TheIsthmus of Perekop, literally theIsthmus of the Trench,[a] is the narrow, 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) wide strip of land that connects theCrimean Peninsula to the mainland ofUkraine. The isthmus projects between theBlack Sea to the west and theSyvash to the east. The isthmus takes its name of "Perekop" from the Tatar fortress ofOr Qapi.
The border between Ukraine'sAutonomous Republic of Crimea andKherson Oblast runs through the northern part of the isthmus. Since the start of the Russian militaryoccupation and subsequentannexation of Crimea in 2014, this is also thede facto northern border of the RussianRepublic of Crimea. The settlements ofPerekop,Armiansk,Suvorove,Voloshyne, andKrasnoperekopsk are situated on the isthmus. TheNorth Crimean Canal ran through the isthmus, supplying Crimea with fresh water from theDnieper River. Ukraine closed the canal in 2014, and the water supply was only partially replaced by other local and Russian sources.
Rich salt ores are located in the south of the isthmus and are of commercial importance to the region.
The nameTaphros inGreek means a dug-out trench, per a defensive trench dug between the Azov Sea and the Black Sea; there also appears to have been a town in the vicinity of the same name.[1] The Crimean Tatar name ofOr Qapı adopts the Greek in theCrimean Tatar language meaningOr "trench" andQapı "gate," andPerekop in theSlavic languages literally means a dug-out.
The strategic and commercial value of this area, together with the strategic value of being the gateway to Crimea, has made the isthmus the location of some particularly fierce battles. From antiquity through the Byzantine era theGreeks fortified the area, and so subsequently did theCrimean Tatars. In the 15th century the area became a colony of the maritimeRepublic of Genoa. In 1783 the area became a part of theRussian Empire, which made Perekop a county center of Tavriiagubernia.[2][3] In 1954, together with Crimea it wastransferred to theUkrainian Soviet Republic.
In November 1920, during theRussian Civil War, a battle was fought here betweenRed Army and theWhite troops ofPyotr Wrangel, who was in control of the Crimea. The Red Army turned out victorious, but 140,000 civilians fled over the Black Sea toIstanbul.
DuringWorld War II, the combined forces of German and Romanian troops under the command ofErich von Manstein entered Crimea through the Isthmus of Perekop. The battle of the isthmus lasted five days from 24 September 1941 before the isthmus was secured by the Axis forces. On 27 October the Axis forces advanced further into Crimea, leading to theBattle of Sevastopol, which ended with the capture of all of Crimea in July 1942. On 9 May 1944, the Red Army regained control of Crimea.
On 2 March 2014, it was reported that Russian troops were digging trenches along the border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, which runs across the isthmus.[4] Soon after, this became a de facto border between Russian-controlled Crimea and the rest of Ukraine until 24 February 2022, when Russian forces crossed over the frontier during theirinvasion of Ukraine and unilaterally annexed the adjacent areas of the Ukrainian mainland.
46°08′58″N33°40′20″E / 46.14944°N 33.67222°E /46.14944; 33.67222
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