The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukrainian: Автономна Республіка Крим, Avtonomna Respublika Krym; Russian: Автономная Республика Крым, Avtonomnaya Respublika Krym; Crimean Tatar: Qırım Muhtar Cumhuriyeti, Къырым Мухтар Джумхуриети)[6] is an autonomous republic in the southwestern region of Ukraine, located on the Crimean Peninsula on the north shore of the Black Sea
with a predominantly Russian ethnic majority (58%). The Autonomous
Republic of Crimea includes nearly all of the Crimean Peninsula, with
the small exception of Sevastopol.
Due to recent political instability in the region and occupation by Russian military forces, national sovereignty over the peninsula is currently being disputed by Russia (March 2014).[7][8][9] On March 11, 2014, the parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted a Crimean declaration of independence from Ukraine, ahead of a planned referendum.[10]
On 16 March 2014, an overwhelming majority allegedly voted in favour of
independence of Crimea from Ukraine and joining Russia as a federal
subject.[11][12] After the referendum, Crimean lawmakers formally voted both to secede from Ukraine and ask for membership in the Russian Federation.
The legitimacy and legality of the vote has been rejected by the
government of Ukraine and the international community (with the
exception of Russia).[13]
Since ca. 700 BC, the peninsula has changed hands well over a dozen times, with all or part having been controlled by Cimmerians, Bulgars, Greeks, Scythians, Romans, Goths, Huns, Khazars, Kievan Rus' (early Ukraine), the Byzantine Empire, Venice, Genoa, Kipchaks, the Golden Horde, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and modern independent Ukraine.
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine[7] and is governed by the Constitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine. The capital and administrative seat of the republic's government is the city of Simferopol,
located in the center of the peninsula. Crimea's area is 26,200 square
kilometers (10,100 sq mi) and its population was 1,973,185 as of 2007.
These figures do not include the area and population of the City of Sevastopol
(2007 population: 379,200), which is administratively separate from the
autonomous republic. The peninsula thus has 2,352,385 people (2007
estimate).
Crimean Tatars, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority who in 2001 made up 12.10% of the population,[14] formed in Crimea in the late Middle Ages, after the Crimean Khanate had come into existence. The Crimean Tatars were forcibly expelled to Central Asia by Joseph Stalin's government. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars began to return to the region.[15] According to the 2001 Ukrainian population census 58% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians and 24% are ethnic Ukrainians.[14] The region has a high proportion of Muslims.[16]
Etymology
The name Crimea derives from the name of the city of Qırım (today's Stary Krym), which served as a capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde. The name Krim thus traces to the Tatar word for 'steppe, hill' (Crimean Tatar: qırım - ‘my steppe, hill’, from Old Turkic, Middle Turkic qır ‘mountain top, mountain ridge; steppe, desert, level ground’).[17][18] Russian Krym is a Russified form of Qırım. The ancient Greeks called Crimea Tauris (later Taurica, Ταυρική in Ancient Greek), after its inhabitants, the Tauri. The Greek historian Herodotus accounts for the name by asserting that Heracles plowed that land using a huge ox ("Taurus"). Herodotus also refers to a nearby region called Cremni[19] or 'the Cliffs'", which may also refer to the Crimean peninsula, notable for its cliffs along what is otherwise a flat northern coastline of the Black Sea.In English, Crimea was often referred to with the definite article, as the Crimea, until well into the 20th century.
History
Main article: History of Crimea
Early history
Throughout the later centuries, Crimea was invaded or occupied successively by the Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths (AD 250), the Huns (376), the Bulgars (4th–8th century), the Khazars (8th century), the state of Kievan Rus' (10th–11th centuries), the Byzantine Empire (1016), the Kipchaks (Kumans) (1050), and the Mongols (1237).[citation needed] In the 13th century, the Republic of Genoa seized the settlements that their rivals, the Venetians, had built along the Crimean coast and gained control of the Crimean economy and the Black Sea commerce for two centuries.[citation needed] The Black Death pandemic came to Europe in the 14th century, probably aboard Genoese merchant ships from the Crimean peninsula.[22]
A number of Turkic peoples, now collectively known as the Crimean Tatars, came to inhabit the peninsula starting with the early Middle Ages. At times these dominated the peninsula demographically, while at other times their numbers dwindled (1750–1944) or disappeared altogether (1944–91), only to reappear again (1991–present) After the destruction of the Golden Horde by Tamerlane, the Crimean Tatars founded an independent Crimean Khanate in 1441, under Hacı I Giray, a descendant of Genghis Khan. The Crimean Tatars controlled the steppes that stretched from the Kuban and to the Dniester River, however, they were initially unable to take control over commercial Genoese towns. After the capture of Genoese towns, the Ottoman Sultan held Meñli I Giray captive,[23] later releasing him in return for accepting Ottoman sovereignty above the Crimean Khans and allowing them rule as tributary princes of the Ottoman Empire.[24][25]:78 However, the Crimean Khans still had a large amount of autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. In 1774, the Crimean Khans fell under Russian influence with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and, in 1783, the entire Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire.[25]:176
Crimean Gothic, an East Germanic language, was spoken by the Crimean Goths in some isolated locations in Crimea until the late 18th century.[26]
Crimean Khanate
The Crimean Khanate was a Tatar state founded by Hacı I Giray, a descendant of Genghis Khan, from 1441 to 1783. In 1478 the Khanate became a tributary of the Ottoman Empire, during the long wars of Russian expansion it became a formally independent state by the terms of the 1774 Russo-Ottoman Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, and was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, and called the Taurida Governorate.
