Top: Map of the Crimean Peninsula Bottom: Flag of Crimea[a]
Geography
Location
Eastern Europe
Coordinates
45°18′N34°24′E / 45.3°N 34.4°E / 45.3; 34.4
Adjacent to
Black Sea
Sea of Azov
Area
27,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi)
Highest elevation
1,545 m (5069 ft)
Highest point
Roman-Kosh
Status
Internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian Federation (see Political status of Crimea)
Ukraine (de jure but uncontrolled)
Northern Arabat Spit (Henichesk Raion) Autonomous Republic of Crimea Sevastopol
Largest settlement
Sevastopol
Russia (de facto control)
Republic of Crimea Sevastopol
Largest settlement
Sevastopol
Demographics
Demonym
Crimean
Population
2,416,856[1] (2021)
Pop. density
84.6/km2 (219.1/sq mi)
Additional information
ISO code
UA-43
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May 2015 satellite image of the Crimean Peninsula
Crimea[b] (/kraɪˈmiːə/ⓘkry-MEE-ə) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The largest city is Sevastopol. The region has a population of 2.4 million,[1] and has been under Russian occupation since 2014.
Called the Tauric Peninsula until the early modern period, Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the classical world and the steppe. Greeks colonized its southern fringe and were absorbed by the Roman and Byzantine Empires and successor states while remaining culturally Greek. Some cities became trading colonies of Genoa, until conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Throughout this time the interior was occupied by a changing cast of steppe nomads, coming under the control of the Golden Horde in the 13th century from which the Crimean Khanate emerged as a successor state. In the 15th century, the Khanate became a dependency of the Ottoman Empire. Lands controlled by Russia[c] and Poland-Lithuania were often the target of slave raids during this period. In 1783, the Russian Empire annexed Crimea after an earlier war with Turkey. Crimea's strategic position led to the 1854 Crimean War and many short lived regimes following the 1917 Russian Revolution. When the Bolsheviks secured Crimea, it became an autonomous soviet republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. It was occupied by Germany during World War II. When the Soviets retook it in 1944, Crimean Tatars were ethnically cleansed and deported under the orders of Joseph Stalin, in what has been described as a cultural genocide. Crimea was downgraded to an oblast in 1945. In 1954, the USSR transferred the oblast to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Treaty in 1654.
After Ukrainian independence in 1991, the central government and the Republic of Crimea clashed, with the region being granted more autonomy. The Soviet fleet in Crimea was also in contention, but a 1997 treaty allowed Russia to continue basing its fleet in Sevastopol. In 2014, the peninsula was occupied by Russian forces and annexed by Russia, but most countries recognise Crimea as Ukrainian territory.
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^ abЧисленность населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2021 года [The population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2021]. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). Archived from the original (XLS) on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
Crimea (/kraɪˈmiːə/ kry-MEE-ə) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and...
working on returning Crimea to Russia". On 27 February, Russian special forces without insignia seized strategic sites across Crimea. Although Russia at...
of Crimea is an administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies...
(/ˌsɛvəˈstoʊpəl, səˈvæstəpoʊl/), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the...
The Republic of Crimea is a republic of Russia, comprising most of the Crimean Peninsula, but excluding Sevastopol. Its territory corresponds to the pre-2023...
annexation of Crimea on 18 March 2014. Under Russia, the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea was replaced by the Republic of Crimea, though the legitimacy...
Kievan Rus'. During the Mongol invasion of Europe, the north and centre of Crimea fell to the Mongol Golden Horde, and in the 1440s the Crimean Khanate formed...
estimated total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was at 2,416,856 (Republic of Crimea: 1,903,707, Sevastopol: 513,149). This is up from...
decided to attack Russia's main naval base in the Black Sea, Sevastopol, in Crimea. After extended preparations, allied forces landed on the peninsula in September...
The Crimea may refer to: Crimea, several geographic entities in Eastern Europe The Crimean War of 1854 to 1856 The Crimea (band), a British band This...
The flag of Crimea (Russian: Флаг Крыма, romanized: Flag Kryma; Ukrainian: Прапор Криму, romanized: Prapor Krymu; Crimean Tatar: Qırım bayrağı / Къырым...
administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into which Crimea is divided. During much of its history, the city was a significant settlement...
the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, but currently...
The Crimean Khanate self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary,...
Autonomous Republic of Crimea. For just over two decades after 1991, Russia did not dispute the Ukrainian administration in Crimea, but retracted this stance...
Annexation of Crimea may refer to: Annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire (1783) Annexation of Ukrainian Crimea by the Russian Federation...
Crimea crisis may refer to: Crimean War (1853–1856) Russian occupation of Crimea (2014–present), a part of the Russo-Ukrainian war Annexation of Crimea...
native to Crimea. The formation and ethnogenesis of Crimean Tatars occurred during the 13th–17th centuries, uniting Cumans, who appeared in Crimea in the...
Council of Crimea may refer to: State Council of Crimea, the regional parliament of the Republic of Crimea, an unrecognized republic in the Russian Federation...
Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after its annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227...
питання Криму, romanized: pytannia Krymu) is a dispute over the status of Crimea between Ukraine and Russia. The dispute began during the dissolution of...
a metropolinate under the Bishop of Constantinople at Dorus in northern Crimea around the year 400. The Goths initially adhered to Arianism, but by the...
present-day southern Ukraine from 1441 until 1783. The position of Khan in Crimea was electoral and was picked by beys from four of the most noble families...
on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions...
(Italian: italiani di Crimea; Ukrainian: Італійці Криму; Russian: Итальянцы в Крыму) are an ethnic minority residing in Crimea, whose ancestors were Italians...
The Crimea Railway (Russian: Крымская железная дорога, romanized: Krimskaya Zheleznaya Doroga) is a railway located in Crimea, providing passenger and...
German sources as the Battle of the Crimea, was a series of offensives by the Red Army directed at the German-held Crimea. The Red Army's 4th Ukrainian Front...
Global Information
2,416,856[1] (2021)