The sites of primitive people discovered by archaeologists on the Crimean peninsula (Kiik-Koba, Staroselye, Chokurcha, Volchiy Grotto) testify to the settlement of the region by humans already in the Stone Age.
The most ancient population of the Black Sea region and the Crimea consisted of those who lived here at the turn of the II-I millennium BC. e. semi-sedentary and nomadic tribes, collectively known as the Cimmerians. The memory of them is preserved in local toponyms mentioned in ancient Greek sources: Cimmerian Bosporus, Cimmeric, Cimmerius. The Cimmerians apparently inhabited all the Black Sea steppes, but in the Eastern Crimea, as well as on the Taman Peninsula, they lived longer.
In the 7th century BC e. Cimmerians acted in alliance with the Scythians. There is information about the defeat in 652 BC. the Lydian capital Sardis by the Cimmerians and Scythians. The culture of the Cimmerians revealed by archaeologists is close to the Scythian and belongs to the end of the Bronze Age. This is evidenced by excavations on the Kerch and Taman Peninsulas, where burials of the 8th-7th centuries were found. BC e., associated with the Cimmerians. According to the story of Herodotus, the Cimmerians were forced out of the Northern Black Sea region by the Scythians, who dominated here already in the 7th century. BC e.
The descendants of the Cimmerians are the Taurians, who lived already in the Scythian time in the mountains of Crimea. The mountain range on the south coast of the peninsula was also called Taurus. The Greek word is associated with this name. Crimean peninsula- Taurica, which was preserved both in the era of antiquity and in the Middle Ages.
The bulk of the Scythians were tribes that came in the VIII century. BC e. from Central Asia. Several Scythian tribes of the Northern Black Sea region are known: the royal Scythians, who also lived in the Crimea, Scythian nomads, Scythian plowmen, Scythian farmers, Scythian wonnes. The social structure of the Scythians in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. characterized by the gradual disintegration of tribal and the emergence of class relations. The Scythians already knew patriarchal slavery. The change of the Cimmerian culture of the Scythian in the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. coincided with the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. By the 4th century BC e. The Scythian kingdom, which united individual tribes, turned into a strong military power that successfully repelled the Persian invasion. Remarkable monuments of the famous Scythian "animal" style were discovered by archaeologists in the burial mounds and mountains of Crimea - in the Kurgans of Kulakovsky (near Simferopol, Ak-mosque), unique gold items depicting human figures, animals and plants were found in the famous Scythian kurgans Kul-Oba, Ak- Burun, Golden Mound.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. there is an intensive process of Greek colonization of the North Pontic coast, due to economic and social development Ancient Hellas. In the 7th century BC e. colonized the western, and in the VI century. BC e. - northern coast of the Black Sea.
The earliest in Taurica, probably as early as the first half of the 6th century. BC e., on the site of modern Kerch on the banks of the Cimmerian Bosporus, the city of Panticapaeum was founded by the Milesians. The city itself was called by the Greeks and simply Bosporus. Around the middle of the VI century. BC e. Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, Kimmerik arose in the Eastern Crimea. In the VI century. BC e. Theodosius was founded by the Milesian Greeks, as well as Mirmekiy, located near Panticapaeum.
Around 480 BC e. in the Eastern Crimea, the previously independent Greek city-states (polises) were united into a single Bosporus state under the rule of the Archaeanactids, immigrants from Miletus. In 438 BC. e. power in the Bosporus passes to the Spartocids - a dynasty, possibly of Thracian origin.
Craft, agriculture, trade, monetary circulation Panticapaeum, where from the middle of the VI century. minted their own silver coin, were at a relatively high level of development. There was an expansion of the external expansion of the Bosporan state. However, in the III-II centuries. BC e. the onslaught of the Scythians intensifies from the west, and the Sarmatians penetrate from the Kuban region.
The creation of the Scythian state in the Crimea and the aggravation of social contradictions in the Bosporan kingdom contributed to the weakening of the latter.
In the western part of the Crimea, Chersonese, founded in the 5th century, played an important role. BC e. immigrants from the southern coast of the Black Sea (from Heraclea Pontica). Initially, it was a trading post, which later became the center of agricultural and handicraft production. Trade also grew, with the development of which the issue of its own coin made of silver and copper was associated. The remains of ancient Chersonesos have been preserved on the western outskirts of modern Sevastopol.
Chersonesos probably pursued a hostile policy towards the Bosporus. However, by the end of the II century. BC e. the onslaught of the Scythians on Chersonese intensifies. Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator provided military assistance to Chersonesos. Eastern Crimea and Chersonesos then pass under the authority of the Pontic king. Perisades, the last king of the Bosporus from the Spartokid dynasty, renounced the throne in favor of Mithridates VI. But this only exacerbated the urgent social contradictions in the slave-owning Bosporus. In 107 BC. e. there was an uprising led by the Scythian Savmak, but it was suppressed by the troops of the Pontic king.
The Pontic kingdom became the main obstacle to the further expansion of the Romans to the East. This led to the wars of Mithridates with Rome, which lasted from 89 BC. e. until the death of the Pontic king in 63 BC. e. The death of Mithridates meant the actual loss of political independence by this part of the Black Sea region. By the end of the 1st century BC e. a portrait of the Roman emperor and members of his family appears on Bosporus coins. True, in 25 BC. e. Rome confirms the independence of Chersonesus, but this independence was largely nominal.
The City-States of Taurica in the First Centuries A.D. were developed policies of the slave type. This opinion is supported by their administrative structure, as well as the monuments of material culture discovered by archaeologists.
The dominant force in the steppe zone during this period were the Sarmatians, at the head of which was the tribal nobility, surrounded by warriors. Several unions of Sarmatian tribes are known - Roxolans, Aorses, Siraks. Obviously, from the II century. and. e. Sarmatians receive the common name of the Alans, probably from the name of one of their tribes. However, in the Crimea, the Sarmatians, apparently, were inferior in number to the mass of the Scythians who survived here, as well as the descendants of the ancient Taurians. In contrast to the Sarmatians, this old population is referred to in ancient sources as Tauro-Scythians, which, perhaps, indicates the erasure of the differences between them.
The center of the Scythian tribes in the Crimea was Scythian Naples, located on the site of present-day Simferopol. Scythian Naples was founded at the end of the 3rd century. BC e. and lasted until the 4th century. n. e.
In the I-II centuries. The Bosporan kingdom is experiencing a new rise, it occupies approximately the same territory as under the Spartokids. Moreover, the Bosporus actually exercises a protectorate over Chersonese. Simultaneously, Sarmatization of the population of the Bosporan cities takes place. In foreign policy, the Bosporan kings showed a certain independence, including in relations with Rome.
In the III century. spreading in Crimea christian religion, which probably came here from Asia Minor. In the IV century. in the Bosporus there was already an independent Christian bishopric.
Chersonese at that time continued to develop as a slave-owning republic, but the former, democratic system (within the framework, of course, of the slave-owning formation) was now replaced by an aristocratic one. At the same time, the romanization of the ruling urban elite took place. Chersonese becomes the main stronghold of the Romans in the Northern Black Sea region. There was a Roman garrison in it, food was supplied to the center of the empire from here.
In the middle of the III century. n. e. The Bosporus state is experiencing an economic and political decline, reflecting the general crisis of the ancient slave system. Starting from the 50-70s. in the Crimea, the onslaught of the Borani, Ostrogoths, Heruls and other tribes that were part of
to the Gothic alliance. The Goths defeated the Scythians and destroyed their settlements in the Crimea. Capturing almost the entire peninsula, with the exception of Chersonesus, they established their dominance over the Bosporus. The Gothic invasion led to the decline of the Bosporus kingdom, but it received a mortal blow in the 70s. 4th century Hun tribes that appeared in the Eastern Crimea. The Bosporus they defeated lost its former significance and gradually left the historical arena.
From the collection "Crimea: Past and Present"”, Institute of History of the USSR, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1988
Pontus Euxinus - Scythian Sea
Crimea became known for world history many centuries before our era. AT 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. Titles 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 entire territory of the Caspian steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, the common language of 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.(a related word in Old 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 military fortress with the name of his son (II century BC) Palak - "strong warrior." Names of the god of war in 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, on both banks of the Kerch Strait, a powerful arose, the inhabitants of which consisted of representatives of 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 the Indo-European group of 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, the Crimean Goths adopted 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). The Crimean peninsula occupies an important place 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' on a fairly large part of 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 in the Crimea the remains of material culture, foundations 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 "wrath" - 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 eastern geographical maps of Crimea recorded many place names, names of cities and settlements, testifying to the long and long stay of the Russ in 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 its strongholds was 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, was dealt an irreparable blow by the conquest of the peninsula Mongol-Tatars after 1223.
Crimea was, as it were, a long-awaited reward for those who, moving from the depths of Russia, managed to overcome the steppes burned by the heat. The steppes, mountains and subtropics of the South Coast are such natural conditions are not found anywhere else in Russia. However, in the world too ...
The ethnic history of Crimea is also unusual and unique. Crimea was inhabited by primitive people thousands of years ago, and throughout its history it has constantly received new settlers. But since on this small peninsula there are mountains that, more or less, could protect the inhabitants of Crimea, and there is also a sea from which new settlers, goods and ideas could sail, and coastal cities could also give protection to the Crimeans, it is not surprising that some were able to survive here historical ethnic groups. There has always been a mixture of peoples, and it is no coincidence that historians speak of the "Tauro-Scythians" and "Gotoalans" living here.
In 1783 Crimea (together with a small territory outside the peninsula) became part of Russia. By this time, there were 1,474 settlements in the Crimea, most of them very small. At the same time, most of the Crimean settlements were multinational. But since 1783, the ethnic history of the Crimea has changed radically.
Crimean Greeks
The first Greek settlers arrived in Crimea 27 centuries ago. And it was in the Crimea that a small Greek ethnos managed to survive, the only one of all the Greek ethnic groups outside of Greece. Actually, two Greek ethnic groups lived in Crimea - the Crimean Greeks and the descendants of the "real" Greeks from Greece, who moved to the Crimea at the end of the 18th and in the 19th centuries.
Of course, the Crimean Greeks, in addition to the descendants of the ancient colonists, absorbed many ethnic elements. Under the influence and charm of Greek culture, many Taurus were Hellenized. So, a tombstone of a certain Tikhon, a brand of brand, dating back to the 5th century BC, has been preserved. Many Scythians were also Hellenized. In particular, some royal dynasties in the Bosporan kingdom were clearly of Scythian origin. The strongest cultural influence of the Greeks was experienced by the Goths and Alans.
Already from the 1st century, Christianity began to spread in Taurida, finding many adherents. Christianity was adopted not only by the Greeks, but also by the descendants of the Scythians, the Goths and Alans. Already in 325, at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, Cadmus, Bishop of the Bosporus, and Theophilus, Bishop of Gothia, were present. In the future, it is Orthodox Christianity that will unite the diverse population of Crimea into a single ethnic group.
The Byzantine Greeks and the Orthodox Greek-speaking population of Crimea called themselves "Romans" (literally Romans), emphasizing their belonging to the official religion of the Byzantine Empire. As you know, the Byzantine Greeks called themselves Romans for several centuries after the fall of Byzantium. Only in the 19th century, under the influence of Western European travelers, did the Greeks in Greece return to the self-name "Greeks". Outside of Greece, the ethnonym "Romans" (or, in the Turkish pronunciation "Urums"), persisted until the twentieth century. In our time, the name "Pontic" (Black Sea) Greeks (or "Ponti") has been established behind all the various Greek ethnic groups in the Crimea and all of New Russia.
