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On March 19, 2014, the headquarters of the Southern Naval Base of Ukraine went under the control of the Russian Federation. The headquarters gates near the checkpoint were demolished by a bulldozer. Russian military civilian vehicles blocked the exit from the fleet of vehicles. After that, the ships "Vinnitsa", "Konstantin Olshansky", "Kirovograd", "Cherkassy" and "Chernigov" came to the middle of Donuzlav to prevent capture. March 20, Vitaliy Zvyagintsev, commander of the 5 brigades of the surface ships of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, who crossed Russia, ordered all ships to berth.
On March 21, three machine gun points were deployed on the shore, the berth was occupied by Russian military personnel. On the same day, the ships "Kirovograd", "Theodosius" and "Chernigov" approached the berth and surrendered. The commander of Kirovgrad, captain of the 3rd rank Volodymyr Khromchenkov, called the Shuster Live transmission live in the evening and told that the ships are waiting for an adequate order for their further fate, adding that the leadership is not connected with him. The next day, with the commander contacted the head of the Presidential Administration Serhiy Pashynskyi.
Later, the commander of "Kirovograd" Volodymyr Khromchenkov, the commander of "Theodosius" O. Bily and the commander of "Chernigov" Boris Paliy passed to the side of Russia.
March 21, the minesweeper Cherkasy made the first attempt to break through with Donuzlav. "Cherkasy" was hit by mooring cables one of the flooded ships and tried to delay it. The operation lasted about two hours, but the miner was not able to do it because of a lack of power. The commander of the ship Yuri Fedash asked for help from the minesweeper "Chernigov", but he was denied. On this day, two officers, one midshipman and nine people came from Cherkassy. Instead, on board three sailors climbed from the minesweeper "Chernigov".
On March 22, the corvette "Vinnitsa", as a result of the assault, raised the Andriyivsky flag, and the commander Sergei Zagolnikov eventually turned to Russia. On the same day, Sergei Gaiduk said that food supplies on ships that are in Donuzlav are left for 10 days. On March 23, the "Henichesk" raid trawler attempted to exit Donuzlav, however, it was blocked by the tug of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. On the same day, Yuri Fedash, commander of the Cherkasy minesweeper, said that he had a relationship with the command.
On the night of March 24, a small vessel was flooded. Later, Konstantin Olshansky used smokescreens, but was still captured from the boat U8301, as well as the minesweeper Genichesk. Captain Konstantin Olshansky Dmitry Kovalenko said that the issue of flooding was not considered. At the time of capture of the ship from 120 crew left 21. For all time, "Konstantin Olshansky" was thrown about 400 grenades. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine named the seizure of ships by Russia - piracy.
The trawler "Cherkasy" made an attempt to leave Donuzlav, passing between two floodplain ships. As a result, the trawler was blocked by a towering vessel, from which attempts were made to land on board. According to Fedash, he considered a variant of capture of this vessel, but the leadership in Kiev refused. He also said that in order to prevent the seizure of the ship, they fired on water and used grenades. Also on March 24 President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchinov said that the Ministry of Defense was given an order to withdraw military units from the Crimea.
On March 25, an unknown boat traveled around the minesweeper "Cherkasy". March 26, the last Ukrainian ship in Crimea - a minesweeper "Cherkasy" was captured by two Mi-35 helicopters and three boats. The ship maneuvered for several hours, but was still captured using firearms and light-and-noise grenades. According to Fedash, Tambov Special Forces participated in the capture of "Cherkasy".
During the assault, there we no victims, however, control mechanisms were damaged. As a result, the tug "Kovel" pulled "Cherkasy" to the berth. The next day the crew went to the coast and traveled to the mainland Ukraine, the last of the ship came commander Yuri Fedash, after which the Ukrainian symbolism was removed from the minesweeper.
Following the capture of Ukrainian ships, Alexander Turchinov instructed the Defense Minister of Ukraine Mikhail Koval that "no warships should remain in captivity". On April 19, 2014, the ships "Kirovograd", "Vinnytsia", "Kherson", "Kovel", "Gorlovka" and "Novoozernye" were returned to Ukraine and relocated to Odessa. The transfer took place in neutral waters, where the ships were towed by the Russian side, after which the Ukrainian flags were again raised on the ships. In May the minesweeper "Genichesk" and passenger boat "Dobropillya" were transferred to Ukraine.
