Return of Crimea by Catherine II, late 18th century. Conquest of Crimea by the Russian Empire

Annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire (1783)- inclusion of the territory of the Crimean Khanate into Russia after the abdication of the last Crimean Khan Shahin Giray. In 1784, the Tauride region was formed on the annexed territory.

Crimean Khanate and Ottoman Empire

In the summer of 1475, the coastal cities and the mountainous part of Crimea became part of the Ottoman Empire. The Crimean Khanate, which owned the rest of the territory of Crimea, became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire in 1478. For the next three centuries, the Black Sea became a Turkish “inland lake”.

By the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire switched to strategic defense, the main components of which were the construction of fortresses at the mouths of rivers, the creation of a kind of buffer zone - the uninhabited territory of the “Wild Field”, the transfer of armed struggle with its northern neighbors - Poland and Russia - deep into Polish and Russian possessions, using the Crimean Khanate dependent on it for this purpose.

In the 15th century, the Turks, with the help of Italian specialists, built the Or-Kapu fortress on Perekop. From this time on, the Perekop shaft has a different name - Turkish Wall.

Since the end of the 15th century, the Crimean Khanate made constant raids on the Russian state and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The main purpose of the raids was to capture slaves and resell them in Turkish markets. The total number of slaves who passed through the Crimean markets is estimated at three million.

Russian expansion

With the deliverance of the Russian state from the yoke of the Golden Horde, it again faced the task of accessing the Black Sea, which was accomplished during the period of Kievan Rus. Having defeated the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, Russia directed its vector of expansion to the south, towards the Turkish-Tatar threat. The serif lines being built on the Russian borders were advancing onto the Wild Field. The reclaimed lands were developed by farmers and built up with cities, which put pressure on the defensive lines of the Ottoman Empire, despite the unsuccessful Crimean campaigns of Russian troops in the 16th and 17th centuries. The failure of these military enterprises made us realize the place and role of Crimea as a key territory ensuring dominance in the Northern Black Sea region. The Azov campaigns of Peter I (1695-1696), which did not solve the Black Sea problem, once again emphasized the importance of the Crimean direction. Taking possession of the Crimean Peninsula became one of the most important foreign policy tasks of the Russian Empire in the 18th century.

XVIII century

Russo-Turkish War (1735-1739)

During the Russian-Turkish War (1735-1739), the Russian Dnieper army, numbering 62 thousand people and under the command of Field Marshal Burchard Christopher Minich, stormed the Ottoman fortifications at Perekop on May 20, 1736, and occupied Bakhchisarai on June 17. However, a lack of food, as well as outbreaks of epidemics in the army, forced Minich to retreat to Russia. In July 1737, an army led by Field Marshal Peter Lassi invaded Crimea, inflicting a number of defeats on the army of the Crimean Khan and capturing Karasubazar. But she too was soon forced to leave Crimea due to lack of supplies. The only result of the invasions of the Russian armies was the devastation of the peninsula, since the gap between the territory of the Wild Field already developed by the Russians and the lands occupied during military expeditions was too great to ensure their economic development and effective defense and thus count on the inclusion of Crimea in the Russian possessions.

Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774)

Such a practical opportunity arose only after the necessary bridgehead had been prepared in the newly developed spaces. Despite the attempts of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire to prevent Russian colonization of the Northern Black Sea region by armed force, it actually began even before the army of Chief General V.M. Dolgorukov captured Crimea in 1771, for which he subsequently received a sword with diamonds, diamonds to the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the title of Crimean.

Prince Dolgorukov forced the Crimean Khan Selim to flee to Turkey. In his place, the Crimean beys chose a supporter of the Crimean-Russian rapprochement, Khan Sahib II Girey, who signed an agreement with Prince Dolgorukov, according to which Crimea was declared an independent khanate under the protection of Russia, Kerch, the fortresses of Kinburn and Yenikale passed to Russia. Leaving garrisons in the Crimean cities and freeing more than ten thousand Russian prisoners, Dolgorukov's army left the peninsula.

On July 15, 1774, the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was signed, ending the Russian-Turkish war. The treaty ended Ottoman rule over Crimea. The fortresses of Kerch and Yenikale, which blocked the exit from the Azov Sea to the Black Sea, went to Russia. The Kerch Strait became Russian, which was of great importance for Russia's southern trade. The Crimean Khanate was declared independent from Turkey. The former Ottoman possessions on the peninsula (Southern and South-Eastern Crimea) passed to the Crimean Khanate. The historical task of Russia's access to the Black Sea was half solved.

