDnieper-Bug Estuary which also receives the Bug River. At the mouth of the Bug stoodOlbia. At the mouth of the estuary isOchakiv.Odesa stands where the coast turns southwest. Further southwest isTyras/Akkerman/Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.
The southeast coast is flanked at a distance of 8–12 kilometres (5.0–7.5 mi) from the sea by a parallel range of mountains: the Crimean Mountains.[41] These mountains are backed bysecondary parallel ranges.
The main range of these mountains rises with extraordinary abruptness from the deep floor of the Black Sea to an altitude of 600–1,545 metres (1,969–5,069 ft), beginning at the southwest point of the peninsula, calledCape Fiolent. Some Greek myths state that this cape was supposedly crowned with the temple ofArtemis whereIphigeneia officiated as priestess.[42]Uchan-su, on the south slope of the mountains, is the highest waterfall in Crimea.[43]
Hydrography
"Crimea river" redirects here; not to be confused withCry Me a River.
There are 257 rivers and major streams on the Crimean peninsula; they are primarily fed by rainwater, with snowmelt playing a very minor role. This makes for significant seasonal fluctuation in water flow, with many streams drying up completely during the summer.[44] The largest rivers are theSalhyr (Salğır, Салгир), the Kacha (Кача), theAlma (Альма), and the Belbek (Бельбек). Also important are the Kokozka (Kökköz or Коккозка), the Indole (Indol or Индо́л), theChorna (Çorğun, Chernaya or Чёрная), the Derekoika (Dereköy or Дерекойка),[45] the Karasu-Bashi (Biyuk-Karasu or Биюк-Карасу) (a tributary of the Salhyr river), the Burulcha (Бурульча) (also a tributary of the Salhyr), theUchan-su, and the Ulu-Uzen'. The longest river of Crimea is the Salhyr at 204 km (127 mi). The Belbek has the greatest average discharge at 2.16 cubic metres per second (76 cu ft/s).[46] The Alma and the Kacha are the second- and third-longest rivers.[47]
Following Russia's annexation of Crimea, Ukraine blocked theNorth Crimean Canal, which provided 85% of Crimea's drinking and agriculture water.[48]
There are more than fifty salt lakes andsalt pans on the peninsula. The largest of them is Lake Sasyk (Сасык) on the southwest coast; others includeAqtas, Koyashskoye, Kiyatskoe, Kirleutskoe, Kizil-Yar, Bakalskoe, andDonuzlav.[49] The general trend is for the former lakes to become salt pans.[50]Lake Syvash (Sıvaş or Сива́ш) is a system of interconnected shallowlagoons on the north-eastern coast, covering an area of around 2,560 km2 (988 sq mi). A number of dams have created reservoirs; among the largest are the Simferopolskoye, Alminskoye,[51] the Taygansky and the Belogorsky just south ofBilohirsk inBilohirsk Raion.[52] TheNorth Crimea Canal, which transports water from theDnieper, is the largest of the man-made irrigation channels on the peninsula.[53] Crimea was facing an unprecedentedwater shortage crisis following the blocking of the canal by Ukraine in 2014.[54][55][48] After the2022 Russian invasion, the flow of water was restored however thedestruction of the Kakhovka Dam could lead to problems with water supply again.
Seventy-five percent of the remaining area of Crimea consists of semiaridprairie lands, a southward continuation of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, which slope gently to the northwest from the foothills of the Crimean Mountains. Numerouskurgans, orburial mounds, of the ancientScythians are scattered across the Crimean steppes.
