What peoples live on the territory of modern Crimea. History of Crimea
Just a year ago the Crimean peninsula was integral part state of Ukraine. But after March 16, 2014, he changed his “place of registration” and became part of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the increased interest in how Crimea developed is quite understandable. The history of the peninsula is very turbulent and eventful.
The first inhabitants of the ancient land
The history of the peoples of Crimea goes back several thousand years. On the peninsula, researchers discovered the remains of ancient people who lived back in the Paleolithic era. Near the sites of Kiik-Koba and Staroselye, archaeologists found the bones of people who inhabited this area at that time.
In the first millennium BC, Cimmerians, Taurians and Scythians lived here. By the name of one nationality, this territory, or rather its mountainous and coastal parts, is still called Tavrika, Tavria or Taurida. Ancient people engaged in farming and cattle breeding on this not very fertile land, as well as hunting and fishing. The world was new, fresh and cloudless.
Greeks, Romans and Goths
But for some ancient states, sunny Crimea turned out to be very attractive in terms of location. The history of the peninsula also has Greek echoes. Around the 6th-5th centuries, the Greeks began to actively populate this territory. They founded entire colonies here, after which the first states appeared. The Greeks brought with them the benefits of civilization: they actively built temples and theaters, stadiums and baths. At this time, shipbuilding began to develop here. It is with the Greeks that historians associate the development of viticulture. The Greeks also planted olive trees here and collected oil. We can safely say that with the arrival of the Greeks, the history of the development of Crimea received a new impetus.
But a few centuries later, powerful Rome set its sights on this territory and captured part of the coast. This takeover lasted until the 6th century AD. But the greatest damage to the development of the peninsula was caused by the Gothic tribes, who invaded in the 3rd and 4th centuries and thanks to whom the Greek states collapsed. And although the Goths were soon supplanted by other nationalities, the development of Crimea slowed down very much at that time.
Khazaria and Tmutarakan
Crimea is also called ancient Khazaria, and in some Russian chronicles this territory is called Tmutarakan. And these are not at all figurative names of the area where Crimea was located. The history of the peninsula has left in speech those toponymic names that at one time or another called this section of the earth's land. Starting from the 5th century, the entire Crimea came under strict Byzantine influence. But already in the 7th century the entire territory of the peninsula (except Chersonesus) was powerful and strong. That is why in Western Europe in many manuscripts the name “Khazar” appears. But Rus' and Khazaria compete all the time, and in 960 the Russian history of Crimea begins. The Kaganate was defeated, and all Khazar possessions were subordinated to the Old Russian state. Now this territory is called Tmutarakan.
By the way, it was here that the Kiev prince Vladimir, who occupied Kherson (Korsun), was officially baptized in 988.
Tatar-Mongol trace
Since the 13th century, the history of the annexation of Crimea again develops according to a military scenario: the Mongol-Tatars invade the peninsula.
Here the Crimean ulus is formed - one of the divisions of the Golden Horde. After Golden Horde disintegrates, in 1443 it appears on the territory of the peninsula. In 1475 it completely falls under the influence of Turkey. It is from here that numerous raids on Polish, Russian and Ukrainian lands are carried out. Moreover, already at the end of the 15th century, these invasions became widespread and threatened the integrity of both the Moscow state and Poland. The Turks mainly hunted for cheap labor: they captured people and sold them into slavery in the slave markets of Turkey. One of the reasons for the creation of the Zaporozhye Sich in 1554 was to counter these seizures.
Russian history
The history of the transfer of Crimea to Russia continues in 1774, when the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was concluded. After the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, almost 300 years of dominance came to an end Ottoman Empire. The Turks abandoned Crimea. It was at this time that Largest cities Sevastopol and Simferopol. Crimea is developing rapidly, money is being invested here, industry and trade are beginning to flourish.
But Türkiye did not abandon plans to regain this attractive territory and was preparing for a new war. We must pay tribute to the Russian army, which did not allow this to happen. After another war in 1791, the Treaty of Jassy was signed.
The volitional decision of Catherine II
So, in fact, the peninsula has now become part of a powerful empire, whose name is Russia. Crimea, whose history included many changes from hand to hand, needed powerful protection. The acquired southern lands had to be protected by ensuring border security. Empress Catherine II instructed Prince Potemkin to study all the advantages and weaknesses of the annexation of Crimea. In 1782, Potemkin wrote a letter to the Empress, in which he insisted on making an important decision. Catherine agrees with his arguments. She understands how important Crimea is both for solving internal government problems and from a foreign policy perspective.
On April 8, 1783, Catherine II issues a Manifesto on the annexation of Crimea. It was a fateful document. It was from this moment, from this date, that Russia, Crimea, the history of the empire and the peninsula were closely intertwined for many centuries. According to the Manifesto, all Crimean residents were promised the protection of this territory from enemies, the preservation of property and faith.
True, the Turks recognized the fact of Crimea’s annexation to Russia only eight months later. All this time, the situation around the peninsula was extremely tense. When the Manifesto was promulgated, at first allegiance Russian Empire The clergy took the oath and only then did the entire population. On the peninsula, ceremonial celebrations, feasts were held, games and horse races were held, and cannon salutes were fired into the air. As contemporaries noted, all of Crimea passed into the Russian Empire with joy and jubilation.
Since then, Crimea, the history of the peninsula and the way of life of its population have been inextricably linked with all the events that took place in the Russian Empire.
A powerful impetus to development
The brief history of Crimea after its annexation to the Russian Empire can be described in one word - “heyday”. Industry and agriculture, winemaking and viticulture are beginning to develop rapidly here. Fishing and salt industries appear in the cities, and people are actively developing trade relations.
Since Crimea is located in a very warm and favorable climate, many rich people wanted to get land here. Nobles, members of the royal family, and industrialists considered it an honor to found family estate on the territory of the peninsula. In the 19th - early 20th centuries, a rapid flowering of architecture began here. Industrial magnates, royalty, and the Russian elite build entire palaces here and create beautiful parks that have survived on the territory of Crimea to this day. And following the nobility, people of art, actors, singers, painters, and theatergoers flocked to the peninsula. Crimea becomes the cultural Mecca of the Russian Empire.
Don’t forget about the healing climate of the peninsula. Since doctors proved that the air of Crimea is extremely favorable for the treatment of tuberculosis, a mass pilgrimage began here for those wishing to be cured of this disease. fatal disease. Crimea is becoming attractive not only for bohemian holidays, but also for health tourism.
Together with the whole country
At the beginning of the 20th century, the peninsula developed along with the entire country. The October Revolution and the subsequent civil war did not escape him either. It was from Crimea (Yalta, Sevastopol, Feodosia) that the last vessels and ships on which the Russian intelligentsia left Russia left. It was in this place that a mass exodus of White Guards was observed. The country was creating a new system, and Crimea did not lag behind.
