Crimea is one of the amazing corners of the Earth. By virtue of its geographical location he was at the crossroads different peoples, stood in the way of their historical movements. The interests of many countries and entire civilizations collided in such a small area. The Crimean peninsula has repeatedly become an arena bloody wars and battles, was part of several states and empires.
A variety of natural conditions attracted to the Crimea the peoples of the most different cultures and traditions For nomads there were vast pastures, for farmers - fertile lands, for hunters - forests with a lot of game, for sailors - convenient bays and bays, a lot of fish. Therefore, many peoples settled here, becoming part of the Crimean ethnic conglomerate and participants in all historical events on the peninsula. In the neighborhood lived people whose traditions, customs, religions, way of life were different. This led to misunderstandings and even bloody clashes. Civil strife stopped when it was understood that it was possible to live well and prosper only in peace, harmony and mutual respect.
Crimea is a unique historical and cultural reserve, striking in its antiquity and diversity.
Its numerous cultural monuments reflect historical events, culture and religion of different eras and different peoples. The history of Crimea is an interweaving of East and West, the history of the Greeks and the Golden Horde, the churches of the first Christians and mosques. Here, for many centuries, different peoples lived, fought, made peace and traded, cities were built and destroyed, civilizations arose and disappeared. It seems that the very air here is filled with legends about the life of the Olympic gods, Amazons, Cimmerians, Taurians, Greeks ...
50-40 thousand years ago - the appearance and residence on the territory of the peninsula of a person of the Cro-Magnon type - an ancestor modern man. Scientists have discovered three sites of this period: Syuren, near the village of Tankovoye, Kachinsky canopy near the village of Predushchelnoye in the Bakhchisaray district, Aji-Koba on the slope of Karabi-Yaila.
If before the first millennium BC. e. historical data allow us to speak only about different periods of human development, then later it becomes possible to talk about specific tribes and cultures of the Crimea.
In the 5th century BC, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus visited the Northern Black Sea region and described in his writings the lands and the peoples living on them. were Cimmerians. These warlike tribes left the Crimea in the 4th - 3rd centuries BC. new era due to no less aggressive Scythians and lost in the vast expanses of the Asian steppes. Perhaps only ancient toponyms remind of the Cimmerians: Cimmerian walls, Cimmerian Bosporus, Cimmeric...
They lived in the mountainous and foothill regions of the peninsula. Ancient authors described the Taurians as cruel, bloodthirsty people. Skilled sailors, they were engaged in piracy, robbing ships going along the coast. The captives were sacrificed to the goddess Virgo (the Greeks associated her with Artemis), dropping into the sea from a high cliff where the temple was located. However, modern scientists have established that the Taurians led a pastoral and agricultural lifestyle, were engaged in hunting, fishing, collecting mollusks. They lived in caves or huts, and in case of an enemy attack, they arranged fortified shelters. Archaeologists have discovered Taurus fortifications on the mountains Uch-Bash, Koshka, Ayu-Dag, Kastel, on Cape Ai-Todor, as well as numerous burials in the so-called stone boxes - dolmens. They consisted of four flat slabs placed on edge, the fifth one covered the dolmen from above.
The myth of the evil sea robbers Tauri has already been debunked, and today they are trying to find a place where the temple of the cruel goddess of the Virgin stood, where bloody sacrifices were made.
In the 7th century BC e. Scythian tribes appeared in the steppe part of the peninsula. Under the pressure of the Sarmatians in the IV century BC. e. the Scythians are concentrated in the Crimea and on the lower Dnieper. Here at the turn of the IV-III centuries BC. e. the Scythian state is formed with the capital Scythian Naples (on the territory of modern Simferopol).
In the 7th century BC, Greek colonization of the Northern Black Sea region and Crimea began. In the Crimea, in places convenient for navigation and residence, Greek "polises" of the city-state Tauric Chersonesus (on the outskirts of modern Sevastopol), Theodosius and Panticapaeum-Bosporus (modern Kerch), Nymphaeum, Mirmekiy, Tiritaka arose.
Appearance Greek colonies in the Northern Black Sea region strengthened trade, cultural and political ties between the Greeks and the local population, the local farmers learned new forms of land cultivation, cultivation of grapes and olives. Greek culture had a huge impact on spiritual world Taurians, Scythians, Sarmatians and other tribes. But the relationship between different peoples was not easy. Peaceful periods were replaced by hostile ones, wars often flared up, which is why the Greek cities were protected by strong walls.
In the IV century. BC e. several settlements were founded on the western coast of Crimea. The largest of them are Kerkinitida (Evpatoria) and Kalos-Limen (Black Sea). In the last quarter of the 5th century BC. e. natives of the Greek city of Heraclea founded the city of Chersonesos. Now it is the territory of Sevastopol. By the beginning of the III century. BC e. Chersonese turned into a city-state independent of the Greek metropolis. It becomes one of the largest policies of the Northern Black Sea region. Chersonese in its heyday - a large port city, surrounded by powerful walls, trade, crafts and Cultural Center the entire southwestern coast of Crimea.
