Sites discovered by archaeologists on the Crimean Peninsula primitive people(Kiik-Koba, Staroselye, Chokurcha, Volchiy Grotto) indicate human settlement of the region already in the Stone Age.
The most ancient population of the Black Sea region and Crimea consisted of those who lived here at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. e. semi-sedentary and nomadic tribes, known under the general name of Cimmerians. The memory of them was preserved in local toponyms mentioned in ancient Greek sources: Cimmerian Bosporus, Cimmeric, Cimmerium. 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. The Cimmerians acted in alliance with the Scythians. There is information about a defeat in 652 BC. the Lydian capital Sardis by the Cimmerians and Scythians. The Cimmerian culture discovered by archaeologists is close to the Scythian and dates back 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 discovered. BC e., associated with the Cimmerians. According to the story of Herodotus, the Cimmerians were driven 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 considered to be the Tauri, who already lived in the Scythian times in the mountains of Crimea. It was also called Taurus mountain range on the south coast of the peninsula. The Greek name of the Crimean Peninsula - Taurica, which was preserved in antiquity and the Middle Ages, is associated with this name.
The bulk of the Scythians were tribes that came in the 8th 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, the Scythian nomads, the Scythian ploughmen, the Scythian farmers, the Scythian Vonns. The social system of the Scythians in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. characterized by the gradual collapse of tribal lines and the emergence of class relations. Patriarchal slavery was already known among the Scythians. The change from Cimmerian culture to Scythian culture in the 8th-7th 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 mountainous mountains of Crimea - in the Kulakovsky Kurgans (near Simferopol, Ak-mosque), unique gold items depicting human figures, animals and plants were found in the famous Scythian burial mounds of Kul-Oba, Ak-Mosque 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. the western one was colonized, and in the 6th century. BC e. - northern coast of the Black Sea.
First of all in Taurida, probably in the first half of the 6th century. BC e., on the site of modern Kerch on the shores 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 6th century. BC e. Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, and Cimmeric arose in Eastern Crimea. In the VI century. BC e. Theodosius was founded by the Milesian Greeks, as well as Myrmekium, located not far from Panticapaeum.
Around 480 BC e. In the Eastern Crimea, the previously independent Greek city-states (polises) are united into a single Bosporan state under the rule of the Archeanactids, immigrants from Miletus. In 438 BC. e. power in the Bosporus passes to the Spartokids, a dynasty possibly of Thracian origin.
Crafts, agriculture, trade, coin circulation of Panticapaeum, where from the middle of the 6th century. minted its own silver coin, were at a relatively high level 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 a Scythian state in Crimea and the aggravation of social contradictions in the Bosporan kingdom contributed to the weakening of the latter.
In the western part of Crimea, Chersonesos, founded in the 5th century, played an important role. BC e. immigrants from the southern shore of the Black Sea (from Heraclea Pontic). Initially it was a trading post, which then became a center of agricultural and handicraft production. Trade also grew, the development of which was associated with the issuance of its own coins made of silver and copper. The remains of ancient Chersonesus are preserved on the western outskirts of modern Sevastopol.
Chersonesos probably followed a hostile policy towards the Bosporus. However, by the end of the 2nd century. BC e. The onslaught of the Scythians on Chersonesos intensifies. The Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator provided military assistance to Chersonesos. Eastern Crimea and Chersonese then came under the rule of the Pontic king. Perisad - the last king Bosporus from the Spartokid dynasty - renounced the throne in favor of Mithridates VI. But this only exacerbated the emerging social contradictions in the slave-owning Bosporus. In 107 BC. e. An uprising led by the Scythian Savmak took place here, but it was suppressed by the troops of the Pontic king.
The Pontic kingdom became the main obstacle to 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 Bosporan coins. True, in 25 BC. e. Rome confirms the independence of Chersonese, but this independence was largely nominal.
City-states of Taurica in the first centuries AD. were developed slave-owning policies. 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, led by tribal nobility, surrounded by warriors. Several alliances of Sarmatian tribes are known - Roxolani, Aorsi, Siracs. Obviously, from the 2nd century. And. e. Sarmatians receive the general name Alans, probably from the name of one of their tribes. However, in Crimea, the Sarmatians, apparently, were inferior in number to the mass of Scythians who survived here, as well as the descendants of the ancient Tauri. In contrast to the Sarmatians, this old population is called Tauro-Scythians in ancient sources, which perhaps indicates the erasure of the differences between them.
The center of the Scythian tribes in 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 existed 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 Chersonesus. At the same time, Sarmatization of the population of the Bosporan cities occurs. In foreign policy, the Bosporan kings showed a certain independence, including in relations with Rome.
In the 3rd century. In the Crimea, the Christian religion spread here, probably from Asia Minor. In the 4th century. an independent Christian bishopric already existed in Bosporus.
Chersonesos at this time continued to develop as a slave-owning republic, but the previous 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 city elite took place. Chersonesus becomes the main stronghold of the Romans in the Northern Black Sea region. It housed a Roman garrison and supplied food to the center of the empire.
In the middle of the 3rd century. n. e. The Bosporan state was experiencing economic and political decline, reflecting the general crisis of the ancient slave system. Starting from the 50-70s. in Crimea, the onslaught of the Borans, Ostrogoths, Heruls and other tribes that were part of
to the Gothic League. The Goths defeated the Scythians and destroyed their settlements in the Crimea. Having captured 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 Bosporan kingdom, but it was dealt a mortal blow in the 70s. IV century tribes of the Huns who appeared in Eastern Crimea. The Bosporus, destroyed by them, lost its former significance and gradually disappeared from the historical arena.