It was in the 20s of the last century that Crimea was transformed into an all-Union health resort. In 1919, the Bolsheviks adopted the “Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars on healing areas of national importance.” Crimea is included in it with a red line. A year later, another important document was signed - the decree “On the use of Crimea for the treatment of workers.”
Until the war, the territory of the peninsula was used as a resort for tuberculosis patients. In Yalta in 1922, a specialized Institute of Tuberculosis was even opened. Funding was at the proper level, and soon this research institute became the country's main center for pulmonary surgery.
Epochal Crimean Conference
During the Great Patriotic War, the peninsula became the scene of massive military operations. Here they fought on land and at sea, in the air and in the mountains. Two cities - Kerch and Sevastopol - received the title of hero cities for their significant contribution to the victory over fascism.
True, not all the peoples inhabiting the multinational Crimea fought on the side of the Soviet Army. Some representatives openly supported the invaders. That is why in 1944 Stalin issued a decree on the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people outside the Crimea. Hundreds of trains in one day transported an entire people to Central Asia.
Crimea entered world history due to the fact that the Yalta Conference was held in the Livadia Palace in February 1945. The leaders of the three superpowers - Stalin (USSR), Roosevelt (USA) and Churchill (Great Britain) - signed important international documents in Crimea, according to which the world order was determined for the long post-war decades.
Crimea - Ukrainian
In 1954 a new milestone comes. The Soviet leadership decides to transfer Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR. The history of the peninsula begins to develop according to a new scenario. The initiative came personally from the then head of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev.
This was done on a special occasion: that year the country celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada. To commemorate this historical date and demonstrate that Russian and Ukrainian peoples united, Crimea was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. And now the pair “Ukraine - Crimea” has begun to be considered as both a whole and a part of the whole. The history of the peninsula is beginning to be described in modern chronicles from scratch.
Whether this decision was economically justified, whether it was worth taking such a step then - such questions did not even arise at that time. Because the Soviet Union was united, no one attached much importance to whether Crimea would be part of the RSFSR or the Ukrainian SSR.
Autonomy within Ukraine
When the independent Ukrainian state was formed, Crimea received autonomy status. In September 1991, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic was adopted. And on December 1, 1991, a referendum was held in which 54% of Crimean residents supported the independence of Ukraine. In May of the following year, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea was adopted, and in February 1994, Crimeans elected the first President of the Republic of Crimea. It was Yuri Meshkov.
It was during the years of perestroika that disputes began to arise more and more often that Khrushchev illegally gave Crimea to Ukraine. Pro-Russian sentiment on the peninsula was very strong. Therefore, as soon as the opportunity arose, Crimea returned to Russia again.
Fateful March 2014
While a large-scale state crisis began to grow in Ukraine at the end of 2013 - beginning of 2014, in Crimea voices were increasingly heard that the peninsula should be returned to Russia. On the night of February 26-27 unknown people The Russian flag was raised over the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea.
The Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopt a declaration of independence of Crimea. At the same time, the idea was voiced to hold an All-Crimean referendum. It was originally scheduled for March 31, but was then moved two weeks earlier to March 16. The results of the Crimean referendum were impressive: 96.6% of voters were in favor. The overall level of support for this decision on the peninsula was 81.3%.
The modern history of Crimea continues to take shape before our eyes. Not all countries have yet recognized the status of Crimea. But Crimeans live with faith in a bright future.
Every self-respecting person tries to study the past. Possessing such a wealth of knowledge, we can draw conclusions about the phenomena and processes that occurred in a certain territory. In addition, they say that a happy future can be built only after realizing the mistakes of our ancestors.
Understanding the life and activities of people who lived many years ago is also an incredibly exciting experience. All peoples, ethnic groups, and countries that have ever existed are interesting in their own way. The history of Crimea, a beautiful peninsula that has more than once become the cause of disagreements between different tribes and states, occupies a special place in science.
Chronological information on ancient Crimea:
1) Paleolithic in the history of Crimea:
From 5 million years ago to the middle of the 9th millennium BC.
It includes:
Lower (early) Paleolithic periods:
- Olduvai, from 5-7 million years ago to 700 thousand years ago;
- Acheulian, about 700 - 100 thousand years ago.
Middle (Mousterian) Paleolithic: from 100 to 40 thousand years BC.
Upper (late) Paleolithic, from 35 thousand years to 9 thousand years BC.
2) Mesolithic in the history of Crimea: from the end of 9 to 6 thousand years BC.
3) Neolithic in the history of Crimea: from 5 to early 4 thousand years BC.
4) Chalcolithic in the history of Crimea: from the middle of 4 to 3 thousand years BC.
The history of the appearance of the first people
on the territory of ancient Crimea, their appearance and habitat
However, the question of the existence of the peninsula itself remains open. In 1996, American geologists from Columbia University published a scientifically based proposal that ancient Crimea was part of the land mass until approximately 5600 BC. e. They argued that the Great Flood described in the Bible was the result of a breakthrough in the Mediterranean Sea, after which 155,000 square meters were under water. km. territory of the planet, the Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula appeared. This version is either confirmed or refuted again. But it seems quite plausible.
Be that as it may, science knows that 300-250 thousand years ago Neanderthals already lived in Crimea. They chose the caves of the foothills. Unlike the Pithecanthropes, who apparently settled only on the South Coast, these people also occupied the eastern part of the present peninsula. To date, scientists have been able to study about ten sites that belonged to the Acheulean era (early Paleolithic): Chernopolye, Shary I-III, Tsvetochnoye, Bodrak I-III, Alma, Bakla, etc.
Among those Neanderthal sites ancient Crimea, which are known to historians, the most popular is Kiik-Koba, located near the river. Zuya. Its age is 150-100 thousand years.
On the way from Feodosia to Simferopol there is another witness to the early history of Crimea - the Wolf Grotto site. It arose in the Middle Paleolithic era (Mousterian) and belonged to a type of man who was not yet Cro-Magnon, but also differed from Pithecanthropus.
Other similar dwellings are also known. For example, at Cape Meganom near Sudak, in Kholodnaya Balka, Chokurcha in the Simferopol region, a cave near Mount Ak-Kaya near Belogorsk, sites in the Bakhchisarai region (Staroselye, Shaitan-Koba, Kobazi).
The Middle Paleolithic period of the history of Crimea is characterized by the development of the southern coast of the territory of the modern peninsula, its mountainous part and foothills.
Neanderthals were short and had relatively short legs. When walking, they slightly bent their knees and spread their lower limbs. The brow ridges of people from the ancient Stone Age hung over their eyes. The presence of a heavy lower jaw, which almost no longer protruded, suggests the beginning of the development of speech.
