Who lives in Crimea. What peoples lived in Crimea before the appearance of the Tatars. History of Crimea since ancient times

Ancient peoples of Crimea

During the Jurassic period of the Earth, when there was no man yet, the northern edge of the land was located on the site of the mountainous Crimea. Where the Crimean and southern Ukrainian steppes now lie, a huge sea overflowed. The appearance of the Earth gradually changed. The bottom of the sea rose, and where they were depths of the sea, islands appeared, continents moved forward. In other places on the island, the continents sank, and their place was taken by the vast expanse of the sea. Enormous cracks split continental blocks, reached the molten depths of the Earth, and gigantic streams of lava poured out to the surface. Piles of ash many meters thick were deposited in the coastal strip of the sea... The history of Crimea has similar stages.

Crimea in section

In the place where the coastline now stretches from Feodosia to Balaklava, at one time a huge crack passed through. Everything that was located to the south of it sank to the bottom of the sea, everything that was located to the north rose. Where there were sea depths, a low coast appeared, where there was a coastal strip, mountains grew. And from the crack itself, huge columns of fire burst out into streams of molten rocks.

The history of the formation of the Crimean relief continued when the volcanic eruptions ended, the earthquakes subsided and plants appeared on the land that emerged from the depths. If you look closely, for example, at the rocks of the Kara-Dag, you will notice that this mountain range is riddled with cracks, some of which contain rare minerals.

Over the years, the Black Sea has beaten the coastal rocks and thrown their fragments onto the shore, and today on the beaches we walk on smooth pebbles, we encounter green and pink jasper, translucent chalcedony, brown pebbles with layers of calcite, snow-white quartz and quartzite fragments. Sometimes you can also find pebbles that were previously molten lava, they Brown, as if filled with bubbles - voids or inclusions of milky-white quartz.

So today, each of us can independently plunge into this distant historical past of Crimea and even touch its stone and mineral witnesses.

Prehistoric period

Paleolithic

The oldest traces of hominid habitation on the territory of Crimea date back to the Middle Paleolithic - this is the Neanderthal site in the Kiik-Koba cave.

Mesolithic

According to the Ryan-Pitman hypothesis, up to 6 thousand BC. the territory of Crimea was not a peninsula, but was a fragment of a larger land mass, which included, in particular, the territory of the modern Sea of ​​​​Azov. Around 5500 thousand BC, as a result of the breakthrough of waters from the Mediterranean Sea and the formation of the Bosporus Strait, significant territories were flooded in a fairly short period, and the Crimean Peninsula was formed.

Neolithic and Chalcolithic

In 4-3 thousand BC. Through the territories north of Crimea, migrations to the west of tribes, presumably speakers of Indo-European languages, took place. In 3 thousand BC. The Kemi-Oba culture existed on the territory of Crimea.

Nomadic peoples of the Northern Black Sea region of the 1st millennium BC.

At the end of the 2nd millennium BC. A tribe of Cimmerians emerged from the Indo-European community. This is the first people living on the territory of Ukraine, which is mentioned in written sources - Homer’s Odyssey. The Greek historian of the 5th century told the greatest and most reliable story about the Cimmerians. BC. Herodotus.

monument to Herodotus in Halicarnassus

We also find mention of them in Assyrian sources. The Assyrian name "Kimmirai" means "giants". According to another version from ancient Iranian - “a mobile cavalry detachment”.

Cimmerian

There are three versions of the origin of the Cimmerians. The first is the ancient Iranian people who came to the land of Ukraine through the Caucasus. Second, the Cimmerians appeared as a result of a gradual historical development Proto-Iranian steppe culture, and their ancestral home was the Lower Volga region. Third, the Cimmerians were the local population.

Archaeologists find material monuments of the Cimmerians in the Northern Black Sea region, in the Northern Caucasus, in the Volga region, on the lower reaches of the Dniester and Danube. The Cimmerians were Iranian-speaking.

The early Cimmerians led a sedentary lifestyle. Later, due to the onset of an arid climate, they became a nomadic people and mainly bred horses, which they learned to ride.

The Cimmerian tribes united into large tribal unions, which were headed by a king-leader.

They had a large army. It consisted of mobile troops of horsemen armed with steel and iron swords and daggers, bows and arrows, war hammers and maces. The Cimmerians fought with the kings of Lydia, Urartu and Assyria.

Cimmerian warriors

The Cimmerian settlements were temporary, mainly camps and wintering quarters. But they had their own forges and blacksmiths who made iron and steel swords and daggers, the best at that time Ancient World. They themselves did not mine metal; they used iron mined by forest-steppe dwellers or Caucasian tribes. Their craftsmen made horse bits, arrowheads, and jewelry. They had a high level of development of ceramic production. Particularly beautiful were the goblets with a polished surface, decorated with geometric patterns.

The Cimmerians knew how to perfectly process bones. Their jewelry made from semi-precious stones was very beautiful. Stone gravestones with images of people made by the Cimmerians have survived to this day.

The Cimmerians lived in patriarchal clans, which consisted of families. Gradually, they have a military nobility. This was greatly facilitated by predatory wars. Their main goal was to rob neighboring tribes and peoples.

The religious beliefs of the Cimmerians are known from burial materials. Noble people were buried in large mounds. There were male and female burials. Daggers, bridles, a set of arrowheads, stone blocks, sacrificial food, and a horse were placed in men's graves. Gold and bronze rings, glass and gold necklaces, and pottery were placed in women's burials.

Archaeological finds show that the Cimmerians had connections with the tribes of the Azov region, Western Siberia and the Caucasus. Among the works of art were found women's jewelry, decorated weapons, stone steles without an image of a head, but with a carefully reflected dagger and a quiver of arrows.

Along with the Cimmerians, the central part of the Ukrainian forest-steppe was occupied by the descendants of the Belogrudov culture of the Bronze Age, bearers of the Chernoles culture, who are considered ancestors Eastern Slavs. The main source of studying the life of the Chornolisci people are settlements. Both ordinary settlements with 6-10 dwellings and fortified settlements were found. A line of 12 fortifications built on the border with the steppe protected the Chornolistsiv from attacks by the nomids. They were located on areas closed by nature. The fort was surrounded by a rampart on which a wall of wooden frames and a moat were built. The Chernolesk settlement, the southern outpost of defense, was protected by three lines of ramparts and ditches. During attacks, residents of neighboring settlements found protection behind their walls.

The basis of the economy of the Chornolists was arable farming and homestead cattle breeding.

The metalworking craft has reached an extraordinary level of development. Iron was used primarily for the production of weapons. The largest sword in Europe at that time with a steel blade with a total length of 108 cm was found at the Subbotovsky settlement.

The need to constantly combat the attacks of the Cimmerians forced the Chornolists to create a foot army and cavalry. Many pieces of horse harness and even the skeleton of a horse, laid next to the deceased, were found in the burials. Archaeological finds have shown the existence of a Cimmerian day in the Forest-Steppe of a fairly powerful association of Proto-Slavic farmers, which for a long time resisted the threat from the Steppe.

