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People and history

Crimea was known in ancient times as Tauris (Tavrida in Russian), home to the tribes who took Iphigenia prisoner in Euripides' play Iphigenia in Tauris. The Tauric tribes were absorbed first by Cimmerian and then Scythian invaders, who were later pushed back from the coast by Greek colonists in the 6th century BC. Eastern Crimea became the centre of the Greek Bosporan kingdom, with Panticapaeum (today the town of Kerch) as its capital, and a major ports at Theodosia (now Feodosia). In the west, Greek colonists from Heracleia founded the cities of Khersoness (present-day Sevastopol) and Kerkinitida (now Yevpatoria). The Greeks never succeeded in taking over the whole peninsula, and had to defend themselves against frequent attacks by the Scythians and then by the even more warlike Sarmatians.(also known as the Alans). Many Greeks remained in Crimea after the Bosporan kingdom fell to the Huns and the Goths, and Khersoness became part of the Byzantine Empire. In 965 AD there were 16,000 Crimean Greeks in the joint Byzantine and Kievan Rus army which invaded Bulgaria. Orthodox monasteries continued to function, with strong links with the monasteries on Mount Athos in northern Greece.

The Romans arrived in Crimea in the 1st century AD and established protectorates and naval bases at Khersoness and in the Bosporan kingdom in the east of the peninsula. Roman legionaries were also stationed at fortresses built in strategic locations along the coast, such as the Ai-Todor promontory near Yalta. They lost their Bosporan acquisitions to the Goths in the 4th century, but Khersoness became part of the Byzantine empire and remained under the control of Constantinople until the 13th century, when it was overrun by part of Chingiz Khan's Golden Horde.

For centuries Crimea had been the subject of a war between the Byzantine and Khazar empires, Kievan Rus and nomadic tribes such as the Cumans and the Kypchaks. Then in 1223 a new force appeared on the scene. Chingiz Khan's Golden Horde entered Crimea, sweeping all before it. Originating in current day Mongolia, the Tatars were a collection of nomadic tribes who had united under Chingiz Khan's banner, and gathered Turkic people to swell their army as they rode and marched across Central Asia and into Eastern Europe. Renowned for his ruthlessness, the Great Khan's success also lay in his ability to impose discipline and order in place of old tribal rivalries. He introduced laws forbidding, among other things, blood feuds, theft, the bearing of false witness, sorcery, disobedience of a royal command, and bathing in running water.

Crimea became part of the huge Tatar empire, stretching from China in the east to beyond Kyiv and Moscow in the west. Because of its size, it was impossible for Chingiz Khan to govern his empire from Mongolia, and the Crimean Khans enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy. Their first Crimean capital was at Qirim (now Stary Krym), and remained there until the 15th century when it moved to Bakhchisarai. It is during the Tatar period that the peninsula's old name of Tavrida fell gradually into disuse, to be replaced by the name Krym, derived from the name of the Tatar capital. The breadth of the Tatar empire, and the power of the great Khan meant that for a while merchants and other travellers under his protection could journey east and west in comparative safety. The Tatars concluded trading agreements with the Genoese and the Venetians and Sudak and Kaffa (Feodosia) prospered in spite of the taxes levied on them. Marco Polo landed at Sudak on his way to the court of Kublai Khan in 1275. Like all great empires, the Tatar empire was influenced by the cultures it encountered during its expansion. In 1262 the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan Baybars, who had been born in Qirim, wrote to one of the Tatar Khans suggesting that the Tatars should convert to Islam. The oldest mosque in Crimea still stands in Stary Krim, built in1314 by Tatar Khan Uzbek.

In 1475 the Turks overran Crimea, taking the Crimean Khan Mengli Girei prisoner at Kaffa and releasing him to rule Crimea as their representative. Thereafter the Crimean Khans were appointed by Constantinople, although they still had considerable autonomy in day to day matters. Over the next three hundred years the Tatars remained the dominant force in Crimea, and a thorn in the side of the developing Russian empire. The Tatar Khans began building the great palace which stands at Bakhchisarai in the 15th century.

In the 18th century there was still a Greek population in Crimea, but in 1778, only a few years before Catherine the Great finally took Crimea from the Turks, 18,000 Crimean Greeks, along with other Christians tired of living under Tatar rule successfully petitioned the empress for permission to move to Russia and emigrated to the shores of the Sea of Asov, where they founded the city of Mariupol.