The Goths and Alans, who lived in the southwestern part of the Crimea, which was called the "country of Dori", although for many centuries retained their languages in everyday life, but their written language remained Greek. The common religion, similar way of life and culture, the spread of the Greek language led to the fact that over time the Goths and Alans, as well as the Orthodox descendants of the "Tauro-Scythians" joined the Crimean Greeks. Of course, this did not happen immediately. Back in the 13th century, Bishop Theodore and the Western missionary G. Rubruk met the Alans in the Crimea. Apparently, it was not until the 16th century that the Alans finally merged with the Greeks and Tatars.
Around the same time, the Crimean Goths also disappeared. Since the 9th century, the Goths are no longer mentioned in historical documents. However, the Goths still continued to exist as a small Orthodox ethnic group. In 1253, Rubruk, along with the Alans, also met Goths in the Crimea, who lived in fortified castles, and whose language was Germanic. Rubruck himself, who was of Flemish origin, could of course distinguish the Germanic languages from others. The Goths remained faithful to Orthodoxy, as Pope John XXII wrote with regret in 1333.
It is interesting that the first hierarch of the Orthodox Church of Crimea was officially called the Metropolitan of Gotha (in Church Slavonic sound - Gotfeysky) and Kafaysky (Kafinsky, that is, Feodosiya).
Probably, it was from the Hellenized Goths, Alans and other ethnic groups of the Crimea that the population of the Principality of Theodoro, which existed until 1475, consisted. Probably, Russians of the same faith from the former Tmutarakan principality also joined the Crimean Greeks.
However, from the end of the 15th and especially in the 16th century, after the fall of Theodoro, when the Crimean Tatars began to intensively convert their subjects to Islam, the Goths and Alans completely forgot their languages, switching partly to Greek, which was already familiar to them all, and partly to Tatar , which became the prestigious language of the ruling people.
In the 13th-15th centuries, the "Surozhans" were well known in Rus' - merchants from the city of Surozh (now - Sudak). They brought to Rus' special Surozh goods - silk products. Interestingly, even in explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language” by V. I. Dahl, there are concepts that survived until the 19th century, such as “Surovsky” (i.e. Surozh) goods, and “Surovsky series”. Most of the Surozh merchants were Greeks, some were Armenians and Italians, who lived under the rule of the Genoese in the cities of the southern coast of Crimea. Many of the Surozhans eventually moved to Moscow. From the descendants of the Surozhans came the famous merchant dynasties of Muscovite Rus' - Khovrins, Salarevs, Troparevs, Shikhovs. Many of the descendants of the Surozhans became rich and influential people in Moscow. The Khovrin family, whose ancestors came from the Mangup principality, even received the boyars. The names of villages near Moscow - Khovrino, Salarevo, Sofrino, Troparevo - are associated with the merchant surnames of the descendants of the Surozhans.
But the Crimean Greeks themselves did not disappear, despite the emigration of the Surozhans to Russia, the conversion of some of them to Islam (which turned the new converts into Tatars), as well as the ever-increasing eastern influence in the cultural and linguistic spheres. In the Crimean Khanate, the majority of farmers, fishermen, and winegrowers consisted of Greeks.
The Greeks were the oppressed part of the population. Gradually, the Tatar language and oriental customs spread more and more among them. The clothes of the Crimean Greeks differed little from the clothes of the Crimeans of any other origin and religion.
Gradually, an ethnic group of “Urums” (that is, “Romans” in Turkic) developed in the Crimea, denoting Turkic-speaking Greeks who preserved Orthodox faith and Greek identity. The Greeks, who retained the local dialect of the Greek language, retained the name "Romans". They continued to speak 5 dialects of the local Greek language. By the end of the 18th century, the Greeks lived in 80 villages in the mountains and on the southern coast, about 1/4 of the Greeks lived in the cities of the khanate. About half of the Greeks spoke the Rat-Tatar language, the rest - in local dialects that differ both from the language of Ancient Hellas and from the spoken languages of Greece proper.
In 1778, by order of Catherine II, in order to undermine the economy of the Crimean Khanate, the Christians living in Crimea - Greeks and Armenians, were evicted from the peninsula in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. As A. V. Suvorov, who carried out the resettlement, reported, a total of 18,395 Greeks left the Crimea. Settlers founded the city of Mariupol and 18 villages on the shores of the Sea of Azov. Some of the deported Greeks subsequently returned to the Crimea, but the majority remained in their new homeland on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. Scientists usually called them Mariupol Greeks. Now it is the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
Today there are 77,000 Crimean Greeks (according to the Ukrainian census of 2001), most of whom live in the Sea of Azov. Many outstanding figures of Russian politics, culture and economy came out of their number. Artist A. Kuindzhi, historian F. A. Khartakhai, scientist K. F. Chelpanov, philosopher and psychologist G. I. Chelpanov, art historian D. V. Ainalov, tractor driver P. N. Angelina, test pilot G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi , polar explorer I. D. Papanin, politician, mayor of Moscow in 1991-92. G. Kh. Popov - all these are Mariupol (in the past - Crimean) Greeks. Thus, the history of the most ancient ethnic group in Europe continues.
"New" Crimean Greeks
Although a significant part of the Crimean Greeks left the peninsula, in the Crimea already in 1774-75. there were new, "Greek" Greeks from Greece. We are talking about those natives of the Greek islands in the Mediterranean, who during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-74. helped the Russian fleet. After the end of the war, many of them moved to Russia. Of these, Potemkin formed the Balaklava battalion, which carried the protection of the coast from Sevastopol to Feodosia with a center in Balaklava. Already in 1792, there were 1.8 thousand new Greek settlers. Soon the number of Greeks began to grow rapidly due to the unfolding immigration of Greeks from the Ottoman Empire. Many Greeks settled in the Crimea. At the same time, Greeks from various regions of the Ottoman Empire came, speaking different dialects, having their own characteristics of life and culture, differing from each other, and from the Balaklava Greeks, and from the “old” Crimean Greeks.
The Balaklava Greeks bravely fought in the wars with the Turks and during the years of the Crimean War. Many Greeks served in the Black Sea Fleet.
In particular, such outstanding Russian military and political figures as the Russian admirals of the Black Sea Fleet brothers Alexiano, the hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91, came out of the Greek refugees. Admiral F.P. Lally, who fell in 1812 near Smolensk, General A.I. Bella, General Vlastov, one of the main heroes of the victory of Russian troops on the Berezina River, Count A.D. Kuruta, commander of Russian troops in the Polish war of 1830-31.
In general, the Greeks served diligently, and it is no accident that the abundance of Greek surnames in the lists of Russian diplomacy, military and naval activities. Many Greeks were mayors, leaders of the nobility, mayors. The Greeks were engaged in business and were abundantly represented in the business world of the southern provinces.
In 1859, the Balaklava battalion was abolished, and now most of the Greeks began to engage in peaceful activities - viticulture, tobacco growing, and fishing. The Greeks owned shops, hotels, taverns and coffee houses in all corners of the Crimea.
After the establishment of Soviet power in the Crimea, the Greeks experienced many social and cultural changes. In 1921, 23,868 Greeks lived in Crimea (3.3% of the population). At the same time, 65% of Greeks lived in cities. Literate Greeks were 47.2% of total number. There were 5 Greek village councils in Crimea, in which office work was conducted in Greek, there were 25 Greek schools with 1500 students, several Greek newspapers and magazines were published. In the late 1930s, many Greeks became victims of repression.
The language problem of the Greeks was very difficult. As already mentioned, part of the "old" Greeks of the Crimea spoke the Crimean Tatar language (until the end of the 30s, there was even the term "Greek-Tatars" to designate them). The rest of the Greeks spoke various mutually incomprehensible dialects, far from the modern literary Greek language. It is clear that the Greeks, mostly urban residents, by the end of the 30s. switched to Russian, retaining their ethnic identity.
In 1939, 20.6 thousand Greeks (1.8%) lived in Crimea. The decrease in their numbers is mainly due to assimilation.
During the Great Patriotic War, many Greeks died at the hands of the Nazis and their accomplices from among the Crimean Tatars. In particular, Tatar punishers destroyed the entire population of the Greek village of Laki. By the time the Crimea was liberated, about 15,000 Greeks remained there. However, despite the loyalty to the Motherland, which was demonstrated by the vast majority of the Crimean Greeks, in May-June 1944 they were deported along with the Tatars and Armenians. A certain number of persons of Greek origin, who, according to personal data, were considered persons of a different nationality, remained in the Crimea, but it is clear that they tried to get rid of everything Greek.
After the removal of restrictions on the legal status of the Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians and members of their families located in the special settlement, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 27, 1956, the special settlers gained some freedom. But the same decree deprived them of the opportunity to get back the confiscated property and the right to return to the Crimea. All these years, the Greeks were deprived of the opportunity to learn the Greek language. Education took place in schools in Russian, which led to the loss of the native language among young people. Since 1956, the Greeks have been gradually returning to the Crimea. Most of the arrivals found themselves separated from each other in their native land, and lived in separate families throughout the Crimea. In 1989, 2,684 Greeks lived in Crimea. The total number of Greeks from the Crimea and their descendants in the USSR was 20 thousand people.
In the 90s, the return of the Greeks to the Crimea continued. In 1994, there were already about 4 thousand of them. Despite the small number, the Greeks actively participate in the economic, cultural and political life of the Crimea, occupying a number of prominent posts in the administration of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, engaging in (with great success) entrepreneurial activities.
Crimean Armenians
Another ethnic group, the Armenians, has been living in Crimea for more than a millennium. One of the brightest and most original centers of Armenian culture has developed here. Armenians appeared on the peninsula a very long time ago. In any case, back in 711, a certain Armenian Vardan was declared the Byzantine emperor in the Crimea. The mass immigration of Armenians to the Crimea began in the 11th century, after the Seljuk Turks defeated the Armenian kingdom, which caused a mass exodus of the population. In the 13th-14th centuries, there were especially many Armenians. Crimea is even referred to in some Genoese documents as "maritime Armenia". In a number of cities, including the largest city of the peninsula at that time, Cafe (Feodosia), Armenians make up the majority of the population. Hundreds of Armenian churches were built on the peninsula, with schools attached to them. At the same time, some Crimean Armenians moved to the southern lands of Rus'. In particular, a very large Armenian community has developed in Lvov. Numerous Armenian churches, monasteries, and outbuildings have survived to this day in Crimea.
Armenians lived throughout the Crimea, but until 1475, most Armenians lived in the Genoese colonies. Under pressure catholic church part of the Armenians went to the union. Most Armenians, however, remained faithful to the traditional Armenian Gregorian Church. The religious life of the Armenians was very intense. In one Cafe there were 45 Armenian churches. The Armenians were ruled by their community elders. The Armenians were judged according to their own laws, according to their judicial code.
The Armenians were engaged in trade, financial activities, among them there were many skilled craftsmen and builders. In general, the Armenian community flourished in the 13th-15th centuries.
In 1475, the Crimea became dependent on the Ottoman Empire, and the cities of the southern coast, where the main Armenians lived, came under the direct control of the Turks. The conquest of the Crimea by the Turks was accompanied by the death of many Armenians, the withdrawal of part of the population into slavery. The Armenian population has declined sharply. Only in the 17th century did their numbers begin to increase.
During the three centuries of Turkish domination, many Armenians converted to Islam, which led them to be assimilated by the Tatars. Among the Armenians who preserved the Christian faith, the Tatar language and oriental customs became widespread. Nevertheless, the Crimean Armenians did not disappear as an ethnic group. The overwhelming majority of Armenians (up to 90%) lived in cities, being engaged in trade and crafts.
In 1778, the Armenians, together with the Greeks, were evicted to the Azov region, to the lower reaches of the Don. In total, according to the reports of A. V. Suvorov, 12,600 Armenians were deported. They founded the city of Nakhichevan (now part of Rostov-on-Don), as well as 5 villages. Only 300 Armenians remained in Crimea.