As of June 2015, the ships "Chernihiv", "Cherkasy" and "Konstantin Olshansky" were not returned to Ukraine.
On August 8, 2014, in Novoozerne, the head of the State Council of the Crimea, Volodymyr Konstantinov opened a memorial sign to the flooded ships that blocked the exit of the naval ships of the Naval Forces of Ukraine. On the memorial plaque it is written: In memory of the ships that were flooded in March 2014 for the reunification of the Crimea with Russia.
On March 27, 2014, the commander of theminesweeper "Cherkasy" Yury Fedash was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of Cherkasy, and on August 24 the Order of Danylo Halytsky was presented. April 4, congratulations were received by the crew of the minesweeper "Cherkasy" in the center of the city of the same name, where they were greeted as heroes.
In April 2014, the rock band "Lyapis Trubetskoy" invited the sailors of the "Konstantin Olshansky" to his concert in Odessa and called the Ukrainian sailors in Donuzlav heroes. They also noted a video clip that was shot on a ship, where sailors perform the song "Warriors of the World". However, it is erroneously believed that the video was taken to the Cherkasy minesweeper. On April 6, 2014, before the match between Dynamo Kyiv and Kharkiv Metalist within the framework of the Ukrainian Championship, seamen from Kirovograd were invited to the stadium "Olimpiysky ", whom they met as heroes.
On August 24, 2014, during a military parade on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said: "Ukraine will never forget the actions of the crew of the minesweeper Cherkasy, which until recently maneuvered and defended its ship in the Donuzlav bay".
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the disputed territory of Crimea (claimed and "de facto" administered by Russia as the Republic of Crimea, but recognised as a part of Ukraine by most of the international community as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) in March 2020. The Russian government includes cases in the Republic of Crimea in the count of cases in Russia.
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
On 21 March, the first case was confirmed.
As of May 11, the Russian head of Crimea reported 126 COVID-19 cases in the city of Sevastopol and 202 cases in the rest of the peninsula, for 328 cases in total.
According to the Crimean Human Rights Group, on July 10, 2020, there were ten new cases in Crimea including Sevastopol. The total count during the pandemic was 1,089 with 37 deaths.
The Krymchaks (Krymchak: , , , ) are Jewish ethno-religious communities of Crimea derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Rabbinic Judaism. They have historically lived in close proximity to the Crimean Karaites, who are also Turkic but follow Karaite Judaism.
At first "krymchak" was a Russian descriptive used to differentiate them from their Ashkenazi Jewish coreligionists, as well as other Jewish communities in the former Russian Empire such as the Georgian Jews, but in the second half of the 19th century this name was adopted by the Krymchaks themselves. Before this their self-designation was "Срель балалары" ("Srel balalary") – literally "Children of Israel". The Crimean Tatars referred to them as "zuluflı çufutlar" ("Jews with pe'ot") to distinguish them from the Karaites, who were called "zulufsız çufutlar" ("Jews without pe'ot").
The Krymchaks are likely a result of diverse origins whose ancestors probably included Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, and Jews from the Byzantine empire, Genoa, Georgia, and other places.
The late classical era saw great upheaval in the region as Crimea was occupied by Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Khazars, and other peoples. Jewish merchants such as the Radhanites began to develop extensive contacts in the Pontic region during this period, and probably maintained close relations with the proto-Krymchak communities. Khazar dominance of Crimea during the Early Middle Ages is considered to have had at least a partial impact on Krymchak demographics.
In the late 7th century most of Crimea fell to the Khazars. The extent to which the Krymchaks influenced the ultimate conversion of the Khazars and the development of Khazar Judaism is unknown. During the period of Khazar rule, intermarriage between Crimean Jews and Khazars was likely, and the Krymchaks probably absorbed numerous Khazar refugees during the decline and fall of the Khazar kingdom (a Khazar successor state, ruled by Georgius Tzul, was centered in Kerch). It is known that Kipchak converts to Judaism existed, and it is possible that from these converts the Krymchaks adopted their distinctive language.
In times when the Crimea belonged to the Byzantine Empire and after then, waves of Byzantine Jews settled there. These newcomers were in most cases merchants from Constantinople and brought with them Romaniote Jewish practices (Bonfil 2011).