Around 480 B.C. e. from the unification of the originally independent Greek cities, the Bosporus kingdom was formed. Panticapaeum became the capital of the kingdom. Later, Theodosius was added to the kingdom.
In the 4th century BC, the Scythian tribes united under the rule of King Atey in strong state, which occupied a vast territory from the Southern Bug and the Dniester to the Don. Already at the end of the IV century. and especially from the first half of the 3rd c. BC e. the Scythians and, probably, the Taurians under their influence exert strong military pressure on the "polises". In the 3rd century BC, Scythian fortifications, villages and cities appeared in the Crimea, the capital of the Scythian state - Naples - was built on the southeastern outskirts of modern Simferopol.
IN last decade 2nd century BC e. Chersonese, in a critical situation, when the Scythian troops besieged the city, turned for help to the Pontic kingdom (located on the southern coast of the Black Sea). The troops of Ponta arrived in Chersonese and lifted the siege. At the same time, the troops of Ponta stormed Panticapaeum and Theodosia. After that, both the Bosporus and Chersonesus were included in the Pontic kingdom.
From about the middle of the 1st to the beginning of the 4th century AD, the sphere of interests of the Roman Empire included the entire Black Sea region and Taurica as well. Chersonese became a stronghold of the Romans in Taurica. In the 1st century, Roman legionnaires built the Kharaks fortress on Cape Ai-Todor, laid roads connecting it with Chersonesos, where the garrison was located, and a Roman squadron was stationed in the Chersonese harbor. In 370, hordes of Huns fell upon the lands of Taurida. Under their blows, the Scythian state and the Bosporan kingdom perished, Naples, Panticapaeum, Chersonesus and many cities and villages lay in ruins. And the Huns rushed further, to Europe, where they caused the death of the great Roman Empire.
In the IV century, after the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern (Byzantine), the southern part of Taurica also entered the sphere of interests of the latter. Chersonesos (it became known as Kherson) becomes the main base of the Byzantines on the peninsula.
Christianity came to Crimea from the Byzantine Empire. According to church tradition, Andrew the First-Called was the first to bring the good news to the peninsula, and the third bishop of Rome, St. Clement, who was exiled to Chersonesos in 94, conducted a great preaching activity. In the 8th century, an iconoclasm movement began in Byzantium, icons and murals in churches were destroyed, the monks, fleeing persecution, moved to the outskirts of the empire, including the Crimea. Here, in the mountains, they founded cave temples and monasteries: Assumption, Kachi-Kalyon, Shuldan, Chelter and others.
At the end of the VI century in the Crimea appears new wave the conquerors are the Khazars, whose descendants are the Karaites. They occupied the entire peninsula, with the exception of Cherson (as Chersonese is called in Byzantine documents). Since that time, the city begins to play a prominent role in the history of the empire. In 705 Kherson separated from Byzantium and recognized the Khazar protectorate. To which Byzantium in 710 sends a punitive fleet with a landing party. The fall of Kherson was accompanied by unprecedented cruelty, but the troops did not have time to leave the city, as it revolted again. Having united with the punitive troops and allies of the Khazars, who had changed Byzantium, the troops of Kherson enter Constantinople and install their emperor.
In the 9th century, actively intervenes in the course Crimean history a new force - the Slavs. At the same time, the decline of the Khazar state takes place, which was finally defeated in the 60s of the 10th century by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. In 988-989 Kiev Prince Vladimir took Kherson (Korsun), where he accepted the Christian faith.
During the XIII century, the Golden Horde (Tatar-Mongols) invaded Taurica several times, plundering its cities. Then they began to settle on the territory of the peninsula. In the middle of the 13th century, they captured Solkhat, which became the center of the Crimean yurt of the Golden Horde and was called Kyrym (like the entire peninsula later).
In the 13th century (1270), first the Venetians and then the Genoese penetrated the southern coast. Having forced out competitors, the Genoese create a number of fortifications-factories on the coast. Kafa (Feodosia) becomes their main stronghold in the Crimea, they captured Sudak (Soldaya), as well as Cherkio (Kerch). In the middle of the XIV century they settled in the immediate vicinity of Kherson - in the Bay of Symbols, having founded the fortress of Chembalo (Balaklava) there.
In the same period, the Orthodox Principality of Theodoro was formed in the mountainous Crimea, with its center in Mangup.