New Greek settlers arrived soon, however, when the empress gave them land in Crimea in recognition of their services in helping Russia against the Turks. Known as the `archipelago Greeks' because they came mainly from the Greek islands, they also provided soldiers for the Balaklava battalion which later reinforced Russian authority in the area. Some of the officers of this Greek regiment built substantial estates at Oreanda and Livadia near Yalta.

Catherine the Great took Crimea from the Turks in 1783 and also established protector ship over Georgia, giving Russia access to the Black Sea coast from two sides. In 1787 the 58 year old empress travelled from St Petersburg to Crimea, with a retinue of 2,300 people. She was met by 12,000 Tatar horsemen in ceremonial dress who escorted her to the Khan's Palace at Bakhchisaray. A stone plaque was placed there to commemorate the occasion and can still be seen today. From there she travelled to Sevastopol, where she met Prince Potemkin, her governor-general (later rewarded with the title Prince of Tavrida) and saw the Black Sea Fleet at anchor. She then travelled on to Akh-Mechet (present-day Simferopol), Stariy Krim and Feodosia. She was here to make a point - that Crimea was now part of the great Russian empire. From the Khan's Palace she wrote: "This acquisition means an end to fear of the Tatars...This thought gives me great consolation, and I lie down to sleep today, having seen with my own eyes, that far from causing harm, it has been of the greatest advantage to my empire". But soon afterwards the Turks again declared war on Russia, and it took four years before the Turks capitulated after a series of naval defeats at the hands of the Black Sea Fleet, and accepted the reality of Crimea's transfer from the them to the Russian empire. Catherine then set about consolidating her new acquisition. She realized that the only way that Russia would hold on to Crimea in the long term was to change the population balance in favor of those sympathetic to the Russian cause. Not only Russians, but also substantial numbers of Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Armenians, and Germans were encouraged by Catherine to settle in Crimea, a process which continued into the 19th century. Some Tatars emigrated to Turkey, although most stayed. By 1863, the immigrants outnumbered the Tatar population.

The Crimean War. See the special page!

In 1825, the Oreanda Estate near Yalta had been bought by the crown as a summer residence for Alexander I. His successor, Nikolai I built a palace there and approved a development plan for the newly designated district of Yalta. The palace was later destroyed by fire but the park remains. In1860, after the end of the Crimean War the Livadia Estate was bought for Alexander II and construction of the magnificent Livadia Palace began. This period also saw the building of other palaces such as Massandra and Alupka. The presence of the royal families attracted aristocrats and rich merchants, bringing investment and prosperity to Yalta and the surrounding area, and turning it into imperial Russia's most fashionable resort. The nineteenth century saw the introduction wine-growing influenced by the presence of small German farming communities, and the building of the first vineyards by Russian Counts Golitsyn and Vorontsov.

The First World War was disastrous for the last Tsar Nikolai II. Crimea and part of Ukraine were taken by German forces, and heavy losses on the battlefield, combined with food and ammunition shortages, demoralized the Russian army to the point of mutiny. The October 1917 Revolution was as much a response to the war as to general social conditions. Crimea was the scene of fierce fighting between Bolshevik forces and anti-revolutionary White Russian soldiers.

In 1921 Crimea was established as an Autonomous Republic for the Crimean Tatars within the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. However, this did not prevent the Tatars from suffering severely during Stalin's purges of the nineteen thirties. Another group to suffer were the Greeks, many of whom lost their farms during collectivization. Greek schools were closed and Greek literature destroyed, as they were labeled as counter-revolutionary because of their tradition of free enterprise, their links with capitalist Greece, and their independent culture.