The Mongol conquerors of the Pontic–Caspian steppe were promoters of religious freedom, and the Genoese occupation of southern Crimea (1315–1475) saw rising degrees of Jewish settlement in the region. The Jewish community was divided among those who prayed according to the Sephardi, Ashkenazi and Romaniote rites. In 1515 the different traditions were united into a distinctive Krymchak prayer book, which represented the Romaniote rite by Rabbi Moshe Ha-Golah, a Chief Rabbi of Kiev, who had settled in Crimea.
In the 18th century the community was headed by David Ben Karasubazar Lehno Eliezer (d. 1735), author of the introduction to the "Kaffa" rite prayer book and "Mishkan David" ("Abode of David"), devoted to Hebrew grammar. He was also the author of a monumental Hebrew historical chronicle, "Devar sefataim" ("Utterance the mouth"), on the history of the Crimean Khanate.
Under the Crimean Khanate the Jews lived in separate quarters and paid the dhimmi-tax (the Jizya). A limited judicial autonomy was granted according to the Ottoman millet system. Overt, violent persecution was extremely rare.
According to anthropologist S.Vaysenberg, "The origin of Krymchaks is lost in the darkness of the ages. Only one thing can be said, that they carry less Turkic blood than the Karaites, although certain kinship between both peoples and the Khazars can hardly be denied. But Krymchaks during the Middle Ages and modern times constantly mixed with their European counterparts. There was an admixture with Italian Jews from the time of the Genoeses with the arrival of the Lombroso, Pyastro and other families. Cases of intermarriage with Russian Jews occurred in recent times.
There is no general work on the ethnography of Krymchaks. The available summary of folklore materials is not complete. Extensive anthroponimic data has been collected from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but does not cover earlier periods, for which archival material does exist. The study of each of these groups of sources can shed light on the ethnogenesis of the Krymchak ethnic minority.
The Russian Empire annexed Crimea in 1783. The Krymchaks were thereafter subjected to the same religious persecution imposed on other Jews in Russia. Unlike their Karaite neighbors, the Krymchaks suffered the full brunt of anti-Jewish restrictions.
During the 19th century many Ashkenazim from Ukraine and Lithuania began to settle in Crimea. Compared with these Ashkenazim the Krymchaks seemed somewhat backward; their illiteracy rates, for example, were quite high, and they held fast to many superstitions. Intermarriage with the Ashkenazim reduced the numbers of the distinct Krymchak community dramatically. By 1900 there were 60,000 Ashkenazim and only 6,000 Krymchaks in Crimea.
In the mid-19th century the Krymchaks became followers of Rabbi Chaim Hezekiah Medini, also known by the name of his work the Sedei Chemed, a Sephardi rabbi born in Jerusalem who had come to Crimea from Istanbul. His followers accorded him the title of gaon. Settling in Karasubazaar, the largest Krymchak community in Crimea, Rabbi Medini spent his life raising their educational standards.
The picture of the Sedei Chemed here incorrectly says: Krymchak, Crimean Jew (author of the Sdei Hemed, Rabbi Chaim Hezekiah Medini.) The Sedei Chemed himself was not a Krymchak, but he did marry one, so his children were Krymchaki, and he still has Krymchaki descendants today. (Heard verbally from the former head of the Crimean Krymchak community, Viktor Lombrozo, and others.)
By 1897, the Krymchaks stopped being "the majority of Talmudic Jews on the Crimean Peninsula".
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, civil war tore apart Crimea. Many Krymchaks were killed in the fighting between the Red Army and the White Movement. More still died in the famines of the early 1920s and the early 1930s. Many emigrated to the Holy Land, the United States and Turkey.
Under Joseph Stalin, the Krymchaks were forbidden to write in Hebrew and were ordered to employ the Cyrillic alphabet to write their own language. Synagogues and yeshivas were closed by government decree. Krymchaks were compelled to work in factories and collective farms.
Unlike the Crimean Karaites, the Krymchaks were targeted for annihilation by the Nazis. Six thousand Krymchaks, almost 75% of their population, were killed by the Nazis. Moreover, upon the return of Soviet authority to the region, many Krymchaks found themselves deported to Central Asia along with their Crimean Tatar neighbors.
By 2000, only about 600 Krymchaks lived in the former Soviet Union, about half in Ukraine and the remainder in Georgia, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Some 600–700 Krymchaks still clinging to their Crimean identity live in Israel, and others in the United States.