The terrain that lies south of the sheltering Crimean Mountain range is of an altogether different character. Here, the narrow strip of coast and the slopes of the mountains are covered with greenery. This "riviera" stretches along the southeast coast from capesFiolent andAya, in the south, to Feodosia. There are many summer sea-bathing resorts such asAlupka,Yalta,Gurzuf,Alushta,Sudak, andFeodosia. During the years of Soviet rule, the resorts anddachas of this coast were used by leading politicians[56] and served as prime perquisites of the politically loyal.[citation needed] In addition, vineyards and fruit orchards are located in the region. Fishing, mining, and the production ofessential oils are also important. Numerous Crimean Tatar villages, mosques,monasteries, and palaces of the Russian imperial family and nobles are found here, as well as picturesque ancient Greek and medieval castles.
The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of theCrimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion. The natural vegetation consists of scrublands, woodlands, and forests, with a climate and vegetation similar to theMediterranean Basin.
Climate
Crimea's Southern Coast has a subtropical climate
Crimea is located between thetemperate andsubtropical climate belts and is characterized by warm and sunny weather.[57] It is characterized by diversity and the presence of microclimates.[57] The northern parts of Crimea have a moderatecontinental climate with short but cold winters and moderately hot dry summers.[58] In the central and mountainous areas the climate is transitional between the continental climate to the north and theMediterranean climate to the south.[58] Winters are mild at lower altitudes (in the foothills) and colder at higher altitudes.[58] Summers are hot at lower altitudes and warm in the mountains.[58] A subtropical, Mediterranean climate dominates the southern coastal regions, is characterized by mild winters and moderately hot, dry summers.[58]
The climate of Crimea is influenced by its geographic location, relief, and influences from theBlack Sea.[57] The Southern Coast is shielded from cold air masses coming from the north and, as a result, has milder winters.[57] Maritime influences from the Black Sea are restricted to coastal areas; in the interior of the peninsula the maritime influence is weak and does not play an important role.[57] Because a high-pressure system is located north of Crimea in both summer and winter, winds predominantly come from the north and northeast year-round.[57] In winter these winds bring in cold, dry continental air, while in summer they bring in dry and hot weather.[57] Winds from the northwest bring warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean, causing precipitation during spring and summer.[57] As well, winds from the southwest bring very warm and wet air from the subtropical latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea and cause precipitation during fall and winter.[57]
Mean annual temperatures range from 10 °C (50.0 °F) in the far north (Armiansk) to 13 °C (55.4 °F) in the far south (Yalta).[57] In the mountains, the mean annual temperature is around 5.7 °C (42.3 °F).[57] For every 100 m (330 ft) increase in altitude, temperatures decrease by 0.65 °C (1.17 °F) while precipitation increases.[57] In January mean temperatures range from −3 °C (26.6 °F) in Armiansk to 4.4 °C (39.9 °F) inMyskhor.[57] Cool-season temperatures average around 7 °C (44.6 °F) and it is rare for the weather to drop below freezing except in the mountains, where there is usually snow.[59] In July mean temperatures range from 15.4 °C (59.7 °F) inAi-Petri to 23.4 °C (74.1 °F) in the central parts of Crimea to 24.4 °C (75.9 °F) in Myskhor.[57] The frost-free period ranges from 160 to 200 days in the steppe and mountain regions to 240–260 days on the south coast.[57]
Precipitation in Crimea varies significantly based on location; it ranges from 310 millimetres (12.2 in) inChornomorske to 1,220 millimetres (48.0 in) at the highest altitudes in the Crimean mountains.[57] The Crimean mountains greatly influence the amount of precipitation present in the peninsula.[57] However, most of Crimea (88.5%) receives 300 to 500 millimetres (11.8 to 19.7 in) of precipitation per year.[57] The plains usually receive 300 to 400 millimetres (11.8 to 15.7 in) of precipitation per year, increasing to 560 millimetres (22.0 in) in the southern coast at sea level.[57] The western parts of the Crimean mountains receive more than 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) of precipitation per year.[57] Snowfall is common in the mountains during winter.[58]