The life and development of the Cimmerian tribes were interrupted at the beginning of the 7th century. BC. the invasion of the Scythian tribes, with which the next stage is associated ancient history Ukraine.

2. Taurus

Almost simultaneously with the Cimmerians, an indigenous population lived in the southern part of Crimea - the Tauri (from the Greek word "Tavros" - tour). The name of the Crimean peninsula - Tauris - comes from the Tauris, introduced by the tsarist government after the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 1783. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus in his book “History” said that the Tauris were engaged in cattle breeding on the mountain plateaus, farming in the river valleys, and fishing on the Black Sea coast. . They were also engaged in crafts - they were skilled potters, they knew how to spin, process stone, wood, bones, horns, and also metals.

From the second half of the 1st millennium BC. In the Taurians, like other tribes, property inequality appeared, and a tribal aristocracy was formed. The Tauri built fortifications around their settlements. Together with their neighbors, the Scythians, they fought against the Greek city-state of Chersonesos, which was seizing their lands.

modern ruins of Chersonesos

The further fate of the Tauri was tragic: first - in the 2nd century. BC. - Conquered them Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator, and in the second half of the 1st century. BC. captured by Roman troops.

In the Middle Ages, the Tauri were exterminated or assimilated by the Tatars, who conquered Crimea. The original culture of the Tauris was lost.

Great Scythia. Ancient city-states in the Northern Black Sea region

3.Scythians

From the 7th century to the 3rd century BC. The Scythian tribes, who came from the depths of Asia and invaded the Northern Black Sea region, brought terror to the tribes and states of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The Scythians conquered a huge territory at that time between the Don, Danube and Dnieper, part of Crimea (the territory of modern Southern and South-Eastern Ukraine), forming the state of Scythia there. Herodotus left a more detailed characterization and description of the life and way of life of the Scythians.

In the 5th century BC. he personally visited Scythia and described it. The Scythians were descendants of Indo-European tribes. They had their own mythology, rituals, worshiped gods and mountains, and made blood sacrifices to them.

Herodotus identified the following groups among the Scythians: the royal Scythians, who lived in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and Don and were considered the top of the tribal union; Scythian plowmen who lived between the Dnieper and Dniester (historians believe that these were the descendants of the Chernoles culture defeated by the Scythians); Scythian farmers who lived in the forest-steppe zone, and Scythian nomads who settled in the steppes of the Black Sea region. Among the tribes named by Herodotus as Scythians proper were the tribes of the royal Scythians and the Scythian nomads. They dominated over all other tribes.

Outfit of a Scythian king and military commander

At the end of the 6th century. BC. In the Black Sea steppes, a powerful state association was formed led by the Scythians - Greater Scythia, which included the local population of the steppe and forest-steppe regions (Skolot). Great Scythia, according to Herodotus, was divided into three kingdoms; one of them was headed by the main king, and the other two were junior kings (probably the sons of the main one).

The Scythian state was the first political union in south-Eastern Europe in the early Iron Age (the center of Scythia in the 5th-3rd centuries BC was the Kamenskoye settlement near Nikopol). Scythia was divided into districts (nomes), which were ruled by leaders appointed by the Scythian kings.

Scythia reached its highest rise in the 4th century. BC. It is associated with the name of King Atey. The power of Atey extended over vast territories from the Danube to the Don. This king minted his own coin. The power of Scythia did not waver even after the defeat from the Macedonian king Philip II (father of Alexander the Great).

Philip II on campaign

The Scythian state remained powerful even after the death of 90-year-old Atey in 339 BC. However, at the border of the IV-III centuries. BC. Scythia is falling into decay. At the end of the 3rd century. BC. Great Scythia ceases to exist under the onslaught of the Sarmatians. Part of the Scythian population moved south and created two Lesser Scythia. One, which was called the Scythian kingdom (III century BC - III century AD) with its capital in Scythian Naples in Crimea, the other - in the lower reaches of the Dnieper.

Scythian society consisted of three main layers: warriors, priests, ordinary community members (farmers and cattle breeders. Each of the layers traced its origins to one of the sons of the first ancestor and had its own sacred attribute. For warriors it was an ax, for priests - a bowl, for community members - plow whitefish Herodotus says that the Scythians held seven gods in special esteem: they were considered the ancestors of people and the creators of everything on Earth.

Written sources and archaeological materials indicate that the basis of Scythian production was cattle breeding, since it provided almost everything necessary for life - horses, meat, milk, wool and felt for clothing. The agricultural population of Scythia grew wheat, millet, hemp, etc., and they sowed grain not only for themselves, but also for sale. Farmers lived in settlements (fortifications), which were located on the banks of rivers and fortified with ditches and ramparts.

The decline and then the collapse of Scythia were caused by a number of factors: deterioration climatic conditions, drying out of the steppes, decline economic resources forest-steppe, etc. In addition, in the III-I centuries. BC. A significant part of Scythia was conquered by the Sarmatians.

Modern researchers believe that the first sprouts of statehood on the territory of Ukraine appeared precisely in Scythian times. The Scythians created a unique culture. Art was dominated by the so-called. "Animal" style.

The monuments of the Scythian era, mounds, are widely known: Solokha and Gaimanova Graves in Zaporozhye, Tolstaya Mogila and Chertomlyk in the Dnepropetrovsk region, Kul-Oba, etc. Royal jewelry (golden pectoral), weapons, etc. were found.

WITH Kifian gold pectoral and scabbard from Tolstoy Mogila

Silver amphora. Kurgan Chertomlyk

Chairman of Dionysus.

Kurgan Chertomlyk

Golden comb. Solokha Kurgan

Interesting to know

Herodotus described the burial rite of the Scythian king: Before burying their king in the sacred territory - Guerra (Dnieper region, at the level of the Dnieper rapids), the Scythians took his embalmed body to all the Scythian tribes, where they performed a rite of memory over him. In Guerra, the body was buried in a spacious tomb along with his wife, closest servants, horses, etc. The king had gold items and precious jewelry. Huge mounds were built over the tombs - the more noble the king, the higher the mound. This indicates the stratification of property among the Scythians.

4. War of the Scythians with the Persian king Darius I

The Scythians were a warlike people. They actively intervened in conflicts between the states of Western Asia (the struggle of the Scythians with the Persian king Darius, etc.).

Around 514-512 BC. The Persian king Darius I decided to conquer the Scythians. Having gathered a huge army, he crossed the floating bridge across the Danube and moved deep into Great Scythia. The army of Daria I, as Herodotus claimed, numbered 700 thousand soldiers, however, this figure is believed to be several times exaggerated. The Scythian army probably numbered about 150 thousand fighters. According to the plan of the Scythian military leaders, their army avoided open battle with the Persians and, gradually leaving, lured the enemy into the interior of the country, destroying wells and pastures along the way. Currently, the Scythians planned to gather forces and defeat the weakened Persians. This “Scythian tactic,” as it was later called, turned out to be successful.

in Darius's camp

Darius built a camp on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov. Overcoming vast distances, the Persian army tried in vain to find the enemy. When the Scythians decided that the Persian forces had been undermined, they began to act decisively. On the eve of the decisive battle, the Scythians sent the king of the Persians strange gifts: a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. His adviser interpreted the content of the “Scythian Gift” to Darius as follows: “If, Persians, you do not become birds and fly high into the sky, or mice and hide in the ground, or frogs and jump into the swamps, then you will not return to yourself, you will be lost by these arrows." It is not known what Darius I was thinking, despite these gifts and the Scythians who formed troops into battle. However, at night, leaving the wounded in the camp who could support the fires, he fled with the remnants of his army.

