It is a well-known fact that the Crimean peninsula has a unique climate. Crimea, whose territory occupies 26.9 thousand km2, is not only a well-known Black Sea he alth resort, but also a he alth resort of Azov. The waters of these two continental seas wash its shores. In addition, Crimea has significant potential for the development of irrigated agriculture: horticulture and viticulture.
The peninsula has a multi-level relief. In the north and in the center, the steppe relief prevails, it occupies ¾ of the territory of Crimea, in the south it is limited to three ridges of gently sloping sedimentary Crimean mountains, stretching in a strip 160 km long. The southern coast pleases with its resort opportunities. Accordingly, in terms of climate, the area of the Crimean peninsula includes three recreational zones:
- the most demanded - subtropical (southern coast of Crimea);
- steppe Crimea;
- mountainous Crimea.
Millions of tourists in the summer become guests of his friendly cities: Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia. This is -the largest cities of the peninsula, we will present a brief description of some of them below. According to statistics, at present, 5-6 million tourists visit the peninsula during the season. Is it a lot or a little? For comparison, resorts in Turkey in 2011 were visited by 31.456 million tourists. It's all about infrastructure and promotion. As you can see, Crimea has something to strive for…
Population of Crimea
The population of the Crimean peninsula, according to Krymstat data as of 2014-01-01, is more than 2.342 million people and tends to increase. The reason is the migration attractiveness of Crimea. At the same time, urban residents have a share of 62.7% on the peninsula, and rural residents, respectively, 37.3%. In national terms, according to the 2001 census, the population of Crimea is represented mainly by Russians (58.3%), Ukrainians (24.3%), Crimean Tatars (12.1%), Belarusians (1.5%). The remaining nationalities in the population of the peninsula occupy a much smaller share - less than 1%.
By the way, the 2001 census of the Crimean population showed an interesting fact: there are more Izhors (a small Finnish-Ugric people) on its territory than in their historical homeland.
Cities of Crimea
Cities of the Crimean peninsula are not numerous. There are currently 18 of them. Let's present a brief description of some of them.
The administrative, cultural and industrial center of Crimea is the 360,000th city of Simferopol. In Greek, its name sounds like "city of benefit." This is the most important transport hub. It is throughits roads lead to all settlements of the peninsula.
Simferopol's industry is significant: about 70 large enterprises, including the Foton, Pnevmatika, Santekhprom, Krymprodmash, Fiolent and others factories. Accordingly, the population of the city is quite qualified. The main universities of the peninsula are located in the city, so it is called the scientific center of Crimea. We also recall that Simferopol is the birthplace of Academician Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov, actor Roman Sergeevich Filippov, singer Yuri Iosifovich Bogatikov.
The city of Sevastopol was built by decree of Empress Catherine II as a fortress. It is of strategic importance in the Black Sea region as an ice-free port and naval base. Since 2014, according to the Russian Constitution, Sevastopol has federal significance, being the main base of the Black Sea Fleet.
In accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, Sevastopol was endowed with a special status. The industrial potential of the "city of Russian sailors" is determined by the local fishing port, fish cannery and plant, Inkerman winery, shipbuilding and ship repair plants. The city of Sevastopol is also a significant resort center on the southern coast of the Black Sea, with about 200 sanatoriums and 49 kilometers of beaches.
One of the oldest cities in the world is Kerch, in its place in the 7th century AD. e. Hellenes founded the city of Panticapaeum. The industry of Kerch is represented by mining, metal processing, shipbuilding, construction, and fishing enterprises. resort townsCrimea with a population exceeding 100 thousand are Evpatoria and Y alta, more than 83 thousand inhabitants in Feodosia. A map of the cities of the Crimean peninsula shows that most of them are located on the coast. The exceptions are Simferopol, Belogorsk and Dzhankoy.
It should be noted that the existing urban structure of Crimea is historically balanced. Further urbanization of the peninsula is hindered by its limited water resources.
Recent past. All-Union He alth Resort
Crimea, the Black Sea… these words were well known to every Soviet person. How many people rested on the peninsula? It is difficult to find exact statistics. The official figure is 10 million. However, it was compiled based on data from he alth resort institutions.
At the same time, very significant flows of vacationers traveled to the Crimea on their own and organized their holidays themselves. However, they were not included in the official statistics. We are talking about the so-called "savages". One of the authors of Literaturnaya Gazeta made a joke about them in the 1960s. He said that this way of recreation became so popular in the USSR that the press began to use the word "savage" without quotes.