However, many Armenians soon returned to the Crimea, and in 1811 they were officially allowed to return to their former place of residence. Approximately one third of the Armenians took advantage of this permission. Temples, lands, city blocks were returned to them; in the Old Crimea and Karasubazar city national self-governing communities were created, until the 1870s a special Armenian court operated.
The result of these government measures, along with the entrepreneurial spirit characteristic of the Armenians, was the prosperity of this Crimean ethnic group. The XIX century in the life of the Crimean Armenians was marked by remarkable achievements, especially in the field of education and culture, associated with the names of the artist I. Aivazovsky, the composer A. Spendiarov, the artist V. Sureniants and others. ), who founded the port city of Novorossiysk in 1838. Among bankers, shipowners, entrepreneurs, Crimean Armenians are also represented quite significantly.
The Crimean Armenian population was constantly replenished due to the influx of Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. By the time of the October Revolution, there were 17,000 Armenians on the peninsula. 70% of them lived in cities.
The years of the civil war took a heavy toll on the Armenians. Although some prominent Bolsheviks came out of the Crimean Armenians (for example, Nikolai Babakhan, Laura Bagaturyants, and others), who played big role in the victory of their party, but still a significant part of the Armenians of the peninsula belonged, in Bolshevik terminology, to "bourgeois and petty-bourgeois elements." The war, the repressions of all the Crimean governments, the famine of 1921, the emigration of Armenians, among whom there were indeed representatives of the bourgeoisie, led to the fact that by the beginning of the 20s the number of the Armenian population had decreased by a third. In 1926, there were 11.5 thousand Armenians in Crimea. By 1939, their number reached 12.9 thousand (1.1%).
In 1944 the Armenians were deported. After 1956, the return to the Crimea began. At the end of the 20th century, there were about 5,000 Armenians in Crimea. However, the name of the Crimean city of Armyansk will forever remain a monument to the Crimean Armenians.
Karaites
Crimea is the birthplace of one of the small ethnic groups - the Karaites. They belong to the Turkic peoples, but differ in their religion. The Karaites are Judaists, and they belong to its special branch, the representatives of which are called Karaites (literally, "readers"). The origin of the Karaites is mysterious. The first mention of the Karaites refers only to 1278, but they lived in the Crimea for several centuries earlier. Probably, the Karaites are descendants of the Khazars.
The Turkic origin of the Crimean Karaites has been proven by anthropological studies. The blood groups of the Karaites, their anthropological appearance are more characteristic of the Turkic ethnic groups (for example, for the Chuvash) than for the Semites. According to the anthropologist academician V.P. Alekseev, who studied in detail the craniology (structure of the skulls) of the Karaites, this ethnic group really arose from the mixing of the Khazars with the local population of Crimea.
Recall that the Khazars owned the Crimea in the VIII-X centuries. By religion, the Khazars were Jews, not being ethnic Jews. It is quite possible that some Khazars who settled in the mountainous Crimea preserved the Jewish faith. True, the only problem with the Khazar theory of the origin of the Karaites is the fundamental circumstance that the Khazars adopted orthodox Talmudic Judaism, and the Karaites even have the name of another direction in Judaism. But the Crimean Khazars, after the fall of Khazaria, could well move away from Talmudic Judaism, if only because the Talmudic Jews had not previously recognized the Khazars, like other Jews of non-Jewish origin, as their co-religionists. When the Khazars converted to Judaism, the teachings of the Karaites were still being born among the Jews in Baghdad. It is clear that those Khazars who retained their faith after the fall of Khazaria could take that direction in religion, which emphasized their difference from the Jews. The enmity between the "Talmudists" (that is, the bulk of the Jews) and the "learners" (Karaites) has always been characteristic of the Jews of Crimea. The Crimean Tatars called the Karaites "Jews without sidelocks."
After the defeat of Khazaria by Svyatoslav in 966, the Karaites retained their independence within the boundaries of the historical territory of Kyrk Yera - a district between the rivers Alma and Kacha and gained their own statehood within a small principality with its capital in the fortress city of Kale (now Chufut-Kale). Here was their prince - sar, or biy, in whose hands was the administrative-civil and military power, and the spiritual head - the kagan, or gakhan - of all the Karaites of Crimea (and not just the principality). His competence also included judicial and legal activities. The duality of power, expressed in the presence of both secular and spiritual heads, was inherited by the Karaites from the Khazars.
In 1246, the Crimean Karaites partially moved to Galicia, and in 1397-1398, part of the Karaite warriors (383 families) ended up in Lithuania. Since then, in addition to their historical homeland, the Karaites constantly live in Galicia and Lithuania. In places of residence, the Karaites enjoyed the good attitude of the surrounding authorities, retained their national identity, and had certain benefits and advantages.
At the beginning of the 15th century, Prince Eliazar voluntarily submitted to the Crimean Khan. In gratitude, the khan gave the Karaites autonomy in religious affairs,
The Karaites lived in the Crimea, not particularly standing out among the locals. They made up the majority of the population of the cave city of Chufut-Kale, inhabited quarters in the Old Crimea, Gezlev (Evpatoria), Cafe (Feodosia).
The accession of Crimea to Russia was a high point for this people. The Karaites were exempted from many taxes, they were allowed to acquire land, which turned out to be very profitable when many lands turned out to be empty after the eviction of the Greeks, Armenians and the emigration of many Tatars. The Karaites were exempted from recruitment, although their voluntary entry into military service was welcomed. Many Karaites did choose military professions. Many of them distinguished themselves in battles in defense of the Fatherland. Among them, for example, are the heroes of the Russo-Japanese War, Lieutenant M. Tapsashar, General J. Kefeli. 500 career officers and 200 volunteers of Karaite origin participated in the First World War. Many became Knights of St. George, and a certain Gammal, a brave ordinary soldier, promoted to officer on the battlefield, deserved a full set of soldier's St. George's crosses and at the same time also officer George.
The small Karaite people became one of the most educated and wealthy nations Russian Empire. The Karaites almost monopolized the tobacco trade in the country. By 1913, there were 11 millionaires among the Karaites. The Karaites experienced a population explosion. By 1914, their number reached 16 thousand, of which 8 thousand lived in the Crimea (at the end of the 18th century there were about 2 thousand of them).
Prosperity ended in 1914. Wars and revolution led to the loss of the former economic position of the Karaites. In general, the Karaites in the mass did not accept the revolution. Most of the officers and 18 generals from among the Karaites fought in the white army. Solomon Krym was Minister of Finance in Wrangel's government.
As a result of wars, famines, emigration and repressions, the number has sharply decreased, primarily due to the military and civilian elite. In 1926, 4,213 Karaites remained in the Crimea.
More than 600 Karaites participated in the Great Patriotic War, most of them were awarded military decorations, more than half died and went missing. Artilleryman D. Pasha, naval officer E. Efet and many others became famous among the Karaites in the Soviet army. The most famous of the Soviet military commanders-Karaites was Colonel-General V.Ya. Kolpakchi, participant in the First World and Civil Wars, military adviser in Spain during the war of 1936-39, commander of the armies during the Great Patriotic War. It should be noted that Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky (1898-1967), twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Minister of Defense of the USSR in 1957-67, is often referred to as Karaites, although his Karaite origin has not been proven.
In other areas, the Karaites also produced a large number of prominent people. The famous intelligence agent, diplomat and at the same time writer I. R. Grigulevich, composer S. M. Maykapar, actor S. Tongur, and many others are all Karaites.
Mixed marriages, linguistic and cultural assimilation, low birth rates and emigration lead to the fact that the number of Karaites is declining. In the Soviet Union, according to the 1979 and 1989 censuses, 3,341 and 2,803, respectively, lived, including 1,200 and 898 Karaites in Crimea. In the 21st century, about 800 Karaites remained in Crimea.
Krymchaks
Crimea is also the birthplace of another Jewish ethnic group - the Krymchaks. Actually, the Krymchaks, like the Karaites, are not Jews. At the same time, they profess Talmudic Judaism, like most Jews of the world, their language is close to the Crimean Tatar.
Jews appeared in the Crimea even before our era, as evidenced by Jewish burials, the remains of synagogues, and inscriptions in Hebrew. One of these inscriptions dates back to the 1st century BC. In the Middle Ages, Jews lived in the cities of the peninsula, being engaged in trade and crafts. Back in the 7th century, the Byzantine Theophanes the Confessor wrote about the large number of Jews living in Phanagoria (on Taman) and other cities on the northern coast of the Black Sea. In 1309, a synagogue was built in Feodosia, which testified to the large number of Crimean Jews.
It should be noted that the majority of Crimean Jews came from the descendants of local residents converted to Judaism, and not from the Jews of Palestine who emigrated here. Documents dating back to the 1st century have come down to us, on the emancipation of slaves, provided that they were converted to Judaism by their Jewish owners.
Carried out in the 20s. studies of the blood groups of the Krymchaks, conducted by V. Zabolotny, confirmed that the Krymchaks did not belong to the Semitic peoples. Nevertheless, the Jewish religion contributed to the Jewish self-identification of the Krymchaks, who considered themselves Jews.
Among them, the Turkic language (close to the Crimean Tatar), oriental customs and life, which distinguishes the Crimean Jews from fellow tribesmen in Europe, spread. Their self-name was the word "Krymchak", meaning in Turkic a resident of the Crimea. By the end of the 18th century, about 800 Jews lived in Crimea.
After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the Krymchaks remained a poor and small confessional community. Unlike the Karaites, the Krymchaks did not show themselves in any way in commerce and politics. True, their numbers began to increase rapidly due to high natural growth. By 1912, there were 7.5 thousand people. The civil war, accompanied by numerous anti-Jewish reprisals carried out by all the changing authorities in the Crimea, famine and emigration led to a sharp reduction in the number of Krymchaks. In 1926 there were 6,000 of them.
During the Great Patriotic War, most of the Krymchaks were destroyed by the German invaders. After the war, no more than 1.5 thousand Krymchaks remained in the USSR.
Nowadays, emigration, assimilation (leading to the fact that Krymchaks associate themselves more with Jews), emigration to Israel and the USA, and depopulation finally put an end to the fate of this small Crimean ethnic group.
And yet, let's hope that the small ancient ethnic group, which gave Russia the poet I. Selvinsky, partisan commander, Hero of the Soviet Union Ya. art, politics and economics will not disappear.
Jews
Jews speaking Yiddish were incomparably more numerous in the Crimea. Since Crimea was part of the "Pale of Settlement", quite a lot of Jews from the right-bank Ukraine began to settle in this fertile land. In 1897, 24.2 thousand Jews lived in Crimea. By the revolution their numbers had doubled. As a result, Jews became one of the largest and most visible ethnic groups on the peninsula.
Despite the reduction in the number of Jews during the years of the civil war, they still remained the third (after the Russians and Tatars) ethnic group of Crimea. In 1926 there were 40 thousand (5.5%). By 1939 their number had increased to 65,000 (6% of the population).
The reason was simple - Crimea in the 20-40s. was considered not only and so much by the Soviet as by the world Zionist leaders as a "national home" for the Jews of the whole world. It is no coincidence that the resettlement of Jews in the Crimea took on significant proportions. It is indicative that while in the whole of Crimea, as well as throughout the country as a whole, urbanization took place, the opposite process took place among the Crimean Jews.
The project on the resettlement of Jews in the Crimea and the creation of Jewish autonomy there was developed back in 1923 by the prominent Bolshevik Yu. Larin (Lurie), and in the spring of the following year was approved by the Bolshevik leaders L.D. Trotsky, L.B. Kamenev, N.I. . It was planned to resettle 96,000 Jewish families (about 500,000 people) in Crimea. However, there were more optimistic figures - 700 thousand by 1936. Larin spoke openly about the need to create a Jewish republic in Crimea.
