- Crimea
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—Crimean, adj./kruy mee"euh, kri-/, n. the1. a peninsula in SE Ukraine, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.2. a former autonomous republic of the Soviet Union, now a region of Ukraine. ab. 10,000 sq. mi. (25,900 sq. km).Russian, Krim, Krym.
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It is coextensive with the Crimean Peninsula, which extends into the Black Sea. It covers 10,077 sq mi (26,100 sq km); its capital is Simferopol. Early inhabitants were Cimmerians, though the area later was settled by Greeks in the 6th century BC and was ruled by the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus from the 5th century BC. It became subject to Rome, and part of it later belonged to the Byzantine Empire. Russia annexed Crimea in 1783. It was the scene of the Crimean War (1853–56). In 1921 it became an autonomous republic of the U.S.S.R. During World War II, Nazi armies overran it in 1941; it was retaken by the Soviets in 1944. The area became an oblast of the Ukrainian S.S.R. in 1954. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Crimea obtained partial autonomy from Ukraine.* * *
autonomous republic, southern Ukraine. The republic is coterminous with the Crimean Peninsula. In 1921 the Crimea was formed into the Crimean Autonomous S.S.R., which was populated primarily by Tatars (Tatar), until they were deported en masse at the end of World War II for alleged collaboration with the Germans. The area passed to the Russian S.F.S.R. and in 1954 was transferred to Ukraine. Formerly an oblast (province), it became a republic in the early 1990s. The northern part of the Crimea, a level steppe region, is under intensive agriculture. Winter wheat, corn (maize), and sunflowers are the main crops. The climate is dry, and additional water supplies are brought by canal from the Dnieper River at Kakhivka (Kakhovka). On the lower mountain slopes of the south are many vineyards; there tobacco is important, as are flowers for perfume. Most towns are engaged in processing farm produce, especially wine making. Heavier industry is concentrated in Kerch, a centre of large-scale iron-ore mining; the ore, which has a high phosphorus content, is sent by sea to Mariupol and the Donets Basin. Simferopol, the headquarters of the republic, has diversified industry and is a cultural centre. Brines from Syvash supply chemical plants at Krasnoperekopsk and Saky. There are a number of stone quarries, especially for limestone and diorite. Along the southern coast, the tourist industry is extremely important, with Yalta, Hurzuf (Gurzuf), Alushta, and Alupka the main centres. Area 10,400 square miles (27,000 square km). Pop. (2001) 2,033,736; (2007 est.) 2,005,127.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