Most of the peninsula receives more than 2,000 sunshine hours per year; it reaches up to 2,505 sunshine hours inQarabiy yayla in the Crimean Mountains.[57] As a result, the climate favors recreation and tourism.[57] Because of its climate and subsidized travel-packages from Russian state-run companies, the southern coast has remained a popular resort for Russian tourists.[60]
The nearbyDnieper River is a major waterway and transportation route that crosses the European continent from north to south and ultimately links the Black Sea with theBaltic Sea, of strategic importance since the historical trade routefrom the Varangians to the Greeks. The Black Sea serves as an economic thoroughfare connecting theCaucasus region and theCaspian Sea to central and Eastern Europe.[62]
Tourism is an important sector of Crimea's economySimferopol's city centre
In 2016 Crimea had Nominal GDP ofUS$7 billion and US$3,000 per capita.[64]
The main branches of the modern Crimean economy are agriculture and fishing oysters pearls, industry and manufacturing, tourism, and ports. Industrial plants are situated for the most part in the southern coast (Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch) regions of the republic, few northern (Armiansk, Krasnoperekopsk, Dzhankoi), aside from the central area, mainly Simferopol okrug and eastern region in Nizhnegorsk (few plants, same for Dzhankoj) city. Important industrial cities includeDzhankoi, housing a major railway connection,Krasnoperekopsk andArmiansk, among others.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in early 2014 and subsequent sanctions targeting Crimea, the tourist industry suffered major losses for two years. The flow of holidaymakers dropped 35 percent in the first half of 2014 over the same period of 2013.[65] The number of tourist arrivals reached a record in 2012 at 6.1 million.[66] According to the Russian administration of Crimea, they dropped to 3.8 million in 2014,[67] and rebounded to 5.6 million by 2016.[68]
The most important industries in Crimea include food production, chemical fields, mechanical engineering, and metalworking, and fuel production industries.[69] Sixty percent of the industry market belongs to food production. There are a total of 291 large industrial enterprises and 1002 small business enterprises.[69]
In 2014, the republic's annual GDP was $4.3 billion (500 times smaller than the size of Russia's economy). The average salary was $290 per month. Thebudget deficit was $1.5 billion.[70]
Agriculture
Agriculture in the region includes cereals, vegetable-growing, gardening, andwine-making, particularly in the Yalta andMassandra regions. Livestock production includes cattle breeding, poultry keeping, and sheep breeding.[69] Other products produced on the Crimean Peninsula include salt,porphyry,limestone, andironstone (found aroundKerch) since ancient times.[42]
Crimea possesses severalnatural gas fields bothonshore andoffshore, which were starting to be drilled by western oil and gas companies before annexation.[76][77] The inland fields are located inChornomorske andDzhankoi, while offshore fields are located in the western coast in the Black Sea and in the northeastern coast in the Azov Sea:[78]
The republic also possesses twooil fields: one onshore, the Serebryankse oil field inRozdolne, and one offshore, theSubbotina oil field in the Black Sea.
Electricity
Crimea has 540 MW of its own electricity generation capacity, including the 100 MW Simferopol Thermal Power Plant, the 22 MW Sevastopol Thermal Power Plant and the 19 MW Kamish-Burunskaya Thermal Power Plant.[80] This local electricity generation has proven insufficient for local consumption, and since annexation by Russia, Crimea has been reliant on an underwater power cable to mainland Russia.[81]
Power generation is set to be increased by two combined-cycle gas steam turbo thermal plants PGU, each {or should this be both combined?} providing 470 MW (116 167 MW GT, 235 MW block), built by TPE (among others) with turbines provided by Power Machines; NPO Saturn with Perm PMZ; either modified GTD-110M/GTE-160/GTE-180 units or UTZ KTZ, or a V94.2 supplied by MAPNA, modified in Russia by PGU Thermal.