After the Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons appeared in the Late Paleolithic era 38 thousand years ago. They were more similar to us, had a high forehead without an overhanging ridge, and a protruding chin, which is why they are called people of the modern type. There are Cro-Magnon sites in the river valley. Belbek, on Karabi-yayla and above the river. Kacha. Ancient Crimea of the late Paleolithic era was a completely populated territory.
End of 9-6 thousand BC e. in history it is usually called the Mesolithic era. Then ancient Crimea acquires more modern features. Scientists know many sites that can be attributed to this time. In the mountainous part of the peninsula these are Laspi, Murzak-Koba VII, Fatma-Koba, etc.
Vishennoye I and Kukrek are the most famous historical monuments of the Mesolithic era in the Crimean steppe.
The Neolithic period occurs between 5500 and 3200 BC. BC e. The New Stone Age in ancient Crimea was marked by the beginning of the use of clay kitchen utensils. At the very end of the era, the first metal products appeared. To date, about fifty open-type Neolithic sites have been studied. During this period in the history of Crimea, there were much fewer dwellings located in grottoes. The most famous settlements are Dolinka in the steppe part of the peninsula and Tash-Air I in the mountains.
From the middle of 4 thousand BC. e. the ancient inhabitants of the peninsula began to use copper. This period is called the Chalcolithic. It was relatively short-lived, smoothly transitioned into the Bronze Age, but was marked by a number of mounds and sites (for example, Gurzuf, Laspi I in the south, Druzhnoe and the last layer of Fatma-Koba in the mountainous Crimea). The so-called “shell heaps”, which are located on the coastline from Sudak to the Black Sea, also belong to the Copper-Stone era. The area of farmers of that time was the Kerch Peninsula, the valley of the river. Salgir, northwestern Crimea.
Tools and the first weapons in ancient Crimea
The people who inhabited ancient Crimea first used stone axes. 100-35 thousand years ago they began to make flint and obsidian flakes, and made objects from stone and wood, for example, axes. The Cro-Magnons realized that they could sew using crushed bones. Neoanthropes (people of the Late Paleolithic era) hunted with spears and pointed points, invented scrapers, throwing rods, and harpoons. A spear thrower appeared.
The greatest achievement of the Mesolithic was the development of the bow and arrow. Found to date a large number of microliths, which were used in this era as spearheads, arrows, etc. In connection with the advent of individual hunting, traps for animals were invented.
In the Neolithic, tools made of bones and flint were improved. Rock art makes it clear that pastoralism and agriculture prevailed over hunting. Ancient Crimea of this period of history began to live a different life, hoes, plows, sickles with silicon inserts, tiles for grinding grain, and yokes appeared.
At the beginning of the Eneolithic, the ancient Crimeans were already thoroughly processing stone. At the dawn of the era, even copper tools repeated the shape of pre-existing stone products.
Life, religion and culture of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea
People of the Paleolithic era initially led a wandering lifestyle, they were like a primitive herd. The consanguineous community appeared in the Mousterian period. Each tribe had from 50 to 100 or more members. Active relationships within such a social group gave rise to the development of speech. Hunting and gathering were the main activities of the first inhabitants of Crimea. IN Late Paleolithic the driven method of hunting appeared, neoanthropes began to fish.
Hunting magic gradually arose, and in the Middle Paleolithic the ritual of burying the dead arose.
From the cold climate we had to hide in caves. In Kiik-Kobe, scientists found ash that remained after a fire. There, right inside the primitive house, the burial of a woman and a one-year-old child was discovered. There was a spring nearby.
As the weather warmed, the usual cold-loving animals disappeared. Mamontov, woolly rhinoceros, steppe bison, musk ox, giant deer, lion, and hyena were replaced by previously unknown small representatives of the fauna. The shortage of food forced us to think about new ways of obtaining food. As the mental abilities of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea developed, weapons that were revolutionary for that time appeared.
With the emergence of the Cro-Magnon man, the family structure of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea changed - the basis interpersonal relationships becomes a tribal matriarchal community. The descendants of the cave dwellers began to settle on the plains. New houses were built from bones and branches. They looked like huts and half-dugouts. Therefore, in case of bad weather, they often had to return to the caves, where cult worship was also held. The Cro-Magnons still lived in large clans of about 100 people each. Incest was prohibited; in order to get married, men went to another community. As before, the dead were buried in grottoes and caves, and things that were used during life were placed next to them. Red and yellow ocher were found in the graves. The dead were tied up. In the Late Paleolithic there was a cult of the female mother. Art immediately appeared. Rock paintings of animals and the ritual use of their skeletons indicate the emergence of animism and totemism.
Mastering the bow and arrow made it possible to go on individual hunts. The inhabitants of ancient Crimea of the Mesolithic era began to engage in gathering more actively. At the same time, they began to domesticate dogs and built pens for young wild goats, horses and wild boars. Art manifested itself in rock art and miniature sculpture. They began to interred the dead, tying them up in a crouched position. The burials were oriented to the East.
In the Neolithic era, in addition to the main dwellings, there were temporary sites. They were built for the season, mainly in the steppe, and with the arrival of cold weather they hid in the caves of the foothills. The villages consisted of wooden houses, still similar to huts. A characteristic feature of this period in the history of ancient Crimea is the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding.
This process was called the “Neolithic revolution”. Since then, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and cattle have become domesticated animals. In addition, the ancestors of modern man gradually learned to sculpt pottery. It was rough, but it made it possible to fulfill basic economic needs. Already at the end of the Neolithic, thin-walled pots with ornaments appeared. Barter trade was born.
During the excavations, a burial was found, a real cemetery, where the dead were buried year after year, first sprinkled with red ocher, decorated with beads made of bones, and deer teeth. The study of funeral gifts made it possible to conclude that the patriarchal system was emerging: there were fewer objects in women’s graves. However, the Neolithic Crimean people still worshiped the female deities of the Virgin Huntress and the Goddess of Fertility.
With the advent of the Eneolithic, life in ancient Crimea changed radically - houses with adobe floors and fireplaces appeared. Stone was already used for their construction. Over time, cities grew and fortifications were erected. Wall painting became more common, and three-color geometric designs were found on chests of the time in which ashes were buried. Mysterious vertical steles - menhirs - are a phenomenon of the Crimean Eneolithic, probably a cult place. In Europe this is how they worshiped the Sun.
Where are the archaeological finds representing ancient Crimea stored?
Many archaeological finds of ancient Crimea are preserved in Simferopol in the form of exhibits of the Crimean Republican Museum of Local Lore.
In the Bakhchisarai Historical and Architectural Museum you can see world-famous flint products, molded utensils and tools from the Eneolithic period.