On December 16, 1924, even a document was signed under such an intriguing title: “On Crimean California” between the “Joint” (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, as the American Jewish Soviet power USA) and the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. According to this agreement, the "Joint" allocated the USSR 1.5 million dollars a year for the needs of Jewish agricultural communes. The fact that most of the Jews in Crimea were not engaged in agriculture did not matter.
In 1926, the head of the "Joint" James N. Rosenberg came to the USSR, as a result of meetings with the leaders of the country, an agreement was reached on the financing by D. Rosenberg of measures for the resettlement of the Jews of Ukraine and Belarus in the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Assistance was also provided by the French Jewish Society, American Society aid to Jewish colonization in Soviet Russia and other similar organizations. On January 31, 1927, a new agreement was signed with Agro-Joint ( subsidiary actually "Joint"). According to it, the organization allocated 20 million rubles. for the organization of resettlement, the Soviet government allocated 5 million rubles for these purposes.
The planned resettlement of Jews began already in 1924. The reality was not so optimistic.
For 10 years, 22 thousand people settled in the Crimea. They were provided with 21 thousand hectares of land, 4,534 apartments were built. The issues of the resettlement of Jews were dealt with by the Crimean Republican Representation of the Committee on the Land Issue of Working Jews under the Presidium of the Council of Nationalities of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (KomZet). Note that for every Jew there was almost 1,000 hectares of land. Almost every Jewish family received an apartment. (This is in the context of the housing crisis, which in the resort Crimea was even more acute than in the whole country).
Most of the settlers did not cultivate the land, and mostly dispersed to the cities. By 1933, only 20% of the settlers of 1924 remained on the collective farms of the Freidorf MTS, and 11% on the Larindorf MTS. On individual collective farms, the turnover reached 70%. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, only 17,000 Jews in Crimea lived in the countryside. The project failed. In 1938, the resettlement of Jews was stopped, and KomZet was dissolved. The branch of the "Joint" in the USSR was liquidated by the Decree of the Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of May 4, 1938.
The massive exodus of immigrants led to the fact that the Jewish population did not increase as significantly as might have been expected. By 1941, 70,000 Jews lived in Crimea (excluding Krymchaks).
During the Great Patriotic War, more than 100 thousand Crimeans, including many Jews, were evacuated from the peninsula. Those who remained in the Crimea had to experience all the features of Hitler's "new order" when the occupiers began the final solution of the Jewish question. And already on April 26, 1942, the peninsula was declared "cleared of Jews." Almost everyone who did not have time to evacuate died, including most of the Krymchaks.
However, the idea of Jewish autonomy not only did not disappear, but also acquired a new breath.
The idea of creating a Jewish Autonomous Republic in the Crimea arose again in the late spring of 1943, when the Red Army, having defeated the enemy at Stalingrad and in the North Caucasus, liberated Rostov-on-Don and entered the territory of Ukraine. In 1941, about 5-6 million people fled or evacuated from these territories in a more organized manner. Among them, more than a million were Jews.
In practical terms, the question of creating Jewish Crimean autonomy arose during the preparation of a propaganda and business trip of two prominent Soviet Jews - actor S. Mikhoels and poet I. Fefer to the USA in the summer of 1943. The American Jews were supposed to be enthusiastic about the idea and agree to finance all the costs associated with it. Therefore, a two-person delegation sent to the United States received permission to discuss this project in Zionist organizations.
Among Jewish circles in the United States, the creation of a Jewish republic in the Crimea did seem quite real. Stalin did not seem to mind. Members of the JAC (Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee), created during the war years, during their visits to the United States spoke openly about the creation of a republic in Crimea, as if it were something a foregone conclusion.
Of course, Stalin had no intention of creating Israel in the Crimea. He wanted to make the most of the influential Jewish community in the United States in Soviet interests. As wrote Soviet spy P. Sudoplatov, head of the 4th department of the NKVD, responsible for special operations, “immediately after the formation of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, Soviet intelligence decided to use the connections of the Jewish intelligentsia to find out the possibility of obtaining additional economic assistance through Zionist circles ... To this end, Mikhoels and Fefer , our trusted agent, was tasked with probing the reaction of influential Zionist organizations to the creation of a Jewish republic in the Crimea. This task of special reconnaissance sounding was successfully completed.
In January 1944, some Jewish leaders of the USSR drafted a memorandum to Stalin, the text of which was approved by Lozovsky and Mikhoels. The “Note”, in particular, stated: “In order to normalize economic growth and develop Soviet Jewish culture, in order to maximize the mobilization of all the forces of the Jewish population for the benefit of the Soviet Motherland, with the aim of complete equation position of the Jewish masses among the fraternal peoples, we consider it timely and expedient, in order to solve post-war problems, to raise the question of creating a Jewish Soviet socialist republic ... It seems to us that one of the most suitable areas would be the territory of the Crimea, which to the greatest extent meets the requirements both in terms of capacity for resettlement, and as a result of the successful experience in the development of Jewish national regions there ... In the construction of the Jewish Soviet Republic, the Jewish masses of all countries of the world, wherever they are, would have provided us with significant assistance.
Even before the liberation of Crimea, the Joint insisted on the transfer of Crimea to the Jews, the eviction of the Crimean Tatars, the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol, the formation of an INDEPENDENT Jewish state in Crimea. Moreover, the opening of the 2nd front in 1943. the Jewish lobby linked it to Stalin's fulfillment of his debt obligations to the Joint.
The deportation of Tatars and representatives of other Crimean ethnic groups from Crimea led to the desolation of the peninsula. It seemed that now there would be plenty of room for the arriving Jews.
According to the well-known Yugoslav figure M. Djilas, when asked about the reasons for the deportation of half of the population from Crimea, Stalin referred to the obligations given to Roosevelt to clear the Crimea for the Jews, for which the Americans promised a soft loan of 10 billion.
However, the Crimean project was not implemented. Stalin, having made the most of financial assistance from Jewish organizations, did not begin to create autonomy for the Jews in Crimea. Moreover, even the return to the Crimea of those Jews who were evacuated during the war years turned out to be difficult. Nevertheless, in 1959 there were 26,000 Jews in Crimea. Subsequently, emigration to Israel led to a significant reduction in the number of Crimean Jews.
Crimean Tatars
Since the time of the Huns and the Khazar Khaganate, Crimea began to penetrate Turkic peoples, inhabiting so far only the steppe part of the peninsula. In 1223, the Mongols-Tatars attacked the Crimea for the first time. But it was only a run. In 1239 Crimea was conquered by the Mongols and became part of the Golden Horde. The southern coast of the Crimea was under the rule of the Genoese, in the mountainous Crimea there was a small principality of Theodoro and an even smaller principality of the Karaites.
Gradually, from the mixture of many peoples, a new Turkic ethnos began to take shape. At the beginning of the XIV century, the Byzantine historian George Pachimer (1242-1310) wrote: “Over time, having mixed with them (Tatars - ed.) the peoples who lived inside those countries, I mean: Alans, Zikhs (Caucasian Circassians who lived on the coast Taman Peninsula - ed.), Goths, Russians and various peoples with them, learn their customs, along with customs, learn language and clothing and become their allies. The unifying principle for the emerging ethnos was Islam and the Turkic language. Gradually, the Crimean Tatars (who, however, did not call themselves Tatars then) become very numerous and powerful. It is no coincidence that it was the Horde governor in the Crimea, Mamai, who managed to temporarily seize power in the entire Golden Horde. The capital of the Horde governor was the city of Kyrym - "Crimea" (now - the city of Stary Krym), built by the Golden Horde in the valley of the Churuk-Su River in the southeast of the Crimean Peninsula. In the XIV century, the name of the city of Crimea gradually passes to the entire peninsula. The inhabitants of the peninsula began to call themselves "kyrymly" - Crimeans. The Russians called them Tatars, like all the Eastern Muslim peoples. The Crimeans began to call themselves Tatars only when they were already part of Russia. But for convenience, we will still call them Crimean Tatars, even speaking of earlier eras.
In 1441, the Tatars of Crimea created their own khanate under the rule of the Girey dynasty.
Initially, the Tatars were residents of the steppe Crimea, the mountains and the southern coast were still inhabited by various Christian peoples, and they numerically prevailed over the Tatars. However, as Islam spread, new converts from among the indigenous population began to join the ranks of the Tatars. In 1475, the Ottoman Turks defeated the colonies of the Genoese and Theodoro, which led to the subjugation of the entire Crimea to the Muslims.
At the very beginning of the 16th century, Khan Mengli-Girey, having defeated the Great Horde, brought entire uluses of Tatars from the Volga to the Crimea. Their descendants were subsequently called the Yavolgsky (that is, Zavolzhsky) Tatars. Finally, already in the 17th century, many Nogais settled in the steppes near the Crimea. All this led to the strongest Turkization of the Crimea, including part of the Christian population.
A significant part of the population of the mountains, which constituted a special group of Tatars, known as "Tats", was Tatarized. Racially, the Tats belong to the Central European race, that is, outwardly similar to representatives of the peoples of central and eastern Europe. Also gradually joined the number of Tatars and many who converted to Islam, the inhabitants of the southern coast, the descendants of the Greeks, Tauro-Scythians, Italians and other inhabitants of the region. Until the deportation of 1944, the inhabitants of many Tatar villages on the South Shore retained elements of Christian rituals inherited from their Greek ancestors. Racially, the South Coasters belong to the South European (Mediterranean) race and outwardly resemble Turks, Greeks, and Italians. They made up a special group of Crimean Tatars - yalyboylu. Only the steppe Nogai retained elements of the traditional nomadic culture and retained some Mongoloid features in their physical appearance.
The descendants of captives and captives also joined the Crimean Tatars, mainly from the Eastern Slavs who remained on the peninsula. Slaves who became the wives of the Tatars, as well as some men from among the prisoners who converted to Islam and, thanks to the knowledge of some useful crafts, also became Tatars. "Tums", as the children of Russian captives born in the Crimea were called, made up a very large part of the Crimean Tatar population. The following historical fact is indicative: In 1675, the Zaporizhzhya ataman Ivan Sirko, during a successful raid into the Crimea, freed 7 thousand Russian slaves. However, on the way back, about 3,000 of them asked Sirko to let them go back to the Crimea. Most of these slaves were Muslims or Tums. Sirko let them go, but then ordered his Cossacks to catch up and kill them all. This order was carried out. Sirko drove up to the place of the slaughter and said: “Forgive us, brothers, but you yourself sleep here until doomsday Lord, instead of you multiplying in the Crimea, between the infidels on our Christian valiant heads and on your eternal death without forgiveness.
Of course, despite such ethnic cleansing, the number of Tums and Tatar Slavs in Crimea remained significant.
After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, part of the Tatars left their homeland, moving to the Ottoman Empire. By the beginning of 1785, 43.5 thousand male souls were taken into account in the Crimea. Crimean Tatars accounted for 84.1% of all inhabitants (39.1 thousand people). Despite the high natural increase, the share of Tatars was constantly decreasing due to the influx of new Russian settlers and foreign colonists to the peninsula. Nevertheless, Tatars made up the vast majority of the Crimean population.
After the Crimean War of 1853-56. under the influence of Turkish agitation, a movement began among the Tatars for emigration to Turkey. The hostilities ravaged the Crimea, the Tatar peasants did not receive any compensation for their material losses, so there were additional reasons for emigration.
Already in 1859, the Nogais of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov began to leave for Turkey. In 1860, a mass exodus of Tatars began from the peninsula itself. By 1864, the number of Tatars in the Crimea decreased by 138.8 thousand people. (from 241.7 to 102.9 thousand people). The scale of emigration frightened the provincial authorities. Already in 1862, the cancellation of previously issued passports began, and refusals to issue new ones. However, the main factor in stopping emigration was the news about what awaits the Tatars in Turkey of the same faith. A mass of Tatars died on the way on overloaded feluccas in the Black Sea. The Turkish authorities simply threw the settlers ashore without providing them with any food. Up to a third of the Tatars died in the first year of life in a country of the same faith. And now the re-emigration to the Crimea has already begun. But neither the Turkish authorities, who understood that the return of Muslims from under the rule of the Caliph again under the rule of the Russian Tsar, would make an extremely unfavorable impression on the Muslims of the world, nor the Russian authorities, who were also afraid of the return of embittered, lost people, were not going to help return to the Crimea.