Solar photovoltaic SES plants are plentiful on the peninsula, including a small facility north of Sevastopol. There also is the Saky gas thermal plant near the Jodobrom chemical plant, featuring SaKhZ(SaChP) boosted production with Perm GTE GTU25P (PS90GP25 25 MW aeroderivative GP) PGU turbogenerators. Older plants in operation include the Sevastopol TEC (close to Inkerman) which uses AEG and Ganz Elektro turbines and turbogenerators generating about 25 MW each, Simferopol TEC, Yevpatoria, Kamysh Burun TEC (Kerch south – Zaliv) and a few others.
In May 2015, work began on a multibillion-dollar road-rail link (a pair of parallel bridges) across the Kerch Strait.[82] The road bridge opened in May 2018, and the rail bridge in December 2019. With a length of 19 km, it is the longest bridge in Europe, surpassingVasco da Gama Bridge inLisbon. The Crimean Bridge was damaged byan attack[83] on October 8, 2022, andanother on July 17, 2023.[84]
Public transportation
Almost every settlement in Crimea is connected with another settlement by bus lines. Crimea contains the longest (96 km or 59 mi)trolleybus route in the world, founded in 1959, stretching from Simferopol to Yalta.[85] The trolleybus line starts nearSimferopol's Railway Station (in Soviet times it started nearSimferopol International Airport) through the mountains toAlushta and on to Yalta. The length of line is about 90 km and passengers are assigned a seat. Simferopol, Yalta and Alushta also have an urban and suburban trolleybus network. Trolleybuses also operate inSevastopol andKerch.
A tram system operates in the city of Yevpatoria. In the nearbytownlet village of Molochnoye, a 1.6 km-long tram line provides the only connection between the sea shore and a holiday resort, but its operation is halted since 2015.
Railway traffic
There are two railroad lines running through Crimea: the non-electrifiedArmiansk–Kerch (with a link to Feodosia), and the electrifiedMelitopol–Simferopol–Sevastopol (with a link to Yevpatoria), connecting Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland.
Until 2014 the network was part of the Cisdneper Directorate of theUkrainian Railways. Long-distance trains provided connection to all major Ukrainian cities, to many towns of Russia,Belarus and, until the end of the 2000s, even toVilnius,Riga,Warsaw andBerlin.
Since 2014 the railways are operated by theCrimea Railway. Local trains belong to theYuzhnaya Prigorodnaya Passazhirskaya Kompaniya (Southern Suburban Passenger Company), serving the entire network of the peninsula and via the Crimean Bridge three trains daily toAnapa. Long-distance trains under the nameTavriya – operated by the companyGrand Servis Ekspress – connect Sevastopol and Simferopol daily with Moscow and Saint Petersburg; in the summer season Yevpatoria and Feodosia are also directly connected by them. Several times a week Simferopol is also linked withVolgograd,Sochi,Yekaterinburg,Omsk and evenMurmansk by train.
Further development plans consist of a bypass line between Simferopol and Kerch, and a complete electrification of the network with changing the voltage of the already electrified lines from 3 kV DC to 25 kV 50 Hz AC.
А-291 – Tavrida highway (route Yevpatoria-) Sevastopol – Simferopol (SW to W N to East ring) – Bilohirsk – north Feodosia – Kerch south (strait bridge)
The cities of Yalta,Feodosia,Kerch, Sevastopol, Chornomorske andYevpatoria are connected to one another by sea routes.
Tourism
Boardwalk in Yalta.Genoese fortress ofCaffa.Mosque and yard in the Khan Palace inBakhchisaraySwallow's Nest, built in 1912 for businessman Baron Pavel von Steingel
The development of Crimea as a holiday destination began in the second half of the 19th century. The development of the transport networks brought masses of tourists from central parts of theRussian Empire.At the beginning of the 20th century, a major development of palaces, villas, and dachas began—most of which remain. These are some of the main attractions of Crimea as a tourist destination. There are manyCrimean legends about famous touristic places, which attract the attention of tourists.