From the collection “Crimea: past and present", Institute of History of the USSR, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1988
Every self-respecting person tries to study the past. Possessing such a wealth of knowledge, we can draw conclusions about the phenomena and processes that occurred in a certain territory. In addition, they say that a happy future can be built only after realizing the mistakes of our ancestors.
Understanding the life and activities of people who lived many years ago is also an incredibly exciting experience. All peoples, ethnic groups, and countries that have ever existed are interesting in their own way. The history of Crimea, a beautiful peninsula that has more than once become the cause of disagreements between different tribes and states, occupies a special place in science.
Chronological information on ancient Crimea:
1) Paleolithic in the history of Crimea:
From 5 million years ago to the middle of the 9th millennium BC.
It includes:
Lower (early) Paleolithic periods:
- Olduvai, from 5-7 million years ago to 700 thousand years ago;
- Acheulian, about 700 - 100 thousand years ago.
Middle (Mousterian) Paleolithic: from 100 to 40 thousand years BC.
Upper (late) Paleolithic, from 35 thousand years to 9 thousand years BC.
2) Mesolithic in the history of Crimea: from the end of 9 to 6 thousand years BC.
3) Neolithic in the history of Crimea: from 5 to early 4 thousand years BC.
4) Chalcolithic in the history of Crimea: from the middle of 4 to 3 thousand years BC.
The history of the appearance of the first people
on the territory of ancient Crimea, their appearance and habitat
However, the question of the existence of the peninsula itself remains open. In 1996, American geologists from Columbia University published a scientifically based proposal that ancient Crimea was part of the land mass until approximately 5600 BC. e. They argued that the one described in the Bible global flood- the result of a breakthrough in the Mediterranean Sea, after which 155,000 square meters were under water. km. territory of the planet, the Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula appeared. This version is either confirmed or refuted again. But it seems quite plausible.
Be that as it may, science knows that 300-250 thousand years ago Neanderthals already lived in Crimea. They chose the caves of the foothills. Unlike the Pithecanthropes, who apparently settled only on the South Coast, these people also occupied the eastern part of the present peninsula. To date, scientists have been able to study about ten sites that belonged to the Acheulean era (early Paleolithic): Chernopolye, Shary I-III, Tsvetochnoye, Bodrak I-III, Alma, Bakla, etc.
Among those Neanderthal sites of ancient Crimea that are known to historians, the most popular is Kiik-Koba, located near the river. Zuya. Its age is 150-100 thousand years.
There is another witness on the way from Feodosia to Simferopol early history Crimea - the Wolf Grotto site. It arose in the Middle Paleolithic era (Mousterian) and belonged to a type of man who was not yet Cro-Magnon, but also differed from Pithecanthropus.
Other similar dwellings are also known. For example, at Cape Meganom near Sudak, in Kholodnaya Balka, Chokurcha in the Simferopol region, a cave near Mount Ak-Kaya near Belogorsk, sites in the Bakhchisarai region (Staroselye, Shaitan-Koba, Kobazi).
The Middle Paleolithic period of the history of Crimea is characterized by the development of the southern coast of the territory of the modern peninsula, its mountainous part and foothills.
Neanderthals were short and had relatively short legs. When walking, they slightly bent their knees and spread their lower limbs. The brow ridges of people from the ancient Stone Age hung over their eyes. The presence of a heavy lower jaw, which almost no longer protruded, suggests the beginning of the development of speech.
After the Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons appeared in the Late Paleolithic era 38 thousand years ago. They were more similar to us, had a high forehead without an overhanging ridge, and a protruding chin, which is why they are called people of the modern type. There are Cro-Magnon sites in the river valley. Belbek, on Karabi-yayla and above the river. Kacha. Ancient Crimea of the late Paleolithic era was a completely populated territory.
End of 9-6 thousand BC e. in history it is usually called the Mesolithic era. Then ancient Crimea acquires more modern features. Scientists know many sites that can be attributed to this time. In the mountainous part of the peninsula these are Laspi, Murzak-Koba VII, Fatma-Koba, etc.
Vishennoye I and Kukrek are the most famous historical monuments of the Mesolithic era in the Crimean steppe.
The Neolithic period occurs between 5500 and 3200 BC. BC e. New stone Age in ancient Crimea was marked by the beginning of the use of clay kitchen utensils. At the very end of the era, the first metal products appeared. To date, about fifty open-type Neolithic sites have been studied. During this period in the history of Crimea, there were much fewer dwellings located in grottoes. The most famous settlements are Dolinka in the steppe part of the peninsula and Tash-Air I in the mountains.
From the middle of 4 thousand BC. e. the ancient inhabitants of the peninsula began to use copper. This period is called the Chalcolithic. It was relatively short-lived, smoothly transitioned into the Bronze Age, but was marked by a number of mounds and sites (for example, Gurzuf, Laspi I in the south, Druzhnoe and the last layer of Fatma-Koba in the mountainous Crimea). The so-called “shell heaps”, which are located on the coastline from Sudak to the Black Sea, also belong to the Copper-Stone era. The area of farmers of that time was the Kerch Peninsula, the valley of the river. Salgir, northwestern Crimea.