Slave trade
Until the late 18th century, Crimean Tatars maintained a massive slave trade with the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East.[27] About 2 million slaves from Russia and Ukraine were sold over the period 1500–1700.[28] Tatars were known for frequent, at some periods almost annual, devastating raids on the Slavic peoples to the north. In 1769 a last major Tatar raid, which took place during the Russo-Turkish War, saw the capture of 20,000 slaves.[29]
Crimean War and the 19th century
Crimea became part of Russia's Taurida Governorate and was the site of much of the fighting in the Crimean War
(1853–1856) between Russia on one side, and France, Britain, the
Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia on the other. Russia and the Ottoman Empire
went to war in October 1853 over Russia's rights to protect Orthodox Christians.
Russia gained the upper hand after destroying the Ottoman fleet at the
Black Sea port of Sinope; to stop Russia's conquest, France and Britain
entered in March 1854. Most of the fighting took place for control of
the Black Sea, with land battles on the Crimean peninsula in southern
Russia. The Russians held their great fortress at Sevastopol
for over a year. After it fell, peace was arranged at Paris in March
1856. The religion issue had already been resolved. The main results
were that the Black Sea was neutralized—Russia would have no warships
there—and the two vassals, Wallachia and Moldavia,
became largely independent under nominal Ottoman rule. The war
devastated much of the economic and social infrastructure of the
peninsula.
Crimea in the 20th and 21st centuries
In the Soviet Union
During the Russian Civil War following the overthrow of the Russian Empire, Crimea changed hands a number of times and was a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White Army. It was in Crimea that the White Russians led by General Wrangel made their last stand against the Anarchist forces of Nestor Makhno and the Red Army
in 1920. Approximately 50,000 White prisoners of war and civilians were
summarily executed by shooting or hanging after the defeat of General
Wrangel at the end of 1920.[30] This is considered one of the largest massacres in the Civil War.[31]
On 18 October 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) was created as part of the Russian SFSR, which then became part of the Soviet Union.[24] Crimea experienced two severe famines in the 20th century, the Famine of 1921–1922 and the Holodomor of 1932–1933.[32]
During World War II, Crimea was the scene of several bloody battles. The Axis forces under the command of Nazi Germany suffered heavy casualties in the summer of 1941 as they tried to advance through the narrow Isthmus of Perekop
linking Crimea to the Soviet mainland. Once the Axis forces broke
through, they occupied most of Crimea, with the exception of the city of
Sevastopol, which held out
from October 1941 until 4 July 1942 when the Germans finally captured
the city. From 1 September 1942, the peninsula was administered as the Generalbezirk Krim (general district of Crimea) und Teilbezirk (and sub-district) Taurien.
In spite of heavy-handed tactics by the Nazis and their allies, the
Crimean mountains remained an unconquered stronghold of the native
resistance until the day when the peninsula was freed from the occupying force in 1944.
On 18 May 1944, the entire population of the Crimean Tatars was forcibly deported in the "Sürgün" (Turkish (Crimean Tatar) for exile) to Central Asia by Joseph Stalin's Soviet government as a form of collective punishment, on the grounds that they had collaborated with the Nazi occupation forces and formed anti-Soviet Tatar Legions.[25] An estimated 46% of the deportees died from hunger and disease.[33]
On 26 June of the same year, the Armenian, Bulgarian, and Greek
population was also deported to Central Asia. By the end of summer of
1944, the ethnic cleansing
of Crimea was complete. In 1967, the Crimean Tatars were rehabilitated,
but they were banned from legally returning to their homeland until the
last days of the Soviet Union. The Crimean ASSR was abolished on 30
June 1945 and transformed into the Crimean Oblast (province) of the Russian SFSR.