To explore the variety of artifacts of ancient Crimea, it is worth visiting the Evpatoria Museum of Local Lore, the Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum, the museums of Yalta, Feodosia and others settlements peninsula.
The history of Crimea from the Paleolithic in the form of numerous tools, various dishes, clothing, weapons, monoliths and other ancient objects is a kind of journey into the world of our ancestors.
Be sure to visit the museums of Crimea!
INLIGHT
Population. Ethnic history of Crimea
The population of Crimea, including Sevastopol, is about 2 million 500 thousand people. This is quite a lot, its density exceeds the average, for example, for the Baltic republics by 1.5 - 2 times. But if you consider that in August there are up to 2 million visitors on the peninsula at the same time, that is, the population as a whole doubles and in some areas of the coast reaches the density of the most populated areas of Japan - over 1 thousand people per square kilometer.
Now the majority of the population consists of Russians, then Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars (their number and share in the population are growing rapidly), a significant proportion of Belarusians, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Germans, Bulgarians, Gypsies, Poles, Czechs, Italians. The small peoples of Crimea - the Karaites and Krymchaks - are small in number, but still noticeable in culture.
Russian continues to be the language of interethnic communication.
The ethnic history of Crimea is very complex and dramatic. One thing can be said with confidence: the national composition of the peninsula has never been monotonous, especially in its mountainous and coastal areas.
Speaking about the population of the Tauride Mountains, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted in the 2nd century BC that 30 peoples live there. Mountains and islands often serve as a refuge for relict peoples, once great, and then left the historical arena for a peaceful and measured life. This was the case with the warlike Goths, who conquered almost all of Europe and then disappeared into its vastness at the beginning of the Middle Ages. And in Crimea, Gothic settlements remained until the 15th century. The last reminder of them is the village of Kok-Kozy, that is, Blue Eyes (now the village of Sokolinoe).
The Karaites live in Crimea - a small people with an original and colorful history. You can get acquainted with it in the “cave city” of Chufut-Kale (which means Jewish fortress, Karaimism is one of the branches of Judaism). The Karaite language belongs to the Kipchak subgroup of Turkic languages, but the way of life of the Karaites is close to the Jewish one. In addition to our region, Karaites live in Lithuania, these are the descendants of the personal guard of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes, as well as in the west of Ukraine. The historical peoples of Crimea include the Krymchaks. This people was subjected to genocide during the years of occupation.
Jewish merchants appeared in Crimea as early as the 1st century AD. e., their burials in Panticapaeum (present-day Kerch) date back to this time. The Jewish population of the region endured severe trials during the war and suffered huge losses. Now in Crimea, mainly in cities and most of all in Simferopol, about 20 thousand Jews live.
The first Russian communities began to appear in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch in the Middle Ages. These were merchants and artisans. The earlier (in the 9th and 10th centuries) appearance of the squads of the Novgorod prince Bravlin and the Kyiv prince Vladimir was associated with military campaigns.
The massive resettlement of serfs from Central Russia began in 1783 - after the annexation of Crimea to the empire. Disabled soldiers and Cossacks received land for free settlement. Construction railway at the end of the 19th century and the development of industry also caused an influx of Russian population.
In Soviet times, retired officers and people who worked in the North had the right to settle in Crimea, so in Crimean cities, as already noted, there are a lot of pensioners (of course, not only Russians).
After the collapse of the USSR, Russians in Crimea not only did not lose interest in their original culture, but, like other peoples inhabiting the peninsula, they created their own society - the Russian cultural community, and in every possible way maintain contact with their original historical homeland - Russia, incl. . and through the established Moscow-Crimea Foundation. The Foundation is located in Simferopol on the street. Frunze, 8. Exhibitions, meetings with compatriots, celebrations of dates that unite peoples - are far from full list events held within the walls of a well-equipped building. The Foundation's cell, the Russian Cultural Center, helps strengthen cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. “Pancake Week” – Maslenitsa – is widely celebrated in Crimea. Truly a celebration of Slavic cuisine - here are Russian and Belarusian pancakes, and Ukrainian mlintsi - with sour cream, honey, jam and even... with caviar. Interest in Orthodoxy has revived, and churches are now both elegant and crowded. It’s just a pity that there are no Russian restaurants where the style is consistent in everything, and you simply won’t find a Russian oven.
Ukrainians were combined with Russians in pre-war censuses. But in the censuses of the late 19th century. they take 3rd - 4th place. Ukraine has had close ties with the peninsula since the time of the Crimean Khanate, Chumatsky convoys with salt, mutual trade in Peaceful time and equally mutual forays into the military - all this served to move and mix people, although, of course, the main flow of Ukrainian settlers went to Crimea only at the end of the 18th century, and reached its maximum in the 50s of our century (after Khrushchev annexed Crimea to Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic).
Germans, including immigrants from Switzerland, settled in Crimea under Catherine II and were mainly engaged in agriculture. The building of the Lutheran church and its school in Simferopol (Karl Liebknecht St., 16), built with private donations, has been preserved. IN Soviet time German colonists formed several collective farms, which were famous for their high culture of agriculture and especially animal husbandry; German sausages had no equal in the Crimean markets. In August 1941, the Germans were evicted to Northern Kazakhstan, and their villages in Crimea were never rebuilt.
The Bulgarians settled on the peninsula, like the Greeks, from the islands of the Aegean Sea, fleeing the Turkish yoke during the wars of the last quarter of the 18th century. It was the Bulgarians who brought the Kazanlak rose to the peninsula, and now our Crimea is the world's leading producer of rose oil.
Poles and Lithuanians ended up in Crimea after the defeat of the national liberation uprisings of the 18th - 19th centuries. like exiles. Now there are about 7 thousand Poles, including descendants and later settlers.
A huge role in the history of Crimea was played by the Greeks, who appeared here in ancient times and founded colonies on the Kerch Peninsula, in the South-Western Crimea, in the Evpatoria region. The size of the Greek population on the peninsula changed in different eras. In 1897 there were 17 thousand people, and in 1939 - 20.6 thousand.
Armenians have a long history in Crimea. In the Middle Ages, they, together with the Greeks of Asia Minor, who also left their homeland under the onslaught of the Turks, constituted the main population of the South-Western Crimea, as well as cities in the Eastern Crimea. However, their descendants are now settled in the Azov region. In 1771, 31 thousand Christians (Greeks, Armenians and others) accompanied by Russian troops left the Crimean Khanate and founded new cities and villages on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov. This is the city of Mariupol, the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don (part of Rostov). Monuments of Armenian architecture - the Surb-Khach monastery in the Old Crimea region, the church in Yalta and others can be visited with a tour or on your own. Armenian stone-cutting art had a noticeable influence on the architecture of mosques, mausoleums, and palaces of the Crimean Khanate.