Skopasis

King of the Sauromatians, who lived in the 6th century BC. e., the father of history Herodotus mentions in his books. Having united the Scythian armies, Skopasis defeated the Persian troops under the command of Darius I, who came to the northern shores of Maeotis. Herodotus writes that it was Skopasis who regularly forced Darius to retreat to Tanais and prevented him from invading Great Scythia.

This is how the attempt of one of the most powerful owners of the then world to conquer Great Scythia ended shamefully. Thanks to the victory over the Persian army, which was then considered the strongest, the Scythians won the glory of invincible warriors.

5. Sarmatians

During the 3rd century. BC. - III century AD the Northern Black Sea region was dominated by the Sarmatians, who came from the Volga-Ural steppes.

Ukrainian lands in the III-I centuries. BC.

We do not know what these tribes called themselves. The Greeks and Romans called them Sarmatians, which translates from ancient Iranian as “girt with a sword.” Herodotus claimed that the ancestors of the Sarmatians lived east of the Scythians beyond the Tanais (Don) river. He also told a legend that the Sarmatians trace their ancestry to the Amazons, who were taken by the Scythian youths. However, they were unable to master the language of men well and therefore the Sarmatians speak a corrupted Scythian language. Part of the truth in the statements of the “father of history” is: the Sarmatians, like the Scythians, belonged to the Iranian-speaking group of peoples, and their women had a very high status.

The settlement of the Black Sea steppes by the Sarmatians was not peaceful. They exterminated the remnants of the Scythian population and turned most of their country into desert. Subsequently, on the territory of Sarmatia, as the Romans called these lands, several Sarmatian tribal associations appeared - Aorsi, Siracians, Roxolani, Iazyges, Alans.

Having settled in the Ukrainian steppes, the Sarmatians began to attack the neighboring Roman provinces, ancient city-states and settlements of farmers - Slav, Lviv, Zarubintsy culture, forest-steppe. Evidence of attacks on the Proto-Slavs were numerous finds of Sarmatian arrowheads during excavations of the ramparts of Zarubinets settlements.

Sarmatian horseman

The Sarmatians were nomadic pastoralists. They received the necessary agricultural products and handicrafts from their sedentary neighbors through exchange, tribute, and ordinary robbery. The basis of such relations was the military advantage of the nomads.

Wars for pastures and booty were of great importance in the life of the Sarmatians.

Dress of Sarmatian warriors

Archaeologists have not found any Sarmatian settlements. The only monuments they left are mounds. Among the excavated mounds there are many female burials. They found magnificent examples of jewelry made in the “Animal” style. An indispensable accessory for male burials is weapons and equipment for horses.

Fibula. Nagaichinsky mound. Crimea

At the beginning of our era, the rule of the Sarmatians in the Black Sea region reached its highest point. The Sarmatization of the Greek city-states took place, and for a long time the Sarmatian dynasty ruled the Bosporan kingdom.

In them, like the Scythians, there was private ownership of livestock, which was the main wealth and the main means of production. A significant role in the Sarmatian economy was played by the labor of slaves, into whom they turned prisoners captured during continuous wars. However, the tribal system of the Sarmatians held on quite steadfastly.

The nomadic lifestyle of the Sarmatians and trade relations with many peoples (China, India, Iran, Egypt) contributed to the spread of various cultural influences among them. Their culture combined elements of the culture of the East, the ancient South and the West.

From the middle of the 3rd century. AD The Sarmatians lose their leading position in the Black Sea steppes. At this time, immigrants from Northern Europe - the Goths - appeared here. Together with local tribes, among whom were Alans (one of the Sarmatian communities), the Goths carried out devastating attacks on the cities of the Northern Black Sea region.

Genoese in Crimea

At the beginning of the 13th century, after the fourth crusade(1202-1204) the crusading knights captured Constantinople, those who received the opportunity to freely penetrate into the Black Sea Active participation the Venetians were involved in organizing the campaign.

storming of Constantinople

Already in the middle of the 13th century. they regularly visited Soldaya (modern Sudak) and settled in this city. It is known that the uncle of the famous traveler Marco Polo, Maffeo Polo, owned a house in Soldai.

Sudak fortress

In 1261, Emperor Michael Palaiologos liberated Constantinople from the crusaders. The Republic of Genoa contributed to this. The Genoese receive a monopoly on navigation in the Black Sea. In the middle of the 13th century. The Genoese defeated the Venetians in the six-year war. This was the beginning of the two-hundred-year stay of the Genoese in Crimea.

In the 60s of the 13th century, Genoa settled in Caffa (modern Feodosia), which became the largest port and trading center in the Black Sea region.

Feodosia

Gradually the Genoese expanded their possessions. In 1357, Chembalo (Balaklava) was captured, in 1365 - Sugdeya (Sudak). In the second half of the 14th century. the southern coast of Crimea was captured, the so-called. "Captainship of Gothia", which was previously part of the principality of Theodoro - Lupiko (Alupka), Muzahori (Miskhor), Yalita (Yalta), Nikita, Gorzovium (Gurzuf), Partenita, Lusta (Alushta). In total, there were about 40 Italian trading posts in the Crimea, Azov region and the Caucasus. The main activity of the Genoese in Crimea is trade, including the slave trade. Cafe in the XIV - XV centuries. was the largest slave market on the Black Sea. More than a thousand slaves were sold annually at the Kafa market, and the permanent slave population of Kafa reached five hundred people.

At the same time, by the middle of the 13th century, a huge Mongol empire was emerging, formed as a result of the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan and his descendants. The Mongol possessions extended from the Pacific coast to the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region.

The cafe is actively developing at the same time. However, its existence was interrupted in 1308 by the troops of the Golden Horde Khan Tokhta. The Genoese managed to escape by sea, but the city and the pier were burned to the ground. Only after the new Khan Uzbek (1312-1342) reigned in the Golden Horde did the Genoese again appear on the shores of the Gulf of Feodosia. By the beginning of the 15th century. A new political situation is emerging in Taurica. At this time, the Golden Horde finally weakens and begins to fall apart. The Genoese cease to consider themselves vassals of the Tatars. But their new opponents were the growing principality of Theodoro, which laid claim to coastal Gothia and Chembalo, as well as the descendant of Genghis Khan, Hadji Giray, who sought to create a Tatar state in Crimea independent of the Golden Horde.