The Krymchaks practice Orthodox or Talmudic Judaism. Their unique "nusah," or prayer book, known as Nusah Kaffa, emerged during the 16th century. Kaffa was a former name of the Crimean city of Feodosia.
Traditional occupations for the Krymchaks included farming, trade, and viticulture.
The dress and customs of the Krymchaks resembled that of the nearby Karaites and Crimean Tatars.
The Kymchaks considered themselves a distinct group and rarely intermarried with Karaites or the Crimean Tatars. The Krymchaks used to practice polygamy but then adopted monogamy by the late 19th century.
The North Crimean Canal (, ; in the Soviet Union: North Crimean Canal of the Lenin's Komsomol of Ukraine) is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine, and the Crimean Peninsula. The canal also has multiple branches throughout Kherson Oblast and the Crimean Peninsula.
The construction preparation started in 1957 soon after the transfer of Crimea of 1954. The main project works took place between 1961 and 1971 and had three stages. The construction was conducted by the Komosomol members sent by the Komsomol travel ticket ("Komsomolskaya putyovka") as part of shock construction projects and accounted for some 10,000 volunteer workers.
The idea to construct the canal was raised in the 19th century, particularly by the Russian-Finnish botanist Christian von Steven. But it was not until after World War II when the decision was finally adopted on September 21, 1950 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Government of the Soviet Union. The decision was to build the Kakhovka Hydro Electric Station, South Ukrainian and North Crimean canals. In 1951 the Soviet postal service released a commemorative post stamp where the North Crimean Canal was categorized as one of the Great Construction Projects of Communism.
Since the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian authorities greatly cut the volume of water flowing into Crimea via the canal, citing a huge outstanding debt on water supplies owed by the peninsula. This caused the peninsula's agricultural harvest which is heavily dependent on irrigation to fail in 2014.
Crimean water sources are being connected to the North Crimean Canal to replace the former Ukrainian sources. The objective is to restore irrigation and urban supplies to the Kerch Peninsula and to smaller communities on the east coast of Crimea. In 2014, a reservoir was built to store water of the rivers of the Eastern Crimea near the village of Novoivanovka, Nyzhnohirskyi Raion. The North Crimean Canal is connected with the Novoivanovka reservoir.
According to official Russian statistics, the Crimean agricultural industry fully overcame the consequences of blocking the North Crimean Canal and crop yields grew by a factor of 1.5 from 2013 by 2016. The reported rapid growth in agricultural production in the Crimea is due to the fact that, with the help of subsidies of the order of 2–3 billion rubles a year from the budget of the Russian Federation, agricultural producers of Crimea were able to increase the fleet of agricultural machinery.
These statistics contrasts with reports of a massive shrinkage in the area under cultivation in Crimea, from 130,000 hectares in 2013 to just 14,000 in 2017.
The President of the Republic of Crimea (; ) was the head of the state of the Republic of Crimea, Ukraine from February 16, 1994 to the time of the liquidation of this position on March 17, 1995. The post was liquidated as it contradicted the Constitution of Ukraine.
The first round of voting in the Crimean presidential elections was held on January 16, 1994, and on January 30, the second round was held. With 72.9% of the vote, the pro-Russian politician Yuriy Meshkov was declared the winner. He was the only person to hold the post of President of the Republic of Crimea.
Eski Yurt (, , ) — a historical settlement in South West Crimea, presently a historical quarter in the western part of Bakhchisaray. Its name derives from the Crimean Tatar language terms for "old settlement" or "old headquarter" and "felt tent".
Eventually, after the new Crimean capital Bakhchisaray had been founded in 1532, Eski Yurt lost its economic and administrative status (and apparently received its later name of "Old Settlement"; the original name remains unknown). Nevertheless, up to the beginning of the 20th century Eski Yurt was still considered by the Crimean Tatars as one of the most important Muslim religious centers in the Crimea due to the sanctuary of Malik Ashtar which existed there.
Aziz of Malik Ashtar in Eski Yurt.
The Aziz ("sanctuary") of Malik Ashtar was located in the central part of Eski Yurt. It was a large Muslim cemetery whose main object was the "maqam" (symbolical tomb) of Malik al-Ashtar en-Nahai (618-658), a companion of khalif Ali Ibn Abi Talib (618-657), actually buried in Cairo, Egypt. Similar "maqam" attributed to Malik Ashtar is situated also in Diyarbakır, Turkey.