The Second World War brought the return of German forces, who completely occupied the republic after the fall of Sevastopol in 1942, and held it until the spring of 1944. In 1945 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Russian Secretary-General Joseph Stalin chose the Livadia Palace near Yalta as the venue for what became known as the Yalta Conference. The "big three" effectively set the stage for the cold war years which followed, but also began the discussions which led to the formation of the United Nations. After the end of the war Crimea lost its status as an Autonomous Republic because of collaboration by significant numbers of Crimean Tatars with the occupying German forces, as a result of the previous mistreatment of Tatars by the Soviet regime. In retribution, in spite of the fact that some 50,000 Tatars had fought on all fronts in the Soviet armed forces, Stalin officially abolished the Crimean Tatars as a nation, and organized the mass deportation of the entire Tatar population - some 220,000 people - to Central Asia, along with 70,000 Crimean Greeks. It was not until 1956, when USSR Premier Nikita Khruschev denounced the Tatar deportation in his speech attacking Stalin's legacy, that there was any official recognition of the terrible wrong done to the Tatar people and others. It took until the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, for Tatar families and members of other deported groups to be allowed to return to Crimea in significant numbers. During the Soviet era Crimea prospered as a tourist destination, and new sanatoria were built for the workers of the growing industrial state. Holiday makers from all over the Soviet Union relaxed on its beaches, and it became a favorite for tourists from East Germany. The infrastructure improved and manufacturing developed around the ports at Kerch and Sevastopol, and also in the capital, Simferopol. The Russian and Ukrainian populations more than doubled during this period: by 1989, there were 1.6 million Russians and 626,000 Ukrainians living in Crimea.

A Ukrainian by birth, Nikita Khruschev, added Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954. This was done by himself and the Duma didn't confirm this. So in official political way and law it was never a fact. Thirty-seven years later, in 1991, after the dissolution of the USSR, Ukraine declared its independence and Crimea as well. (Autonomic Republic Crimea) However Ukraine didn't agree with that and occupied the peninsula with military force, dismantled the parliament and settled their own power. Because of the majority of Russian-speakers in Crimea, there was always a move to return the region to Russia (over 23 years held 4 referenda with all the same outcome), this was successful after the last referendum at March 16, 2014 and declaration of independence of Ukraine at March 17, 2014. After these events a few days later the Republic Crimea asked Russia if they could join and become a part of the Russian federation. The Republic Crimea is today one of the 23 Republics within the Russian Federation. Sevastopol became a Federal City within Russia.