After the annexation of our region to Russia, Armenians lived mostly in Eastern Crimea; The region of Feodosia and Old Crimea is called Crimean Armenia. By the way, the famous artist I.K. Aivazovsky, the best of marine painters, as well as composer A.A. Spendiarov - Crimean Armenians.
It is curious that the Crimean Armenians adopted Christianity from the Italians and therefore were Catholics, and their spoken language differed little from the Crimean Tatar. Naturally, mixed marriages have never been uncommon, and most native Crimeans are related to half the world.
There, in the Eastern Crimea, in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch, even before the revolution, curious fragments of the Middle Ages were preserved - communities of the Crimean "wife-breeders" (Genoese), descendants of those same sailors, merchants and soldiers of Italian Genoa who once dominated the Mediterranean, Black and Seas of Azov and left the towers in Feodosia. You can also see these ruins; it’s all so romantic, picturesque, inaccessible, and most importantly - authentic that there are no words. You just need to go and climb around, feel this fortress with your hands and feet.
You can often see Koreans in the markets of Crimea. They are good farmers, hardworking and lucky. They have only recently been in Crimea, literally for the last 30 years, but the Crimean land responds to their work with rich gifts.
There are more and more fruits in the markets grown by the Crimean Tatars, reviving the glory of gardeners, gardeners and shepherds of the peninsula.
The Crimean Tatars as an ethnic community were formed on the basis of the gradual merger of a number of ancient tribes of Taurica and several waves of steppe nomadic peoples (Khazars, Pechenegs, Kipchak priests and others). This process, in essence, has not even been completed yet: there are differences in the language, appearance and way of life of the southern coastal, mountain and steppe Tatars.
The cordiality and simplicity of the Crimean Tatars were noted by the first Russian researchers, for example, P.I. Sumarokov. Their hard work and ingenuity in farming are respected by peasants of any nationality. And modern Crimean Tatar music, in its melody and fiery rhythm, successfully competes with Jewish and Gypsy music.
Unfortunately, among some modern representatives of the Crimean Tatars there are more and more adherents of aggressive Wakhabite movements. What this can lead to if the situation gets out of control has been shown by the events in modern Chechnya and Kosovo. I would really not like to witness the development of events in such a scenario. I would like to hope for the prudence of both the local authorities and the Tatars themselves...
The Crimean gypsies, who called themselves "urmachel", lived settledly among the indigenous population of Crimea for many centuries and even converted to Islam. Some of their caste groups were engaged in jewelry craft, weaving baskets and were garden workers (according to L.P. Simirenko, they were not inferior to the best Tatar ones). A not entirely sedentary group of gypsies, the ayuvcilar (bug-catchers), were engaged in fortune-telling, bear training, and petty trade. But the music for a long time In Islamic Crimea, only gypsies practiced it, although they adapted it to local tastes. It was from the music of the Crimean gypsies in the 30s of our century that modern Crimean Tatar music “emerged”.
In 1944, indigenous gypsies were deported from Crimea along with other peoples. It is believed that in a foreign land they became ethnically close to the Crimean Tatars and are now inseparable from them. However, at train stations and bazaars, gypsies are conspicuous (almost literally). But this is a modern, post-war wave of settled life. The city of Dzhankoy is even shown in many atlases of the world as a center of gypsies: a large railway junction, gullible holidaymakers heading south, and finally, the gentle Crimean sun makes it possible to preserve the traditional values of camp life. In addition to guessing “will there be an earthquake?” and “who will you love at the resort?”, small trade with “profit” and currency exchange with elements of transforming banknotes into colored paper, the gypsies also do ordinary work: they build houses, work at enterprises in Dzhankoy and other cities.
We bring to the attention of the readers of our site an ethno-historical excursion by Igor Dmitrievich Gurov regarding the issue of the rights of a particular nationality to the Crimean peninsula. The article was published in 1992 in the small monthly "Politics", published by the deputy group "Union". However, it still remains relevant, especially now, when, during the period of the most acute political crisis in Ukraine, the issue of broad autonomy for Crimea, which was frozen in the same 1992, is being resolved.
Despite the fact that Kyiv and some Moscow newspapers and television programs today proclaim the Crimean Tatars as the “only indigenous” people of the Crimean peninsula, and the Russian Taurians are portrayed exclusively as invaders and occupiers, Crimea remains Russian.
Let's turn to real historical facts. In ancient times, Crimea was inhabited by tribes of Cimmerians, then Tauris and Scythians. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. on the coast of Tavria arise Greek colonies. IN early middle ages The Scythians are replaced by German-speaking Goths (later mixed with the Greeks in the chronicles of the “Greek Gothfins”) and Iranian-speaking Alans (related to modern Ossetians). Then the Slavs also penetrate here. Already in one of the Bosporan inscriptions of the 5th century, the word “ant” is found, which, as is known, Byzantine authors used to call the Slavs who lived between the Dnieper and the Dniester. And at the very end of the 8th century, the “Life of Stefan of Sourozh” describes in detail the campaign of the Novgorod prince Bravlin to Crimea, after which the active Slavicization of Eastern Crimea began.
Arab sources of the 9th century report one of the centers Ancient Rus'- Arsania, which, according to most scientists, was located on the territory of the Azov region, Eastern Crimea and the North Caucasus. This is the so-called Azov, or Black Sea (Tmutarakan) Rus', which was the support base for the campaigns of Russian squads in the 2nd half of the 9th - early 10th centuries. on the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea. Moreover, the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon, in his story about the retreat of Prince Igor after his unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium in 941, speaks of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Eastern Crimea) as the “homeland of the Russians.”
In the 2nd half of the 9th century. (after the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav and his defeat of the Khazar Kaganate in 965), Azov Rus finally entered the sphere of political influence of Kievan Rus. Later, the Tmutarakan principality was formed here. Under the 980 goal in the "Tale of Bygone Years" the son of Grand Duke Vladimir the Saint is mentioned for the first time - Mstislav the Brave; It is also reported there that his father endowed Mstislav with the Tmutarakan land (which he owned until his death in 1036).
The influence of Rus' is also strengthening in Western Taurida, especially after Prince Vladimir in 988, as a result of a 6-month siege, took the city of Chersonesos, which belonged to the Byzantines, and was baptized there.
The Polovtsian invasion at the end of the 11th century weakened the Russian princes in Taurida. Last time In the chronicles, Tmutarakan is mentioned in 1094, when the prince who ruled here, Oleg Svyatoslavovich (who bore the official title of “Archon of Matrakha, Zikhia and all Khazaria”), in alliance with the Polovtsians, came to Chernigov. And at the beginning of the 13th century, the lands of the former Tmutarakan principality became easy prey for enterprising Genoese.