The Crimean Tatar tales portray Malik Ashtar as a dragon fighter and the brave warrior, who was the first to spread Islam in Crimea. According to the legends, he was wounded to the death in a battle with giants and died in Eski Yurt. Long time after, the legends say, his grave was discovered in a miraculous way by dervishes of the Nakshbandi (or Mevlevi) order, who established the shrine of his name. The Crimean Tatars believed that those bitten by snakes may obtain healing visiting the Aziz of Malik Ashtar and praying there.
The shrine was surrounded by a large Muslim cemetery with hundreds of engravements arranged in common graves, underground stone vaults and in mausoleums. As narrative sources state, the cemetery was a place to bury noble people including some of the Crimean Tatar rulers from the Giray dynasty. The mosque at Aziz, besides being a common prayer house, was also used as a "tekiye" for the dervishes who practiced their mystical rituals and prayer dances inside it.
The Muslim religious center in Eski Yurt attracted a lot of visitors and existed till the 1920s when the Soviet regime closed it along with many other shrines and temples of different faiths.
Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov (; – ) was the most illustrious Russian naval commander and admiral of the 18th century. He is notable for winning every engagement he participated in as the Admiral of the Russian fleet.
On 15 February 1761, he signed up for the Russian Navy in Saint Petersburg. After training, he served on a galley in the Baltic Fleet. In 1768 he was transferred to the Don Flotilla (Azov Sea Navy) in Taganrog, and served in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74). He commanded Catherine II's own yacht, and was active in protecting Russian merchant ships in the Mediterranean during the First League of Armed Neutrality.
After the Russian Empire conquered the Crimean Khanate in 1783, Ushakov personally supervised the construction of a naval base in Sevastopol and the building of docks in Kherson. During the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92), he defeated the Ottomans at Fidonisi (1788), Kerch Strait (1790), Tendra (1790), and Cape Kaliakra (1791). In these battles, he demonstrated the ingenuity of his innovative doctrines in the art of naval warfare.
In 1798 Ushakov was promoted to full admiral and given command of a squadron which sailed to the Mediterranean via Constantinople, where it joined with a Ottoman squadron. The combined Russian-Ottoman fleet then operated under Ushakov's command in the War of the Second Coalition against the French Republic. The expedition started by conquering the Ionian islands, acquired by France the year before from the defunct Republic of Venice in the Treaty of Campo Formio. This action culminated in the Siege of Corfu (1798–1799), and led to the subsequent creation of the Septinsular Republic. Ushakov's squadron then blockaded French bases in Italy, notably Genoa and Ancona, and successfully assaulted Naples and Rome.
Tsar Paul, in his capacity as the Grand Master of the Order of St. John, ordered Ushakov to proceed to Malta, which a British fleet under Nelson was assisting in besieging.
However, after rendezvousing with the Coalition forces on Malta, Ushakov was almost immediately recalled back home to Russia in 1800 (along with his fleet), where the new Emperor, Alexander I, failed to appreciate his victories. Ushakov resigned command in 1807 and withdrew into the Sanaksar Monastery in modern-day Mordovia. He was asked to command the local militia during the Patriotic War of 1812 but declined.
In the course of 43 naval battles under his command he did not lose a single ship and never lost a battle.
Distinguishing features of Ushakov's tactics were: use of unified marching and fighting orders; resolute closing to close quarters with the enemy forces without evolution of a fighting order; concentration of effort against enemy flagships; maintaining a reserve (Kaiser-flag squadrons); combination of aimed artillery fire and maneuvering; and chasing the enemy to its total destruction or capture. Giving great value to sea and fire training of his staff, Ushakov was a supporter of generalissimo Suvorov's principles of training for sailors and officers. Ushakov's innovations were among the first successful developments of naval tactics, from its "line" to maneuvering concepts.
Several warships have been named after Admiral Ushakov.
On 3 March 1944 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR established the Order of Ushakov for Navy officers who showed outstanding achievement leading to victory over a numerically superior enemy. This medal was one of several which was preserved in Russia upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, thus remaining one of the highest military awards in the Russian Federation. The Ushakov Medal was established simultaneously for servicemen who had risked their life in naval theatres defending the Soviet Union. In May 2014, the medal was presented to 19 surviving British sailors who had served on the Arctic convoys during World War II in a ceremony aboard HMS "Belfast".