A new phase of tourist development began when the Soviet government started promoting the healing quality of the local air, lakes and therapeutic muds. It became a "health" destination for Soviet workers, and hundreds of thousands of Soviet tourists visited Crimea.
Artek is a formerYoung Pioneer camp on theBlack Sea in the town ofHurzuf, nearAyu-Dag, established in 1925.[86][87] By 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km2 (1.2 sq mi), and consisted of 150 buildings. Unlike most of the young pioneer camps, Artek was an all-year camp, due to the warm climate. Artek was considered to be a privilege for Soviet children during its existence, as well as for children from other communist countries. During its heyday, 27,000 children a year vacationed at Artek. Between 1925 and 1969 the camp hosted 300,000 children.[88] After the breaking up of theYoung Pioneers in 1991 its prestige declined, though it remained a popular vacation destination.[87]
In the 1990s, Crimea became more of a get-away destination than a "health-improvement" destination. The most visited areas are the south shore of Crimea with cities of Yalta and Alushta, the western shore – Yevpatoria and Saky, and the south-eastern shore – Feodosia and Sudak.According toNational Geographic, Crimea was among the top 20 travel destinations in 2013.[89]
Following Russia's largely unrecognized annexation of Crimea, theEuropean Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several other countries (including Ukraine) imposedeconomic sanctions against Russia, including some specifically targeting Crimea. Many of these sanctions were directed at individuals—both Russian and Crimean.[90][91] In general they prohibit the sale, supply, transfer, or export ofgoods and technology in several sectors, including services directly related to tourism and infrastructure. They list seven ports wherecruise ships cannot dock.[92][93][94][95] Sanctions against individuals include travel bans and asset freezes.Visa andMasterCard temporarily stopped service in Crimea in December 2014.[96][97] The Russian national payment card system allows Visa and MasterCard cards issued by Russian banks to work in Crimea.[98][99] TheMir payment system operated by theCentral Bank of Russia operates in Crimea[100] as well as MasterCard[101] and Visa.[102] However, there are no major international banks in Crimea.[103]
As of 2014[update], the total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was 2,248,400 people (Republic of Crimea: 1,889,485; Sevastopol: 395,000).[105] This was down from the2001 Ukrainian Census figure of 2,376,000 (Autonomous Republic of Crimea: 2,033,700; Sevastopol: 342,451).[106]
According to the 2014 Russian census, 84% of Crimean inhabitants named Russian as their native language; 7.9% Crimean Tatar; 3.7%Tatar; and 3.3% Ukrainian.[107] It was the first official census in Crimea since a Ukrainian-held census in 2001.[108]
According to the 2001 census, 77% of Crimean inhabitants namedRussian as their native language; 11.4% Crimean Tatar; and 10.1% Ukrainian.[109] In 2013, however, the Crimean Tatar language was estimated to be on the brink of extinction, being taught in Crimea in only about 15 schools at that time.[citation needed] Turkey provided the greatest support to Tatars in Ukraine, which had been unable to resolve the problem of education in their mother tongue in Crimea, by modernising the schools.[110][111]
At the beginning of the 19th century,Italian emigration to the Crimea came from various Italian regions (Liguria,Campania,Apulia), with immigrants settling mainly in the coastal cities of theBlack Sea and theSea of Azov, as well as inOdesa,Mykolaiv,Sevastopol,Mariupol,Berdiansk andTaganrog. With theOctober Revolution of 1917, with which theRussian Empire became theSoviet Union, a bitter period began for minorities in Russia.Italians of Crimea therefore faced much repression. Between 1936 and 1938, duringJoseph Stalin'sGreat Purge, many Italians were accused ofespionage and were arrested, tortured, deported or executed. The few survivors were allowed to return to Kerch in the 1950s and 1960s duringNikita Khrushchev's administration. The descendants of the surviving Italians of Crimea currently account forc. 300[112] people, mainly residing in Kerch.The population number excluding these uyezds is given in the table below.