In 1223, the Mongols made their first raid on Taurica, and by the end of the 13th century, after the defeat of the Kirkel principality created by the Hellenized Alans, the administrative center of the region became the city of Crimea (now Old Crimea), which from 1266 became the seat of the Mongol-Tatar Khan .
After the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), which ended with the defeat of Constantinople, first Venice, and then (from 1261) Genoa were able to establish themselves in the Northern Black Sea region. In 1266, the Genoese bought the city of Cafa (Feodosia) from the Golden Horde and then continued to expand their possessions.
The ethnic composition of the population of Crimea during this period was quite diverse. In the XIII-XV centuries. Greeks, Armenians, Russians, Tatars, Hungarians, Circassians (“Zikhs”) and Jews lived in the Cafe. The Kafa Charter of 1316 mentions Russian, Armenian and Greek churches located in the commercial part of the city, along with Catholic churches and a Tatar mosque. In the 2nd half of the 15th century. it was one of the largest cities in Europe with a population of up to 70 thousand people. (of these, the Genoese made up only about 2 thousand people). In 1365, the Genoese, having secured the support of the Golden Horde khans (to whom they gave huge cash loans and supplied mercenaries), captured the largest Crimean city of Surozh (Sudak), inhabited mainly by Greek and Russian merchants and artisans and maintaining close ties with the Moscow state.
From Russian documents of the 15th century. It is also known about close contacts between the Orthodox principality of Theodoro (another name is the Mangup Principality), located in the south-west of Crimea, which arose on the ruins of the Byzantine Empire, with the Moscow state. For example, the Russian chronicle mentions Prince Stefan Vasilyevich Khovra, who emigrated to Moscow with one of his sons in 1403. Here he became a monk under the name Simon, and his son Gregory founded a monastery named Simonov in honor of his father. His other son, Alexei, ruled the principality of Theodoro at that time. From his grandson, Vladimir Grigorievich Khovrin, famous Russian families descended - the Golovins, Tretyakovs, Gryaznys, etc. The connection between Moscow and Feodoro was so close that Grand Duke Moscow Ivan III was going to marry his son to the daughter of the Theodorite prince Isaac (Isaiko), but this plan could not be realized due to the defeat of the Principality of Theodoro by the Turks.
In 1447, the first attack of the Turkish fleet on the shores of Crimea took place. Having captured Cafa in 1475, the Turks disarmed its entire population, and then, according to the testimony of an anonymous Tuscan author, “On June 7 and 8, all the Wallachians, Poles, Russians, Georgians, Zichs and all other Christian nations, except the Latins, were captured, deprived clothes and partly sold into slavery, partly chained." “Turkova took Kafa and many of the Moscow guests, killed many of them, captured some, and robbed others to pay off the davash,” Russian chronicles report.
Having established their power over the Crimea, the Turks included into the Sultan’s lands only the former Genoese and Greek confluences, which they began to intensively populate with their fellow tribesmen - the Anatolian Ottoman Turks. The remaining areas of the peninsula went to the predominantly steppe Crimean Khanate, which was a vassal state of Turkey.
It is from the Anatolian Ottoman Turks that the so-called origins originate. "South Coast Crimean Tatars", who determined the ethnic line of modern Crimean Tatars - i.e. their culture and literary language. The Crimean Khanate, subordinate to Turkey, in 1557 was replenished with representatives of the Little Nogai Horde, who migrated to the Black Sea region and the Steppe Crimea from the Volga and Caspian Sea. The Crimean and Nogai Tatars lived exclusively by nomadic cattle breeding and predatory raids on neighboring states. The Crimean Tatars themselves spoke in the 17th century. to the envoys of the Turkish Sultan: “But there are more than 100 thousand Tatars who have neither agriculture nor trade. If they do not raid, then how will they live? This is our service to the padishah.” Therefore, twice a year they carried out raids to capture slaves and loot. For example, during the 25 years of the Livonian War (1558-1583), the Crimean Tatars made 21 raids on the Great Russian regions. The poorly protected Little Russian lands suffered even more. From 1605 to 1644 the Tatars carried out at least 75 raids on them. In 1620-1621 they managed to ruin even the distant Duchy of Prussia.
All this forced Russia to take retaliatory measures and fight to eliminate this constant source of aggression in its south. However, this problem was solved only in the 2nd half of the 18th century. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1769-1774. Russian troops captured Crimea. Fearing retaliatory religious pogroms, most of The indigenous Christian population (Greeks and Armenians), at the suggestion of Catherine II, moved to the region of Mariupol and Nakhichevan, Rostov. In 1783, Crimea was finally annexed to Russia and in 1784 it became part of the newly formed Tauride province. Up to 80 thousand Tatars did not want to stay in Russian Taurida and emigrated to Turkey. In their place, Russia began to attract foreign colonists: Greeks (from Turkish possessions), Armenians, Corsicans, Germans, Bulgarians, Estonians, Czechs, etc. Great Russians and Little Russians began to move here in large numbers.
Another emigration of Tatars and Nogais from Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region (up to 150 thousand people) occurred during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, when many Tatar murzas and beys supported Turkey.
By 1897, there had been significant changes in the ethnic composition of the population of Taurida: Tatars made up only about 1/3 of the population of the peninsula, while Russians made up over 45 percent. (of which 3/4 are Great Russians and 1/4 are Little Russians), Germans - 5.8 percent, Jews 4.7 percent, Greeks - 3.1 percent, Armenians - 1.5 percent. etc.
After February revolution In 1917, the nationalist pro-Turkish party “Milli Firka” (“national party”) arose among the Crimean Tatars. In turn, the Bolsheviks held a Congress of Soviets and in March 1918 proclaimed the creation of the Taurida SSR. Then the peninsula was occupied by the Germans, and the Millifirka Directory gained power.
At the end of April 1919, the Crimean soviet republic", but already in June it was liquidated by units of General Denikin's Volunteer Army.
From that time on, Russian Taurida became the main base of the White Movement. Only on November 16, 1920, Crimea was again captured by the Bolsheviks, knocking out the Russian Army of General Wrangel from the peninsula. At the same time, the Crimean Revolutionary Committee (Krymrevkom) was formed under the leadership of the “internationalists” Bela Kun and Rosalia Zemlyachka. On their instructions, a bloody massacre was organized in Crimea, during which the “fiery revolutionaries” exterminated, according to some information, up to 60 thousand Russian officers and soldiers of the White Army.
On October 18, 1921, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars published a decree on the formation of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the RSFSR. At this time, 625 thousand people lived in Crimea, of which Russians made up 321.6 thousand, or 51.5% (including Great Russians - 274.9 thousand, Little Russians - 45.7 thousand, Belarusians - 1 thousand .), Tatars (including Turks and some Gypsies) - 164.2 thousand (25.9%), other nationalities (Germans, Greeks, Bulgarians, Jews, Armenians) - St. 22%.
