Crimea

Crimea (Ukrainian Krym), peninsula and autonomous republic in south-eastern Ukraine, having the same boundaries as the Crimean Oblast. The peninsula and autonomous republic, connected with the mainland to the north by the narrow Isthmus of Perekop, projects southwards from the rest of Ukraine into the Black Sea, which bounds it on all sides except the north-east where it is bounded by the Sea of Azov. Kerch Strait, joining the latter and the Black Sea, separates the Crimea from the Caucasus Mountains on the east. The Crimea extends about 320 km (200 mi) from east to west and about 175 km (110 mi) from north to south. It has a total area of 25,993 sq km (10,036 sq mi). The terrain consists predominantly of a level upland plain, an extension of the Russian steppes. Several parallel mountain ranges occupy the south-eastern part of the peninsula. The climate in the plains area is fairly cold and windy in the winter and arid in the summer. The climate of the south-eastern coastal strip is mild and healthy, and the land is fertile. Among the flora are the cork oak, olive, laurel, and cypress. Fruit orchards and vineyards are numerous. The attractive Crimean coastal region is famed as a holdiay resort; the leading resort town is Yalta, scene of the Yalta Conference in 1945, in the final stages of World War II.

In addition to such fruits as cherries, peaches, figs, apricots, apples, and pears, agricultural products of the Crimea include tobacco, wheat, and barley, which are grown mainly on the plains, and maize, flax, and almonds. Cattle and sheep are raised on the mountain slopes. The Crimea contains productive mineral deposits, notably salt and phosphoric iron ore. Rich deposits of the latter are located near Kerch, an important centre for the production of iron and steel. Other important industries are shipbuilding, fishing, and the manufacture of fertilizers, chemicals, tobacco products, flour, leather products, and metals.

The Crimea had an estimated population of 2,549,800 in 1991. Russians, Ukrainians, and Tatars make up the chief groups, with smaller numbers of Bulgarians and Greeks. Its population density is 98 people per sq km (254 per sq mi). The administrative centre and principal city of the region is Simferopol, and the leading port is Sevastopol.

In ancient times the Crimea was known as Chersonesus Taurica from the Tauri, who were descendants of the Cimmerians. Between the 7th and 5th centuries bc the Greeks of Miletus colonized the territory, founding many cities and towns. These were united in 438 bc to form the kingdom of Bosporus. In 114 bc the kingdom accepted the overlordship of Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, as a protection from the Scythians. For nearly three centuries after the defeat of Mithridates by the Romans, the Crimea was under the nominal suzerainty of Rome. The region was conquered by the Goths in ad 250. This was the first of a series of successive invasions by the Huns, Khazars, Byzantine Greeks, Kipchaks, and Genoese, extending over a period of nearly 1,000 years. In 1475 the peninsula was overrun by the Turks, who, with the cooperation of the Tatar princes controlling part of the area, retained possession of it until 1777. As a result of the Russian victory over the Turks in that year, the Crimea in 1783 became part of the Russian Empire. The peninsula was the scene, from 1854 to 1856, of the Crimean War and figured prominently in the civil war that took place between 1917 and 1920, after the Russian Revolution. In 1921 the Crimea was established as an autonomous republic for the Crimean Tatars within the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. In 1941 the Crimea was invaded by German armies. The Germans completely occupied the republic after the fall of Sevastopol in July 1942, holding it until the spring of 1944. The Crimea was demoted in status from an autonomous republic to an oblast in 1945, reputedly because of widespread collaboration with the enemy during the occupation by the Crimean Tatars, who were officially abolished as a nation by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and deported en masse to Central Asia. It was made a region of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954.

Shortly after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, possession of the Crimea became a source of tension between Russia and Ukraine. In 1992 the Russian Supreme Soviet passed a resolution nullifying the 1954 transfer of the Crimea to Ukraine, and also in 1992 the Crimean Supreme Soviet declared the region a republic. In spite of these political pressures, the Ukrainian government insisted on retaining the region within the administrative structure of Ukraine.

In January 1994 the first election in history for the presidency of the Crimea was held. Five out of the six candidates for president publicly supported Crimean reunification with Russia, including the winner, Yuryy Meshkov, a former Soviet border guard and legal prosecutor. Meshkov appointed a Russian, Evgeniy Saburov, as prime minister. Soon after taking office, Meshkov began to assert control over Ukrainian institutions in the Crimea. He dismissed several ministers and ordered the removal of the local director of Ukrainian television. He decreed that Crimean residents were not subject to the Ukrainian military draft, and ordered clocks to be set ahead two hours to correspond to Moscow time. He also called for a public referendum to be held on the Crimea's status at the same time as Ukrainian parliamentary elections in March. Ukrainian officials declared that Meshkov had exceeded his authority, and they vowed to ban the proposed referendum. As a result, an “opinion poll” was held instead. More than 70 per cent of the Crimea's voters approved greater independence from Ukraine and the right to dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship. In May 1994 the Crimean parliament voted to restore its constitution, which was adopted in May 1992 but rescinded following concessions from the city of Kiev. Demands that the constitution again be rescinded were ignored by the Crimea.