Less large-scale Tatar exoduses to the Ottoman Empire took place in 1874-75, in the early 1890s, in 1902-03. As a result, most of the Crimean Tatars ended up outside the Crimea.
So the Tatars of their own free will became an ethnic minority in their land. Due to the high natural increase, their number by 1917 reached 216 thousand people, which accounted for 26% of the population of Crimea. In general, during the years of the civil war, the Tatars were politically split, fighting in the ranks of all the fighting forces.
The fact that the Tatars made up a little more than a quarter of the population of the Crimea did not bother the Bolsheviks. Guided by their national policy, they decided to create an autonomous republic. On October 18, 1921, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a decree on the formation of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR. On November 7, the 1st All-Crimean Constituent Congress of Soviets in Simferopol proclaimed the formation of the Crimean ASSR, elected the leadership of the republic and adopted its Constitution.
This republic was not, strictly speaking, purely national. Note that it was not called Tatar. But the “indigenization of personnel” was consistently carried out here as well. Most of the leading cadres were also Tatars. The Tatar language was, along with Russian, the language of office work and schooling. In 1936, there were 386 Tatar schools in the Crimea.
During the Great Patriotic War, the fate of the Crimean Tatars developed dramatically. Part of the Tatars honestly fought in the ranks Soviet army. Among them were 4 generals, 85 colonels and several hundred officers. 2 Crimean Tatars became full holders of the Order of Glory, 5 - Heroes of the Soviet Union, pilot Amet-khan Sultan - twice a Hero.
In their native Crimea, some Tatars fought in partisan detachments. So, as of January 15, 1944, there were 3,733 partisans in Crimea, of which 1,944 were Russians, 348 were Ukrainians, and 598 were Crimean Tatars. of which were predominantly Crimean Tatar.
However, you can’t throw words out of a song. During the occupation of the Crimea, many Tatars were on the side of the Nazis. 20 thousand Tatars (that is, 1/10 of the entire Tatar population) served in the ranks of volunteer units. They were involved in the fight against partisans, and especially actively participated in the massacres of civilians.
In May 1944, literally immediately after the liberation of Crimea, the Crimean Tatars were deported. The total number of deportees was 191 thousand people. Family members of Soviet army fighters, members of the underground and partisan struggle, as well as Tatar women who married representatives of a different nationality, were exempted from deportation.
Since 1989, the return of the Tatars to the Crimea began. Repatriation was actively promoted by the Ukrainian authorities, hoping that the Tatars would weaken Russian movement for the annexation of Crimea to Russia. In part, these expectations of the Ukrainian authorities were confirmed. In the elections to the Ukrainian parliament, the Tatars for the most part voted for Rukh and other independent parties.
In 2001, the Tatars already made up 12% of the population of the peninsula - 243,433 people.
Other ethnic groups of Crimea
Representatives of several small ethnic groups, who also became Crimeans, have been living on the peninsula since joining Russia. We are talking about the Crimean Bulgarians, Poles, Germans, Czechs. Living far from their main ethnic territory, these Crimeans have become ethnic groups in their own right.
Bulgarians in Crimea appeared already at the end of the 18th century, immediately after the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. The first Bulgarian settlement in the Crimea appeared in 1801. The Russian authorities appreciated the industriousness of the Bulgarians, as well as the ability to manage the economy in the subtropics. Therefore, Bulgarian settlers received from the treasury a daily allowance of 10 kopecks per capita, each Bulgarian family was assigned up to 60 acres of state land. Each Bulgarian settler was granted privileges in taxes and other financial obligations for 10 years. After their expiration, they were largely preserved for the next 10 years: the Bulgarians were taxed only with a tax of 15-20 kopecks per tithe. Only after the expiration of twenty years after their arrival in the Crimea, the settlers from Turkey were equalized in tax terms with the Tatars, settlers from Ukraine and Russia.
The second wave of Bulgarians' resettlement in the Crimea came at the time of the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-1829. About 1000 people arrived. Finally, in the 60s. In the 19th century, the third wave of Bulgarian settlers arrived in Crimea. In 1897, 7,528 Bulgarians lived in the Crimea. It should be noted that the religious and linguistic proximity of the Bulgarians and Russians led to the assimilation of a part of the Crimean Bulgarians.
Wars and revolutions had a heavy impact on the Bulgarians of the Crimea. Their numbers grew rather slowly due to assimilation. In 1939, 17,900 Bulgarians (or 1.4% of the entire population of the peninsula) lived in the Crimea.
In 1944, the Bulgarians were deported from the peninsula, although, unlike the Crimean Tatars, there was no evidence of cooperation between the Bulgarians and the German occupiers. Nevertheless, the entire Crimean-Bulgarian ethnic group was deported. After rehabilitation, the slow process of repatriation of the Bulgarians to the Crimea began. At the beginning of the 21st century, more than 2,000 Bulgarians lived in Crimea.
Czechs appeared in the Crimea a century and a half ago. In the 60s of the XIX century, 4 Czech colonies appeared. The Czechs were distinguished by a high level of education, which paradoxically contributed to their rapid assimilation. In 1930, there were 1,400 Czechs and Slovaks in Crimea. On beginning of XXI century, only 1,000 people of Czech origin lived on the peninsula.
Another Slavic ethnic group of Crimea is represented Poles. The first settlers were able to arrive in the Crimea already in 1798, although the mass resettlement of Poles to the Crimea began only in the 60s of the XIX century. It should be noted that since the Poles did not inspire confidence, especially after the 1863 uprising, they were not only not provided with any benefits, like colonists of other nationalities, but were even forbidden to settle in separate settlements. As a result, there were no "purely" Polish villages in the Crimea, and the Poles lived together with the Russians. In all large villages, along with the church, there was also a church. There were also churches in all major cities - Yalta, Feodosia, Simferopol, Sevastopol. As the religion lost its former influence on ordinary Poles, the rapid assimilation of the Polish population of Crimea took place. At the end of the 20th century, about 7 thousand Poles lived in Crimea (0.3% of the population).
Germans appeared in the Crimea already in 1787. Since 1805, German colonies began to appear on the peninsula with their own internal self-government, schools and churches. The Germans arrived from a wide variety of German lands, as well as from Switzerland, Austria and Alsace. In 1865, there were already 45 settlements with a German population in the Crimea.
The benefits granted to the colonists, the fertile natural conditions of the Crimea, the industriousness and organization of the Germans led the colonies to rapid economic prosperity. In turn, news of the economic successes of the colonies contributed to the further influx of Germans into the Crimea. The colonists were characterized by a high birth rate, so the German population of the Crimea grew rapidly. According to the data of the first All-Russian census in 1897, 31,590 Germans (5.8% of the total population) lived in Crimea, of which 30,027 were rural residents.
Among the Germans, almost all were literate, the standard of living was significantly above average. These circumstances were reflected in the behavior of the Crimean Germans during the Civil War.
Most of the Germans tried to be "above the fray", not participating in civil strife. But part of the Germans fought for Soviet power. In 1918, the First Yekaterinoslav Communist Cavalry Regiment was formed, which fought against the German invaders in Ukraine and Crimea. In 1919, the First German Cavalry Regiment, as part of Budyonny's army, fought in the south of Ukraine against Wrangel and Makhno. Part of the Germans fought on the side of the whites. So, in the army of Denikin, the Jaeger rifle brigade of the Germans fought. A special regiment of Mennonites fought in Wrangel's army.
In November 1920, Soviet power was finally established in the Crimea. The Germans, who recognized it, continued to live in their colonies and their farms, practically without changing their way of life: the farms were still strong; the children went to their own German-language schools; all issues were resolved jointly within the colonies. Two German regions were officially formed on the peninsula - Biyuk-Onlarsky (now Oktyabrsky) and Telmanovsky (now Krasnogvardeysky). Although many Germans lived in other places of the Crimea. 6% of the German population produced 20% of the gross income from all agricultural products of the Crimean ASSR. Demonstrating complete loyalty to the Soviet government, the Germans tried "not to get involved in politics." It is significant that in the 1920s only 10 Crimean Germans joined the Bolshevik Party.
The standard of living of the German population continued to be much higher than in other national groups, therefore, the bursting collectivization, and after it the mass dispossession of kulaks, affected primarily German farms. Despite losses in the Civil War, repressions and emigration, the German population of Crimea continued to grow. In 1921, there were 42,547 Crimean Germans. (5.9% of the total population), in 1926 - 43,631 people. (6.1%), 1939 - 51,299 people. (4.5%), 1941 - 53,000 people. (4.7%).
Great Patriotic War became the greatest tragedy for the Crimean-German ethnos. In August-September 1941, more than 61,000 people were deported (including approximately 11,000 people of other nationalities who were related to the Germans by family ties). The final rehabilitation of all Soviet Germans, including Crimean ones, followed only in 1972. Since that time, the Germans began to return to the Crimea. In 1989, 2,356 Germans lived in Crimea. Alas, some of the deported Crimean Germans emigrate to Germany, and not to their own peninsula.
East Slavs
Most of the inhabitants of Crimea are Eastern Slavs (we will call them politically correct, given the Ukrainian self-consciousness of some Russians in Crimea).
As already mentioned, the Slavs lived in the Crimea since ancient times. In the X-XIII centuries, the Tmutarakan principality existed in the eastern part of the Crimea. And in the era of the Crimean Khanate, a part of the captives from the Great and Little Rus', monks, merchants, diplomats from Russia. Thus, the Eastern Slavs were part of the permanent indigenous population of Crimea for centuries.
In 1771, when the Crimea was occupied by Russian troops, about 9 thousand Russian freed slaves were freed. Most of them remained in the Crimea, but already as personally free Russian subjects.
With the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 1783, the settlement of the peninsula by settlers from all over the Russian Empire began. Literally immediately after the manifesto of 1783 on the annexation of Crimea, by order of G. A. Potemkin, the soldiers of the Yekaterinoslav and Phanagoria regiments were left to live in the Crimea. Married soldiers were given leave at public expense so that they could take their families to the Crimea. In addition, girls and widows were summoned from all over Russia to agree to marry soldiers and move to the Crimea.
Many nobles who received estates in the Crimea began to transfer their serfs to the Crimea. State peasants also moved to the state lands of the peninsula.
Already in 1783-84, in the Simferopol district alone, the settlers formed 8 new villages and, in addition, settled together with the Tatars in three villages. In total, by the beginning of 1785, 1,021 males from among the Russian settlers were registered here. The new Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91 somewhat slowed down the influx of immigrants to the Crimea, but did not stop it. During 1785 - 1793, the number of registered Russian settlers reached 12.6 thousand male souls. In general, Russians (together with Little Russians) for several years of Crimea's being part of Russia amounted to approximately 5% of the population of the peninsula. In fact, there were even more Russians, since many runaway serfs, deserters and Old Believers sought to avoid any contact with representatives of official authorities. Freed former slaves were not counted. In addition, tens of thousands of military personnel are constantly stationed in the strategically important Crimea.
The constant migration of Eastern Slavs to the Crimea continued throughout the 19th century. After the Crimean War and the mass emigration of the Tatars to the Ottoman Empire, which led to the emergence of a large amount of "no man's" fertile land, new thousands of Russian settlers arrived in Crimea.