In their suitcases there was a map of the Crimean peninsula, and they chose the route and place of rest themselves… How to count them? To account for the number of citizens who have a rest on their own, an informal "bread" technology was used. The calculation is simple: almost all citizens consume bread every day. One person per day, on average, accounts for 200-250 grams. Growthconsumption of bread during the holiday season and made it possible to determine the number of "savages". The result is impressive statistics: if in 1958 there were about 300 thousand of them, then in 1988 - 6.2 million people.
Thus, the Soviet Crimea during the holiday season (from May to September) provided its recreational resources for 16 million Soviet people. And if we take into account that the Turkish holiday season is twice as long, then we will come to the conclusion: Crimea in the 80s of the last century provided rest for a flow of people commensurate with modern Turkish, however, if we take into account the "savages".
Natural resources
Crimea is endowed with significant deposits of natural gas, oil, mineral s alts, iron ore. Preliminary estimates estimate the total volume of gas deposits as follows - more than 165 billion m3, oil - about 47 million tons, iron ore - more than 1.8 billion tons.
Despite the efficient extraction of minerals, the Crimean peninsula, according to experts, has much greater potential due to its unique natural resources, which are promising for creating a year-round international medical rehabilitation base on it.
Their fullest use is a strategic task for the entire Crimean economy.
This peninsula is original and capable of surprising. On 5.8% of its territory there are objects and lands related to protected funds.
Crimean fresh water reserves are the subject of many discussions. Although the map of the Crimean Peninsula shows the presence of 257 local rivers,The largest among which are Alma, Belbek, Kacha, Salgir, but almost all of them have limited food from the mountains and dry up in summer. 120 Crimean rivers are no longer than 10 km, they are more like mountain streams than rivers. The longest is Salgir (204 km).
There are many lakes on the peninsula, more than 80. However, these reservoirs are of marine origin, they are lifeless due to the high salinity of the water. Such lakes do not contribute to the development of agriculture, oppressing the soil.
On the one hand, the significant climatic agricultural potential of the region, and on the other hand, insufficient water determined the need for human intervention in this imbalance. Of decisive importance for water supply is the North Crimean Canal, which supplies Dnieper water to the peninsula. Its volume in 2003 was 83.5% of the total water supply of Crimea.
Thus, the artificial construction of three stages of the canal compensated for the shortage of water, which objectively could not be provided by either the own rivers of the Crimean peninsula or its lakes. By the way, the share of rivers in the region's water supply is only 9.5%.
The steppe part of Crimea produces drinking water from artesian basins. Its share is also low - 6.6% of the total. Although clean, high-quality water is extracted from wells.
Statistics show that one inhabitant of the Crimea has an average daily volume of water 4.7 times less than for a resident of the middle zone. In addition, the cost of water in Crimea is also traditionally higher.
Flora of Crimea
If arable land lies in the center and north of the peninsula, then inmountains there is a riot of primordial flora. There, to the delight of specialists, 240 species of unique, endemic plants grow. The northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains are covered with dense deciduous forest, oak groves grow below, oak and hornbeam groves grow above. The southern slopes of the mountains are covered with pine forests. Among the conifers is the endemic Crimean pine.
The nature of the Crimean peninsula is exceptionally favorable for the creation of cultivated arboretums of the southern coast, numbering hundreds and thousands of plants harmoniously planted by specialists. If wild vegetation is represented by shrub thickets (shibliak), then cultivated seaside parks are man-made pearls of this ancient land. A special place among them belongs to the oldest Nikitsky Botanical Garden, which presents plants from all over the world to tourists. However, Massandra, Livadiysky, Forossky, Vorontsovsky parks also have masterpieces of dendrological collections of hundreds of plants. And this is not a complete list of Crimean dendrological plantations.
History. Ancient world
The history of Crimea is attractive and eventful. Its territory has long attracted conquerors. Some of the original inhabitants, the Cimmerians, who lived as early as the 12th century, were supplanted by the Scythians. Other indigenous people, the Taurians, who lived in the foothills and mountains, assimilated with the conquerors. Crimea became part of the Scythian state.