Updated: 20. februari 2017 17:18:55 +0300

Crimea - a unique historical and cultural reserve, striking antiquity and diversity. In its many cultural monuments reflect historical events, culture and religion of different eras and different nations. History of Crimea - a plexus of East and West, the history of the Greeks and the Golden Horde, the Church of the first Christians and mosques. Where for many centuries we lived, fought, made peace and traded different peoples, build and destroy the city, appeared and disappeared civilization. It seems the very air here is filled with legends about the life of the Olympian gods, the Amazons, Cimmerians, Tauri, Greeks ... Favorable natural conditions of the Crimean peninsula and its convenient location contributed to the Crimea became one of the cradles of mankind. 150 thousand years ago, the natural and climatic conditions, abundance of animals that can be hunted, brought to the peninsula of primitive people - Neanderthals. In almost all Crimean historical museum you can find unique exhibits - archaeological findings, the scientists found in the caves of the Crimea , caves, shelters under the rocks that served as primitive man a natural haven. For example, Kiik-Koba in Belogorsk region, Wolf grotto and Chokurcha near Simferopol, Bakhchisarai Staroselie from Ak-Kaya in Belogorsk and many others. See also: the peoples of the Crimea in the history of the peninsula . 50-40 thousand years ago - the appearance and accommodation on the peninsula such as Cro-Magnon man - the ancestor of modern man. Scientists have discovered three parking this period: Suresnes, near the village of Tank , Kaczynski canopy near the village Preduschelnoe Bakhchisaray district, Aji-Koba on the slope Karaby-Yayla. If, before the first millennium BC. e. Historical data suggest only about the different periods of human development, the later it is possible to talk about specific tribes and cultures of the Crimea. LaestrygonIn the V century BC in the Northern Pontic Greek historian Herodotus visited and described in his writings of the earth and the people inhabiting them. It is believed that one of the first peoples who lived in the steppe part of Crimea in XV-VII century BC were Cimmerians. These warlike tribes left the Crimea in IV - III centuries BC due no less aggressive Scythians and lost in the vast expanses of the Asian steppes. About Cimmerians reminiscent, perhaps only the ancient place names: Cimmerian walls, Cimmerian Bosporus, Cimmeric ... They were living in mountain and foothill areas of the peninsula. Ancient authors describe brand as cruel, bloodthirsty people. Skilled sailors, they were engaged in piracy, looting ships going along the coast. The prisoners were sacrificed to the goddess of the Virgin (the Greeks associated her with Artemis), dumping into the sea from a high cliff, where the temple was located. However, modern scientists have found that the tees were agricultural-pastoral way of life, engaged in hunting, fishing, collecting molluscs. They lived in caves or huts, and in case of enemy attack staged fortified refuge. Archaeologists have discovered the Taurus Mountains on the strengthening of the Uch-Bash, cat , Ayu-Dag , Castel, on Cape Ai-Todor , as well as numerous burial in the so-called stone boxes - the dolmens. They represented four flat slabs set on edge, closed dolmen fifth from the top. skifiThe myth of the evil pirates brandsSelection of mixed content already debunked, and in our days trying to find a place where the temple stood a cruel goddess of the Virgin, where bloody sacrifices were made. In the VII century BC. e. in the steppe part of the peninsula appeared Scythian tribes. Under the pressure of Sarmatians in the IV century BC. e. focus Scythians in the Crimea and on the lower Dnieper. Here, at the turn of the IV-III centuries BC. e. formed Scythian state with its capital Scythian Naples (in the territory of modern Simferopol ). In the VII century BC Greek colonization began the Northern Black Sea and the Crimea. In Crimea convenient for navigation and living areas are having the Greek "polis" city-states Chersonese (on the outskirts of modern Sevastopol ), Theodosius and Panticapaeum-Bosporus (modern Kerch), nymphs, Mirmeky, Tyritake. The emergence of the Greek colonies in the northern Black Sea region increased trade, cultural and political relations between the Greeks and the local population, the local farmers learn new forms of cultivation, cultivation of grapes and olives. Greek culture had a great influence on the spiritual world of Tauri, Scythians, Sarmatians and other tribes. But relations between different peoples were uneasy peace alternated with periods of hostile, often inflamed the war, which is why the Greek city defended strong walls. sevastopol_hersones_15In IV. BC. e. several settlements on the west coast of the Crimea was founded. The largest of them - Kerkinitida (Yevpatoria)and Kalos-Lyman (Black Sea). In the last quarter of the V century BC. e. immigrants from the Greek city of Heraclea founded the city of Hersonissos. Now it is the territory of Sevastopol. By the beginning of the III. BC. e. Hersonissos turned into independent Greek city-state of the metropolis. He becomes one of the major policies of the Northern Black Sea. Hersonissos in its heyday - a major port city, surrounded by thick walls, trade, craft and cultural center of the entire south-western coast of Crimea. About 480 years BC. e. from the union originally independent Greek cities formed the kingdom of Bosporus. The capital of the kingdom became Panticapaeum. Later the kingdom was annexed and Theodosius. In the IV century BC Scythian tribes united under the rule of the king Ateius in a strong state, which occupied a vast territory from the Southern Bug and Dniester to the Don. At the end of the IV. and especially in the first half III. BC. e. Scythians, and probably under their influence tees have a strong military pressure