Crimean Tatars, a predominantlyMuslim ethnic minority who in 2001 made up 12.1% of the population,[123] formed in Crimea in the early modern era, after the Crimean Khanate had come into existence. The Crimean Tatars wereforcibly expelled to Central Asia byJoseph Stalin's government as a form of collective punishment, on the grounds that some had joined the invadingWaffen-SS, formingTatar Legions, during World War II. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars began to return to the region.[124] According to the2001 Ukrainian population census, 60% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians and 24% are ethnic Ukrainians.[123]
Jews in Crimea were historicallyKrymchaks andKaraites (the latter a small group centered atYevpatoria). The 1879 census for the Taurida Governorate reported a Jewish population of 4.20%, not including a Karaite population of 0.43%.The Krymchaks (but not the Karaites) weretargeted for annihilation duringNazi occupation. The Nazismurdered around 40,000 Crimean Jews.[125]
The number ofCrimea Germans was 60,000 in 1939. During WWII, they were forcibly deported on the orders of Stalin, as they were regarded as a potential "fifth column".[126][127][128] This was part of the 800,000Germans in Russia who were relocated within the Soviet Union during Stalinist times.[129] The 2001 Ukrainian census reports just 2,500 ethnic Germans (0.1% of population) in Crimea.
What is thought to be the first work of literature in theCrimean Tatar language, a version ofYusuf and Zulaykha, was composed around the early thirteenth century, apparently byMahmud Qırımlı.[134]Alexander Pushkin visitedBakhchysarai in 1820 and later wrote the poemThe Fountain of Bakhchisaray. Crimea was the background forAdam Mickiewicz's seminal work,The Crimean Sonnets inspired by his 1825 travel. A series of 18sonnets constitute an artistic telling of a journey to and through the Crimea, they feature romantic descriptions of the oriental nature and culture of the East which show the despair of an exile longing for the homeland, driven from his home by a violent enemy.
Ivan Aivazovsky, the 19th-century marine painter of Armenian origin, who is considered one of the major artists of his era was born inFeodosia and lived there for the most part of his life. Many of his paintings depict the Black Sea. He also created battle paintings during the Crimean War.[135]
Crimean tatar singerJamala dedicated her 2016Eurovision winning song "1944" to the deported Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatar singerJamala won theEurovision Song Contest 2016 representing Ukraine with her song "1944", about the historic deportation of Crimean Tatars in that year by Soviet authorities.[136]
Painting of the Russian squadron in Sevastopol byIvan Aivazovsky (1846)
^Russia underwent a series of political changes in the period of the raids. TheGrand Duchy of Moscow overthrew Turco-Mongol lordship, and expanded into theTsardom of Russia in 1547. From 1721, following the reforms of Peter the Great, it was theRussian Empire.
^Maiolino Bisaccioni, Giacomo Pecini,Historia delle guerre ciuili di questi vltimi tempi, cioe, d'Inghilterra, Catalogna, Portogallo, Palermo, Napoli, Fermo, Moldauia, Polonia, Suizzeri, Francia, Turco. per Francesco Storti. Alla Fortezza, sotto il portico de' Berettari, 1655,p. 349: "dalla fortuna de Cosacchi dipendeva la sicurezza della Crimea". Nicolò Beregani,Historia delle guerre d'Europa, Volume 2 (1683),p. 251.
^Edward Gibbon,The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1,306f. "the peninsula of Crim Tartary, known to the ancients under the name of Chersonesus Taurica"; ibid. Volume 10 (1788), p. 211: "The modern reader must not confound this old Cherson of the Tauric or Crimean peninsula witha new city of the same name". See also John Millhouse,English-Italian (1859),p. 597
^William Smith,Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), s.v.Taurica Chersonesus. vol. ii, p. 1109.