In the V century BC. e. Hellenes used the Crimean peninsula to establish on its southern coast (Tavrika, as theycalled) their colonial cities: Chersonese, Kafa, Panticapaeum. At this stage, it was not about the statehood of the peninsula, but rather about the Greek colonization of the coast. At the same time, the Scythians owned the steppes.
Recall that Crimea is also called the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy. It was here, on the land of Chersonesos, in the 1st century AD. e. Apostle Andrew the First-Called landed, preaching to the Tauri and Scythians.
63 CE e. was marked by the annexation of Crimea by the Roman Empire, which took control of the cities built by the Greeks. After the fall of this mighty power, the peninsula was subjected to several attacks. In the 3rd century A. D. e. Crimea was conquered by immigrants from Scandinavia - the Goths, and in the IV century AD. e. they were replaced by later aggressors - the Huns, nomads from Asia.
Since the 6th century, Turkic-speaking tribes have dominated the Crimean steppes, forming the Khazar Khaganate. We will recall this fact once again in this article.
Crimean city-colonies on the coast fell under the jurisdiction of the heiress of Rome - Byzantium. The Byzantines strengthened Chersonese, new fortresses grew: Alushta, Gurzuf, Eski-Kermen, Inkerman and others. With the weakening of Byzantium on the coast, the Genoese form the Principality of Theodoro.
Middle Ages
Christianity developed on the peninsula in the Middle Ages. Holy Prince Vladimir was baptized in Chersonese, later spreading the Christian faith throughout Russia.
From the 8th century AD e. in the steppe part of the peninsula, Slavic colonization took place, which was limited in time, since the attention of Kievan Rus was given prioritywestern borders, and the nomads pursued an active and aggressive policy of raids.
In the XII century the Crimean peninsula becomes Polovtsian. This era is illustrated by individual Polovtsian names that have survived to our time: Ayu-Dag (“Bear Mountain”), Artek (the name of the son of the Polovtsian Khan).
After the conquest of the entire peninsula, including the Principality of Theodoro, by the Tatar-Mongols in the 13th century, the city of Solkhat (located on the territory of the modern small city of Stary Krym.) became its center. The peninsula is part of the huge Tatar-Mongolian state of the Golden Horde.
New story
During the period when the peoples finally became sedentary and began to create nations, the indigenous nation of the peninsula - the Crimean Tatars - was formed. In 1475, the peninsula was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and Kafa became the capital of Crimea. The Turkish state of Porta became an ally of the Crimean Tatars, who were vassal dependents on it. The Ottoman Empire built its military footholds on the peninsula. On Perekop, the conquerors built the strategic fortress of Or-Kala.
The history of the Crimean peninsula of modern times (it starts from the Renaissance) is connected with the wars of Russia against the Crimean Khanate. In particular, in 1736 by the army of Christopher Antonovich Minich, and in 1737 by the army of Pyotr Petrovich Lassia, it was significantly weakened. Khan Kyrym Gerai, who was politically trying to form an alliance with the states of the West, died suddenly in 1769.
Second Army under the command of General-in-Chief Vasily Mikhailovich Dolgorukovduring the Russo-Turkish war on June 14, 1770 and July 29, 1770, two strategic victories were won over the Crimean Tatars: on the Perekop line and at Cafe. The statehood of the indigenous inhabitants of this region was lost. The map of the Crimean peninsula from 1783 instead of the Crimean Khanate displayed the Taurida province, which belongs to Russia.
The scam of the century. Crimean California
In the 20th century, already in Soviet times, this region became the object of controversial geopolitics. On October 18, 1921, the Crimean ASSR, a component of the RSFSR, was formed here.
Meanwhile, the problem of the development of the region arose before the Soviet government. If the Black Sea coast of Crimea turned out to be quite densely populated, then this could not be said about its steppe part. The Crimean steppe clearly lacked human resources. The idea arose of creating agricultural Jewish settlements to turn the semi-desert steppe into cultivated lands. The history of the Crimean peninsula, as we see, had an alternative development perspective.
In 1922, the Jewish International Organization "Joint" approached the Soviet government with a lucrative offer. She undertook to invest in agriculture on 375 thousand hectares of the Crimean peninsula, and for this, the RSFSR, accordingly, was offered to realize the old dream of Jews seeking the promised land - to establish a Jewish ASSR here.
This proposal had historical roots. In the 8th-10th centuries, the Khazar Khaganate, which existed on the territory of the peninsula, professed Judaism.