on "policies". In the III century BC, in the Crimea there are Scythian fortifications, towns, capital of the Scythian state - Naples - built on the south-eastern outskirts of modern Simferopol. History of CrimeaIn the last decade of the II. BC. e. Hersonissos at a critical juncture when the Scythian army besieged the city, appealed for help to the kingdom of Pontus (located on the southern shore of the Black Sea). Ponty's troops arrived in Hersonissos and lifted the siege. Simultaneously Ponty troops stormed Panticapaeum and Theodosius. After this and the Bosporus and Chersonesos were incorporated into the kingdom of Pontus. Around the middle of I and the beginning of the IV century BC in the area of interest of the Roman Empire included all of the Black Sea region and Tavrika including. Hersonissos became a stronghold of the Romans in Tauris. In the I century Roman legionaries on Cape Ai-Todor built Kharaks castle, paved road, linking it to Chersonesus, where the garrison Roman squadron located in Chersonesos harbor. In 370, at the land of Tauris attacked hordes of Huns. Under their blows killed Scythian state and the kingdom of Bosporus, lay in ruins Naples, Panticapaeum, Hersonissos and many towns and villages. A Huns rushed further into Europe, where they became the cause of death of the great Roman Empire. In the IV century, after the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern (Byzantine), in the area of interest and the latter entered the southern part of Taurica. Hersonissos (it became known Kherson) becomes the main base of the Byzantines in the peninsula. From the Byzantine Empire in the Crimea came to Christianity. According to church tradition, first brought the good news to the peninsula Andrew, great preaching led the third bishop of Rome, St Clement, who was exiled to the Chersonese in '94. In the VIII century in the Byzantine Empire began a movement of iconoclasm, destroyed icons and murals in churches, monks, fleeing from persecution, moved to the outskirts of the Empire, including the Crimea. Here in the mountains they founded the cave temples and monasteries: Assumption, Kachi-Kalon, Shuldan, Chelter and others. At the end of the VI century in the Crimea there is a new wave of invaders - it Khazars, whose descendants are considered Karaites. They occupied the entire peninsula except Kherson (so-called Hersonissos in Byzantine documents). Since that time, the city began to play a prominent role in the history of the empire. In 705 Kherson separated from Byzantium and recognized the Khazar protectorate. In Byzantium in 710 sends a punitive fleet with troops. Fall Kherson accompanied by unprecedented brutality, but did not have time troops to leave the city, he rose again. Teaming up with the changing Byzantine punitive troops and allies of the Khazars, troops Kherson come to Constantinople and put their emperor. vladimirsky_sobor_1In the IX century, actively intervenes in the course of the history of the Crimean new force - the Slavs. Simultaneously, the decline of the Khazar powers finally defeated in the 60s of X century Kievan prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. In 988-989 years Kiev Prince Vladimir took Kherson (Korsun), where he adopted the Christian faith. During the XIII century several times invaded Taurica Golden Horde (Tatar-Mongols), exposing plunder her city. Then they began to settle on the peninsula. In the middle of the XIII century, they captured Solkhat, which became the center of the Crimean yurt Golden Horde and was named Qırım (and subsequently the entire peninsula). In the XIII century (1270) on the southern coast penetrate first the Venetians and then the Genoese. Displacing competitors, on the coast of the Genoese create a number of factors fortifications. Main becomes Kafa (Feodosia) their stronghold in Crimea, they took possession of Sudak (Soldayya), as well as Cherkio (Kerch). In the middle of the XIV century they settled in the vicinity of Kherson - in the Bay of Symbols, founding Cembalo (Balaklava) fortress there. In the same period in the mountainous Crimea was formed Orthodox Theodoro principality centered in Mangup. In the spring of 1475 off the coast of Kafa came the Turkish fleet. Well fortified city could hold out in the siege of only three days, and surrendered to the winner. Grab one of the other coastal fortress, the Turks put an end to the Genoese domination in the Crimea. Strong resistance met by the Turkish army near the walls of the capital of Theodoro. After capturing the city after a siege of six months, they destroyed it, the inhabitants killed or taken away as slaves. Crimean Khan became a vassal of the Turkish sultan. rus_tur_war_1The Crimean Khanate became conductor of Turkey's aggressive policy in relation to the Moscow State. Constant Tatar raids on the southern lands of Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania and Poland. Russia, seeking to protect its southern borders and gain access to the Black Sea, more than once fought with Turkey. In the war of 1768-1774. Turkish army and navy defeated, Küçük Kaynarca Peace Treaty was signed in 1774, by which the independence of the Crimean Khanate received. For Russia crossed Kerch in the Crimea with Yoni fortress Kale, the fortress of Azov and Kin-Bourne, Russian merchant ships could float freely on the Black Sea. In 1783, after the Russian-Turkish War (1768-1774.) Crimea was annexed to the Russian Empire. This has contributed to the strengthening of Russia and its southern borders ensure security of transport routes in the Black Sea. Most of the Muslim population left the Crimea, after moving to Turkey, region depopulated and fell into neglect, to revive the Peninsula, Prince G. Potemkin appointed governor of Tauris, he began to move from the neighboring districts of serfs and retired soldiers. It appeared on the Crimean land new village mud hut Izyumovka, clean ... Proceedings of the Most Serene Prince were