On 19 February 1954, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union issued a decree transferring the Crimean Oblast from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.[34][35] The transfer of the Crimean Oblast to Ukraine has been described as a "symbolic gesture," marking the 300th anniversary of Ukraine becoming a part of the Russian Empire.[36][37] The General Secretary of the Communist Party in Soviet Union was at the time the Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev.
In post-war years, Crimea thrived as a prime tourist destination, built with new attractions and spas for tourists. Tourists came from all over the Soviet Union and neighbouring countries.[24] Crimea's infrastructure and manufacturing was also developed, particularly around the sea ports at Kerch and Sevastopol and in the oblast's landlocked capital of Simferopol.
Following a referendum on 20 January 1991, the Crimean Oblast was upgraded to that of an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on 12 February 1991 by the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR.[38]
In Independent Ukraine
 |
This section is missing information about the details regarding the referendums promoted by the Crimean parliament in 1992 and 1994, the tensions these created in Kiev, Kiev's reasons to deter them, the required majority vote for the referendums, and Tatar repatriation and population distribution at the time. (March 2014) |
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea became part of the newly independent Ukraine, which led to tensions between Russia and Ukraine.[nb 1] With the Black Sea Fleet
based on the peninsula, worries of armed skirmishes were occasionally
raised. Crimean Tatars began returning from exile and resettling in
Crimea.
On 26 February 1992, the Verkhovniy Sovet (the Crimean parliament) renamed the ASSR the Republic of Crimea and proclaimed self-government on 5 May 1992[40][41] (which was yet to be approved by a referendum held 2 August 1992[42])[clarification needed Did the referendum happen, or was it cancelled?] and passed the first Crimean constitution the same day.[42] On 6 May 1992 the same parliament inserted a new sentence into this constitution that declared that Crimea was part of Ukraine.[42]
On 19 May, Crimea agreed to remain part of Ukraine and annulled its
proclamation of self-government but Crimean Communists forced the Ukrainian government to expand on the already extensive autonomous status of Crimea.[25]:587 In the same period, Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk agreed to divide the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet between Russia and the newly formed Ukrainian Navy.[43]
On 14 October 1993, the Crimean parliament established the post of President of Crimea and agreed on a quota of Crimean Tatars represented in the Council of 14. However, political turmoil continued. Amendments[clarification needed] to the constitution eased the conflict,[citation needed] but on 17 March 1995, the parliament of Ukraine intervened, scrapping the Crimean Constitution and removing Yuriy Meshkov (the President of Crimea) along with his office for his actions against the state and promoting integration with Russia.[44]
After an interim constitution, the current constitution was put into
effect, changing the territory's name to the Autonomous Republic of
Crimea.
Following the ratification of the May 1997 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership on friendship and division of the Black Sea Fleet, international tensions slowly eased. However, in 2006, anti-NATO protests broke out on the peninsula.[45] In September 2008, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko accused Russia of giving out Russian passports
to the population in the Crimea and described it as a "real problem"
given Russia's declared policy of military intervention abroad to
protect Russian citizens.[46]
On 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov (of the Russian Bloc[47] and then deputy speaker of the Crimean parliament[48]) said then that he hoped that Russia would treat the Crimea the same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia.[49] Chaos in the Ukrainian parliament erupted during a debate over the extension of the lease on a Russian naval base on 27 April 2010 after Ukraine’s parliament ratified the treaty that extends Russia's lease on naval moorings and shore installations in port of Sevastopol and other locations in Crimea until 2042 with optional five-year renewals. Along with Verkhovna Rada, the treaty was ratified by the Russian State Duma as well.[50]
2014 Crimean crisis and Russian military intervention
Main articles: 2014 Crimean crisis, 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, and Crimean referendum, 2014
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On 26 February 2014, following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, thousands of pro-Russian and pro-Ukraine protesters clashed in front of the parliament building in Simferopol. The pretext of the clash has been the abolition, on 23 February 2014, of the law on languages of minorities, including Russian.[51] This decision, that would make Ukrainian the sole state language, has not been upheld by the interim president.[52][53]
The demonstrations followed the ousting of the Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February 2014, and a push by pro-Russian protesters for Crimea to secede from Ukraine and seek assistance from Russia.[54]
On 28 February 2014, Russian Ground Forces occupied airports and other strategic locations in Crimea.[55] The interim Government of Ukraine described the events as an invasion and occupation of Crimea by Russian forces.[56][57] However, Russian troops have been stationed in Crimea for over a decade under an agreement with Ukraine,[58] although the number of forces present in late February 2014 constituted a violation of Ukrainian-Russian treaty agreements.[citation needed]
Gunmen, either armed militants or Russian special forces, occupied the
Crimean parliament. Under armed guard and with the doors locked, members
of parliament apparently elected Sergey Aksyonov as the new Crimean Prime Minister. De facto Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov
said he asserted sole control over Crimea's security forces and
appealed to Russia "for assistance in guaranteeing peace and calmness"
on the peninsula. The central Ukrainian government does not recognize
the Aksyonov administration and considers it illegal.[59][60]
Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich sent a letter to Putin
asking him to use military force in Ukraine to restore law and order.[61] The Russian foreign ministry stated that "movement
of the Black Sea Fleet armored vehicles in Crimea (...) happens in full
accordance with basic Russian-Ukrainian agreements on the Black Sea
Fleet".[62]
On 1 March, the Russian parliament granted President Vladimir Putin the authority to use military force in Ukraine.[63] The move was condemned by many Western and Western-aligned nations. On the same day, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov decried the appointment of the Prime Minister of Crimea as unconstitutional.[64] Russia established de facto control of the territory.