The Baltic Naval Institute in Kaliningrad also carries his name. The minor planet 3010 Ushakov, discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh in 1978, is named after him.
In 1953 two Soviet films were released portraying his career "Attack from the Sea" and "Admiral Ushakov". In both films he was played by Ivan Pereverzev.
Ushakov is one of the eight patrons depicted in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ at Patriot Park, Moscow
On 7 August 2001 the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Fyodor Ushakov as a Saint and declared as the patron of Russian Navy, His relics are enshrined in Sanaksar Monastery, Temnikov, Russia.
In 2005, in the Cathedral of St. Theodore Ushakov in Saransk (Mordovia), Patriarch Alexius II declared Saint Feodor Ushakov the patron saint of Russian nuclear-armed strategic bombers.
The Crimean journey of Catherine the Great (, also known as Таврический вояж (Taurida Voyage) at the time) was a six-month (January 2, 1787 — July 11, 1787) inspection trip of Catherine II of Russia to the newly acquired lands of New Russia and Crimea, gained as a result of the victorious wars against the Ottoman Empire (1735–39 and 1768–74) and peace treaties with the Cossack Hetmanate followed by the forced liquidation of free Zaporizhian Sich. The trip was carried out with her court and several ambassadors. During the trip she met with the Austrian emperor Joseph II, travelling incognito. The trip was arranged by Gregory Potemkin, a favorite and lover of Catherine II. The trip happened when the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) was just about to erupt.
Since these times the expression "Potemkin village" came into being, referring to the legend about fake villages hastily erected by Potemkin along the Catherine's route, in order to impress the Empress.
Taurida Oblast (, "Tavricheskaya oblast′") was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Southern Ukraine regions. It was created out of territories of the Crimean Khanate, which Russia annexed in 1783. In 1796 it was merged into the Novorossiya Governorate.
The oblast was created under the Imperial ukase of 13 February 1784 signed by Catherine the Great. The administrative seat of the region was declared the city of Simferopol. Before 1784 Qarasuvbazar served as a temporary administrative center.
The oblast was divided into seven counties (uyezd).
In 1787 Levkopol and Levkopol county were renamed into Feodosiya and Feodosiya county respectfully. In 1791 an administrative seat of Melitopol county was moved to Great Tokmak.
On 12 December 1796 the oblast was abolished, its territory was redivided into two counties (Aqmescit (former Simferopol) and Perekop) and passed to the Novorossiya Governorate. The city of Simferopol was changed to Aqmescit.
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire
The territory of Crimea, previously controlled by the Crimean Khanate, was annexed by the Russian Empire on . The period before the annexation was marked by Russian interference in Crimean affairs, a series of revolts by Crimean Tatars, and Ottoman ambivalence. The annexation began 134 years of rule by the Russian Empire, which ended with the Russian Revolution of 1917.
After changing hands several times during the Russian Civil War, Crimea was part of the Russian Soviet Republic from 1921, and then was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954, which became independent Ukraine in 1991–1992. The Russian Federation annexed Crimea in March 2014, re-establishing Russian rule of the peninsula, though that annexation is not internationally recognised.
In March 1783, Prince Potemkin made a rhetorical push to encourage Empress Catherine to annex Crimea. Having just returned from Crimea, he told her that many Crimeans would "happily" submit to Russian rule. Encouraged by this news, Empress Catherine issued a formal proclamation of annexation on . Tatars did not resist the annexation. After years of turmoil, the Crimeans lacked the resources and the will to continue fighting. Many fled the peninsula, leaving for Anatolia. Count Alexander Bezborodko, then a close advisor to the Empress, wrote in his diary that Russia was forced to annex Crimea:
This view was far from reality. Crimean "independence" had been a puppet regime, and the Ottomans had played little role in the Crimean revolts. Crimea was incorporated into the Empire as the Taurida Oblast. Later that year, the Ottoman Empire signed an agreement with Russia that recognised the loss of Crimea and other territories that had been held by the Khanate. The agreement, signed on 28 December 1783, was negotiated by Russian diplomat Yakov Bulgakov.