The struggle between Genoa and Theodoro for Gothia lasted intermittently throughout almost the entire first half of the 15th century, and the Theodorites were supported by Hadji Giray. The largest military clash between the warring parties occurred in 1433-1434.

Hadji-Girey

On the approaches to Solkhat, the Genoese were unexpectedly attacked by the Tatar cavalry of Hadji Giray and were defeated in a short battle. After the defeat in 1434, the Genoese colonies were forced to pay an annual tribute to the Crimean Khanate, which was headed by Hadji Giray, who vowed to expel the Genoese from their possessions on the peninsula. Soon the colonies had another deadly enemy. In 1453 The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire finally ceased to exist, and the sea route connecting the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea with the metropolis was taken under control by the Turks. The Genoese Republic found itself faced with a real threat of losing all of its Black Sea possessions.

The common threat from the Ottoman Turks forced the Genoese to draw closer to their other irreconcilable enemy. In 1471 they entered into an alliance with the ruler Theodoro. But no diplomatic victories could save the colonies from destruction. On May 31, 1475, a Turkish squadron approached the Cafe. By this time, the anti-Turkish bloc “Crimean Khanate - Genoese colonies - Theodoro” had cracked.

The siege of Kafa lasted from June 1 to June 6. The Genoese capitulated at a time when the means to defend their Black Sea capital had not been exhausted. According to one version, the city authorities believed the promises of the Turks to save their lives and property. One way or another, the largest Genoese colony fell to the Turks surprisingly easily. The new owners of the city took away the property of the Genoese, and they themselves were loaded onto ships and taken to Constantinople.

Soldaya offered more stubborn resistance to the Ottoman Turks than Kafa. And after the besiegers managed to break into the fortress, its defenders locked themselves in the church and died in a fire.

Crimea is one of the amazing corners of the Earth. Due to its geographical location it was located at the junction of the habitats of different peoples, standing on the path of their historical movements. The interests of many countries and entire civilizations collided in such a small territory. The Crimean Peninsula has more than once become the scene of bloody wars and battles, and was part of several states and empires.

Varied natural conditions attracted peoples of various cultures and traditions to the Crimea. For nomads there were vast pastures, for cultivators there were fertile lands, for hunters there were forests with a lot of game, for sailors there were convenient bays and bays, and a lot of fish. Therefore, many peoples settled here, becoming part of the Crimean ethnic conglomerate and participants in all historical events on the peninsula. In the neighborhood there lived people whose traditions, customs, religions, and way of life were different. This led to misunderstandings and even bloody clashes. Civil strife stopped when there was an understanding that it was possible to live and prosper well only in peace, harmony and mutual respect.

We bring to the attention of the readers of our site an ethno-historical excursion by Igor Dmitrievich Gurov regarding the issue of the rights of a particular nationality to the Crimean peninsula. The article was published in 1992 in the small monthly "Politics", published by the deputy group "Union". However, it still remains relevant, especially now, when, during the period of the most acute political crisis in Ukraine, the issue of broad autonomy for Crimea, which was frozen in the same 1992, is being resolved.

Despite the fact that Kyiv and some Moscow newspapers and television programs today proclaim the Crimean Tatars as the “only indigenous” people of the Crimean peninsula, and the Russian Taurians are portrayed exclusively as invaders and occupiers, Crimea remains Russian.

Let's turn to real historical facts. In ancient times, Crimea was inhabited by tribes of Cimmerians, then Tauris and Scythians. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Greek colonies appear on the coast of Tavria. In the early Middle Ages, the Scythians were replaced by German-speaking Goths (later mixed with the Greeks in the chronicles of the “Greek Gothfins”) and Iranian-speaking Alans (related to modern Ossetians). Then the Slavs also penetrate here. Already in one of the Bosporan inscriptions of the 5th century, the word “ant” is found, which, as is known, Byzantine authors called the Slavs who lived between the Dnieper and the Dniester. And at the very end of the 8th century, the “Life of Stefan of Sourozh” describes in detail the campaign of the Novgorod prince Bravlin to Crimea, after which the active Slavicization of Eastern Crimea began.

Arab sources of the 9th century report one of the centers Ancient Rus'- Arsania, which, according to most scientists, was located on the territory of the Azov region, Eastern Crimea and the North Caucasus. This is the so-called Azov, or Black Sea (Tmutarakan) Rus', which was the support base for the campaigns of Russian squads in the 2nd half of the 9th - early 10th centuries. on the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea. Moreover, the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon, in his story about the retreat of Prince Igor after his unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium in 941, speaks of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Eastern Crimea) as the “homeland of the Russians.”

In the 2nd half of the 9th century. (after the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav and his defeat in 965 Khazar Khaganate) Azov Rus finally entered the sphere of political influence of Kievan Rus. Later, the Tmutarakan principality was formed here. Under the 980 goal in the "Tale of Bygone Years" the son of Grand Duke Vladimir the Saint is mentioned for the first time - Mstislav the Brave; It is also reported there that his father endowed Mstislav with the Tmutarakan land (which he owned until his death in 1036).

The influence of Rus' is also strengthening in Western Taurida, especially after Prince Vladimir in 988, as a result of a 6-month siege, took the city of Chersonesos, which belonged to the Byzantines, and was baptized there.

The Polovtsian invasion at the end of the 11th century weakened the Russian princes in Taurida. The last time Tmutarakan was mentioned in the chronicles was in 1094, when the prince who ruled here, Oleg Svyatoslavovich (who bore the official title of “Archon of Matrakha, Zikhia and all Khazaria”), in alliance with the Polovtsians, came to Chernigov. And at the beginning of the 13th century, the lands of the former Tmutarakan principality became easy prey for enterprising Genoese.

In 1223, the Mongols made their first raid on Taurica, and by the end of the 13th century, after the defeat of the Kirkel principality created by the Hellenized Alans, the administrative center of the region became the city of Crimea (now Old Crimea), which from 1266 became the seat of the Mongol-Tatar Khan .

After the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), which ended with the defeat of Constantinople, first Venice, and then (from 1261) Genoa were able to establish themselves in the Northern Black Sea region. In 1266, the Genoese bought the city of Cafa (Feodosia) from the Golden Horde and then continued to expand their possessions.

The ethnic composition of the population of Crimea during this period was quite diverse. In the XIII-XV centuries. Greeks, Armenians, Russians, Tatars, Hungarians, Circassians (“Zikhs”) and Jews lived in the Cafe. The Kafa Charter of 1316 mentions Russian, Armenian and Greek churches located in the commercial part of the city, along with Catholic churches and a Tatar mosque. In the 2nd half of the 15th century. it was one of the largest cities in Europe with a population of up to 70 thousand people. (of these, the Genoese made up only about 2 thousand people). In 1365, the Genoese, having secured the support of the Golden Horde khans (to whom they gave huge cash loans and supplied mercenaries), captured the largest Crimean city of Surozh (Sudak), inhabited mainly by Greek and Russian merchants and artisans and maintaining close ties with the Moscow state.