not in vain, Crimea's economy developed rapidly, broke orchards, vineyards, tobacco plantations on the southern coast and in the mountain area. On the shore of the excellent natural harbor lays the city of Sevastopol as a base of the Black Sea Fleet. In a small town the Ak-mosque built Simferopol, which became the center of Taurian province. In January 1787 the Empress Catherine II, accompanied by the Austrian Emperor Joseph I of traveling under the name of Count Fankelshteyna ambassadors powerful nations of England, France and Austria, and a large retinue went to the Crimea to explore new lands to demonstrate to its allies the power and greatness of Russia: Empress stayed in travel palaces, built specially for her. During lunch in Inkerman on the window curtains suddenly parted and travelers saw being built Sevastopol, warships, welcomed empresses volleys. The effect was stunning! balaclava_crimean_war_1In 1854-1855 gg. in the Crimea were played Highlights East War (1853-1856), better known as the Crimean. In September 1854, joined the army of Britain, France and Turkey landed north of Sebastopol and besieged the city. 349 days of continued defense of the city under the command of Vice-Admiral VA Kornilov and PS Nakhimov. The war destroyed the city to the ground, but also glorified him for the whole world. Russia was defeated. In 1856, the Paris Peace Treaty, which prohibited Russia and Turkey have in the Black Sea navies has been concluded. After being defeated in the Crimean War, Russia was going through an economic crisis. Cancel in 1861 serfdom allowed to grow faster than the industry in the Crimea were undertakings engaged in processing of grain, tobacco, grapes, fruit. At the same time it started the development of the Southern coast resort. On doctor's advice Botkin's royal family gets Livadia estate. From this moment all along the coast are built palaces, manor houses belonging to members of the Romanov family, courtiers, rich industrialists and landowners. Yalta in a few years because the village has become a famous aristocratic resort. Great influence on the development of the regional economy has had a construction of railways which connected Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch and Yevpatoria with cities in Russia. It is becoming increasingly important and the Crimea as a resort. In the early XX century Crimea belonged Tauride province, in the economic and economically represented agricultural land with a small number of industrial cities. The main were Simferopol and port city of Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia. Soviet power was victorious in the Crimea later than in central Russia. The mainstay of the Bolsheviks in the Crimea was Sevastopol. 28-30 January 1918 in Sevastopol held Extraordinary Congress of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies of Taurian province. Crimea was proclaimed a Soviet Socialist Republic Tauris. It lasted a little over a month. In late April, German troops occupied the Crimea, and in November 1918 they were replaced by the British against the French. In April 1919, the Bolshevik Red Army occupied the whole of Crimea, in addition to the Kerch Peninsula, which strengthened the forces of General Denikin. May 6, 1919 Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed. In the summer of 1919 Denikin's army occupied the entire Crimea. However, in the autumn of 1920, the Red Army led by MV Frunze newly restored Soviet power. In the fall of 1921 it was formed Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR. In Crimea, the socialist construction started. According to Lenin signed a decree "On use of Crimea for the treatment of workers," All the palaces, villas, cottages were brought to a sanatorium, where the rest were treated and the workers and farmers of all the Union republics. Crimea became the All-Union health resort. During the Great Patriotic War Crimeans courageously fought the enemy. Second heroic defense of Sevastopol, which lasted 250 days, Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego Eltigen, exploit underground and partisans began pages of military history. For the resistance and courage of the defenders of the two Crimean cities - Sevastopol and Kerch - awarded the title of Hero City. yaltinskaya_konferencIn February 1945 at the Livadia Palace hosted a conference of heads of three powers - the USSR, the USA and the UK. On the Crimean (Yalta) Conference decisions were taken relating to the conclusion of the war with Germany and Japan, and the establishment of the post-war world order. After the liberation of Crimea from Nazi invaders in the spring of 1944 started the restoration of its economy: industry, health centers, rest homes, agriculture, the revival of the destroyed towns and villages. A black page in the history of Crimea was the expulsion of many nations. Fate of Tatars, Greeks, Armenians. February 19, 1954 issued a decree on the transfer of the Crimean region Ukraine. Today, many believe that Khrushchev on behalf of Russia made Ukraine a royal gift. Nevertheless, the decree signed by the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Voroshilov and Khrushchev's signature in the documents relating to the transfer of Crimea Ukraine, not at all. During the Soviet period, especially in the 60s - 80s of the last century, there was a marked increase in the Crimean industry and agriculture, the development of resorts and tourism of the peninsula. Crimea, in fact, was known as the All-Union health resort. Every year in the Crimea, rest 8-9 million people from all parts of the vast Union. 1991 - "putsch" in Moscow, and the arrest of Mikhail Gorbachev at his dacha in Foros. The collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea becomes Autonomous republic within Ukraine, and Big Yalta - summer political capital of Ukraine and the Black Sea region. March 16, 2014 - a referendum on the accession of the Russian Federation of the Crimea.