The history of Evpatoria is going through a dramatic period that will not end until the international community recognizes the current status of the city. Crimea was annexed by Russia in early 2014, and the peninsula, which has been considered the territory of Ukraine since 1991, is now represented as two subjects of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. The international community overwhelmingly condemned Russia's actions.
Two resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly insist that Crimea is Ukrainian territory, and strongly condemn the "occupation" of the peninsula by the Russian Federation, reaffirming the non-recognition of its annexation to Russia. The UN also called on all states, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any change in the status of the former Ukrainian Autonomous Republic and to refrain from any action or decision that could be interpreted as recognition of any such changed status. This is about theWhat year was Crimea annexed to Russia? But the article is not about that, but about the history of the wonderful Crimean city. This city is called Evpatoria, its history is full of secrets, curiosities and dramatic episodes. So let's get started.
Antiquity
This picturesque city was founded in 500 BC. It was built by Greek colonists who arrived from Pontus, and initially it was called Kerkinitida (or Kerkintis). Kerkinitida was one of the many port towns founded by practical Hellenes. Only later, more than two millennia later, the Russian liberators would give this port the name Evpatoria - in honor of Mithridates VI Evpator, the "good father" of Pontus, under whose reign the Hellenic colonization of the region took place.
Settlement by Turks
In the second half of the first millennium AD, bloody Khazars ruled in Evpatoria, who, in addition to Turkic toponyms, brought here Judaism, a rare religion for these places. Under the influence of the Turkic substrate, it turned into an exotic and original religion of the Karaites (who, strictly speaking, are the descendants of the Khazars). Later the city was settled by Kumans (Kipchaks), Mongols and Crimean Tatars. At that time, Evpatoria alternately bore Crimean Tatar and Ottoman names: Kezlev, Gezlev, and whatever it was called … The Russian medieval name "Kozlov" is a Russification of the Crimean Tatar name. The coat of arms of Evpatoria at that time was a dried ram's head, which is depicted on it today.
Middle Ages
For a brief period between 1478 and 1485, the port was controlled by the Ottoman administration. The history of Evpatoria then was a string of wars for the possession of the Crimea. In 1783, together with the rest of the Crimea, the so-called. Kezlev was solemnly annexed by the Russian Empire. Its rather shameful Turkish-Tatar name was officially changed to Yevpatoria already in the next 1784. The name, as mentioned earlier, comes from the name of Evpatorius Dionisy. In the official report on the renaming of the city, its name was written in French, German, Spanish and English. Once bearing the proud name of Kerkinitida, Evpatoria rose again, turning into one of the pearls of the Black Sea.
New time
During the miserably lost Crimean War, this quiet port town became the scene of a bloody battle. However, he did not suffer much from the battle. It was here that Adam Mickiewicz wrote perhaps the best part of his Crimean notes, later translated by Lermontov.
Soviet period
In the 30s of the twentieth century, the highest echelons of power discussed the construction of a medical resort in Evpatoria. Natural factors create excellent conditions for the treatment of osteoarcular tuberculosis and other childhood diseases. In 1933, at a scientific conference in Y alta, it was decided that among the Soviet resort cities of Evpatoria, Odessa, Anapa, or another city on the southern coast of Crimea, the most suitable places for organizingstate network of children's resorts. In Evpatoria, however, there is an ideal combination of climatic and balneological factors that contribute to the healing of the most serious diseases of that time, such as tuberculosis. An additional positive factor is the lack of mosquitoes in Evpatoria: on the southern coast of Crimea there are not as many of these blood-sucking insects as in Anapa.
In 1936, the government decided to determine the construction site of the All-Union Children's Resort in Evpatoria. In 1938, a plan for the general reconstruction of the city was approved. During the Second World War, the sanatoriums were used as military hospitals. By July 1, 1945, 14 sanatoriums operated in Evpatoria, in which 2885 people rested. By 1980, there were 78 sanatoriums for 33,000 people in the city. About a million vacationers visited Evpatoria in the summer without any medical purposes.
Our days
But the story of Yevpatoria did not end there. Today it is a major Black Sea port, railway junction and resort town. During the summer months, the population of Yevpatoriya makes money on tourism, and many residents of more northern cities enjoy visiting local beaches. Thus, local residents are actively working during the summer months, but during the winter they often suffer from unemployment. The main industries include fishing, food processing, winemaking, limestone mining, weaving and the production of building materials, machinery, furniture and tourism.
In Evpatoriathere are spas of mineral water, s alt and mud lakes. They belong to a vast territory with medical institutions, where the main healing factors are sunlight, sea, air and sand, silt and mud of s alt lakes, as well as mineral water from hot springs. The population of the city is well aware of the healing properties of the local mud, which can be found here since time immemorial, as evidenced by the manuscripts of Pliny the Elder, a Roman scientist (circa 80 BC).
December 24, 2008, an explosion destroyed a five-story building in the city. 27 people were killed. President Viktor Yushchenko declared 26 December a day of national mourning. At that time, however, no one had any doubts that Crimea was Ukrainian.
City population 105,719 (2014 census).
Conclusion
Yevpatoria is not just a picturesque city, but a real historical curiosity. Having emerged 500 years before the birth of Christ as a Greek colony, it passed from hand to hand until it was reunited with the Orthodox Russian Empire - the Third Rome. After staying a short time as part of Ukraine, Yevpatoria again became part of the Russian state, which is quite symbolic.
Today this city is a place of pilgrimage for tourists not only from all over the CIS, but also from abroad. Here is the center of the mysterious religion of the Karaites, many Orthodox churches and one of the largest mosques in the Crimea. Here, aesthetic antique ruins harmoniously coexist with gloomy Soviet high-rise buildings, majestic palaces of the imperial era and newfangled boutiques. Here Christians can affordlook into the mosque, and Muslims - into the Orthodox church. This is a wonderful city, the history of which cannot but surprise.