From Russian documents of the 15th century. It is also known about close contacts between the Orthodox principality of Theodoro (another name is the Mangup Principality), located in the south-west of Crimea, which arose on the ruins of the Byzantine Empire, with the Moscow state. For example, the Russian chronicle mentions Prince Stefan Vasilyevich Khovra, who emigrated to Moscow with one of his sons in 1403. Here he became a monk under the name Simon, and his son Gregory founded a monastery named Simonov in honor of his father. His other son, Alexei, ruled the principality of Theodoro at that time. From his grandson, Vladimir Grigorievich Khovrin, famous Russian families descended - the Golovins, Tretyakovs, Gryaznys, etc. The connection between Moscow and Feodoro was so close that Grand Duke Moscow Ivan III was going to marry his son to the daughter of the Theodorite prince Isaac (Isaiko), but this plan could not be realized due to the defeat of the Principality of Theodoro by the Turks.

In 1447, the first attack of the Turkish fleet on the shores of Crimea took place. Having captured Cafa in 1475, the Turks disarmed its entire population, and then, according to the testimony of an anonymous Tuscan author, “On June 7 and 8, all the Wallachians, Poles, Russians, Georgians, Zichs and all other Christian nations, except the Latins, were captured, deprived clothes and partly sold into slavery, partly chained." “Turkova took Kafa and many of the Moscow guests, killed many of them, captured some, and robbed others to pay off the davash,” Russian chronicles report.

Having established their power over the Crimea, the Turks included into the Sultan’s lands only the former Genoese and Greek confluences, which they began to intensively populate with their fellow tribesmen - the Anatolian Ottoman Turks. The remaining areas of the peninsula went to the predominantly steppe Crimean Khanate, which was a vassal state of Turkey.

It is from the Anatolian Ottoman Turks that the so-called origins originate. "South Coast Crimean Tatars", who determined the ethnic line of modern Crimean Tatars - i.e. their culture and literary language. The Crimean Khanate, subordinate to Turkey, in 1557 was replenished with representatives of the Little Nogai Horde, who migrated to the Black Sea region and the Steppe Crimea from the Volga and Caspian Sea. The Crimean and Nogai Tatars lived exclusively by nomadic cattle breeding and predatory raids on neighboring states. The Crimean Tatars themselves spoke in the 17th century. to the envoys of the Turkish Sultan: “But there are more than 100 thousand Tatars who have neither agriculture nor trade. If they do not raid, then how will they live? This is our service to the padishah.” Therefore, twice a year they carried out raids to capture slaves and loot. For example, during the 25 years of the Livonian War (1558-1583), the Crimean Tatars made 21 raids on the Great Russian regions. The poorly protected Little Russian lands suffered even more. From 1605 to 1644 the Tatars carried out at least 75 raids on them. In 1620-1621 they managed to ruin even the distant Duchy of Prussia.

All this forced Russia to take retaliatory measures and fight to eliminate this constant source of aggression in its south. However, this problem was solved only in the 2nd half of the 18th century. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1769-1774. Russian troops captured Crimea. Fearing retaliatory religious pogroms, most of The indigenous Christian population (Greeks and Armenians), at the suggestion of Catherine II, moved to the region of Mariupol and Nakhichevan, Rostov. In 1783, Crimea was finally annexed to Russia and in 1784 it became part of the newly formed Tauride province. Up to 80 thousand Tatars did not want to stay in Russian Taurida and emigrated to Turkey. In their place, Russia began to attract foreign colonists: Greeks (from Turkish possessions), Armenians, Corsicans, Germans, Bulgarians, Estonians, Czechs, etc. Great Russians and Little Russians began to move here in large numbers.

Another emigration of Tatars and Nogais from Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region (up to 150 thousand people) occurred during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, when many Tatar murzas and beys supported Turkey.

By 1897, there had been significant changes in the ethnic composition of the population of Taurida: Tatars made up only about 1/3 of the population of the peninsula, while Russians made up over 45 percent. (of which 3/4 are Great Russians and 1/4 are Little Russians), Germans - 5.8 percent, Jews 4.7 percent, Greeks - 3.1 percent, Armenians - 1.5 percent. etc.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the nationalist pro-Turkish party “Milli Firka” (“national party”) arose among the Crimean Tatars. In turn, the Bolsheviks held a Congress of Soviets and in March 1918 proclaimed the creation of the Taurida SSR. Then the peninsula was occupied by the Germans, and the Millifirka Directory gained power.

At the end of April 1919, the “Crimean Soviet Republic” was created here, but already in June it was liquidated by units of General Denikin’s Volunteer Army.

From that time on, Russian Taurida became the main base of the White Movement. Only on November 16, 1920, Crimea was again captured by the Bolsheviks, knocking out the Russian Army of General Wrangel from the peninsula. At the same time, the Crimean Revolutionary Committee (Krymrevkom) was formed under the leadership of the “internationalists” Bela Kun and Rosalia Zemlyachka. On their instructions, a bloody massacre was organized in Crimea, during which the “fiery revolutionaries” exterminated, according to some information, up to 60 thousand Russian officers and soldiers of the White Army.

On October 18, 1921, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars published a decree on the formation of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the RSFSR. At this time, 625 thousand people lived in Crimea, of which Russians made up 321.6 thousand, or 51.5% (including Great Russians - 274.9 thousand, Little Russians - 45.7 thousand, Belarusians - 1 thousand .), Tatars (including Turks and some Gypsies) - 164.2 thousand (25.9%), other nationalities (Germans, Greeks, Bulgarians, Jews, Armenians) - St. 22%.

From the beginning of the 1920s, in the spirit of the Bolshevik-Leninist national policy, organizations of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) began to actively pursue a course towards the Turkification of Crimea. Thus, in 1922, 355 schools were opened for the Crimean Tatars, and universities were created with teaching in the Crimean Tatar language. Tatars were appointed to the posts of chairmen of the Crimean Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - Veli Ibraimov and Deren-Ayerly, who pursued a nationalist policy covered by communist phraseology. Only in 1928 were they removed from their posts, but not for nationalism, but for connections with the Trotskyists.

By 1929, as a result of the campaign to disaggregate village councils, their number increased from 143 to 427. At the same time, the number of national village councils almost tripled (these were considered village councils or districts in which the majority of the national population was 60%). In total, 145 Tatar village councils were formed, 45 German, 14 Jewish, 7 Greek, 5 Bulgarian, 2 Armenian, 2 Estonian and only 20 Russian (since Russians during this period were classified as “great-power chauvinists”, during administrative delimitation it was considered normal to give advantage to others nationalities). A system was also created special courses for the training of national personnel in government agencies. A campaign was launched to translate office work and village councils into “national” languages. At the same time, the “anti-religious struggle” - including against Orthodoxy and Islam - continued and intensified.

In the pre-war years, there was a significant increase in population (from 714 thousand in 1926 to 1,126,429 people in 1939). By national composition, the population was distributed in 1939 as follows: Russians - 558,481 people (49.58%), Ukrainians, 154,120 (13.68%), Tatars - 218,179 (19.7%), Germans 65,452 (5.81%) , Jews - 52093 (4.62%), Greeks - 20652 (1.83%), Bulgarians - 15353 (1.36%), Armenians - 12873 (1.14%), others - 29276 (2.6% ).