In the spring of 1475, a Turkish fleet appeared off the coast of Kafa. The well-fortified city was able to hold out in the siege for only three days and surrendered to the mercy of the winner. Capturing coastal fortresses one by one, the Turks put an end to Genoese rule in the Crimea. Decent resistance was met by the Turkish army at the walls of the capital Theodoro. Capturing the city after a six-month siege, they ravaged it, killed the inhabitants or took them into slavery. The Crimean Khan became a vassal of the Turkish Sultan.
The Crimean Khanate became the conductor of Turkey's aggressive policy towards the Muscovite state. Constant raids of the Tatars on the southern lands of Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania and Poland.
Russia, seeking to secure its southern borders and gain access to the Black Sea, fought more than once with Turkey. In the war of 1768-1774. the Turkish army and navy were defeated, in 1774 the Kuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty was concluded, according to which the Crimean Khanate gained independence. Kerch with the Yoni-Kale fortress, the fortresses of Azov and Kin-burn passed to Russia in the Crimea, Russian merchant ships could freely navigate the Black Sea.
In 1783 after Russian-Turkish war(1768-1774) Crimea was annexed to the Russian Empire. This contributed to the strengthening of Russia, its southern borders ensured the safety of transport routes on the Black Sea.
Most of the Muslim population left the Crimea, moving to Turkey, the region became depopulated and fell into disrepair. To revive the peninsula, Prince G. Potemkin, appointed governor of Taurida, began to resettle serfs and retired soldiers from neighboring regions. Thus, new villages of Mazanka, Izyumovka, Chistenkoye appeared on the Crimean land... The works of His Serene Highness Prince were not in vain, the Crimean economy began to develop rapidly, orchards, vineyards, tobacco plantations were planted on the South Coast and in the mountainous part. On the shores of an excellent natural harbor, the city of Sevastopol is being laid as the base of the Black Sea Fleet. Near the small town of Ak-Mechet, Simferopol is being built, which has become the center of the Taurida province.
In January 1787, Empress Catherine II, accompanied by the Austrian Emperor Joseph I, traveling under the name of Count Fankelstein, the ambassadors of the powerful countries of England, France and Austria, and a large retinue, went to the Crimea to explore the new lands to demonstrate to her allies the power and greatness of Russia: the Empress stopped in travel palaces built especially for her. During lunch in Inkerman, the curtains on the window were unexpectedly parted, and the travelers saw Sevastopol under construction, warships that greeted the empresses with volleys. The effect was amazing!
In 1854-1855. in Crimea, the main events of the Eastern War (1853-1856), better known as the Crimean War, played out. In September 1854, the combined armies of England, France and Turkey landed north of Sevastopol and laid siege to the city. The defense of the city continued for 349 days under the command of Vice Admirals V.A. Kornilov and P.S. Nakhimov. The war destroyed the city to the ground, but also glorified it throughout the world. Russia has been defeated. In 1856, a peace treaty was concluded in Paris, which prohibited Russia and Turkey from having navies on the Black Sea.
Defeated in Crimean War, Russia was going through an economic crisis. The abolition of serfdom in 1861 made it possible to develop industry more rapidly; enterprises appeared in the Crimea engaged in the processing of grain, tobacco, grapes, and fruits. At the same time, the resort development of the South Shore began. On the recommendation of the doctor Botkin, the royal family acquires the Livadia estate. From that moment on, palaces, estates, villas were built along the entire coast, which belonged to members of the Romanov family, court nobility, rich industrialists and landowners. In a matter of years, Yalta turned from a village into a famous aristocratic resort.
The construction of railways connecting Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch and Evpatoria with the cities of Russia had a great influence on the development of the region's economy. The Crimea became more and more important as a resort.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Crimea belonged to the Taurida province, in economic and economic terms it was an agrarian region with a small number of industrial cities. The main ones were Simferopol and the port cities of Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia.
Soviet power won in the Crimea later than in the center of Russia. The support of the Bolsheviks in the Crimea was Sevastopol. On January 28-30, 1918, an Extraordinary Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies of the Taurida Governorate was held in Sevastopol. Crimea was proclaimed the Soviet Socialist Republic of Taurida. It lasted a little over a month. At the end of April, German troops captured the Crimea, and in November 1918 they were replaced by the British and the French. In April 1919, the Red Army of the Bolsheviks occupied the entire Crimea, except for the Kerch Peninsula, where the troops of General Denikin were fortified. May 6, 1919 was proclaimed the Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic. In the summer of 1919, Denikin's army occupied the entire Crimea. However, in the fall of 1920, the Red Army, led by M.V. Frunze again restored Soviet power. In the autumn of 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as part of the RSFSR.
Socialist construction began in the Crimea. According to the decree signed by Lenin "On the use of the Crimea for the treatment of workers", All palaces, villas, dachas were given over to sanatoriums, where workers and collective farmers from all the Union republics rested and were treated. Crimea has become an All-Union health resort.