Tools and the first weapons in ancient Crimea
The people who inhabited ancient Crimea first used stone axes. 100-35 thousand years ago they began to make flint and obsidian flakes, and made objects from stone and wood, for example, axes. The Cro-Magnons realized that they could sew using crushed bones. Neoanthropes (people of the Late Paleolithic era) hunted with spears and pointed points, invented scrapers, throwing rods, and harpoons. A spear thrower appeared.
The greatest achievement of the Mesolithic was the development of the bow and arrow. To date, a large number of microliths have been found, which were used in this era as spear tips, arrows, etc. In connection with the advent of individual hunting, traps for animals were invented.
In the Neolithic, tools made of bones and flint were improved. Rock art makes it clear that pastoralism and agriculture prevailed over hunting. Ancient Crimea of this period of history began to live a different life, hoes, plows, sickles with silicon inserts, tiles for grinding grain, and yokes appeared.
At the beginning of the Eneolithic, the ancient Crimeans were already thoroughly processing stone. At the dawn of the era, even copper tools repeated the shape of pre-existing stone products.
Life, religion and culture of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea
People of the Paleolithic era initially led a wandering lifestyle, they were like a primitive herd. The consanguineous community appeared in the Mousterian period. Each tribe had from 50 to 100 or more members. Active relationships within such social group gave rise to the development of speech. Hunting and gathering were the main activities of the first inhabitants of Crimea. In the Late Paleolithic, the driven method of hunting appeared, and neoanthropes began to fish.
Hunting magic gradually arose, and in the Middle Paleolithic the ritual of burying the dead arose.
From the cold climate we had to hide in caves. In Kiik-Kobe, scientists found ash that remained after a fire. There, right inside the primitive house, the burial of a woman and a one-year-old child was discovered. There was a spring nearby.
As the weather warmed, the usual cold-loving animals disappeared. Mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, steppe bison, musk ox, giant deer, lions, and hyenas were replaced by previously unknown small representatives of the fauna. The shortage of food forced us to think about new ways of obtaining food. As the mental abilities of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea developed, weapons that were revolutionary for that time appeared.
With the emergence of the Cro-Magnon man it changes family life inhabitants of ancient Crimea - the tribal matriarchal community becomes the basis of interpersonal relations. The descendants of the cave dwellers began to settle on the plains. New houses were built from bones and branches. They looked like huts and half-dugouts. Therefore, in case of bad weather, they often had to return to the caves, where cult worship was also held. The Cro-Magnons still lived in large clans of about 100 people each. Incest was prohibited; in order to get married, men went to another community. As before, the dead were buried in grottoes and caves, and things that were used during life were placed next to them. Red and yellow ocher were found in the graves. The dead were tied up. In the Late Paleolithic there was a cult of the female mother. Art immediately appeared. Rock art animals and the ritual use of their skeletons indicate the emergence of animism and totemism.
Mastering the bow and arrow made it possible to go on individual hunts. The inhabitants of ancient Crimea of the Mesolithic era began to engage in gathering more actively. At the same time, they began to domesticate dogs and built pens for young wild goats, horses and wild boars. Art manifested itself in rock paintings and miniature sculpture. They began to interred the dead, tying them up in a crouched position. The burials were oriented to the East.
In the Neolithic era, in addition to the main dwellings, there were temporary sites. They were built for the season, mainly in the steppe, and with the arrival of cold weather they hid in caves in the foothills. The villages consisted of wooden houses, still looking like huts. A characteristic feature of this period in the history of ancient Crimea is the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding.
This process was called the “Neolithic revolution”. Since then, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and cattle have become domesticated animals. Moreover, the ancestors modern man gradually learned to sculpt pottery. It was rough, but it made it possible to fulfill basic economic needs. Already at the end of the Neolithic, thin-walled pots with ornaments appeared. Barter trade was born.
During the excavations, a burial was found, a real cemetery, where the dead were buried year after year, first sprinkled with red ocher, decorated with beads made of bones, and deer teeth. The study of funeral gifts made it possible to conclude that the patriarchal system was emerging: there were fewer objects in women’s graves. However, the Neolithic Crimean people still worshiped the female deities of the Virgin Huntress and the Goddess of Fertility.
With the advent of the Eneolithic, life in ancient Crimea changed radically - houses with adobe floors and fireplaces appeared. Stone was already used for their construction. Over time, cities grew and fortifications were erected. Wall painting became more common, and three-color geometric designs were found on chests of the time in which ashes were buried. Mysterious vertical steles - menhirs - are a phenomenon of the Crimean Eneolithic, probably a cult place. In Europe this is how they worshiped the Sun.
Where are the archaeological finds representing ancient Crimea stored?
Many archaeological finds of ancient Crimea are preserved in Simferopol in the form of exhibits of the Crimean Republican Museum of Local Lore.
In the Bakhchisarai Historical and Architectural Museum you can see world-famous flint products, molded utensils and tools from the Eneolithic period.
To explore the variety of artifacts of ancient Crimea, it is worth visiting the Evpatoria Museum of Local Lore, the Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum, the museums of Yalta, Feodosia and others settlements peninsula.
The history of Crimea from the Paleolithic in the form of numerous tools, various dishes, clothing, weapons, monoliths and other ancient objects is a kind of journey into the world of our ancestors.
Be sure to visit the museums of Crimea!