The Nazis, having occupied Crimea in the fall of 1941, skillfully played on the religious feelings of the Tatars and their dissatisfaction with the militant atheism of the Bolsheviks. The Nazis convened a Muslim congress in Simferopol, at which they formed the Crimean government ("Tatar Committee"), headed by Khan Belal Asanov. During 1941-1942. they formed 10 Crimean Tatar SS battalions, which, together with police self-defense units (created in 203 Tatar villages), numbered over 20 thousand people. Although there were Tatars among the partisans - about 600 people. In punitive operations with the participation of Crimean Tatar units, 86 thousand civilians of Crimea and 47 thousand prisoners of war were exterminated, about 85 thousand more people were deported to Germany.

However, measures of retribution for crimes committed by the Crimean Tatar punitive forces were extended by the Stalinist leadership to the entire Crimean Tatar ethnic group and a number of other Crimean peoples. May 11, 1944 State Committee The USSR Defense Council adopted a resolution according to which from Crimea to Central Asia During May 18-19, 191,088 Tatars, 296 Germans, 32 Romanians and 21 Austrians were resettled. On June 2, 1944, another GKO resolution followed, according to which 15,040 Greeks, 12,422 Bulgarians and 9,621 Armenians were evicted from Crimea on June 27 and 28. At the same time, foreign nationals living in Crimea were expelled: 1,119 Germans, Italians and Romanians, 3,531 Greeks, 105 Turks and 16 Iranians.

In July 1945, by Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transformed into the Crimean region within the RSFSR, and on February 19, 1954, N. S. Khrushchev donated Crimea to Radyanskaya Ukraine, apparently in memory of his many years of secretaryship in the Communist Party (b)U .

With the onset of "perestroika" Moscow and Kyiv funds mass media They began to portray the Tatars as the only “indigenous” inhabitants of the peninsula, its “original” owners. Why? The “Organization of the Crimean Tatar National Movement” declared its goal not only to return up to 350 thousand Tatars - natives of sunny Uzbekistan and other Central Asian republics to Crimea, but also to create their own “national state” there. To achieve this goal, they convened a kurultai in July 1991 and elected a “majlis” of 33 people. The actions of the OKND, led by the ardent Turkophile Mustafa Dzhamilev, were enthusiastically greeted by the Kyiv “Rukhovite” and former communist leadership, acting on the principle “everyone who is against the damned Muscovites is good.” But why did Dzhamilev need to create his own “national state” in Crimea?

Of course, the thirst for revenge among the Tatar new settlers offended by Stalin is understandable. But still, the OKND gentlemen, who so diligently call for the Turkification of Crimea, should remember their Anatolian and Nogai origins: after all, their true ancestral home is Turkey, Southern Altai and the hot steppes of Xinjiang.

And if you create some kind of “national states” in Taurida, you will have to satisfy the aspirations of the Great Russians, Ukrainians, Karaites, Greeks, and all other indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula. The only real prospect for Crimea is the peaceful coexistence of the ethnic groups living here. Dividing the population into “indigenous” and Russian is a historically untenable and politically dangerous task.

Igor Gurov
Newspaper "Politics", 1992, No. 5

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Population. Ethnic history of Crimea

The population of Crimea, including Sevastopol, is about 2 million 500 thousand people. This is quite a lot, its density exceeds the average, for example, for the Baltic republics by 1.5 - 2 times. But if you consider that in August there are up to 2 million visitors on the peninsula at the same time, that is, the population as a whole doubles and in some areas of the coast reaches the density of the most populated areas of Japan - over 1 thousand people per square kilometer.

Now the majority of the population consists of Russians, then Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars (their number and share in the population are growing rapidly), a significant proportion of Belarusians, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Germans, Bulgarians, Gypsies, Poles, Czechs, Italians. The small peoples of Crimea - the Karaites and Krymchaks - are small in number, but still noticeable in culture.

Russian continues to be the language of interethnic communication.

The ethnic history of Crimea is very complex and dramatic. One thing can be said with confidence: the national composition of the peninsula has never been monotonous, especially in its mountainous and coastal areas.

Speaking about the population of the Tauride Mountains, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted in the 2nd century BC that 30 peoples live there. Mountains and islands often serve as a refuge for relict peoples, once great, and then left the historical arena for a peaceful and measured life. This was the case with the warlike Goths, who conquered almost all of Europe and then disappeared into its vastness at the beginning of the Middle Ages. And in Crimea, Gothic settlements remained until the 15th century. The last reminder of them is the village of Kok-Kozy, that is, Blue Eyes (now the village of Sokolinoe).

The Karaites live in Crimea - a small people with an original and colorful history. You can get acquainted with it in the “cave city” of Chufut-Kale (which means Jewish fortress, Karaimism is one of the branches of Judaism). The Karaite language belongs to the Kipchak subgroup of Turkic languages, but the way of life of the Karaites is close to the Jewish one. In addition to our region, Karaites live in Lithuania, these are the descendants of the personal guard of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes, as well as in the west of Ukraine. The historical peoples of Crimea include the Krymchaks. This people was subjected to genocide during the years of occupation.

Jewish merchants appeared in Crimea as early as the 1st century AD. e., their burials in Panticapaeum (present-day Kerch) date back to this time. Jewish population The region endured severe trials during the war and suffered huge losses. Now in Crimea, mainly in cities and most of all in Simferopol, about 20 thousand Jews live.

The first Russian communities began to appear in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch in the Middle Ages. These were merchants and artisans. The earlier (in the 9th and 10th centuries) appearance of the squads of the Novgorod prince Bravlin and the Kyiv prince Vladimir was associated with military campaigns.

The massive resettlement of serfs from Central Russia began in 1783 - after the annexation of Crimea to the empire. Disabled soldiers and Cossacks received land for free settlement. Construction railway at the end of the 19th century and the development of industry also caused an influx of Russian population.

In Soviet times, retired officers and people who worked in the North had the right to settle in Crimea, so in Crimean cities, as already noted, there are a lot of pensioners (of course, not only Russians).

After the collapse of the USSR, Russians in Crimea not only did not lose interest in their original culture, but, like other peoples inhabiting the peninsula, they created their own society - the Russian cultural community, and in every possible way maintain contact with their original historical homeland - Russia, incl. . and through the established Moscow-Crimea Foundation. The Foundation is located in Simferopol on the street. Frunze, 8. Exhibitions, meetings with compatriots, celebrations of dates that unite peoples - this is not a complete list of events held within the walls of a well-equipped building. The Foundation's cell, the Russian Cultural Center, helps strengthen cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. “Pancake Week” – Maslenitsa – is widely celebrated in Crimea. Truly a celebration of Slavic cuisine - here are Russian and Belarusian pancakes, and Ukrainian mlintsi - with sour cream, honey, jam and even... with caviar. Interest in Orthodoxy has revived, and churches are now both elegant and crowded. It’s just a pity that there are no Russian restaurants where the style is consistent in everything, and you simply won’t find a Russian oven.