Gradually, the local Russian residents began to form special features of the economy and life, caused both by the peculiarities of the geography of the peninsula and its multinational character. In the statistical report on the population of the Taurida province for 1851, it was noted that Russians (Great Russians and Little Russians) and Tatars walk in clothes and shoes, not much different from each other. The dishes are used equally clay, made at home, and copper, made by Tatar masters. Ordinary Russian carts were soon replaced by Tatar carts upon arrival in the Crimea.
Since the second half of the 19th century, the main wealth of Crimea - its nature - has made the peninsula a center of recreation and tourism. Palaces of the imperial family and influential nobles began to appear on the coast, thousands of tourists began to arrive for rest and treatment. Many Russians began to strive to settle in the fertile Crimea. So the influx of Russians into the Crimea continued. At the beginning of the 20th century, Russians became the predominant ethnic group in Crimea. Given the high degree of Russification of many Crimean ethnic groups, the Russian language and culture (which have largely lost their local characteristics) absolutely prevailed in Crimea.
After the revolution and the Civil War, the Crimea, which turned into an "all-Union health resort", continued to attract Russians as before. However, Little Russians began to arrive, who were considered a special people - Ukrainians. Their share in the population increased from 8% to 14% in the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1954, N.S. Khrushchev annexed the Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic with a voluntaristic gesture. The result was the Ukrainization of Crimean schools and offices. In addition, the number of Crimean Ukrainians has sharply increased. Actually, some of the "real" Ukrainians began to arrive in Crimea as early as 1950, according to the government's "Plans for the settlement and transfer of the population to the collective farms of the Crimean region." After 1954, new settlers from the western Ukrainian regions began to arrive in Crimea. The settlers were given whole wagons for moving, where all the property (furniture, utensils, decorations, clothes, multi-meter canvases of homespun cloth), livestock, poultry, apiaries, etc. could fit. Numerous Ukrainian officials arrived in Crimea, which had the status of an ordinary region within the Ukrainian SSR. . Finally, since it became prestigious to be Ukrainian, some Crimeans also turned into Ukrainians by passport.
In 1989, 2,430,500 people lived in Crimea (67.1% Russians, 25.8% Ukrainians, 1.6% Crimean Tatars, 0.7% Jews, 0.3% Poles, 0.1% Greeks).
The collapse of the USSR and the declaration of independence of Ukraine caused economic and demographic catastrophes in Crimea. In 2001, there were 2,024,056 people in Crimea. But in fact, the demographic catastrophe of the Crimea is even worse, since the decline in the population was partially compensated by the Tatars returning to Crimea.
In general, at the beginning of the 21st century, Crimea, despite its centuries-old polyethnicity, remains predominantly Russian in terms of population. During the two decades of being a part of independent Ukraine, Crimea has repeatedly demonstrated its Russianness. Over the years, the number of Ukrainians and returning Crimean Tatars in Crimea has increased, thanks to which official Kyiv was able to get a certain number of its supporters, but, nevertheless, the existence of Crimea within Ukraine seems to be problematic.
Crimean SSR (1921-1945). Questions and answers. Simferopol, "Tavria", 1990, p. twenty
Sudoplatov P.A. Intelligence and the Kremlin. M., 1996, pp. 339-340
From the secret archives of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Sweet peninsula. Note about Crimea / Comments by Sergey Kozlov and Gennady Kostyrchenko//Motherland. - 1991.-№11-12. - pp. 16-17
From Cimmerians to Krymchaks. The peoples of Crimea from ancient times to late XVIII century. Simferopol, 2007, p. 232
Shirokorad A. B. Russian-Turkish wars. Minsk, Harvest, 2000, p. 55
The fertile climate, the picturesque and generous nature of Taurida create almost ideal conditions for human existence. People have long inhabited these lands, so the eventful history of Crimea, which goes back centuries, is extremely interesting. To whom and when did the peninsula belong? 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 settle in fertile lands almost 100 thousand years ago. This is evidenced by the remains of Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures found in the site and Murzak-Koba.
At the beginning of the XII century BC. e. tribes of Indo-European nomadic Cimmerians appeared on the peninsula, whom ancient historians considered the first people who tried to create in the beginnings of some kind of statehood.
At dawn 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 the Taurians, according to some sources, who came from the Caucasus, and in the north-west of the unique region Slavic tribes, who migrated from modern Transnistria, settled down.
Ancient heyday in history
As the history of the Crimea testifies, at the end of the 7th century. BC e. it began to be actively mastered by the Hellenes. Natives of the Greek cities created colonies, which eventually began to flourish. 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, shipping improved.
Port policies grew and grew richer, uniting over time into an alliance, which became the basis for creating a powerful Bosporus kingdom with a capital in, or present-day Kerch. The heyday of an economically developed state with a strong army and an excellent navy dates back to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. Then an important alliance was concluded with Athens, half of whose needs for bread were provided by the Bosporans, their kingdom includes the lands of the Black Sea coast beyond the Kerch Strait, Theodosius, Chersonesus flourish. But the period of prosperity did not last long. The unreasonable policy of a number of kings led to the depletion of the treasury, 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. The subsequent invasions of the barbarians, among which it is worth highlighting the Sarmatians and Goths, further weakened him. Of the 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 the Crimea it can be seen 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 Chersonese by storm, was baptized here in 988. The formidable ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vytautas, invaded Taurida in 1397, completing the 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 are redeemed by the Genoese, and the rest are submitted to the troops of Khan Mamai.
The collapse of the Golden Horde marked the creation here in 1441 of the Crimean Khanate, 
self-existing for 36 years. In 1475, the Ottomans invaded here, 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, having exterminated almost all the Goths. The khanate with its administrative center in was called Kafa eyalet in the Ottoman Empire. Then finally formed ethnic composition population. Tatars are moving from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled one. Not only cattle breeding began to develop, but also agriculture, horticulture, small tobacco plantations appeared.
The Ottomans, at the height of their power, complete their expansion. They move from direct conquest to a policy of covert expansion, also described in history. The Khanate becomes an outpost for raids on the border territories of Russia and the Commonwealth. The looted jewels regularly replenish the treasury, and the captured Slavs are sold into slavery. From the 14th to the 17th centuries Russian tsars undertake several trips to the Crimea through the Wild Field. However, none of them leads to the pacification of a restless neighbor.
When did the Russian Empire come to Crimean power?
An important stage in the history of Crimea -. By the beginning of the XVIII century. it becomes one of its main strategic goals. Possession of it will allow not only to secure the 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 progress in achieving this goal was achieved only in the last third of the century - during the reign of Catherine the Great. In 1771, the army led by General-General Dolgorukov captured Tauris. The Crimean Khanate was declared independent, and Khan Girey, who was a protege of the Russian crown, was elevated to his 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 that, the infrastructure and economy of the region began to develop at an impressive pace. Here settle retired Russian soldiers. 
Greeks, Germans and Bulgarians come here en masse. In 1784, a military fortress was laid, which was destined to play bright role in the history of Crimea and Russia in general. Roads are being built everywhere. Active cultivation of grapes contributes to the development of winemaking. The southern coast is becoming more and more popular among the nobility. turns into a resort town. For a hundred years, the population of the Crimean peninsula has increased by almost 10 times, its ethnic type has changed. In 1874, 45% of the Crimeans were Great Russians and Little Russians, about 35% were Crimean Tatars.
The dominance of the Russians in the Black Sea seriously disturbed a number of European countries. A coalition of decrepit Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, Austria, Sardinia and France unleashed. The mistakes of the command, which caused the defeat in the battle on, the lag in the technical equipment of the army, led to the fact that despite the unparalleled heroism of the defenders shown during the year-long siege, Sevastopol was taken by the allies. After the end of the conflict, the city was returned to Russia in exchange for a number of concessions.
During the Civil War in the Crimea, there were many tragic events that were reflected in history. Since the spring of 1918, German and French expeditionary corps have been operating here, supported by the Tatars. The puppet government of Solomon Samoilovich of Crimea was replaced by the military power of Denikin and Wrangel. Only the troops of the Red Army managed to take control of the peninsular perimeter. After that, 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 regions of the former Taurida province of the Autonomous Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic in the RSFSR, renamed in 1946 in the Crimean region. The new government gave great attention her. The policy of industrialization led to the emergence of the Kamysh-Burun shipyard and, in the same place, a mining and processing plant was built, and in a metallurgical plant.
Further equipment was prevented by the Great Patriotic War. 
Already in August 1941, about 60 thousand ethnic Germans who lived on a permanent basis were deported from here, and in November the Crimea was left by the forces of the Red Army. Only two centers of resistance to the Nazis remained on the peninsula - the Sevastopol fortified area and, but they also fell by the autumn of 1942. After the retreat of the Soviet troops, partisan detachments began to actively operate here. The occupying 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 almost tripled.
The invaders were expelled from here. After that, the facts of mass cooperation with the Nazis 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.
The latest history of Crimea and our days
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Crimea remained in Ukraine, having received autonomy with the right to have its own constitution and president. After lengthy negotiations, the basic law of the republic was approved Verkhovna Rada. Yuri Meshkov became the first president of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 1992. Subsequently, relations between official Kyiv escalated. The Ukrainian parliament adopted in 1995 a decision 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 far from all the inhabitants of the republic agreed.
Internal contradictions, coinciding in time with serious political exacerbations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, split the society in 2013. One part of the inhabitants of Crimea was in favor of returning to the Russian Federation, the other part was in favor of staying in Ukraine. On this occasion, on March 16, 2014, a referendum was held. Most of the Crimeans who took part in the plebiscite voted for reunification with Russia.
Back in the days of the USSR, many were built on 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 period of the history of Crimea and in the Russian one. Despite all the interstate contradictions, it still remains a favorite vacation spot for both Russians and Ukrainians. This land is infinitely beautiful and ready to welcome guests from any country in the world! We offer in conclusion a documentary film, enjoy watching!
Peoples inhabiting Crimea
The ethnic history of Crimea is very complex and dramatic. One thing can be said: the ethnic composition of the peninsula has never been uniform, especially in its mountainous part and coastal areas. Speaking about the population of the Tauride Mountains back in the II century. BC, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder notes that 30 nations live there. Mountains and islands often served as a refuge for relic peoples, once great, and then descended from the historical arena. So it was with the warlike Goths, who conquered almost all of Europe and then dissolved in its expanses 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 (now Golubinka), that is, Blue Eyes.
Today there are more than 30 national-cultural associations in Crimea, 24 of which are officially registered. The national palette is represented by seventy ethnic groups and ethnic groups, many of which have retained their traditional everyday culture.
Random photos of Crimea
Most numerous ethnic group in Crimea, of course, Russians. It should be noted that they appear in the Crimea long before the Tatars, at least since the time of Prince Vladimir's campaign against Chersonese. Even then, along with the Byzantines, Russian merchants also traded here, and some of them settled in Chersonesos for a long time. However, only after the annexation of the Crimea to Russia, there is a numerical superiority of Russians over other peoples inhabiting the peninsula. In a relatively short time, Russians have already made up more than half of the population. These are immigrants, mainly, from the central black earth provinces of Russia: Kursk, Oryol, Tambov and others.
Since ancient times, Crimea has been a multi-ethnic territory. For a long time, a rich, interesting and world-wide historical and cultural heritage has been formed on the peninsula. From the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. due to a number of historical events, representatives of various peoples began to appear on the peninsula, who played a certain role in the economic, socio-political and cultural (architecture, religion, traditional everyday culture, music, fine arts, etc.) life.
Ethnoses and ethnic groups have contributed to the cultural heritage of the Crimea, which together constitute a rich and interesting tourist product, combined into ethnographic and ethnic tourism. Currently, there are more than 30 national-cultural associations in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 24 of which are officially registered. The national palette is represented by seventy ethnic groups and ethnic groups, many of which have preserved their traditional everyday culture and actively popularize their historical and cultural heritage.