On 3 March, it was reported that the head of Russia's Black Sea Fleet
gave Ukraine a deadline of dawn on the 4th to surrender their control
of the Crimea, or face an assault by Russian troops occupying the area.[65] However, Interfax news agency later quoted a fleet spokesman who denied that any ultimatum had been issued.[65] Nothing came to pass at the deadline.
On 4 March, several Ukrainian bases and navy ships in Crimea reported
being intimidated by Russian forces but vowed non-violence. In one
particular display, Ukrainian soldiers at Belbek airbase marched unarmed
from their barracks to the Russian lines, where they were stopped by
sentries who fired warning shots and surrounded them. Journalists
recorded the encounter.[66] Ukrainian warships were also effectively blockaded in their port of Sevastopol.[67][68]
On 6 March, MPs of the Crimean Parliament asked the Russian Government for the region to become a subject of the Russian Federation
with a referendum on the issue set for the Crimean region for March
16th. The Ukrainian central government, EU and US disputed the
legitimacy of the request and referendum. Article 73 of the Constitution
of Ukraine states: "Alterations to the territory of Ukraine shall be
resolved exclusively by the All-Ukrainian referendum."[69]
International monitors arrived in Ukraine to assess the situation in
Crimea but were halted by armed militants at the Crimean border. [70][71] Russian forces scuttled a Russian Kara-class Cruiser Ochakov near Novoozerne, Yevpatoria on the west coast of Crimea to blockade Ukrainian navy ships in their port on Donuzlav Lake.[72][73]
On 7 March, Russian forces scuttled a second ship, a diving support vessel, to further block the navy port at Donuzlav Lake.[73]
The Crimean Parliament released the Ballot Questions for the 16 March referendum. The referendum questions are:
- "Do you support rejoining Crimea with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation?"
- "Do you support restoration of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Crimea and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine?"
There is no option on the 16 March ballot to maintain the status quo.[clarification needed Is it one either / or question or twe yes / no questions?]
Ukranian outlets considered the questions as equivalent to "join Russia
immediately or declare independence and then join Russia."[74][75] The current Crimean constitution came into effect in 1999 and Article 135 of the Ukrainian constitution provides that the Crimean Constitution must be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.
Geography
Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the Sea of Azov, bordering Kherson Oblast from the North. There are two rural communities of Henichesk Raion in Kherson Oblast that are physically located on the peninsula, on the smaller peninsula Arabat Spit, Shchaslyvtseve and Strilkove. Although located in the southwestern part of the Crimean peninsula, the city of Sevastopol has a special but separate municipality status within Ukraine. Crimea's total land area is 26,100 km2 (10,077 sq mi).
Crimea is connected to the mainland by the 5–7 kilometers (3.1–4.3 mi) wide Isthmus of Perekop. At the eastern tip is the Kerch Peninsula, which is directly opposite the Taman Peninsula on the Russian mainland. Between the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, lies the 3–13 kilometers (1.9–8.1 mi) wide Strait of Kerch,
which connects the waters of the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov. The
peninsula consists of many other smaller peninsulas such as Arabat Spit,
Kerch peninsula, Herakles peninsula, Tarhan Qut peninsula and many others. Crimea also features other headlands such as Cape Priboiny, Cape Tarhan Qut,[citation needed] Sarych, Nicholas Cape, Cape Fonar, Cape Fiolent, Qazan Tip,[citation needed] Cape Aq Burun, and many others.