During the years of the Great Patriotic War Crimeans courageously fought the enemy. The second heroic defense of Sevastopol, which lasted 250 days, the Kerch-Feodosiya landing operation, Tierra del Fuego Eltigen, the feat of the underground and partisans became pages of the military chronicle. For the steadfastness and courage of the defenders, two Crimean cities - Sevastopol and Kerch - were awarded the title of Hero City.
In February 1945, a conference of the heads of the three powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain took place in the Livadia Palace. At the Crimean (Yalta) conference, decisions were made related to the end of the war with Germany and Japan, and the establishment of a post-war world order.
After the liberation of Crimea from the fascist invaders in the spring of 1944, the restoration of its economy began: industrial enterprises, sanatoriums, rest houses, agriculture, the revival of destroyed cities and villages. The black page in the history of Crimea was the expulsion of many peoples. The fate befell the Tatars, Greeks, Armenians.
On February 19, 1954, a decree was issued on the transfer of the Crimean region to Ukraine. Today, many believe that Khrushchev, on behalf of Russia, gave Ukraine a royal gift. Nevertheless, the decree was signed by the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Voroshilov, and Khrushchev's signature in the documents relating to the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine is not at all.
During Soviet power, especially in the 60s - 80s of the last century, there was a noticeable growth in the Crimean industry and agriculture, the development of resorts and tourism on the peninsula. Crimea, in fact, was known as an all-Union health resort. Every year, 8-9 million people from all over the vast Union rested in Crimea.
1991 - "putsch" in Moscow and the arrest of M. Gorbachev at his dacha in Foros. The collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea becomes autonomous republic as part of Ukraine, and Big Yalta - the summer political capital of Ukraine and the countries of the Black Sea region.
A year ago, the Crimean peninsula was an integral part of the state of Ukraine. But after March 16, 2014, he changed his "place of residence" and became part of Russian Federation. Therefore, we can explain the increased interest in how the Crimea developed. The history of the peninsula is very turbulent and eventful.
The first inhabitants of the ancient land
The history of the peoples of Crimea has several millennia. On the territory of the peninsula, researchers discovered the remains of ancient people who lived 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 Taurica, Tavria or Tauris. Ancient people were engaged in agriculture 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, the 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 laid eyes 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 tribes of the Goths, who invaded in the 3rd-4th centuries and thanks to which the Greek states collapsed. And although the Goths were soon forced out by other nationalities, the development of the 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 on which Crimea was located. The history of the peninsula has left in speech those toponymic names that at one time or another were called this piece of land. Starting from the 5th century, the entire Crimea falls under the harsh Byzantine influence. But already in the 7th century, the entire territory of the peninsula (except for Chersonese) was in a powerful and strong state. That is why in Western Europe in many manuscripts the name "Khazaria" is found. But Rus' and Khazaria compete all the time, and in the year 960 the Russian history of Crimea begins. The Khaganate was defeated, and all the Khazar possessions were subordinated to the Old Russian state. Now this territory is called Darkness.
By the way, it was here that Prince Vladimir of Kiev, who occupied Kherson (Korsun), was officially baptized in 988.
Tatar-Mongolian trace
Since the 13th century, the history of the annexation of Crimea has again developed 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 are made on Polish, Russian and Ukrainian lands. Moreover, already at the end of the 15th century, these invasions become massive and threaten the integrity of both the Muscovite state and Poland. Basically, the Turks hunted for cheap labor force: they captured people and sold them into slavery in the slave markets of Turkey. One of the reasons for the creation of the Zaporizhzhya Sich in 1554 was to resist these seizures.
Russian history
The history of the transfer of Crimea to Russia continues in 1774, when the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty was concluded. After the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, almost 300 years of domination came to an end. Ottoman Empire. The Turks abandoned the Crimea. It was at this time that the peninsula appeared Largest cities Sevastopol and Simferopol. Crimea is developing rapidly, money is being invested here, the rapid flourishing of industry and trade begins.
But Turkey did not leave plans to regain this attractive territory and prepared for a new war. We must pay tribute to the Russian army, which did not allow this to be done. After another war in 1791, the Iasi peace treaty was signed.
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 transitions from hand to hand, needed powerful protection. The acquired southern lands needed to be protected, ensuring the security of the borders. Empress Catherine II instructed Prince Potemkin to study all the advantages and disadvantages of annexing the 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 state 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 the annexation of Crimea to Russia only eight months later. All this time the situation around the peninsula was extremely tense. When the Manifesto was promulgated, then at first the clergy swore allegiance to the Russian Empire, and only then - the entire population. On the peninsula, solemn celebrations, feasts were held, games and races were held, volleys of cannon salute were fired into the air. As contemporaries noted, the entire Crimea with joy and jubilation passed into the Russian Empire.