INLIGHT
Just a year ago the Crimean peninsula was integral part state of Ukraine. But after March 16, 2014, he changed his “place of registration” and became part of Russian Federation. Therefore, the increased interest in how Crimea developed is quite understandable. The history of the peninsula is very turbulent and eventful.
The first inhabitants of the ancient land
The history of the peoples of Crimea goes back several thousand years. On the peninsula, researchers discovered the remains of ancient people who lived back in the Paleolithic era. Near the sites of Kiik-Koba and Staroselye, archaeologists found the bones of people who inhabited this area at that time.
In the first millennium BC, Cimmerians, Taurians and Scythians lived here. By the name of one nationality, this territory, or rather its mountainous and coastal parts, is still called Tavrika, Tavria or Taurida. Ancient people engaged in farming and cattle breeding on this not very fertile land, as well as hunting and fishing. The world was new, fresh and cloudless.
Greeks, Romans and Goths
But for some ancient states, sunny Crimea turned out to be very attractive in terms of location. The history of the peninsula also has Greek echoes. Around the 6th-5th centuries, the Greeks began to actively populate this territory. They founded entire colonies here, after which the first states appeared. The Greeks brought with them the benefits of civilization: they actively built temples and theaters, stadiums and baths. At this time, shipbuilding began to develop here. It is with the Greeks that historians associate the development of viticulture. The Greeks also planted olive trees here and collected oil. We can safely say that with the arrival of the Greeks, the history of the development of Crimea received a new impetus.
But a few centuries later, powerful Rome set its sights on this territory and captured part of the coast. This takeover lasted until the 6th century AD. But the greatest damage to the development of the peninsula was caused by the Gothic tribes, who invaded in the 3rd and 4th centuries and thanks to whom the Greek states collapsed. And although the Goths were soon supplanted by other nationalities, the development of Crimea slowed down very much at that time.
Khazaria and Tmutarakan
Crimea is also called ancient Khazaria, and in some Russian chronicles this territory is called Tmutarakan. And these are not at all figurative names of the area where Crimea was located. The history of the peninsula has left in speech those toponymic names that at one time or another called this section of the earth's land. Starting from the 5th century, the entire Crimea came under strict Byzantine influence. But already in the 7th century the entire territory of the peninsula (except Chersonesus) was powerful and strong. That is why in Western Europe in many manuscripts the name “Khazar” appears. But Rus' and Khazaria compete all the time, and in 960 the Russian history of Crimea begins. The Kaganate was defeated and all Khazar possessions were subjugated Old Russian state. Now this territory is called Tmutarakan.
By the way, it was here that the Kiev prince Vladimir, who occupied Kherson (Korsun), was officially baptized in 988.
Tatar-Mongol trace
Since the 13th century, the history of the annexation of Crimea again develops according to a military scenario: the Mongol-Tatars invade the peninsula.
Here the Crimean ulus is formed - one of the divisions of the Golden Horde. After Golden Horde disintegrates, in 1443 it appears on the territory of the peninsula. In 1475 it completely falls under the influence of Turkey. It is from here that numerous raids on Polish, Russian and Ukrainian lands are carried out. Moreover, already at the end of the 15th century, these invasions became widespread and threatened the integrity of both the Moscow state and Poland. The Turks mainly hunted for cheap labor: they captured people and sold them into slavery in the slave markets of Turkey. One of the reasons for the creation of the Zaporozhye Sich in 1554 was to counter these seizures.
Russian history
The history of the transfer of Crimea to Russia continues in 1774, when the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was concluded. After Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774 marked the end of almost 300 years of Ottoman rule. The Turks abandoned Crimea. It was at this time that Largest cities Sevastopol and Simferopol. Crimea is developing rapidly, money is being invested here, industry and trade are beginning to flourish.
But Türkiye did not abandon plans to regain this attractive territory and was preparing for a new war. We must pay tribute to the Russian army, which did not allow this to happen. After another war in 1791, the Treaty of Jassy was signed.
The volitional decision of Catherine II
So, in fact, the peninsula has now become part of a powerful empire, whose name is Russia. Crimea, whose history included many changes from hand to hand, needed powerful protection. The acquired southern lands had to be protected by ensuring border security. Empress Catherine II instructed Prince Potemkin to study all the advantages and weaknesses of the annexation of Crimea. In 1782, Potemkin wrote a letter to the Empress, in which he insisted on making an important decision. Catherine agrees with his arguments. She understands how important Crimea is both for solving internal government problems and from a foreign policy perspective.
On April 8, 1783, Catherine II issues a Manifesto on the annexation of Crimea. It was a fateful document. It was from this moment, from this date, that Russia, Crimea, the history of the empire and the peninsula were closely intertwined for many centuries. According to the Manifesto, all Crimean residents were promised the protection of this territory from enemies, the preservation of property and faith.
True, the Turks recognized the fact of Crimea’s annexation to Russia only eight months later. All this time, the situation around the peninsula was extremely tense. When the Manifesto was promulgated, first the clergy swore allegiance to the Russian Empire and only then the entire population. On the peninsula, ceremonial celebrations, feasts were held, games and horse races were held, and cannon salutes were fired into the air. As contemporaries noted, the whole of Crimea with joy and jubilation passed into Russian Empire.
Since then, Crimea, the history of the peninsula and the way of life of its population have been inextricably linked with all the events that took place in the Russian Empire.