In the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, under the Council of Nationalities, a separatecommittee for land employment of Jews. The Committee has developed a 10-year plan to accommodate up to 300,000 Jewish settlers in the steppe part of Crimea.
19.02.1929 between the CEC of the RSFSR and the "Joint" an agreement was signed on the development of the Crimean lands. In the world, this project is better known under the name "Crimean California". For its implementation, an international Jewish organization issued securities worth $20 million purchased by American and European private capital. In total - $26 million (at the current exchange rate - approximately $1.82 billion) of investments passed through the Agro-Joint branch opened in Simferopol.
In 1938, Stalin canceled the project, but the issue was raised during World War II. Joint stockholders wanted compensation. At the Tehran Conference, they were expressed to Stalin by American President Roosevelt. However, during the Cold War, the dispute was resolved by General Secretary Khrushchev using the Gordian knot method. On February 19, 1954, the Crimean region was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR from the RSFSR. The agreement between the USSR and the "Joint" has expired: the subject of the dispute did not belong to the RSFSR.
Crimea as part of Ukraine
The territory of Crimea, having become part of the Ukrainian SSR, required significant resources for its development. About 300 thousand people were deported from this region the day before, there were clearly not enough workers. In the fighting of the Great Patriotic War, a significant part of the male population died. The agriculture of the peninsula alone could not get out of the crisis and reach the pre-war level. There were not enough roads.
In 1958, the Ukrainian SSR allocated funds from its budget for laying the world's longest trolleybus route linking Simferopol with Alushta and Y alta. In 1961-1971, a strategically important artificial canal was also built, irrigating the steppe lands of the Crimea at the expense of the water of the Kakhovka reservoir of the Dnieper. Since then, viticulture and horticulture began to develop in a planned and progressive manner.
However, after 1991, a dangerous downward trend emerged in the development of the peninsula's agriculture. The reason is the high cost of acquiring modern agricultural technologies for peasants and the lack of state support for agriculture in this problematic region. As a result, the area under crops has more than halved and, accordingly, the water supply by the North Crimean Canal has decreased.
Crimea today
The current political crisis in relations between Russia and Ukraine is largely affecting the economy of the peninsula. Guided by the results of the referendum of the Crimean population (2014), the RSFSR annexed it as a subject of the federation. Ukraine, for its part, did not recognize the legitimacy of this referendum and considers Crimea annexed.
The imbalance of economic ties, generated by the Russian-Ukrainian "trade wars", depresses the economy of the region. In fact, the holiday season failed. Agriculture suffers due to inconsistency in its water supply. However, the population of the peninsula is waiting for these temporary difficulties toovercome. The Russian Federation, for its part, is building its state infrastructure in Crimea. After all, it is not enough for a nominally new republic to be added to the map of Russia. The Crimean peninsula is currently going through a difficult path of economic and legal integration into Russian society.
Ukraine and the G7 countries, as already mentioned, did not recognize the legitimacy of the referendum. Hence the difficulties in obtaining a proper international status for the peninsula. There are also questions related to the position of the Crimean Tatars, that is, the indigenous population.
However, the story continues, and the population of Crimea, of course, expects federal investment in the economy of their region. In many ways, his choice of statehood was determined by the expectations of the development of the region. What will be the future for the unique peninsula? The question is still open.
Conclusion
What are the prospects for this amazing region? Let's remember the lessons of history. At a time when one of the last general secretaries of the USSR, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, was trying to “strengthen labor discipline” by intensifying control over absenteeism and preventing theft, more constructive processes were taking place in the country located on the other side of the Black Sea … The Crimean peninsula at that time had more powerful sanatorium base than Turkey.
In the 80s in Turkey, the international investment process in the resort industry was clearly economically planned, legally defined and launched by the entire state machine. The country whose GDP fell by 10% duringworld crisis, built a new promising income item in the budget - the resort business. International agreements were reached on the regime of capital investments for private investors, equal in rights with residents.
At the same time, foreign investors were not only exempted (partially or in full) from taxes and duties when making capital investments in sanatoriums, but also received the right to unlimited equity participation in them. They were also guaranteed a refund and repatriation of capital if the investment "failed."
Obviously, the Crimean peninsula should be economically developed in the same way. Photos of his resorts after such investments will be able to compete with pictures taken in sanatoriums and water parks in Turkish Antalya.