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 for development
A brief history of Crimea after joining the Russian Empire can be described in one word - "flourishing". Industry and agriculture, winemaking, viticulture begin to develop rapidly here. Fish and salt industries appear in the cities, the people are actively developing trade relations.
Since the Crimea is located in a very warm and favorable climate, many rich people wanted to get land here. Nobles, members of the royal family, industrialists considered it an honor to found family estate on the territory of the peninsula. In the 19th - early 20th century, the rapid flowering of architecture begins here. Industrial magnates, royalty, the elite of Russia are building entire palaces here, setting up beautiful parks that have survived on the territory of Crimea to this day. And after the nobility, people of art, actors, singers, artists, theatergoers reached out to the peninsula. Crimea becomes the cultural Mecca of the Russian Empire.
Do not forget about the healing climate of the peninsula. Since the doctors proved that the air of the Crimea is extremely favorable for the treatment of tuberculosis, a mass pilgrimage began here for those wishing to be cured of this deadly 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 whole country. The October Revolution did not pass him, and the ensuing Civil War. It was from the Crimea (Yalta, Sevastopol, Feodosia) that the last ships and ships left Russia, on which the Russian intelligentsia left Russia. It was in this place that a mass exodus of the White Guards was observed. The country created new system, and the Crimea did not lag behind.
It was in the 20s of the last century that the transformation of the Crimea into an all-Union health resort took place. In 1919, the Bolsheviks adopted the "Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on medical areas of national importance." Crimea is inscribed 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 becomes the country's main center for pulmonary surgery.
Landmark 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 from the Crimea. Hundreds of trains were taken out in one day whole nation to Central Asia.
Crimea went down in world history due to the fact that in February 1945 the Yalta Conference was held in the Livadia Palace. The leaders of the three superpowers - Stalin (USSR), Roosevelt (USA) and Churchill (Great Britain) - signed important international documents in Crimea, which determined the world order for long post-war decades.
Crimea - Ukrainian
In 1954, a new milestone begins. 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 for a round date: that year the country celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada. To commemorate this historical date and demonstrate that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are united, Crimea was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. And now it began to be considered as a whole and a part of the whole couple "Ukraine - Crimea". The history of the peninsula begins to be described in modern chronicles from scratch.
Whether this decision was economically justified, whether it was worth taking such a step then - at that time such questions did not even arise. Because the Soviet Union was united, no one attached particular importance to whether Crimea would be part of the RSFSR or the Ukrainian SSR.
Autonomy within Ukraine
When an independent Ukrainian state was formed, Crimea received the status of autonomy. In September 1991, the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Republic was adopted. And on December 1, 1991, a referendum was held, in which 54% of the inhabitants of Crimea supported the independence of Ukraine. In May of the following year, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea was adopted, and in February 1994, the Crimeans elected the first President of the Republic of Crimea. They became 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 sentiments on the peninsula were 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 in late 2013 - early 2014, voices in Crimea were heard more and more strongly that the peninsula should be returned to Russia. On the night of February 26-27, unknown people raised the Russian flag over the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea.
The Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopt a declaration on the independence of Crimea. At the same time, the idea to hold an all-Crimean referendum was voiced. It was originally scheduled for March 31, but then moved two weeks earlier - to March 16. The results of the Crimean referendum were impressive: 96.6% of voters voted in favor. The overall level of support for this decision of 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 brighter future.
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 we take into account that in August up to 2 million visitors are simultaneously on the peninsula, 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 main part of the population is 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. Small in number, but still noticeable in the culture of the small peoples of the Crimea - the Karaites and Krymchaks.
The language of international communication continues to be Russian.
ethnic history Crimea is very complex and dramatic. One thing can be said with certainty: the ethnic composition of the peninsula has never been monotonous, especially in its mountainous part and coastal areas.
Speaking about the population of the Tauride Mountains, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, back in the 2nd century BC, notes that 30 peoples live there. Mountains and islands often serve as a refuge for relic peoples, once great, and then descended from the historical arena for a peaceful and measured life. So it was with the warlike Goths, who conquered almost all of Europe and then dissolved in its vastness already at the beginning of the Middle Ages. And in the Crimea, the settlements of the Goths survived until the 15th century. The last reminder of them is the village of Kok-Kozy, that is Blue eyes(now the village of Sokolinoye).