^Abū al-Fidā, Mukhtaṣar tāʾrīkh al-bashar ("A Brief History of Mankind"), 1315–1329; English translation of chronicle contemporaneous with Abū al-Fidā inThe Memoirs of a Syrian Prince : Abul̓-Fidā,̕ sultan of Ḥamāh (672-732/1273-1331) by Peter M. Holt, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1983, pp. 38–39.
^Edward Allworth,The Tatars of Crimea: Return to the Homeland: Studies and Documents, Duke University Press, 1998, p.6
^W. Radloff,Versuch eines Wörterbuches der Türk-Dialecte (1888), ii. 745
^George Vernadsky, Michael Karpovich,A History of Russia, Yale University Press, 1952,p. 53. "The name Crimea is to be derived from the Turkish wordqirim (hence the Russiankrym), which means "fosse" and refers more specifically to the Perekop Isthmus, the old Russian wordperekop being an exact translation of the Turkishqirim."
^The Proto-Turkic root is cited as *kōrɨ- "to fence, protect"Starling (citing Севортян Э. В. и др. [E. W. Sewortyan et al.], Этимологический словарь тюркских языков [An Etymological Dictionary of the Turkic languages] (1974–2000) 6, 76–78).
^Edith Hall,Adventures with Iphigenia in Tauris (2013),p. 176:"it was indeed at some point between the 1730s and the 1770s that the dream of recreating ancient 'Taurida' in the southern Crimea was conceived.Catherine's plan was to create a paradisiacal imperial 'garden' there, and her Greek archbishopEugenios Voulgaris obliged by inventing a new etymology for the old name of Tauris, deriving it fromtaphros, which (he claimed) was the ancient Greek for a ditch dug by human hands."
^The Mongoliankori− is explained as a loan from Turkic by DoerferTürkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen 3 (1967), 450 and by Щербак,Ранние тюркско-монгольские языковые связи (VIII-XIV вв.) (1997) p. 141.
^Compiled from original authors (1779)."The History of the Bosporus".An Universal History, From the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time. pp. 127–129.
^Slater, Eric. "Caffa: Early Western Expansion in the Late Medieval World, 1261–1475."Review (Fernand Braudel Center) 29, no. 3 (2006): 271–83.JSTOR40241665. pp. 271
^M. S. Anderson (December 1958). "The Great Powers and the Russian Annexation of the Crimea, 1783-4".The Slavonic and East European Review.37 (88):17–41.JSTOR4205010. which would later see Russia's frontier expand westwards to theDniester.
^Doyle, Don H., ed. (2010).Secession as an International Phenomenon: From America's Civil War to Contemporary Separatist Movements. University of Georgia Press. p. 285.ISBN9780820337371.
^Kayukova, Elena (2014). "Resources of Curative Mud of the Crimea Peninsula". In Balderer, Werner; Porowski, Adam; Idris, Hussein; LaMoreaux, James W. (eds.).Thermal and Mineral Waters. Berlin: Springer. pp. 61–72.doi:10.1007/978-3-642-28824-1_6.ISBN978-3-642-28823-4.
^Bogutskaya, Nina; Hales, Jennifer."426: Crimea Peninsula".Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. The Nature Conservancy. Archived fromthe original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved10 March 2016.
^National Geographic Society (December 2012)."Best Trips 2013, Crimea".National Geographic. Archived fromthe original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved29 March 2015.
^Итоги Переписи Населения В Крымском Федеральном Округе [Censuses in Crimean Federal District], Таблицы с итогами Федерального статистического наблюдения "Перепись населения в Крымском федеральном округе" [Tables with the results of the Federal Statistical observation "Census in the Crimean Federal District"]4.1 Национальный Состав НаселенияArchived 31 March 2022 at theWayback Machine [4.1. National composition of population]
^Pohl, J. Otto.The Stalinist Penal System: A Statistical History of Soviet Repression and Terror. Mc Farland & Company, Inc, Publishers. 1997."23". Archived fromthe original on 4 June 2000.
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