The situation in Crimea, however, was uncertain and complex. Türkiye, having agreed to recognize the independence of Crimea, was preparing for a new war. The Turkish Sultan, being the Supreme Caliph, retained religious power in his hands and approved new khans, which left the possibility of real pressure on the Crimean Khanate. As a result, the Crimean Tatars in Crimea were divided into two groups - Russian and Turkish orientation, clashes between which reached real battles.

At the beginning of 1774, the Turkish group installed Devlet-Girey as khan, who was immediately approved by the Turkish Sultan-Caliph. In July 1774, a Turkish landing force under the command of Devlet-Girey landed in Alushta. Russian troops, however, did not allow the Turks to go deep into Crimea. In the battle near Alushta, the commander of the grenadier battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Kutuzov, lost his eye.

Sahib II Giray, meanwhile, fled from Crimea.

At this time, the text of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty was received from Constantinople. But the Crimeans even now refused to accept independence and cede to the Russians the cities in Crimea determined by the treaty, and the Porte considered it necessary to enter into new negotiations with Russia.

1776 - 1783

In November 1776, taking advantage of the fact that the Turkish troops did not leave Crimea, as prescribed by the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty, but remained in Caffa, the Russian corps of Lieutenant General Alexander Prozorovsky entered the Crimea and, without meeting resistance, fortified itself in Perekop. At the same time, a new Russian protege from the Girey family, Shahin Girey, who became the Khan of Kuban, established himself on the Taman Peninsula. Prozorovsky negotiated with Devlet-Girey in the most conciliatory tone, but the Murzas and ordinary Crimeans did not hide their sympathy for the Ottoman Empire. Devlet-Girey even demanded that the Ottoman Sultan terminate the agreement concluded with Russia on the independence of Crimea, return the peninsula under its supremacy and take Crimea under its protection, but the Porte, fearing a new war with Russia, did not dare to do this.

Devlet-Girey concentrated his troops at Karasubazar and on the Indol River. He was opposed by Lieutenant General Alexander Suvorov, who arrived in Crimea on December 17, 1776 with the regiments of his Moscow division under the command of Prozorovsky and on January 17, 1777, took temporary command of the twenty thousandth Russian corps. At the beginning of March 1777, detachments of Suvorov's troops approached Karasubazar and Indol. Having learned about this, the Tatar troops dispersed. Devlet-Girey with a small retinue went to Bakhchisarai, where he again began to gather an army. At this time, Shahin Giray landed in Yenikal. Most of the local Tatar nobility came over to his side. On March 20, the Ryazhsky infantry regiment occupied Kaffa. Devlet-Girey with the Turkish landing went to Istanbul. Shahin Giray was elected Crimean Khan. At his request, Russian troops remained in Crimea, stationed near the Ak-Mosque.

Shahin Giray became the last Crimean Khan. Having studied in Thessaloniki and Venice, and knowing several languages, Shahin Giray ruled without regard for national Tatar customs, tried to carry out reforms in the state and reorganize governance according to the European model, equalize the rights of the Muslim and non-Muslim population of Crimea, and soon turned into a traitor for his people and an apostate. The possessions of the Tatar nobility, previously almost independent of the khan, were transformed by him into 6 governorate-kaimakams - Bakhchisarai, Ak-Mechet, Karasubazar, Gezlev (Evpatoria), Kafin (Feodosia) and Perekop. Shahin Giray confiscated the waqfs - the lands of the Crimean clergy.

When Shahin Giray attempted to create a European-style army, a riot broke out in November 1777. In December 1777, Khan Selim Giray III, appointed in Istanbul, landed in Crimea, which led to an uprising that swept the entire peninsula. The uprising was suppressed by Russian troops.

On March 23, 1778, Prince Prozorovsky was replaced as commander of the troops of Crimea and Kuban by Alexander Suvorov. He divided Crimea into four territorial districts and stretched a line of posts along the coast. Russian garrisons were located in fortresses and forty fortifications, feldshants, redoubts, armed with 90 guns.

Suvorov managed to force all the Turkish military ships remaining off the Crimean coast to leave Crimea, starting to build fortifications at the exit of the bay in which they were located, and forbidding the Turks to take fresh water on the shore from the Belbek River. Turkish ships left for Sinop.