The Karaites live in Crimea - a small people with a distinctive and colorful history. You can get acquainted with it in the "cave city" Chufut-kale (which means the Jewish fortress, Karaimism is one of the branches of Judaism). The Karaite language belongs to the Kypchak subgroup of the Turkic languages, but the way of life of the Karaites is close to the Jewish one. In addition to our region, the Karaites live in Lithuania, they are the descendants of the personal guards of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes, as well as in the west of Ukraine. Krymchaks belong to the historical peoples of Crimea. 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 years and suffered huge losses. Now in the Crimea, mainly in the 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. They were merchants and artisans. Earlier (in the 9th and 10th centuries) the appearance of squads Prince of Novgorod Bravlin and Prince Vladimir of Kyiv was associated with military campaigns.
The mass 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 the Russian population.
In Soviet times, retired officers and people who had worked in the North had the right to settle in Crimea, so in the Crimean cities, as already noted, there are a lot of pensioners (of course, not only Russians).
After the collapse of the USSR, the 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, in every possible way maintain contact with their primordial historical homeland - Russia, including . and through the established "Moscow-Crimea" Foundation. The Fund is located in Simferopol on the street. Frunze, 8. Exhibitions, meetings with compatriots, celebrations of dates uniting peoples - this is not a complete list of events held within the walls of a well-equipped building. The Fund's cell - the Russian Cultural Center contributes to the strengthening of cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. Widely celebrated in the Crimea "pancake week" - Maslenitsa. Truly a holiday 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 the churches are now both elegant and crowded. The only pity is that there are no Russian restaurants where the style would be sustained in everything, and you simply cannot find a Russian oven.
Ukrainians in pre-war censuses are combined with Russians. But in the censuses late XIX V. they are in 3rd or 4th place. Ukraine has had close ties with the peninsula since the time of the Crimean Khanate, Chumat carts with salt, mutual trade in peacetime and equally mutual raids in wartime - all this served to move and mix people, although, of course, the main flow of Ukrainian settlers went to Crimea only V late XVIII century, and reached its maximum in the 50s of our century (after Khrushchev annexed the Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic).
The Germans, including immigrants from Switzerland, settled in the Crimea under Catherine II and were engaged, for the most part, agriculture. The building of the Lutheran church and the school attached to it in Simferopol (Karl Liebknecht St., 16), built on private donations, has been preserved. IN Soviet time the German colonists formed several collective farms, which were famous for their high culture of agriculture and especially animal husbandry; German sausages in the Crimean markets had no equal. In August 1941, the Germans were deported to Northern Kazakhstan, and their villages in the Crimea were no longer restored.
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 the Crimea after the defeat of the national liberation uprisings of the 18th - 19th centuries. like exiles. Now the Poles, including descendants and later settlers, are about 7 thousand people.
A huge role in the history of the 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 region of Evpatoria. The number of the Greek population on the peninsula varied in different eras. In 1897 there were 17 thousand of them, and in 1939 - 20.6 thousand.
Armenians have a long history in Crimea. In the Middle Ages, together with the Greeks of Asia Minor, who also left their homeland under the onslaught of the Turks, they 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 Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. In 1771, 31,000 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). The monuments of Armenian architecture - 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.
Already after the annexation of our region to Russia, the Armenians lived for the most part in the Eastern Crimea; the region of Feodosia and Stary Krym 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 colloquial differed little from the Crimean Tatar. Naturally, mixed marriages have never been a rarity, and most native Crimeans are related to half the world.
In the same place in the Eastern Crimea, in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch, even before the revolution, curious fragments of the Middle Ages were preserved - communities of Crimean "zhenoveztsy" (Genoese), descendants of those same navigators, 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, impregnable, 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 Crimean markets. They are good farmers, industrious and lucky. Most recently they have been in the Crimea, literally for the last 30 years, but the Crimean land responds to their work with rich gifts.
More and more in the markets and fruits grown by the Crimean Tatars, reviving the glory of gardeners, gardeners and shepherds of the peninsula.
Crimean Tatars as ethnic community 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, priests-Kipchaks and others). This process, in fact, has not even ended yet: there are differences in the language, appearance and lifestyle of the southern coast, mountain and steppe Tatars.
The cordiality and simplicity of the Crimean Tatars were noted even by the first Russian researchers, for example, P.I. Sumarokov. Their hard work and ingenuity in agriculture is respected by a peasant of any nationality. And modern Crimean Tatar music, in its melodiousness and incendiary rhythm, successfully competes with Jewish and gypsy music.
Unfortunately, among the part of the modern representatives of the Crimean Tatars, there are more and more adherents of aggressive Vakhabi movements. The events in present-day Chechnya and Kosovo have shown what this can lead to if the situation gets out of control. I would not like to witness the development of events according to 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 for many centuries settled among the indigenous population of Crimea and even converted to Islam. Some of their caste groups were engaged in jewelry craft, wove baskets and were garden workers (according to L.P. Simirenko, they were not inferior to the best Tatar ones). Not quite settled group of gypsies - ayuvdzhilar (bear cubs) were engaged in fortune-telling, bear training and petty trade. But the music for a long time in the Islamic Crimea, only gypsies were engaged, although they adapted it to local tastes. It was from the music of the Crimean gypsies in the 30s of our century that the modern Crimean Tatar music "came".