Secondly, the peoples (ethnic groups) that massively appeared on the peninsula 150 or more - 200 years ago, having a peculiar history and culture. Their traditional everyday culture to some extent was subjected to ethnic assimilation, mutual influence: regional features appeared in it, and some aspects of material and spiritual culture were preserved and began to be actively revived from the late 80s - early 90s. XX century. Among them are Bulgarians, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, Czechs, Poles, Assyrians, Estonians, French and Italians.
And, thirdly, after 1945, Azerbaijanis, Koreans, Volga Tatars, Mordovians, Chuvashs, Gypsies, as well as Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians from various regions began to come to Crimea and gradually form diasporas, replenishing the East Slavic population of Crimea. This page describes ethnographic objects that characterize the culture of 16 ethnic communities.
This includes architectural monuments left in the Middle Ages by Italians (Venetians and Genoese) and early Christian cultural monuments, which are considered multi-ethnic objects, since it is not always possible to determine the ethnicity of the creators of religious buildings, or the complexes include objects created by representatives of various ethnic groups that have been neighbors for a long time on the territory of the Crimea.
Photos of beautiful places in Crimea
Armenians
To characterize the objects according to the traditional culture of Armenians, it is necessary to refer to the history of their resettlement from ancient capital Armenia Ani. The core of the first Armenian settlements was the ancient Solkhat (Old Crimea), and Kafa (Feodosia), as evidenced by numerous chronicle sources. The best monuments of Armenian architecture are concentrated in the eastern and southeastern parts of Crimea and date back to the 14th-15th centuries. Excellent examples of urban dwellings of a later time have been preserved in Feodosia, Sudak, Stary Krym and small villages.
The Surb-Khach (“Holy Cross”) monastery complex, built in 1338, is of particular interest for tourists. It is located three kilometers southwest of the city of Stary Krym. The ensemble of Surb-Khach Monastery is one of the best works of Armenian architects not only in the Crimea. It manifested the main features of the Armenian-Asia Minor architecture. Currently, the monastery is under the jurisdiction of the State Committee of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for the protection and use of historical and cultural monuments.
The former monastery of St. Stephanos (6.5 km south of the town of Stary Krym) and the miniature Church of the Twelve Apostles, which is part of the complex of a medieval fortress in the city of Sudak, also deserve attention. Few of the 40 Armenian churches in Kafa have survived to this day. Among them - the Church of St. George the Victorious - a tiny basilica building, larger churches of John the Baptist and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel with a carved turret, decorated with the finest stone carvings. In Feodosia, Sudak and Stary Krym and their environs, khachkars have been preserved - ancient tombstones with the image of a cross.
In Stary Krym, once a year, members of the Armenian community of Crimea, guests from Armenia and far abroad gather for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross - up to 500 people. During the holiday, services are held in temples, traditional ceremonies are performed, and national dishes are prepared.
Belarusians
The history of the appearance of Belarusians in the Crimea dates back to the end of the 18th century. Settlers from Belarus arrived on the peninsula in the XIX - XX centuries. At present, the places of compact residence of Belarusians are the village of Shirokoye in the Simferopol region and the village of Maryanovka in the Krasnogvardeisky region. In the village of Shiroky, there is a folk museum with an ethnographic exposition on the traditional everyday culture of Belarusians, there are children's and adult folklore groups. The days of culture of the Republic of Belarus have become traditional, in which not only the Belarusians of the Crimea, but also professional performers from Belarus take an active part.
Bulgarians
Of interest is the culture of the Bulgarians, whose appearance in the Crimea dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. According to the traditional household culture of the Bulgarians, 5 ethnographic objects that deserve attention have been identified. They can serve as preserved houses built in the 80s. 19th century - beginning of XX century. in the traditional architectural style and with a traditional layout in the village of Kurskoye, Belogorsk district (the former colony of Kishlav) and the town. Koktbel, who played a significant role in the economic, socio-political, religious and cultural life up to 1944. A rich folklore heritage is preserved in the village of Zhelyabovka in the Nizhnegorsk region, folk holidays are organized, customs and rituals are played out.
Greeks
The ethnic group of Crimean Greeks (modern times) is in the field of view of the research of the Crimean Ethnographic Museum, the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Center for Greek Studies. These are the descendants of settlers of various periods from mainland Greece and the islands of the archipelago of the late 18th - early 19th centuries.
One of the villages that have preserved the monuments of the traditional culture of the Greeks who arrived in the Crimea after the Russian-Turkish war (1828-1829) from Rumelia (Eastern Thrace) is the village of Chernopolye (formerly Karachol) of the Belogorsk region. Dwellings built in the early 20th century have been preserved here. Currently, the church in the name of Saints Constantine and Helena (built in 1913) has been restored, there is a source of St. Constantine - "Holy Krinitsa", where the Greeks come after the liturgy for washing and drinking. The holy holiday of Panair, held annually by the Chernopil community on June 3-4, is famous among the Greeks of the Crimea and the Donetsk region. folk rites, traditions and customs, rich song folklore are preserved not only in families, but also in the folklore group. In January 2000, an ethnographic house-museum was opened in the village of Chernopolye.
In addition to the so-called "modern Greek", many monuments have been preserved in the Crimea, characterizing various periods of Greek culture in the Crimea. In the Bakhchisaray region, Christian and Muslim necropolises of the 16th-17th centuries were discovered and explored. Among the old-timers of the Greek population were Christian Greeks (Rumeans) and Turkic-speaking Urums, so the inscriptions on tombstones are found in two languages. These priceless monuments of history and culture, many of which are dated and have preserved ornamentation, are of great interest to the inhabitants of the peninsula and researchers. Thus, the villages of the Bakhchisaray district Vysokoye, Bogatoye, Gorge, Bashtanovka, Mnogorechye, Zelenoe with Christian and Muslim necropolises, preserved dwellings of the 19th century. can be distinguished as ethnographic objects that characterize the spiritual and material culture of the late medieval population of the Crimea - the Greeks.
During a long stay with representatives of other ethnic groups (Russians), there was a mutual influence of cultures not only in the field of material, but also spiritual. The self-name of people of one of the branches in the Greek line is known - buzmaki, which appeared as a result of a long cohabitation of several ethnic groups. Such mixing and stratification of cultures is known in the village of Alekseevka, Belogorsk region (the former village of Sartana). These objects require further study and special arrangement.
Many religious monuments of Christianity in the Middle Ages and modern times are associated with the culture of the Greeks. One of the interesting cultural monuments of the Greek Christians is the Assumption Monastery in the rocks near Bakhchisarai, the foundation of which dates back to the 7th century. ad. The significance of the monastery as a patron of Christians attracted many locals to settle around it. In the Middle Ages, a Greek settlement was located near the monastery, where, according to legend, an icon appeared to the inhabitants. Mother of God Panagia. Today, this object attracts many pilgrims, it hosts worship.
The total number of allocated objects for the culture of the Greeks is 13, geographically they are located in the Bakhchisarai and Belogorsk regions and the city of Simferopol (Greek shopping malls, former church Constantine and Helena, A. Sovopoulo's fountain).
Jews
The history of the various peoples of the Crimea has been studied unevenly. Currently the greatest interest scientists are attracted by the history of the Jewish communities on the peninsula, which appeared here from the first centuries of our era, as well as the history of the Karaites and Krymchaks, who emerged from medieval Jewish communities and consider themselves independent ethnic groups.
After 1783, numerous Ashkenazi Jewish families began to move to the Crimea (Ashkenazi Jews accounted for about 95% of the number of Jews former USSR, i.e., they were descendants of the so-called German Jews). The appearance of numerous Ashkenazi Jews on the peninsula was associated with its inclusion in 1804 in the Pale of Settlement, i.e. areas where Jews were allowed to settle. Throughout the 19th century communities appear in Kerch, Feodosia, Simferopol, Evpatoria, Sevastopol, as well as in rural areas. 1923-1924 marked by spontaneous resettlement of Jews in the Crimea, mainly from Belarus and the creation of Jewish agricultural colonies, mainly in the steppe part of the peninsula. Of interest may be the typical houses for Jewish settlers preserved in the steppe Crimea, built under the program of the American Jewish United Agronomic Corporation (Agrojoined), as a basis for creating an open-air ethnographic museum or an ethnographic village.
At present, the traditional activities of the Jewish urban population in the field of handicrafts (tailors, artists, jewelers, etc.), as well as the religious and spiritual life of the community, can arouse the interest of tourists and sightseers. According to the degree of preserved objects (synagogues, residential buildings, schools), the cities of Simferopol, Feodosia, Kerch should be singled out, where by the beginning of the 20th century. there was a large community.
In Kerch, the buildings of several synagogues, the house of the Ginzburg family, in good condition, and the former Jewish street (now Volodya Dubinin Street), located in the historical part of the city, have been preserved.
Italians
Interest among tourists can also be caused by the ethnic group of Italians, which during the first half of the 19th century. was formed in Feodosia and Kerch. The Kerch group of Italians was one of the numerous in the south of Russia, after the Italians of Odessa, it was preserved to a large extent in the 30s - 40s. XX century, and their descendants live in the city today. The Kerch "colony" was not a continuous settlement occupied by Italians alone. They settled on the outskirts of Kerch, and at present the streets where they lived form part of the city. One of the surviving objects is the Roman Catholic Cathedral, built in the middle of the 19th century. and currently active. It is located in the historical part of the city. An interesting fact is that under the Catholic Church, nuns, Italian by origin, were engaged in knitting fine lace.
Karaites
Of great interest to tourists is the culture of the Karaites. In the 19th century the center of social and cultural life of the Karaites moved from Chufut-Kale to Yevpatoria, there were communities in other cities of the peninsula - in Bakhchisarai, Kerch, Feodosia, Simferopol.
Ethnographic objects can serve as surviving monuments in Yevpatoriya - a complex of kenassas: a large kenassa (built in 1807), a small kenassa (1815) and courtyards with arcades (XVIII - XIX centuries), a number of residential buildings with traditional architecture and layout (for example , the house of M. Shishman, the former dacha of Bobovich, the house with the armechel of S. 3. Duvan, etc.), the Duvanovo Karaite almshouse, as well as the unique Karaite necropolis, which did not escape losses in previous years.
The objects in Feodosia should be added to this list: the former dacha of Solomon Crimea (built in 1914) and the building of the former dacha of Stamboli (1909-1914). The first building now houses the Voskhod sanatorium, and the second building houses the Feodosia City Executive Committee. In addition, in the exposition of Feodosia local history museum a permanent exhibition on the culture of the Karaites is exhibited.
In Simferopol, the building of the kenassa (1896, perestroika 1934/1935) has been preserved, where the editorial office of the radio broadcasting of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Krym" is currently located, as well as houses belonging to the Karaites in the historical part of Simferopol, the so-called. "Old city".
One of the masterpieces medieval architecture is the fortress and cave city "Chufut-Kale", where many monuments on the history and culture of the Karaites have been preserved (fortress, "cave city", kenasses, the house of A. Firkovich, the Karaite cemetery Banta-Tiymez). This complex of Karaite culture is one of the promising ethnographic objects. The Karaite society has a plan for its development. The Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve stores and exhibits a collection on the culture of the Karaite communities of Chufut-Kale and Bakhchisarai. The number of cultural objects is more than 10, the main of which is "Chufut-Kale", which is already used in tourist and excursion services.
Krymchaks
The center of Krymchak culture in the XIX century. remained Karasu-Bazar (the city of Belogorsk; the Krymchak community appeared here from the 16th century). The city has preserved the so-called. "Krymchak settlement" that has developed on the left side of the Karasu River. In the XX century. Gradually, the spiritual and cultural life of the Kramchak community moved to Simferopol, which remains so at the present time. Of the surviving monuments, one should remember the building of the former Krymchak kaal.
Crimean Tatars
According to the Crimean Tatar culture, ethnographic objects include, first of all, cult objects. By religion, the Crimean Tatars are Muslims, they profess Islam; their places of worship are mosques.