In 1781, another uprising took place in Crimea, led by Shahin Giray’s brother Batyr Giray and the Crimean mufti. The uprising was suppressed, but after a series of executions a new rebellion began, forcing Shahin Giray to flee to the Russian garrison in Kerch. In Feodosia, Mahmut Giray was proclaimed the new Crimean Khan. The uprising of Mahmut Giray was also suppressed, and Shahin Giray was restored to the khan's throne, but by February 1783, the situation of Shahin Giray again became critical: mass executions of political opponents, hatred of the Tatars for the ongoing reforms and policies of Shahin Giray, the actual financial bankruptcy of the state, mutual mistrust and misunderstanding with the Russian authorities led to the fact that Shahin Giray abdicated the throne and came with his supporters under the protection of Russian troops, and part of the local nobility hostile to Russia fled to the Turks.

Accession

In 1783, Crimea was annexed to Russia. The annexation was bloodless. On April 8 of the old style (when transferring from the old (Julian) style to the new according to the secular method - April 19, when transferring according to the church method - April 21), 1783, Empress Catherine II signed the “Manifesto on the acceptance of the Crimean Peninsula, Taman Island and the entire Kuban side under the Russian power”, which “out of duty of care for the good and greatness of the Fatherland” and “considering it a means of forever delaying the unpleasant causes that disturb the eternal peace between the All-Russian and Ottoman Empires<…>no less to replace and satisfy losses,” the empress decided to “take under her power” the Crimean peninsula, the island of Taman and the entire Kuban side. On December 28, 1783, Russia and Turkey signed the “Act of Accession of Crimea, Taman and Kuban to the Russian Empire,” which abolished Article 3 of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty on the independence of the Crimean Khanate. In turn, Russia with this act confirmed the Turkish affiliation of the fortresses of Ochakov and Sudzhuk-Kale.

On April 19, 1783, Russia officially notified the European powers of the annexation of Crimea. Only France protested. In response to French protests, the President of the College of Foreign Affairs, I. A. Osterman, reminded the French envoy that Catherine II turned a blind eye to the seizure of Corsica by France in 1768.

Adaptation within Russia

Peace came to Crimea after a long period of unrest. In a short time, new cities grew, including Sevastopol. The peninsula began to quickly turn into the most important cultural and commercial region of the Black Sea region for Russia, and the creation of the Russian Black Sea Fleet began in Sevastopol.

In 1784, Crimea became part of the Tauride region with its center in the city of Simferopol. According to the decree “On the formation of the Tauride region from seven counties and on the opening of public places in its cities,” the region was made up of 7 counties: Simferopol, Levkopol, Evpatoria, Perekop, Dnieper, Melitopol and Phanagoria.

After the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791, the Russian affiliation of Crimea was confirmed for the second time by the Iasi Peace Treaty, which assigned the entire northern Black Sea region to Russia.

By decree of Paul I of December 12, 1796, the Tauride region was abolished, the territory, divided into 2 districts - Akmechetsky and Perekopsky, was annexed to the Novorossiysk province, ( “...divided simply into districts, according to the number of inhabitants and the vastness of the area.”). In 1802, the Tauride province was formed, which existed until the Civil War in Russia.

Annexation of Crimea to Russia For the first time, the annexation of Crimea to Russia became possible as a result of the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace between Russia and Turkey in 1774. Grigory Potemkin attached great importance to the annexation of Crimea to Russia, who convinced Catherine II of the need for such a step. On April 8, 1783, Empress Catherine II issued a manifesto on the annexation of Crimea, in which the inhabitants of Crimea were promised “sacredly and unshakably for themselves and the successors of our throne to keep them equal with our natural subjects, to protect and defend their persons, property, temples and their natural faith...” Thus, Crimea became part of the Russian Empire. In 1783, Crimea was annexed to Russia. The annexation was bloodless. On April 19, 1783, Empress Catherine II signed the “Manifesto on the acceptance of the Crimean peninsula, the island of Taman and the entire Kuban side under the Russian power,” which “out of duty of care for the good and greatness of the Fatherland” and “considering it a means of forever delaying the unpleasant causes that disturb the eternal world between the All-Russian and Ottoman Empires<…>no less to replace and satisfy losses,” the empress decided to “take under her power” the Crimean peninsula, the island of Taman and the entire Kuban side. On December 28, 1783, Russia and Turkey signed the “Act of Accession of Crimea, Taman and Kuban to the Russian Empire,” which abolished Article 3 of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty on the independence of the Crimean Khanate. In turn, Russia with this act confirmed the Turkish affiliation of the fortresses Ochakov and Sudzhuk-Kale. Peace came to Crimea after a long period of unrest. In a short time, new cities grew: Evpatoria, Sevastopol, etc. The peninsula quickly began to turn into the most important cultural and commercial region of the Black Sea region for Russia, and the creation of the Russian Black Sea Fleet began in Sevastopol. In 1784, Crimea became part of the Tauride region with its center in the city of Simferopol. According to the decree “On the formation of the Tauride region from seven counties and on the opening of public places in the cities thereof” (Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire. T. XXII, No. 15924), the region was made up of 7 counties: Simferopol, Levkopol, Evpatoria, Perekop, Dnieper, Melitopol and Phanagorian. After the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791, the Russian affiliation of Crimea was confirmed for the second time by the Iasi Peace Treaty, which assigned the entire northern Black Sea region to Russia. By decree of Paul I of December 12, 1796, the Tauride region was abolished, the territory was divided into 2 counties - Akmechetsky and Perekopsky, annexed to the Novorossiysk province (“...divided simply into districts, according to the number of inhabitants and the vastness of the area”). In 1802, the Tauride province was formed, which existed until the Civil War in Russia