A powerful impetus to development
The brief history of Crimea after its annexation to the Russian Empire can be described in one word - “heyday”. Industry and agriculture, winemaking and viticulture are beginning to develop rapidly here. Fishing and salt industries appear in the cities, and people are actively developing trade relations.
Since Crimea is located in a very warm and favorable climate, many rich people wanted to get land here. Nobles, members of the royal family, and industrialists considered it an honor to establish a family estate on the territory of the peninsula. In the 19th - early 20th centuries, a rapid flowering of architecture began here. Industrial magnates, royalty, and the Russian elite build entire palaces here and create beautiful parks that have survived on the territory of Crimea to this day. And following the nobility, people of art, actors, singers, painters, and theatergoers flocked to the peninsula. Crimea becomes the cultural Mecca of the Russian Empire.
Don’t forget about the healing climate of the peninsula. Since doctors proved that the air of Crimea is extremely favorable for the treatment of tuberculosis, a mass pilgrimage began here for those wishing to be cured of this deadly disease. Crimea is becoming attractive not only for bohemian holidays, but also for health tourism.
Together with the whole country
At the beginning of the 20th century, the peninsula developed along with the entire country. Didn't pass him by October Revolution, and the subsequent Civil War. It was from Crimea (Yalta, Sevastopol, Feodosia) that the last ships and ships on which the Russian intelligentsia left Russia left. It was in this place that a mass exodus of White Guards was observed. The country was creating a new system, and Crimea did not lag behind.
It was in the 20s of the last century that Crimea was transformed into an all-Union health resort. In 1919, the Bolsheviks adopted the “Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars on healing areas of national importance.” Crimea is included in it with a red line. A year later, another important document was signed - the decree “On the use of Crimea for the treatment of workers.”
Until the war, the territory of the peninsula was used as a resort for tuberculosis patients. In Yalta in 1922, a specialized Institute of Tuberculosis was even opened. Funding was at the proper level, and soon this research institute became the country's main center for pulmonary surgery.
Epochal Crimean Conference
During the Great Patriotic War The peninsula became the scene of massive military operations. Here they fought on land and at sea, in the air and in the mountains. Two cities - Kerch and Sevastopol - received the title of hero cities for their significant contribution to the victory over fascism.
True, not all the peoples inhabiting the multinational Crimea fought on the side Soviet army. Some representatives openly supported the invaders. That is why in 1944 Stalin issued a decree on the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people outside the Crimea. Hundreds of trains transported an entire people to Central Asia in one day.
Crimea entered world history due to the fact that the Yalta Conference was held in the Livadia Palace in February 1945. The leaders of the three superpowers - Stalin (USSR), Roosevelt (USA) and Churchill (Great Britain) - signed important international documents in Crimea, according to which the world order was determined for the long post-war decades.
Crimea - Ukrainian
In 1954 a new milestone comes. The Soviet leadership decides to transfer Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR. The history of the peninsula begins to develop according to a new scenario. The initiative came personally from the then head of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev.
This was done on a special occasion: that year the country celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada. To commemorate this historical date and demonstrate that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are united, Crimea was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. And now the pair “Ukraine - Crimea” has begun to be considered as both a whole and a part of the whole. The history of the peninsula is beginning to be described in modern chronicles from scratch.
Whether this decision was economically justified, whether it was worth taking such a step then - such questions did not even arise at that time. Since the Soviet Union was united, no one attached much importance to whether Crimea would be part of the RSFSR or the Ukrainian SSR.
Autonomy within Ukraine
When the independent Ukrainian state was formed, Crimea received autonomy status. In September 1991, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic was adopted. And on December 1, 1991, a referendum was held in which 54% of Crimean residents supported the independence of Ukraine. In May next year The Constitution of the Republic of Crimea was adopted, and in February 1994, Crimeans elected the first President of the Republic of Crimea. It was Yuri Meshkov.
It was during the years of perestroika that disputes began to arise more and more often that Khrushchev illegally gave Crimea to Ukraine. Pro-Russian sentiment on the peninsula was very strong. Therefore, as soon as the opportunity arose, Crimea returned to Russia again.
Fateful March 2014
While a large-scale state crisis began to grow in Ukraine at the end of 2013 - beginning of 2014, in Crimea voices were increasingly heard that the peninsula should be returned to Russia. On the night of February 26-27 unknown people above the building Supreme Council The Russian flag was raised in Crimea.
The Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopt a declaration of independence of Crimea. At the same time, the idea was voiced to hold an All-Crimean referendum. It was originally scheduled for March 31, but was then moved two weeks earlier to March 16. The results of the Crimean referendum were impressive: 96.6% of voters were in favor. The overall level of support for this decision on the peninsula was 81.3%.
The modern history of Crimea continues to take shape before our eyes. Not all countries have yet recognized the status of Crimea. But Crimeans live with faith in a bright future.
Date of publication: 08/03/2016
Thanks to its unique geographical location and the unique nature of the Crimean peninsula has become home to many peoples since ancient times. Farmers found here fertile lands that yield good harvests, traders found convenient trade routes, and nomadic pastoralists were attracted by mountain and lowland pastures. That is why National composition The Crimean population has always been multinational and remains the same today. The population of the peninsula, including Sevastopol, is about 2 million 400 thousand people, but during the holiday season more than 2 million vacationers still come to Crimea. In 1783, after the Crimean Peninsula entered the Russian Empire, most of the Tatars and Turks left the peninsula and began to move to Turkey, but Slavs, mainly Russians and Ukrainians, were increasingly settling in Crimea.