Ukrainians were combined with Russians in pre-war censuses. But in the censuses of the late 19th century. they take 3rd - 4th place. Ukraine has had close ties with the peninsula since the times of the Crimean Khanate, Chumatsky convoys with salt, mutual trade in peacetime and equally mutual raids in wartime - all this served to move and mix people, although, of course, the main stream of Ukrainian settlers went to Crimea only at the end of the 18th century, and reached its maximum in the 50s of our century (after Khrushchev annexed Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic).

Germans, including immigrants from Switzerland, settled in Crimea under Catherine II and were mainly engaged in agriculture. The building of the Lutheran church and its school in Simferopol (Karl Liebknecht St., 16), built with private donations, has been preserved. IN Soviet time German colonists formed several collective farms, which were famous for their high culture of agriculture and especially animal husbandry; German sausages had no equal in the Crimean markets. In August 1941, the Germans were evicted to Northern Kazakhstan, and their villages in Crimea were never rebuilt.

The Bulgarians settled on the peninsula, like the Greeks, from the islands of the Aegean Sea, fleeing the Turkish yoke during the wars of the last quarter of the 18th century. It was the Bulgarians who brought the Kazanlak rose to the peninsula, and now our Crimea is the world's leading producer of rose oil.

Poles and Lithuanians ended up in Crimea after the defeat of the national liberation uprisings of the 18th - 19th centuries. like exiles. Now there are about 7 thousand Poles, including descendants and later settlers.

A huge role in the history of Crimea was played by the Greeks, who appeared here in ancient times and founded colonies on the Kerch Peninsula, in the South-Western Crimea, in the Evpatoria region. The size of the Greek population on the peninsula changed in different eras. In 1897 there were 17 thousand people, and in 1939 - 20.6 thousand.

Armenians have a long history in Crimea. In the Middle Ages, they, together with the Greeks of Asia Minor, who also left their homeland under the onslaught of the Turks, constituted the main population of the South-Western Crimea, as well as cities in the Eastern Crimea. However, their descendants are now settled in the Azov region. In 1771, 31 thousand Christians (Greeks, Armenians and others) left, accompanied by Russian troops, from Crimean Khanate and founded new cities and villages on the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov. This is the city of Mariupol, the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don (part of Rostov). Monuments of Armenian architecture - the Surb-Khach monastery in the Old Crimea region, the church in Yalta and others can be visited with a tour or on your own. Armenian stone-cutting art had a noticeable influence on the architecture of mosques, mausoleums, and palaces of the Crimean Khanate.

After the annexation of our region to Russia, Armenians lived mostly in Eastern Crimea; The region of Feodosia and Old Crimea is called Crimean Armenia. By the way, the famous artist I.K. Aivazovsky, the best of marine painters, as well as composer A.A. Spendiarov - Crimean Armenians.

It is curious that the Crimean Armenians adopted Christianity from the Italians and therefore were Catholics, and their spoken language differed little from the Crimean Tatar. Naturally, mixed marriages have never been rare, and most native Crimeans are related to half the world.

There, in the Eastern Crimea, in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch, even before the revolution, curious fragments of the Middle Ages were preserved - communities of the Crimean "wife-breeders" (Genoese), descendants of those same sailors, merchants and soldiers of Italian Genoa who once dominated the Mediterranean, Black and Seas of Azov and left the towers in Feodosia. You can also see these ruins; it’s all so romantic, picturesque, inaccessible, and most importantly - authentic that there are no words. You just need to go and climb around, feel this fortress with your hands and feet.

You can often see Koreans in the markets of Crimea. They are good farmers, hardworking and lucky. They have only recently been in Crimea, literally for the last 30 years, but the Crimean land responds to their work with rich gifts.

There are more and more fruits in the markets grown by the Crimean Tatars, reviving the glory of gardeners, gardeners and shepherds of the peninsula.

The Crimean Tatars as an ethnic community were formed on the basis of the gradual merger of a number of ancient tribes of Taurica and several waves of steppe nomadic peoples (Khazars, Pechenegs, Kipchak priests and others). This process, in essence, has not even been completed yet: there are differences in the language, appearance and way of life of the southern coastal, mountain and steppe Tatars.

The cordiality and simplicity of the Crimean Tatars were noted by the first Russian researchers, for example, P.I. Sumarokov. Their hard work and ingenuity in farming are respected by peasants of any nationality. And modern Crimean Tatar music, in its melody and fiery rhythm, successfully competes with Jewish and Gypsy music.

Unfortunately, among some modern representatives of the Crimean Tatars there are more and more adherents of aggressive Wakhabite movements. What this can lead to if the situation gets out of control has been shown by the events in modern Chechnya and Kosovo. I would really not like to witness the development of events in such a scenario. I would like to hope for prudence and local authorities and the Tatars themselves...

The Crimean gypsies, who called themselves "urmachel", lived settledly among the indigenous population of Crimea for many centuries and even converted to Islam. Some of their caste groups were engaged in jewelry craft, weaving baskets and were garden workers (according to L.P. Simirenko, they were not inferior to the best Tatar ones). A not entirely sedentary group of gypsies - the ayuvcilar (bug-catchers) were engaged in fortune-telling, bear training and petty trade. But for a long time in Islamic Crimea only gypsies were involved in music, although they adapted it to local tastes. It was from the music of the Crimean gypsies in the 30s of our century that modern Crimean Tatar music “emerged”.

In 1944, indigenous gypsies were deported from Crimea along with other peoples. It is believed that in a foreign land they became ethnically close to the Crimean Tatars and are now inseparable from them. However, at train stations and bazaars, gypsies are conspicuous (almost literally). But this is a modern, post-war wave of settled life. The city of Dzhankoy is even shown in many atlases of the world as a center of gypsies: a large railway junction, gullible holidaymakers heading south, and finally, the gentle Crimean sun makes it possible to preserve the traditional values ​​of camp life. In addition to guessing “will there be an earthquake?” and “who will you love at the resort?”, small trade with “profit” and currency exchange with elements of transforming banknotes into colored paper, the gypsies also do ordinary work: they build houses, work at enterprises in Dzhankoy and other cities.

Alluring, mysterious, warm Crimea is a place to which you want to return again and again. Unlike guests of the peninsula, local residents are already accustomed to the azure sea and majestic mountains that surround them every day. The picturesque landscapes constantly attracted more and more new residents. This led to the population of Crimea tripling over ninety years. A variety of ethnic groups live here. The local population is represented by Crimean Tatars, Poles, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Crimeans and others.

Population of Crimea

As of January 1, 2017, the permanent population of Crimea is 2,340,778 people. Of these, 1,912,079 residents live in the Republic of Crimea and 428,699 in Sevastopol. The large population of Crimea allowed the republic to take twenty-seventh place in the ranking of subjects Russian Federation. According to 1926 data, only 713,823 people lived in the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.