In 1944, the 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 in the literal sense of the word). But this is already a modern, post-war wave of settlement. The city of Dzhankoy is even shown in many atlases of the world as the center of gypsies: a large railway junction, gullible holidaymakers going south, and finally, the gentle Crimean sun make it possible to preserve the traditional values of camp life. In addition to fortune-telling "will there be an earthquake?" and "Who will you fall in love with at the resort?", petty trading with "fat" and currency exchange with elements of the transformation of banknotes into colored paper, Gypsies are also engaged in ordinary work: they build houses, work at enterprises in Dzhankoy and other cities.
Pontus Euxinus - Scythian Sea
Crimea became known for world history many centuries before our era. IN ancient times, the peninsula was called Taurica. This name was recorded by the Byzantine historian of the VI century AD Procopius nz Caesarea. The Old Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" gives a slightly modified form of this name - Tavriania. Only in the XII century, the Tatars, who conquered the peninsula, called the Greek city of Solkhat (now Stary Krym) Crimea, which became the center of their possessions. Gradually, during the XIV-XV centuries, this name spread to the entire peninsula. The names of the Greek colonies that arose in the Crimea in the VI century BC. cannot be considered the oldest Crimean toponyms. Before the arrival of the Greeks in the Crimea, numerous tribes lived here, leaving their mark on history, archeology, and toponymy.
Crimea belongs to those few places on earth where people have appeared since time immemorial. Here, archaeologists discovered their sites of the Paleolithic era - the early Stone Age.
Scientists believe that before the beginning of the divergence of peoples - about 3700 BC. throughout the Caspian steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Asia common language communication was , the roots of which lie in .
The roots of the most ancient names of the Crimean places, rivers, mountains, lakes should be sought in the Proto-Indo-European language - Vedic Sanskrit: support, stronghold, tower, tower, pylon. (related word in Dr. Russian: KROM - castle, fortification, secluded, hidden from ...; Kromny - outer edge (edge); KROMA - edge, piece of bread;) At the root of the word Kram - kram - fortress, verb " kR" and "krta" - create, build, make, that is - this is a man-made structure - the Fortress, the Kremlin.
Slavic historian, archaeologist, ethnographer and linguist, author of the 11-volume encyclopedia "Slavic Antiquities" Lubora Niederle claimed that “... among the northern neighbors of the Scythians mentioned by Herodotus, not only the neurons ... but also Scythians called plowmen and farmers ... were undoubtedly Slavs, who were influenced by the Greco-Scythian culture.
The first population of Crimea known to us from ancient Greek sources was the Scythians, Taurus and the Cimmerians, who were related or Thracian.
In the southwestern part of the Crimean peninsula, 15 km from Sevastopol, there is ancient city Balaklava, which has a rich history of more than 2500 years.
Since ancient times, it has been a powerful military fortress created by nature itself. Balaklava harbor is closed by high rocks on all sides from sea storms, and the narrow entrance to the harbor reliably protects it from enemy invasions from the sea. reports that Tauris lived in the mountains of Taurida, who knew a lot about martial arts.
within the Dnieper Left Bank there are two toponyms ancient Slavic species - Perekop, near Sreznevsky - Perekop, possible calque of relict Indo-Aryan * krta - “made (that is, dug by hand)” , hence the name Crimea. Approximately in the same place, at the base of the Crimean peninsula, there is another Russian. Oleshye , one of the "populated places" by the sea, which from time immemorial - from Herodotus Hylaea ('Y - "forest") up to the present Aleshkovsky (!) Sands - steadfastly conveyed and preserved the image of this "wooded" patch among the surrounding treeless spaces.
The name "Balaklava" comes from the word, strength, power, energy, strength, military force, army, army. The word "Bala" comes from - RV). Perhaps the name of the harbor "Bala + Klava" - comes from "Bala" - military, "Klap, kalpate" - klṛ p, kalpate - "strengthen, strengthen, fortress" (from the root "kḷ p"), that is - Military Fortress.
Ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo (64 BC - 24 AD) and Roman writer, author " natural history» Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) associated the name of the harbor and the military fortress with the name of his son (II century BC) Palak - "strong warrior." Names of the god of war ancient greece - Pallas (Pallas), an epithet of a goddess Athena Palada(other Greek Παλλὰς Ἀθηνᾶ) – militant goddess of war strategy and wisdom, and the name of the Scythian prince Palak - "warrior", come from the same root.