The influence of Turkish architecture on the architecture of Crimea can be considered the constructions of the famous Turkish architect Hadji Sinan (end of the 15th - 16th centuries). These are the Juma-Jami mosques in Evpatoria, the mosque and baths in Feodosia. The Juma-Jami mosque is well preserved. It rises like a mighty bulk above the one-story urban quarters of the old part of the city. Mosque of Khan Uzbek in Stary Krym.
Interesting buildings are tomb mausoleums-durbe. They are octagonal or square in plan with a domed ceiling and a crypt. As ethnographic objects, such dyurbes are singled out in the Bakhchisarai region.
The Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai is called a masterpiece of Muslim architecture. In 1740-43. In the palace, a large Khan-Jami mosque was built. Two minarets have survived, which are tall thin towers with spiral staircases inside and balconies at the top. The western wall of the mosque was painted by the Iranian master Omer. Now it is an exposition room of the Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Museum. The Small Palace Mosque is one of the early buildings of the palace (XVI century), built according to the type Christian churches. The last restoration work restored the painting of the 16th - 18th centuries.
The Eski-Saray Mosque in the Simferopol region was built in the 15th century. There is an assumption that there was a khan's mint here. The mosque is a square building, over which a dome is erected on an octagonal base. The building of the mosque was handed over to the Muslim community of Simferopol.
In 1989, the Kebir-Jami mosque in Simferopol was handed over to the Muslim community. Time of construction - 1508, built in the traditional style of Muslim architecture, has been repeatedly renewed. At the mosque there was an educational institution - a madrasah, the building of which was also preserved in the city.
Of great interest is the Zinjirli Madrasah, located on the outskirts of Bakhchisaray - Staroselye (former Salachik). The madrasah was built in 1500 by Khan Mengli Giray. This is a work of early Crimean Tatar architecture. It is a reduced and simplified version Seljuk madrasas in Asia Minor. The madrasah is the only surviving building of this kind in the Crimea.
The ethnographic objects of the culture of the Crimean Tatars can also include the old Tatar cemeteries with burials of the 18th - 19th centuries, which have preserved traditional tombstones with inscriptions and ornaments. Location - villages and inter-settlement territories of the Bakhchisarai region.
Of interest to tourists is the traditional (rural) Crimean Tatar architecture. Examples of dwellings, as well as public and outbuildings, have been preserved in almost all regions of the Crimea, having regional features (the steppe part, the foothills and the southern coast of Crimea). The greatest concentration of such ethnographic objects falls on the city of Bakhchisaray, Bakhchisarai, Simferopol and Belogorsk districts, as well as the villages of the Alushta and Sudak city councils and the city of Stary Krym. A number of rural places and cities are now meeting places for fellow villagers and holding folk holidays.
The revival of a certain specificity of objects that interested tourists and travelers already in the 19th century is possible at the present time. For example, music and dance, where professional and folk groups will be involved. They can also be used in staging traditions, rituals, showing holidays. At the end of XIX and beginning of XX centuries. the attention of vacationers was attracted and widely used in excursion services by guides and shepherds, who differed from other layers of the Crimean Tatars in their way of life and even in traditional clothing.
In total, in Crimea, as the most preserved in places of good transport accessibility, with a base for further development at the moment, more than 30 objects can be distinguished according to the traditional Crimean Tatar culture.
Germans
The attention of tourists can also be attracted by the culture of the Germans, which has been preserved in the Crimea in the form of architectural objects - public and religious buildings, as well as traditional rural architecture. The most optimal way to get acquainted with the material and spiritual culture of the Germans is direct trips to the former German colonies, founded in 1804-1805. and throughout the nineteenth century. on the peninsula. The number of German colonies was numerous, they were concentrated mainly in the steppe part of the Crimea.
At present, a number of villages (former colonies) have been identified that played a significant role in the economic, socio-political, religious and cultural life of the Germans until 1941. First of all, these are the former colonies of Neisatz, Friedental and Rosenthal (now the village of Krasnogorye, Kurortnoe and Aromatnoye, Belogorsk district), located at a short distance from each other and acting as complex ethnographic objects that characterize the traditional layout of villages, architecture (houses, estates, outbuildings).
There is an opportunity to get acquainted with religious buildings - the building of the Catholic Church (built in 1867), in the village. Fragrant - is currently under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Crimean Diocese. Acquaintance with the destroyed church in the village. Krasnogorye can be carried out based on the materials of the State Archive of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The building was built in 1825, rebuilt in 1914, the church was named after Emperor Nicholas II, but in the 60s it was completely destroyed.
Among the surviving objects are the building of an elementary school and a central school (built in 1876), as well as old German cemeteries (XIX-XX centuries). These objects have good transport accessibility, the degree of preservation of monuments, but require further development, registration of monuments and interest from German societies, since Germans do not currently live in the villages. Among the objects in the countryside, a number of other villages can be distinguished, for example, Aleksandrovka and Leninskoe (the former colony of Buten) of the Krasnogvardeisky district, Zolotoe Pole (the colony of Zurichtal) of the Kirovsky district and Kolchugino (the colony of Kronental) of the Simferopol district. Cultural objects of the Crimean Germans should also include places of worship, buildings public interest in cities, for example, Simferopol, Yalta, Sudak, (in the last place, objects were preserved in the village of Uyutnoye of the Sudak City Council, that is, the territory of the former colony of Sudak, which was wine-making in its specialization).
At present, the number of ethnographic (in rural areas) and architectural objects allocated according to the culture of the Germans is more than 20.
Russians
Almost all monuments of Russian culture in Crimea are under state protection and one way or another are included in various tourist routes. An example is the palace of Count Vorontsov in Alupka, which is one of the most unique architectural monuments of the "Russian period" in the history of Crimea (after Catherine II signed the manifesto on the annexation of Crimea to Russia, many luxurious cultural monuments belonging to Russians and Russian subjects appeared in the best traditions of that time). nobles and nobility).
The Alupka Palace was built according to the project of the English architect E. Blair, but embodied the features of both classicism and romantic and Gothic forms, as well as the techniques of Moorish architecture. This building could be classified as a multi-ethnic cultural monument, but ethnicity is not always determined by the manner of execution, the styles used, techniques, and even the affiliation of the architect. The main feature that distinguishes this object is the Russian environment of existence.
According to the same principle, the Livadia Palace, built in 1911, is classified as a monument of Russian culture. according to the project of the Yalta architect N. Krasnov, on the site of the burned down in 1882. palace. The building was built according to the latest technology: there is central heating, an elevator, and electric lighting. Fireplaces installed in the halls serve not only as decorative decoration, but can also heat the halls of the palace. Traditional for Russian architecture of the XVII century. forms determine the appearance of the Alexander Church in Yalta, also built by the architect Krasnov (1881).
In Sevastopol, many buildings have been preserved, made in the tradition of the Russian-Byzantine style. A vivid embodiment of this direction is the Vladimir Cathedral - the tomb of admirals M.P. Lazareva, V.A. Kornilov, V.I. Istomin, P.S. Nakhimov (built in 1881 by architect K.A. Ton). With the use of forms and techniques, classics were built in the 50s. 20th century ensembles of residential buildings on Nakhimov Avenue. A number of buildings in Simferopol were made in the style of Russian classicism - the former country estate of the doctor Mulhausen (1811), the hospice of Taranov-Belozerov (1825), the country house of Vorontsov in the Salgirka park. All these buildings are protected by law and decrees of the republican authorities on protection, and can be included in the list of ethnographic objects of Russian culture.
Masterpieces of traditional rural Russian culture were revealed during the study of the Simferopol region. These are the villages themselves, founded at the end of the 18th century. retired soldiers of the Russian army - Mazanka, Kurtsy, Kamenka (Bogurcha). Among the first Russian settlements - also the village. Zuya, Belogorsky district, with. Cool (former Mangushi), Bakhchisaray district, Grushevka (former Sala) of the Sudak City Council. In these settlements, dwellings of the late 18th - early 19th centuries have been preserved. (Mazanka, Grushevka). Some of them are abandoned, but have retained elements of traditional architecture and internal layout. In some places, dugouts have been preserved that preceded the dwellings-huts of Russian soldiers.
Far from the The mud hut preserved the old Russian cemetery with burials of the beginning of the 19th century, well-preserved stone tombstones in the form of a St. George cross, inscriptions and ornaments are visible in places.
The religious buildings of traditional architecture include the existing Nikolsky churches: in Mazanka, Zuya, Belogorsk, the laying of which dates back to the beginning - the middle of the 19th century.
The most significant objects include the Peter and Paul Orthodox Cathedral, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Church of the Three Hierarchs in Simferopol. All these religious objects are active. A number of Orthodox cathedrals, churches, and chapels have been singled out as ethographic objects in the regions of Greater Yalta and Greater Alushta. On the eastern tip of our peninsula, one can single out such an ethnographic object as the Old Believer village of Kurortnoye, Leninsky district (former Mama Russian). There is a prayer house here. traditional way Old Believers, customs and rituals are performed. A total of 54 ethnographic objects reflecting the Russian material and spiritual culture in Crimea were identified, including some objects marked as "East Slavonic". This is due to the fact that many so-called. Russian-Ukrainian, Russian-Belarusian families were defined in the category of the Russian population.
Ukrainians
To study the culture of the Ukrainian ethnos in the Crimea, as a complex ethnographic object, one can single out the village of Novonikolaevka, Leninsky district, which has an ethnographic museum, which also presents an exposition of both East Slavic traditional material and spiritual culture, and includes an object series on Ukrainians of Crimea, settlers of the 19th - early 20th centuries There are also dwellings in the village. late XIX century, one of them is equipped as a museum "Ukranian hut" (initiative and ethnographic material of a local resident Yu.A. Klymenko). The traditional interior is sustained, household items, furniture are presented, many folklore sketches are collected.
In terms of holding folk holidays, performing Ukrainian rites and rituals, the resettlement villages of the 50s are interesting. 20th century Among them are Pozharskoye and Vodnoye of the Simferopol region (folklore ensembles in traditional costumes arrange costumed performances on the themes of beliefs and traditions). The venue for the celebrations was "Weeping Rock" - a natural monument not far from the village. Water.
Among the ethnographic objects identified in the course of the research work of the employees of the Crimean Ethnographic Museum, there are objects of the traditional culture of such small ethnic groups as the French, Crimean gypsies, Czechs and Estonians.
French people
The culture of the French is associated with a number of places on the peninsula. Undoubtedly, the identification of objects and their further use will be interesting for tourists.
Crimean gypsies
In the culture of the Crimean gypsies, a number of interesting points can be identified, for example, one of the Chingine groups (as the Crimean Tatars called the gypsies) was musicians by their occupation, who in the 19th century. played at Crimean Tatar weddings. Currently, Chingin live compactly in the village. Oktyabrsky and town. Soviet.
Czechs and Estonians
Places of compact residence of Czechs and Estonians is the steppe part of the peninsula: Czechs - with. Lobanovo (formerly the village of Bohemka) of the Dzhankoy district and with. Aleksandrovka of the Krasnogvardeisky district, and Estonians - the villages of Novoestonia, Krasnodarka (formerly the village of Kochee-Shavva) of the Krasnogvardeisky district and the village. Coastal (v. Zashruk) Bakhchisaray district. In all villages, traditional dwellings with a characteristic layout and decoration elements of the late XIX - early XX have been preserved.
Weekly tour, one-day hiking trips and excursions combined with comfort (trekking) in the mountain resort of Khadzhokh (Adygea, Krasnodar Territory). Tourists live at the camp site and visit numerous natural monuments. Rufabgo Waterfalls, Lago-Naki Plateau, Meshoko Gorge, Big Azish Cave, Belaya River Canyon, Guam Gorge.