Ninety years of active migration of people from Ukraine, India, Israel, Uzbekistan and other countries have led to a colossal increase in the number of residents of the republic. The population of Crimea by year shows that it was maximally populated in 1989. Then its number was 2,458,655 people.

The population of Crimea has had very serious ups and downs over the years. Thus, in connection with the Great Patriotic War, the number of residents of the republic was halved. In 1939, 1,126,429 people lived here, and six years later, in 1945, there were only 610,000 inhabitants.

Ethnic composition

The dynamically growing population of Crimea throughout history has a continuous connection with the arrival of new ethnic groups in the republic. The ethnic history of Crimea is many times richer than the Soviet or any other. Four thousand years of existence of the peninsula made it a haven for the Cimmerians, Scythians, Greeks, Karaites, Pechenegs, Venetians and others. Initially, the main population of the Republic of Crimea consisted of Crimean Tatars.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, they were supplanted by the Russians, who took first place, and the Ukrainians, who gained a foothold in second position. During World War II, the peninsula was occupied by the Germans for some time, and as a result, this period was characterized by a decrease in the number of Jews. After the Second World War, Armenians, Greeks and Bulgarians suddenly moved to Crimea.

Population of Crimean cities by ethnic composition

• Armenians - Sevastopol, Yalta, Simferopol, Evpatoria, Feodosia.
• Bulgarians - Simferopol, Koktebel.
• Eastern Slavs - Kerch, Evpatoria, Simferopol, Feodosia, Yalta, Alushta.
• Greeks - Simferopol, Kerch, Yalta.
• Jews - Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Yalta, Feodosia, Evpatoria.
• Karaites - Old Crimea, Feodosia, Evpatoria.
• Krymchaks - Karasubazar and Simferopol, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Kerch.

In Simferopol (Crimea), the population included almost all nationalities existing in the republic.

Crimean Greeks

Greek settlers settled on the Crimean peninsula twenty-seven centuries ago. The population belonging to this ethnic group was divided into Crimean Greeks and Greeks who arrived from Greece at the end of the eighteenth century.

The first Greek colonies were created in the format of the Bosporus State and the Chersonese Republic. Modern Crimean Greeks are descendants of the Greek battalion, which participated in the Crimean War and remained on the orders of Potemkin to guard Crimea. This type of population settled in Balaklava and other villages nearby. Within the framework of the ethnographic history of the republic, the formed nationality is called Arnauts or Balaklava Greeks.

Approximately thirteen thousand Greeks migrated to Crimea during World War II from Turkey through the Caucasus. The reason for their flight was the genocide unleashed by fanatical Muslims. The bulk of the Greeks who came to Crimea were uneducated and had a social status no higher than that of an artisan or merchant. Having settled in the new territory, the Crimean Greeks began to engage in gardening, fishing, trade, and they also successfully grew grapes and tobacco. The Crimean Greeks are still considered one of the most numerous ethnic groups of the peninsula, as their number is seventy-seven thousand people.

Crimean Armenians

Armenians became full-fledged residents of Crimea a thousand years ago. It is repeatedly mentioned in history that the most original and, of course, very important center Armenian culture is Crimea. The population of the Armenian ethnic group appeared here along with a certain Vardan. In seven hundred and eleven, this Armenian was declared emperor of Byzantium when he was in the Crimea. The peak of settlement of the peninsula by Armenians occurred at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Crimea during this period was called “maritime Armenia”. The areas of activity of Crimean Armenians are: trade, construction, financial activities.

The sharp decline in the number of the Armenian ethnic group in Crimea dates back to 1475. The reason for the change in the population structure was the Turks who came to power. They destroyed Armenians and took them into slavery. A new wave of growth in the Armenian population occurred in the eighteenth century, when they were given official permission to return to Crimea. The population of Armenian origin has thinned out greatly over the years Civil War. If during the October Revolution there were seventeen thousand Armenians in Crimea, then by the end of the twentieth there were only five thousand left.

Karaites

Karaites descended from the Turkic people. The only thing that distinguishes them from their progenitor is their religion - Judaism. The Karaites are mentioned for the first time in historical chronicles in 1278. But, despite this fact, there is an opinion that they settled on the peninsula several centuries earlier. Throughout its existence, the Karaite ethnic group never stood out among the local residents. The turning point in the life of this nationality was the moment of the annexation of Crimea to Russian Empire. Then the Karaites had the opportunity to buy land, not pay a number of tax duties and enlist in the army voluntarily. Until 1914, the Karaites were a very prosperous people. Eight thousand of them lived in Crimea.

Wars, repressions, famine next years led to a sharp reduction in the number and standard of living of this nationality. Today, about eight hundred Karaites live in Crimea.

Krymchaks

Krymchaks are a people who follow Talmudic Judaism and speak a language close to the Crimean Tatar. They appeared on the territory of Crimea even before our era. In the eighteenth century, only eight hundred Crimeans lived on the Crimean peninsula. The population of this ethnic group reached its maximum in 1912 and amounted to seven and a half thousand people. Today this ethnic group is on the verge of extinction. These people were never rich and did not know how to express themselves in politics and trade.

Jews

For the Jews, the peninsula was a fairly fertile territory, so they settled it very actively. In 1897 their number was more than twenty-four thousand people. At the time of the revolution in Crimea, there were already twice as many Jews. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was even a project to create a Jewish republic on the peninsula. Its implementation began in 1924, but was not crowned with the expected success. A special blow to Crimean Jews occurred during the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. All non-evacuated Jews were killed by the Nazi occupation. At the end of the twentieth century, twenty-five thousand Jews lived on the peninsula. Many of them later emigrated to Israel.

Crimean Tatars

The first Mongol-Tatars invasion of Crimea dates back to 1223. At the end of the fourteenth century, the entire peninsula was inhabited by a people who called themselves Crimeans, while the Russians called them Tatars. The inhabitants of Crimea themselves came to this name only after becoming part of Russia.

The Tatars were a significant people of Crimea until the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. Since then, the number of the Tatar ethnic group has not decreased much, but a lot of Russians have arrived in the territory of Crimea. The Tatar people ceased to be the most numerous on the peninsula. Many Tatars emigrated to Turkey after the Crimean War.

The fate of the Crimean Tatars was especially dramatic during the Great Patriotic War. They fought bravely in the ranks Soviet army, many of them died in battle, while some were burned by the Nazis. Some Tatars went over to the enemy's side and turned out to be traitors. In connection with this, in 1944, almost two hundred thousand Tatars were deported from the country. They began returning to Crimea in 1989 and have since made up twelve percent of the peninsula’s population.

Other nationalities

In addition to the nationalities presented above, many representatives of other large ethnic groups live in Crimea. Since the end of the eighteenth century, Crimea began to be settled by Bulgarians, of whom there are now no more than two thousand people.

The first Poles settled on the peninsula at the end of the seventeenth century. Their mass migration to the peninsula dates back to the sixties of the nineteenth century. They were never trusted by local residents, and therefore they were not provided with benefits and the opportunity to settle separately. Now there are no more than seven thousand of them in Crimea.