Peoples who live in Crimea today
Today, representatives of 125 nations live in Crimea. According to the latest data, the most numerous people that exist in Crimea are Russians (58% of the population), Ukrainians (24%). But the Crimean Tatars themselves are 232.3 thousand people, 10.6% of the population, they belong to the indigenous population of the Crimean peninsula. They speak the Crimean Tatar language, are Sunni Muslims by religion and belong to the Hanafi madhhab. On this moment only 2% called themselves native Tatars. Other nationalities make up up to 4%. Of these, the largest number are Belarusians - 21.7 thousand (1%), and about 15 thousand Armenians. The following national groups also live in Crimea: Germans and immigrants from Switzerland, who began to settle in Crimea under Catherine II; Greeks began to appear here even when the colony was founded on the Kerch Peninsula in Southwestern Crimea; as well as Poles, Gypsies, Georgians, Jews, Koreans, Uzbeks; their number ranges from 1 to 5 thousand people.
There are 535 Karaites and 228 Krymchaks. Also in Crimea live people of the following nationalities: Bashkirs, Ossetians, Mari, Udmurts, Arabs, Kazakhs and only 48 Italians. It is difficult to imagine the peninsula without the gypsies, who from ancient times called themselves “urmachel”, lived for many centuries among the indigenous population and converted to Islam. They became so close to the native Tatars that when the Crimean Tatar population was deported in 1944, the Roma were also deported. Due to its multinational population in Crimea, everyone has their own native language.
What languages do the peoples speak and live in Crimea?
Based on the fact that the national composition in Crimea is quite diverse, the question arises: what language does the population of the peninsula speak? WITH latest events, what is happening on the peninsula, and the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation, according to the adopted Constitution, three state languages: Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar.
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According to the latest population survey, 81% of the population called Russian their native language, 9.32% indicated the Crimean Tatar language, and only 3.52% Ukrainian, the rest named Belarusian, Moldavian, Turkish, Azerbaijani and others. There is no less diversity of religions on the Crimean peninsula: Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians and Greeks profess Orthodoxy, and the Crimean Tatars themselves are Sunni Islam, and along with them are Uzbeks and Tatars; There are also Catholics, Jews, and Protestants. Despite the fact that the population on the peninsula is multinational, all peoples live quite peacefully and amicably. There is enough space for everyone on this small peninsula; both tourists and new residents are always welcome here.
You and I are accustomed to approaching the concept “ Crimea“as the name of a place where you can have a great summer vacation, have a good rest on the seashore, making a couple of trips to attractions located nearby. But if you approach the issue globally, look at the peninsula from the distance of centuries and knowledge, then it becomes clear that Crimea is a unique historical and cultural territory, striking in its antiquity and diversity of natural and “man-made” values. Numerous Crimean cultural monuments reflect religion, culture and historical events of different eras and peoples. Story The peninsula is a plexus of West and East, the history of the ancient Greeks and the Golden Horde Mongols, the history of the birth of Christianity, the appearance of the first churches and mosques. They lived here for centuries, fought with each other, concluded peace and trade treaties different peoples, towns and cities were built and destroyed, civilizations appeared and disappeared. Inhaling the Crimean air, in addition to the notorious phytoncides, you can feel in it the taste of legends about life Amazons, Olympian gods, Tauri, Cimmerians, Greeks…
The natural conditions of Crimea and the geographical location, favorable for life, contributed to the fact that the peninsula became cradle of humanity. Primitive Neanderthals appeared here 150 thousand years ago, attracted by the warm climate and the abundance of animals, which were their main food supply. In almost every Crimean museum you can find archaeological finds from grottos and caves, which served as natural shelters for primitive man. The most famous sites of primitive man:
- Kiik-Koba ( Belogorsky district);
- Staroselye (Bakhchisarai);
- Chokurcho (Simferopol);
- Wolf Grotto (Simferopol);
- Ak-Kaya (Belogorsk).
Cimmerians
If before the first millennium BC historical data only lift the veil from different periods of human development, then information about a later time allows us to talk about specific cultures and tribes of the Crimea. In the 5th century BC, Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, visited the Crimean shores. In his writings, he described the local lands and the peoples living on them. It is believed that among the first peoples who lived in the steppe part of the peninsula in the 15th-7th centuries BC were Cimmerians. Their warlike tribes were driven out of Crimea in the 4th - 3rd centuries BC by no less aggressive Scythians and were lost in the vast expanses of the Asian steppes. Only ancient names remind us of them:
- Cimmerian walls;
- Cimmerick.
Taurus
The mountainous and foothill Crimea in those days was inhabited by tribes brands, distant descendants of the Kizil-Koba archaeological culture. In the descriptions of ancient authors, the Tauri look bloodthirsty and cruel. Being skilled sailors, they traded in piracy, robbing ships passing along the coast. The prisoners were thrown into the sea from a high cliff from the temple, sacrificing to the Virgin goddess. Refuting this information, modern scientists have established that the Tauri were engaged in hunting, collecting shellfish, fishing, farming and raising livestock. They lived in huts or caves, but to protect themselves from external enemies they built fortified shelters. Taurus fortifications were discovered on the mountains: Cat, Uch-Bash, Kastel, Ayu-Dag, on Cape Ai-Todor.