From the beginning of the 1920s, in the spirit of the Bolshevik-Leninist national policy, organizations of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) began to actively pursue a course towards the Turkification of Crimea. Thus, in 1922, 355 schools were opened for the Crimean Tatars, and universities were created with teaching in the Crimean Tatar language. Tatars were appointed to the posts of chairmen of the Crimean Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - Veli Ibraimov and Deren-Ayerly, who pursued a nationalist policy covered by communist phraseology. Only in 1928 were they removed from their posts, but not for nationalism, but for connections with the Trotskyists.
By 1929, as a result of the campaign to disaggregate village councils, their number increased from 143 to 427. At the same time, the number of national village councils almost tripled (these were considered village councils or districts in which the majority of the national population was 60%). In total, 145 Tatar village councils were formed, 45 German, 14 Jewish, 7 Greek, 5 Bulgarian, 2 Armenian, 2 Estonian and only 20 Russian (since Russians during this period were classified as “great-power chauvinists”, during administrative delimitation it was considered normal to give advantage to others nationalities). A system of special courses for training national personnel at government agencies was also created. A campaign was launched to translate office work and village councils into “national” languages. At the same time, the “anti-religious struggle” - including against Orthodoxy and Islam - continued and intensified.
In the pre-war years, there was a significant increase in population (from 714 thousand in 1926 to 1,126,429 people in 1939). By national composition, the population was distributed in 1939 as follows: Russians - 558,481 people (49.58%), Ukrainians, 154,120 (13.68%), Tatars - 218,179 (19.7%), Germans 65,452 (5.81%) , Jews - 52093 (4.62%), Greeks - 20652 (1.83%), Bulgarians - 15353 (1.36%), Armenians - 12873 (1.14%), others - 29276 (2.6% ).
The Nazis, having occupied Crimea in the fall of 1941, skillfully played on the religious feelings of the Tatars and their dissatisfaction with the militant atheism of the Bolsheviks. The Nazis convened a Muslim congress in Simferopol, at which they formed the Crimean government ("Tatar Committee"), headed by Khan Belal Asanov. During 1941-1942. they formed 10 Crimean Tatar SS battalions, which, together with police self-defense units (created in 203 Tatar villages), numbered over 20 thousand people. Although there were Tatars among the partisans - about 600 people. In punitive operations with the participation of Crimean Tatar units, 86 thousand civilians of Crimea and 47 thousand prisoners of war were exterminated, about 85 thousand more people were deported to Germany.
However, measures of retribution for crimes committed by the Crimean Tatar punitive forces were extended by the Stalinist leadership to the entire Crimean Tatar ethnic group and a number of other Crimean peoples. On May 11, 1944, the State Defense Committee of the USSR adopted a resolution according to which 191,088 Tatars, 296 Germans, 32 Romanians and 21 Austrians were resettled from Crimea to Central Asia during May 18-19. On June 2, 1944, another GKO resolution followed, according to which 15,040 Greeks, 12,422 Bulgarians and 9,621 Armenians were evicted from Crimea on June 27 and 28. At the same time, foreign nationals living in Crimea were expelled: 1,119 Germans, Italians and Romanians, 3,531 Greeks, 105 Turks and 16 Iranians.
In July 1945, by Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transformed into the Crimean region within the RSFSR, and on February 19, 1954, N. S. Khrushchev donated Crimea to Radyanskaya Ukraine, apparently in memory of his many years of secretaryship in the Communist Party (b)U .
With the onset of “perestroika,” the Moscow and Kyiv media began to portray the Tatars as the only “indigenous” inhabitants of the peninsula, its “original” owners. Why? "Organization of the Crimean Tatar national movement" declared its goal not only to return up to 350 thousand Tatars - natives of sunny Uzbekistan and other Central Asian republics to Crimea, but also to create their own "national state" there. To achieve this goal, they convened a kurultai in July 1991 and elected a "Majlis" "of 33 people. The actions of the OKND, led by the ardent Turkophile Mustafa Dzhamilev, were enthusiastically greeted by the Kiev “Rukh” and former communist leadership, acting on the principle “everyone who is against the damned Muscovites is good.” But why did Dzhamilev need to create his own “national state”? in Crimea?
Of course, the thirst for revenge among the Tatar new settlers offended by Stalin is understandable. But still, the OKND gentlemen, who so diligently call for the Turkification of Crimea, should remember their Anatolian and Nogai origins: after all, their true ancestral home is Turkey, Southern Altai and the hot steppes of Xinjiang.
And if you create some kind of “national states” in Taurida, you will have to satisfy the aspirations of the Great Russians, Ukrainians, Karaites, Greeks, and all other indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula. The only real prospect for Crimea is the peaceful coexistence of the ethnic groups living here. Dividing the population into “indigenous” and Russian is a historically untenable and politically dangerous task.
Igor Gurov
Newspaper "Politics", 1992, No. 5
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The fertile climate, picturesque and generous nature of Taurida create almost ideal conditions for human existence. People have inhabited these lands for a long time, so the eventful history of Crimea, dating back centuries, is extremely interesting. Who owned the peninsula and when? Let's find out!
History of Crimea since ancient times
Numerous historical artifacts found by archaeologists here suggest that the ancestors of modern man began to inhabit fertile lands almost 100 thousand years ago. This is evidenced by the remains of Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures discovered in the site and Murzak-Koba.
IN beginning of XII centuries BC e. Tribes of Indo-European nomads, the Cimmerians, appeared on the peninsula, whom ancient historians considered the first people who tried to create the beginnings of some semblance of statehood.
At the dawn of the Bronze Age, they were forced out of the steppe regions by the warlike Scythians, moving closer to the sea coast. The foothill areas and the southern coast were then inhabited by Tauris, who, according to some sources, came from the Caucasus, and in the north-west of the unique region they settled Slavic tribes who migrated from modern Transnistria.
Ancient heyday in history
As the history of Crimea testifies, at the end of the 7th century. BC e. The Hellenes began to actively develop it. Immigrants from Greek cities created colonies, which over time began to prosper. The fertile land gave excellent harvests of barley and wheat, and the presence of convenient harbors contributed to the development of maritime trade. Crafts actively developed and shipping improved.
The port cities grew and became richer, uniting over time into an alliance that became the basis for the creation of the powerful Bosporan kingdom with its capital in, or present-day Kerch. The heyday of an economically developed state, which had a strong army and an excellent fleet, dates back to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. Then an important alliance was concluded with Athens, half of whose need for bread was provided by the Bosporans; their kingdom includes the lands of the Black Sea coast beyond the Kerch Strait, Feodosia, Chersonesos, flourish. But the period of prosperity did not last long. The unreasonable policies of a number of kings led to the depletion of the treasury and the reduction of military personnel.