In the 5th century, a powerful arose on both banks of the Kerch Strait, whose inhabitants consisted of representatives various peoples- Greek colonists, Scythians, Meots. Dominant dynasty The Spartakids were of Thracian origin, and the royal guard also consisted of the Thracians. In the Proto-Indo-European language, the roots of the language of the Scythians, Cimmerians, Greeks, Goths lie, which is why they found mutual language and, allowing for the interpenetration of cultures and linguistic borrowings on the peninsula, for example, from the Germanic tribes - - the Scythians, who were in a single Gothic union of tribes in the Crimea.
The role of the Goths in the life of the Crimea was very significant, since even in the Byzantine medieval sources the Crimea was called Gothia. belongs to Indo-European group languages. A few fortified Ostrogothic settlements remained in the Black Sea region in the western mountainous part of the Crimea, inhabited by Greeks and subordinated to Byzantium, and also from the 5th century in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov on the Taman Peninsula, the Ostrogoths at the end of the 4th century were cut off by the invasion of the Huns and other nomads in the Black Sea region. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I built a line of fortifications in the Crimea to protect the settlements of the Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths). In Taurida (Crimea) there was a Gothic the fortress city of Mangup, the cities of Doro (Doros), Theodoro, ready-meal merchants living on the "table mountain" (near Alushta).
In the 6th century Crimean Goths accepted Orthodox Christianity and patronage from Byzantium. In the Crimea, the Crimean-Gothic language was preserved for a long time, dating back to the Ostrogothic dialect of the tribes of the Eastern Goths, who came to the Black Sea region and the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov in 150-235, and lived in the neighborhood with Greek settlers and Scythians. The Flemish monk V. Rubruk, who testifies in 1253 that the Goths in the Crimea at that time spoke the “German dialect” (idioma Teutonicum). important place occupies the Crimean peninsula in the history of Ukraine. The population of Crimea and Ukraine was connected by common economic, political and cultural processes.
Distribution of power Kyiv princes Ancient Rus' pretty most The peninsula closely and for a long time brought the population of Crimea closer to the ancient Russian state. There were gates of sorts through which Kievan Rus went out to communicate with the countries of the East. In the first centuries of our era in the Crimea appeared Slavs. Their migration to the peninsula is most naturally explained by the so-called great migration of peoples in the II-VII centuries.
From time to time, Byzantine sources recall the Slavs in the Crimea. But scientists were able to get a more complete picture of their life on the peninsula only starting from the era of Kievan Rus. Archaeologists have discovered remains in the Crimea material culture, the foundations of architectural structures, close to those that were built in the cities of Kievan Rus. Moreover, the fresco paintings and the plaster itself of the Crimean Russian churches are very similar in composition to the fresco paintings of the Kyiv cathedrals of the 11th-12th centuries.
Much about the ancient Russian population of the Crimea becomes known from written sources.
From "The Lives of Stefan of Surozh" know that at the beginning In the 9th century, the Russian prince Bravlin took possession of the Crimean cities of Korsun (or Kherson, so in the Middle Ages Chersonesus began to be called) and Sudak. And in the middle of the same century, the ancient Russians settled for a long time in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, having mastered the Byzantine city of Tamatarkha later Tmutarakan, the capital of the future Old Russian principality, part of whose lands extended into the Crimea. Gradually, the Kiev government extends its power to the northwestern part of it to the outskirts of Kherson, the entire Kerch Peninsula.
Tmutarakans principality formed in the middle of the 10th century. Remote from other Russian lands, it was under constant pressure from Byzantium, but managed to survive. Successful Vladimir Svyatoslavich's campaign against Kherson in 989 expanded ancient Russian possessions in the Crimea. According to the Russian-Byzantine agreement, Kievan Rus was able to annex the city of Bosporus with its outskirts to the Tmutarakan principality, which received the Russian name Korchev (from the word "korcha" - a forge, the current Kerch).
The Arab geographer Idrisi called Kerch Strait "the mouth of the Russian river". There he even knew a city with the name "Russia". Medieval European and Oriental geographic Maps Crimea recorded a lot of place names, names of cities and settlements, indicating a long and long stay of the Russians in the Crimea: " Cosal di Rosia", "Rossia", "Rosmofar", "Rosso", "Rossika" (the latter near Evpatoria), etc.
At the end of the 12th century, a mass of nomadic Polovtsy, who took possession of the steppes of the northern Black Sea region, cut Crimea off from Kievan Rus for a long time. At the same time, the Polovtsians destroyed the Tmutarakan principality, but a significant part of the Russian population remained on the peninsula. One of his strong points became the city of Sudak (Russian name Surozh). According to the Arab writer Ibn al-Athir. At the end of the XII early XIII For centuries, many Russian merchants lived in the Crimea. The Russian population of the peninsula, as well as representatives of other local peoples, dealt an irreparable blow to the conquest of the peninsula Mongol-Tatars after 1223.