Another trace of the Tauri are numerous burials in dolmens - stone boxes consisting of four flat slabs placed on edge and covered with a fifth. One of the unsolved mysteries about the Tauri is the location of the cliff with the Temple of the Virgin.
Scythians
In the 7th century BC, Scythian tribes came to the steppe part of Crimea. In the 4th century BC, the Sarmatians push back Scythians to the lower Dnieper and Crimea. At the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries BC, a Scythian state was formed on this territory, the capital of which was Naples Scythian(in its place is modern Simferopol).
Greeks
In the 7th century BC, strings of Greek colonists reached the Crimean shores. Choosing places convenient for living and sailing, Greeks city-states were founded on them - “policies”:
- Feodosia;
- Panticapaeum-Bosporus (Kerch);
- (Sevastopol);
- Mirmekiy;
- Nymphaeum;
- Tiritaka.
The emergence and expansion of Greek colonies served as a serious impetus for the development of the Northern Black Sea region: political, cultural and trade ties between the local population and the Greeks intensified. The indigenous inhabitants of Crimea learned to cultivate the land in more advanced ways and began to grow olives and grapes. The influence of Greek culture on spiritual world Scythians, Taurians, Sarmatians and other tribes who came into contact with it. However, the relationship between neighboring peoples was not easy: periods of peace were followed by years of war. Therefore, all Greek city policies were protected by strong stone walls.
IV century BC became the time of the founding of several settlements in the west of the peninsula. The largest of them are Kalos-Limen (Black Sea) and Kerkinitida (Evpatoria). At the end of the 5th century BC, immigrants from Greek Heraclea founded the polis of Chersonesus (modern Sevastopol). A hundred years later, Chersonesus became a city-state independent of the Greek metropolis and the largest polis in the Northern Black Sea region. In its heyday, it was a powerful port city, surrounded by fortified walls, a cultural, craft and trade center in the southwestern part of Crimea.
Around 480 BC, independent Greek cities united to form Bosporan Kingdom, the capital of which was the city of Panticapaeum. A little later, Theodosia joined the kingdom.
In the 4th century BC, the Scythian king Atey united the Scythian tribes into a strong state that owned the territory from the Dniester and the Southern Bug to the Don. From the end of the 4th century BC and especially in the 3rd century BC Scythians and the Tauri, who were under their influence, exerted strong military pressure on the policies. In the 3rd century BC, Scythian villages, fortifications and cities appeared on the peninsula, including the capital of the kingdom - Scythian Naples. At the end of the 2nd century BC, Chersonesus, besieged by the Scythians, turned to the Kingdom of Pontus (located on the southern shore of the Black Sea) for help. The troops of Pontus lifted the siege, but at the same time captured Theodosia and Panticapaeum, after which both Bosporus and Chersonesos became part of the Pontic kingdom.
Romans, Huns, Byzantium
From the middle of the 1st century to the beginning of the 4th century AD, the entire Black Sea region (including Crimea-Taurica) was part of the sphere of interests of the Roman Empire. The stronghold of the Romans in Taurica became Chersonesos. In the 1st century, on Cape Ai-Todor, Roman legionaries built the fortress of Charax and connected it by roads with Chersonesos, where the garrison was located. The Roman squadron was stationed in the Chersonesos harbor.
In 370, hordes of Huns came to the Crimean lands. They wiped out the Bosporan kingdom and the Scythian state from the face of the earth, destroyed Chersonesus, Panticapaeum and Scythian Naples. After the Crimea, the Huns went to Europe, bringing the death of the great Roman Empire. In the 4th century, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern (Byzantine). The southern part of Taurica entered the sphere of interests of the Eastern Empire. The main base of the Byzantines in Crimea became Chersonesus, which began to be called Cherson. This period became the time of penetration of Christianity into the peninsula. According to church tradition, its first messenger was Andrew the First-Called. The third bishop of Rome, Clement, exiled in 94 to Kherson, also actively preached Christian faith. In the 8th century, an iconoclasm movement appeared in Byzantium: all images of saints were destroyed - on icons, in temple paintings. The monks fled from persecution on the outskirts of the empire, including in the Crimea. In the mountains of the peninsula they founded cave monasteries and temples: 
- Kachi-Kalyon;
- Chelter;
- Uspensky;
- Shuldan.
At the end of the 6th century, a flood of new wave invaders - the Khazars, the ancestors of the Karaites. They occupied the entire Crimea, except Kherson. In 705, Kherson recognized the Khazar protectorate and separated from Byzantium. In response, Byzantium sent a punitive fleet in 710 with a small army on board. Kherson fell, and the Byzantines treated its inhabitants with unprecedented cruelty. But as soon as the imperial troops left the city, it rebelled: uniting with the Khazars and part of the army that changed the empire, Cherson captured Constantinople and installed its own emperor at the head of Byzantium.
Slavs, Mongols, Genoese, Principality of Theodoro
In the 9th century, a new force actively intervened in the course of Crimean history - Slavs. Their appearance on the peninsula coincided with the decline of the Khazar state, which was finally defeated in the 10th century by Prince Svyatoslav. In 988–989, Kherson was captured by the Kiev prince Vladimir. Here he accepted the Christian faith.
In the 13th century, the Tatar-Mongols of the Golden Horde invaded the peninsula several times, thoroughly plundering the cities. From the middle of the 13th century they began to settle in the territory of Taurica. At this time, they captured Solkhat and turned it into the center of the Crimean yurt of the Golden Horde. It received the name Kyrym, which was later inherited by the peninsula.