Geographically, the peninsula is generally divided into three zones: steppes, mountains and southern coast.
The southeast coast is flanked at a distance of 8–12 kilometers (5.0–7.5 mi) from the sea by a parallel range of mountains, the Crimean Mountains.[76]
These mountains are backed by secondary parallel ranges. Seventy-five
percent of the remaining area of Crimea consists of semiarid prairie lands, a southward continuation of the Pontic steppes,
which slope gently to the northwest from the foot of the Crimean
Mountains. The main range of these mountains shoots up with
extraordinary abruptness from the deep floor of the Black Sea to an altitude of 600–750 meters (1,969–2,461 ft), beginning at the southwest point of the peninsula, called Cape Fiolente. It was believed that this cape was supposedly crowned with the temple of Artemis, where Iphigeneia is said to have officiated as priestess.[77]
Numerous kurgans, or burial mounds, of the ancient Scythians are scattered across the Crimean steppes.
The terrain that lies beyond the sheltering Crimean Mountain range is
of an altogether different character. Here, the narrow strip of coast
and the slopes of the mountains are smothered with greenery. This
"riviera" stretches along the southeast coast from capes Fiolente and Aya, in the south, to Feodosiya, and is studded with summer sea-bathing resorts such as Alupka, Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta, Sudak, and Feodosiya. During the years of Soviet rule, the resorts and dachas of this coast served as the prime perquisites of the politically loyal.[citation needed]why here? and ref?
In addition, vineyards and fruit orchards are located in the region.
Fishing, mining, and the production of essential oils are also
important. Numerous Crimean Tatar villages, mosques, monasteries, and palaces of the Russian imperial family and nobles are found here, as well as picturesque ancient Greek and medieval castles.
The Crimean coastline is broken by several bays and harbors. These harbors lie west of the Isthmus of Perekop by the Bay of Karkinit; on the southwest by the open Bay of Kalamita, with the ports of Yevpatoria and Sevastopol;[citation needed](not Sevastopol) on the north by the Bay of Arabat of the Isthmus[citation needed](nonsense) of Yenikale or Kerch; and on the south by the Bay of Caffa[citation needed](name?) or Feodosiya, with the port of Feodosiya. The natural borders between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland serve the saline Lake Syvash (a unique shallow system of estuaries and bays).
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Sevastopol sunset -
The mountain of Eklizi-Burun, near Alushta -
The Crimean Mountains near the city of Alushta
Climate
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This section must include a table tabulating Crimea's minimum, average, and maximum temperatures and rain fall. (March 2014) |
Most of Crimea has a temperate continental climate, except for the south coast where it experiences a humid[citation needed]
subtropical climate, due to warm influences from the Black Sea. Summers
can be hot (28 °C or 82.4 °F Jul average) and winters are cool (−0.3 °C
or 31.5 °F Jan average) in the interior, on the south coast winters are
milder (4 °C or 39.2 °F Jan average) and temperatures much below
freezing are exceptional. Precipitation throughout Crimea is low,
averaging only 400 mm (15.7 in) a year. Because of its climate, the
southern Crimean coast is a popular beach and sun resort for Ukrainian
and Russian tourists.
Government and politics
Crimea is an autonomous republic within the unitary state of Ukraine, with the Presidential Representative serving as a governor and replacing once established post of president. The legislative body is a 100-seat parliament, the Supreme Council of Crimea.[78]
The executive power is represented by the Council of Ministers, headed by a Chairman who is appointed and dismissed by the Verkhovna Rada, with the consent of the President of Ukraine.[5][79] The authority and operation of the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers of Crimea are determined by the Constitution of Ukraine and other the laws of Ukraine, as well as by regular decisions carried out by the Supreme Council of Crimea.[79]
Justice is administered by courts, as part of the judicial system of Ukraine.[79]
While not an official body controlling Crimea, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is a representative body of the Crimean Tatars, which could address grievances to the Ukrainian central government, the Crimean government, and international bodies.[80]
During the 2004 presidential elections, Crimea largely voted for the presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych. In both the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary elections and the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, the Yanukovych-led Party of Regions also won most of the votes from the region, as they did in the 2010 Crimean parliamentary election.[81]
Administrative divisions
Crimea is subdivided into 25 regions: 14 raions (districts) and 11 city municipalities, officially known as territories governed by city councils.[82] While the City of Sevastopol
is located on the Crimean peninsula, it is administratively separate
from the rest of Crimea and is one of two special municipalities of
Ukraine. Sevastopol, while having a separate administration, is tightly
integrated within the infrastructure of the whole peninsula.
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