The nomads took advantage of the situation and began to ravage the country. At first he was forced to enter the Pontic kingdom, then he became a protectorate of Rome, and then of Byzantium. Subsequent invasions of barbarians, among which it is worth highlighting the Sarmatians and Goths, weakened it even more. Of the necklace of once magnificent settlements, only the Roman fortresses in Sudak and Gurzuf remained undestroyed.
Who owned the peninsula in the Middle Ages?
From the history of Crimea it is clear that from the 4th to the 12th centuries. Bulgarians and Turks, Hungarians, Pechenegs and Khazars marked their presence here. The Russian prince Vladimir, having taken Chersonesos by storm, was baptized here in 988. The formidable ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vytautas, invaded Taurida in 1397, completing his campaign in. Part of the land is part of the state of Theodoro, founded by the Goths. By the middle of the 13th century, the steppe regions were controlled by the Golden Horde. In the next century, some territories were redeemed by the Genoese, and the rest were conquered by the troops of Khan Mamai.
The collapse of the Golden Horde marked the creation of the Crimean Khanate here in 1441, 
independently existed for 36 years. In 1475, the Ottomans invaded the area, to whom the khan swore allegiance. They expelled the Genoese from the colonies, took by storm the capital of the state of Theodoro - the city, exterminating almost all the Goths. The khanate with its administrative center was called the Kafa eyalet in the Ottoman Empire. Then it is finally formed ethnic composition population. The Tatars are moving from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one. Not only cattle breeding begins to develop, but also agriculture and gardening, and small tobacco plantations appear.
The Ottomans, at the height of their power, complete their expansion. They move from direct conquest to a policy of hidden expansion, also described in history. The Khanate becomes an outpost for conducting raids on the border territories of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Looted jewelry regularly replenishes the treasury, and captured Slavs are sold into slavery. From the XIV to the XVII centuries. Russian tsars undertake several campaigns to the Crimea through the Wild Field. However, none of them leads to pacification of the restless neighbor.
When did the Russian Empire come to power in Crimea?
An important stage in the history of Crimea. TO early XVIII V. it becomes one of its main strategic goals. Possessing it will not only protect land border from the south and make it internal. The peninsula is destined to become the cradle of the Black Sea Fleet, which will provide access to the Mediterranean trade routes.
However, significant success in achieving this goal was achieved only in last third centuries - during the reign of Catherine the Great. An army led by Chief General Dolgorukov captured Taurida in 1771. The Crimean Khanate was declared independent, and Khan Giray, a protégé of the Russian crown, was elevated to its throne. Russian-Turkish War 1768-1774 undermined the power of Turkey. Combining military force With cunning diplomacy, Catherine II ensured that in 1783 the Crimean nobility swore allegiance to her.
After this, the infrastructure and economy of the region begins to develop at an impressive pace. Retired Russian soldiers settle here. 
Greeks, Germans and Bulgarians come here in droves. In 1784, a military fortress was founded, which was destined to play a prominent role in the history of Crimea and Russia as a whole. Roads are being built everywhere. Active grape cultivation contributes to the development of winemaking. The southern coast is becoming increasingly popular among the nobility. turns into a resort town. Over a hundred years, the population of the Crimean peninsula increases almost 10 times, its ethnic type. In 1874, 45% of Crimeans were Great Russians and Little Russians, approximately 35% were Crimean Tatars.
Russian domination of the Black Sea has seriously worried a number of European countries. A coalition of the decrepit Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, Austria, Sardinia and France unleashed. Command errors that caused the defeat in the battle on, the lag in technical equipment armies led to the fact that, despite the unparalleled heroism of the defenders shown during the year-long siege, the allies captured Sevastopol. After the end of the conflict, the city was returned to Russia in exchange for a number of concessions.
During the Civil War, a lot happened in Crimea tragic events reflected in history. Since the spring of 1918, German and French expeditionary forces, supported by the Tatars, operated here. The puppet government of Solomon Samoilovich Crimea was replaced by the military power of Denikin and Wrangel. Only the Red Army troops managed to take control of the peninsular perimeter. After this, the so-called Red Terror began, as a result of which from 20 to 120 thousand people died.
In October 1921, it was announced the creation of the Autonomous Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic in the RSFSR from the regions of the former Tauride province, renamed in 1946 the Crimean region. New power paid a lot of attention to her. The policy of industrialization led to the emergence of the Kamysh-Burun ship repair plant and, in the same place, a mining and processing plant was built, and a metallurgical plant.
Further equipment was prevented by the Great Patriotic War.
Already in August 1941, about 60 thousand were deported from here. ethnic Germans, living on a permanent basis, and in November Crimea was abandoned by the forces of the Red Army. There were only two centers of resistance to the Nazis left on the peninsula - the Sevastopol fortified area and, but they also fell by the fall of 1942. After the retreat Soviet troops here partisan detachments began to actively operate. The occupation authorities pursued a policy of genocide against “inferior” races. As a result, by the time of liberation from the Nazis, the population of Taurida had decreased almost threefold.
The occupiers were expelled from here. After this, facts of massive cooperation with the fascists of the Crimean Tatars and representatives of some other national minorities were revealed. By decision of the USSR government, more than 183 thousand people of Crimean Tatar origin, a significant number of Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians were forcibly deported to remote regions of the country. In 1954, the region was included in the Ukrainian SSR at the suggestion of N.S. Khrushchev.
Recent history of Crimea and our days
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Crimea remained in Ukraine, gaining autonomy with the right to have its own constitution and president. After lengthy negotiations, the basic law of the republic was approved by the Verkhovna Rada. Yuri Meshkov became the first president of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 1992. Subsequently, relations between official Kiev worsened. The Ukrainian parliament decided in 1995 to abolish the presidency on the peninsula, and in 1998 
President Kuchma signed a Decree approving the new Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, with the provisions of which not all residents of the republic agreed.
Internal contradictions that coincided with serious political aggravations between Ukraine and Russian Federation, in 2013 they split society. One part of the residents of Crimea was in favor of returning to the Russian Federation, the other was in favor of remaining in Ukraine. On this issue, a referendum was held on March 16, 2014. The majority of Crimeans who took part in the plebiscite voted for reunification with Russia.
Even during the times of the USSR, many were built in Taurida, which was considered an all-Union health resort. had no analogues in the world at all. The development of the region as a resort continued both in the Ukrainian and Russian periods of the history of Crimea. Despite all the interstate contradictions, it still remains a favorite vacation spot for both Russians and Ukrainians. This region is infinitely beautiful and is ready to warmly welcome guests from any country in the world! We suggest in conclusion documentary, Enjoy watching!