During these same years, an Orthodox church appeared in the mountains of Crimea. Principality of Theodoro with its capital in Mangup. The Genoese had disputes with the Principality of Theodoro regarding the ownership of the disputed territories.
Turks
At the beginning of 1475, Kafa had a fleet Ottoman Empire. The well-fortified Kafa withstood the siege for only three days, after which it surrendered to the mercy of the winner. By the end of the year Turks captured all coastal fortresses: the rule of the Genoese in Crimea ended. Mangup held out the longest and surrendered to the Turks only after a six-month siege. The invaders treated the captured Theodorians cruelly: they destroyed the city, killed most of the inhabitants, and took the survivors into slavery.
Crimean Khan became a vassal Ottoman Empire and the conductor of Turkey’s aggressive policy towards Rus'. Raids on the southern lands Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Rus' became permanent. Rus' sought to protect its southern borders and gain access to the Black Sea. Therefore, she fought with Turkey many times. The war of 1768–1774 was unsuccessful for the Turks. In 1774 between Ottoman Empire and Russia was concluded Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty about peace, which brought independence to the Crimean Khanate. Russia received the fortresses of Kin-burn, Azov and the city of Kerch in Crimea, along with the Yeni-Kale fortress. In addition, Russian merchant ships now have free access to navigation in the Black Sea.
Russia
In 1783 Crimea was finally annexed to Russia. Most Muslims left the peninsula and moved to Turkey. The region fell into disrepair. Prince G. Potemkin, governor of Taurida, began to resettle retired soldiers and serfs from neighboring areas here. This is how the first villages with Russian names appeared on the peninsula - Izyumovka, Mazanka, Chistenkoe... This move of the prince turned out to be correct: the economy of Crimea began to develop, agriculture was revived. The city of Sevastopol, the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was founded in an excellent natural harbor. Near Ak-Mosque, a small town, Simferopol was built - the future “capital” of the Tauride province.
In 1787, Empress Catherine II visited Crimea with a large retinue of high-ranking officials from foreign countries. She stayed in travel palaces specially built for this occasion.
Eastern War
In 1854 - 1855, Crimea became the scene of another war, called the Eastern. In the fall of 1854, Sevastopol was besieged by a united army France, England and Turkey. Under the leadership of Vice Admirals P.S. Nakhimov and V.A. Kornilov's defense of the city lasted 349 days. In the end, the city was destroyed to the ground, but at the same time glorified throughout the world. Russia lost this war: in 1856, an agreement was signed in Paris that prohibited both Turkey and Russia from having military fleets on the Black Sea.
Health resort of Russia
In the middle of the 19th century, the doctor Botkin recommended that the royal family purchase the Livadia estate as a place with an exceptionally healthy climate. This was the beginning of a new, resort era in Crimea. All along the coast, villas, estates, and palaces were built that belonged to the royal family, wealthy landowners and industrialists, and the court nobility. Over the course of several years, the village of Yalta turned into a popular aristocratic resort. The railways, which connected the largest cities of the region, further accelerated its transformation into a resort and dacha health resort of the empire.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the peninsula belonged to the Tauride province and was economically an agricultural region with several industrial cities. These were mainly Simferopol and port Kerch, Sevastopol and Feodosia.
Soviet power established itself in Crimea only in the fall of 1920, after they were expelled from the peninsula german army and Denikin's troops. A year later, the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Republic was formed. Palaces, dachas and villas were given over to public sanatoriums, where collective farmers and workers from all over the young state were treated and rested.
The Great Patriotic War
During the Second World War, the peninsula courageously fought the enemy. Sevastopol repeated its feat, surrendering after a 250-day siege. The pages of the heroic chronicle of those years are replete with such names as “Terra del Fuego Eltigen”, “Kerch-Feodosia Operation”, “Feat of Partisans and Underground Workers”... For their courage and perseverance, Kerch and Sevastopol were awarded the title of hero cities.
February 1945 gathered the heads of the allied countries in Crimea - USA, UK and USSR- at the Crimean (Yalta) conference in the Livadia Palace. During this conference, decisions were made to end the war and establish a post-war world order.
Post-war years
Crimea was liberated from the occupiers at the beginning of 1944, and the restoration of the peninsula began immediately - industrial enterprises, holiday homes, sanatoriums, agricultural facilities, villages and cities. The black page in the history of the peninsula at that time was the expulsion of Greeks, Tatars and Armenians from its territory. In February 1954, by decree of N.S. Khrushchev, the Crimean region was transferred to Ukraine. Today many believe that it was a royal gift...
During the 60-80s of the last century, the growth of Crimean agriculture, industry and tourism reached its climax. Crimea received the semi-official title of an all-Union health resort: 9 million people annually vacationed in its resort and health facilities.
In 1991, during the coup in Moscow, the arrest of the USSR General Secretary M.S. Gorbachev at the state dacha in Foros. After the collapse Soviet Union Crimea has become Autonomous Republic, which became part of Ukraine. In the spring of 2014, after an all-Crimean referendum, the Crimean peninsula seceded from Ukraine and became one of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Started recent history Crimea.
We know Crimea as a republic of relaxation, sun, sea and fun. Come to the Crimean land - let's write the history of this resort republic of ours together!