Feodosiysky Uyezd ("Феодосийский уезд") was one of the subdivisions of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southeastern part of the governorate, in eastern Crimea. Its administrative centre was Feodosiya.
At the time of the Russian Empire Census of 1897, Feodosiysky Uyezd had a population of 24,096. Of these, 46.8% spoke Russian, 18.8% Crimean Tatar, 11.4% Yiddish, 7.7% Ukrainian, 5.3% Greek, 3.7% Armenian, 2.5% Polish, 1.3% German, 0.6% Belarusian, 0.5% Turkish, 0.3% Latvian, 0.2% Italian, 0.2% Bulgarian, 0.2% French, 0.1% Moldovan or Romanian and 0.1% Czech as their native language.
Yevpatoriysky Uyezd ("Евпаторийский уезд") was one of the subdivisions of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southwestern part of the governorate, in western Crimea. Its administrative centre was Yevpatoria.
At the time of the Russian Empire Census of 1897, Yevpatoriysky Uyezd had a population of 63,211. Of these, 42.7% spoke Crimean Tatar, 21.1% Ukrainian, 17.6% Russian, 12.0% German, 2.5% Yiddish, 1.6% Greek, 0.7% Armenian, 0.6% Estonian, 0.3% Polish, 0.3% Belarusian, 0.2% Czech, 0.1% Romani, 0.1% Mordvin and 0.1% Moldovan or Romanian as their native language.
Yaltinsky Uyezd ("Ялтинский уезд") was one of the subdivisions of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southern part of the governorate, in southern Crimea. Its administrative centre was Yalta.
At the time of the Russian Empire Census of 1897, Yaltinsky Uyezd had a population of 73,260. Of these, 59.0% spoke Crimean Tatar, 27.1% Russian, 5.4% Greek, 2.8% Ukrainian, 1.5% Turkish, 0.9% Armenian, 0.6% Polish, 0.4% German, 0.3% Belarusian, 0.1% French, 0.1% Estonian and 0.1% Czech as their native language.
The Battle of Malakoff (, ) was a French attack against Russian forces on the Malakoff redoubt and its subsequent capture on 8 September 1855 as a part of the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. The French army under General MacMahon successfully stormed the Malakoff redoubt, while a simultaneous British attack on the Redan to the south of the Malakoff was repulsed. In one of the war's defining moments, the French "zouave" Eugène Libaut raised the French flag on the top of the Russian redoubt. The Battle of Malakoff resulted in the fall of Sevastopol on 9 September, bringing the 11-month siege to an end.
Until 1784 most of the fortifications around Sevastopol were dedicated to the protection of the harbour entrance, the city itself and its naval base and were positioned close to these features. The construction of fortifications in the surrounding hills had been planned as early as 1837, but at the time of the battle only basic facilities and roadways had been completed on the north side of the long, westward-facing bay. To the south the central anchor of the defence system was the Malakoff-Kurgan ridge. Situated about southeast of the city, it consisted of a two-story stone tower of limestone on which the Russians had placed five heavy 18-pounder cannons at the beginning of the siege.
There is some mystery surrounding this tower. Although it is known that the tower was built some time before the start of the war, the historical records do not show exactly when this occurred, and no mention of this is made in the contemporary descriptions of the siege itself. Additionally, there are different spellings and translations into or from Russian, including Малахова башня. What is known is that the tower was originally built or expanded by Sevastopol merchants and then later taken over by the Russian Navy. The tower had a diameter of about and a height of . In its centre the battery known as "Lunette Kamchatka" was placed. This was a smaller fortification that was designed to protect several artillery pieces.
At this time the Russian cartographers marked all landmarks in and around this ridge as "Fort Malakoff". This included several large grave mounds and the same ridge lying in front known as Mamelon ("vert Mamelon"). The name "Fortmortal Malakoff" (or French "Fort Malakoff", Russian "Malakhoff") was retained after the war in Western literature covering the Crimean War.
The harbour of Sevastopol, formed by the estuary of the Chernaya, was protected against attack by sea not only by the Russian war-vessels, afloat and sunken, but also by heavy granite forts on the south side and by the defensive works. For the town itself and the Karabelnaya suburb the plans for the works had been laid down for years. The Malakoff Tower covered the suburb, flanked on either side by the Redan and the Little Redan. The town was covered by a line of works marked by a flagstaff and central bastions, and separated from the Redan by the inner harbour.

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