 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Ukrainian. (March 2024)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Pryazovia" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Pryazovia | |
|---|---|
   
| |
 Approximate location of Pryazovia. Legend: Приозів'я - Pryazovia; Озівське море - Sea of Azov; Чорне море -Black Sea | |
| Countries |  Ukraine[a] Russia |
Pryazovia (Ukrainian:Приазов'я,sometimes spelledПриозів'я,[b]Pryozivia;Russian:Приазовье,romanized: Priazovye) or literallyCis-Azov region is usually used to refer to the geographic area of the northcoast of theSea of Azov,[1] mostly located in south-easternUkraine, with a small part inRussia. It is located in the southern part of the Azov-Kuban Lowland within theEast European Plain, which surrounds theSea of Azov for most of the stretch of coastline. In a more general sense it may mean theAzov Sea littoral, and conversely, to be more specific, it may also be referred to as theNorthern Priazovye.
The (Northern) Priazovye consists of the southern parts ofDonetsk Oblast andZaporizhzhia Oblast and the eastern part ofKherson Oblast - parts ofUkraine and the western part ofRostov Oblast ofRussia.
It is a small part in the south of the vastEast European Plain. The southern edge of theUkrainian Shield overlaps with Eastern Pryazovia. The natural Northern borders of Northwestern Pryazovia are theAzov Upland and theDonets Ridge.
Major rivers includeKalmius andMius.
Largest cities areRostov-on-Don,Mariupol,Taganrog,Melitopol andBerdiansk.
In its earlier history, the region was ruled byScythia,Old Great Bulgaria,Khazars,Kipchaks, theMongol Empire, and theCrimean Khanate. The oldest towns were located at present-dayTaganrog, that is theancient Greekemporium Kremnoi from the 7th to 5th centuries BC[2] and the medieval ItalianPisan colony of Portus Pisanus from the 13th century.[3][4] Following annexation and liquidation ofCrimean Khanate, between 1783 and 1802 this land was part of Imperial RussianNovorossiya Governorate in the historical area ofNovorossiya ("New Russia"). Tsarist Russia forcibly resettled many Greeksfrom Crimea to Pryazovia, as well as somePoles from territories annexed in thePartitions of Poland,[5] yetUkrainians formed the majority of the population. After the fall of Tsarist Russia, the area was at various times either entirely or partly controlled by theBolsheviks,Ukrainians,White Russians and UkrainianMakhnovists, before the bulk of it became part ofSoviet Ukraine. In March-April 1918,Taganrog served as the capital of theUkrainian Soviet Republic,[6] and was the place of establishment of theCommunist Party of Ukraine. In 1924, a small portion with Taganrog in the east passed from Soviet Ukraine toSoviet Russia.[6] DuringWorld War II, the territory was occupied by Germany in 1941–1943.
During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the whole of Pryazovia was occupied by Russian troops. The fiercest battle in the area was theSiege of Mariupol.
Ukraine's Greek minority population of 91,000 (in 2021) live mostly in the Pryazovia region, as a result of theEmigration of Christians from the Crimea in 1778.[7]
According to the 1897 census,Ukrainians formed a majority (56.2%) of the population of the four coastal districts of Pryazovia (Berdyansky Uyezd,Melitopolsky Uyezd,Mariupol uezd, Taganrog Okrug), forming the largest ethnicity in each of the districts, with sizeable minorities beingRussians,Greeks,Bulgarians,Germans,Tatars,Jews,Belarusians,Poles andTurks.[8][9][10] The vast majority of Greeks, Tatars and Turks lived in the Mariupol uezd, forming 19.0%, 6.1% and 2.1% of its population, respectively, most of the Bulgarians lived in the Berdyansky Uyezd, forming 10.4% of its population, most Poles lived in the Melitopolsky Uyezd, where they were deported by Russia from territories annexed in thePartitions of Poland,[5] whereas the Russian, German, Jewish and Belarusian minorities were more evenly distributed.[8][9][10]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)