Tauride region Tauride region is an administrative unit of the Russian Empire in 1784-1796. It was created by the decree of Catherine II “On the structure of the Tauride region” dated February 2 (13), 1784, on the territory of the former Crimean Khanate, with its center in the city of Karasubazar, but in the same year the capital was moved to Simferopol. By the same decree, the region was divided into 7 counties: Dneprovsky - the center of the city of Aleshka, Evpatoria - the city of Evpatoria, Levkopolsky - the city of Levkopol, Melitopol - the office of Potemkin, after 1791 - the village. Tokmak. Perekopsky - city of Perekop Simferopol - city of Simferopol Fanagoriysky (Tmutarakansky). At a lower level (judging by the orders of His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin from 1786 and 1787), the division into kamakans remained, and they were headed by kaymakans from among the Crimean Tatars. Mikhail Vasilyevich Kakhovsky, who held the position until 1788, was appointed the first ruler of the region in the spring of 1784; Memetsha Shirinsky (until 1791 and 1794-1796) and Kalga Selemsha Shirinsky (1791-1794) were elected regional leader of the nobility. It was established after the annexation of Crimea to Russia by the Decree of Catherine II of February 2, 1784, as part of the Crimean Peninsula and Taman. On February 22, 1784, Sevastopol and Feodosia were declared open cities to all peoples friendly to the Russian Empire. Foreigners could freely come and live in these cities. At this time, there were 1,474 villages in Crimea, and the population of the Crimean peninsula numbered about sixty thousand people. This administrative-territorial unit existed until 1802, when, as a result of the transformations of Paul I, the Tauride province was formed.

32. Foundation of Simferopol and Sevastopol. Visit to Crimea by Catherine 2. Primitive hunters still lived on the territory of modern Simferopol; on the southeastern outskirts of the city, in the Chokurcha cave, a site of ancient people was found, the age of which is more than 50 thousand years.

In the 3rd century BC. in the southeastern part of present-day Simferopol there was the capital of the Late Scythian state, one of the first state formations on the territory of the peninsula - Scythian Naples. Over its six-century history, the city passed from one Scythian king to another, and was subjected to devastating raids by nomads - Sarmatians, Goths, Alans, Huns. In the middle of the 3rd century AD the city was completely destroyed and ceased to exist.

During the medieval period of the turbulent Tatar history, the Tatar-monogols came to the peninsula and at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, near Scythian Naples, the settlement of Ak-Mechet arose - a county town of the Crimean Khanate, which became an important administrative center and residence of the Kalgi-Sultan, who was the second person in state after the Crimean Khan. The winding narrow streets of the old city even today rise from the central part of Simferopol towards Petrovskaya Balka.

According to the description of Crimea, compiled in 1783, at that time there were 331 houses and 7 mosques in Ak-Mosque - this was the predecessor city of Simferopol in the year of Crimea’s annexation to Russia. However, according to the testimony of the Turkish historian and traveler Evliya Celebi, in 1666 there were 1,800 houses in Ach Mosque, including two- and three-story ones.

On February 2, 1784, Empress Catherine II signed a decree on the formation of the Tauride region. On February 7, 1784, the Governor-General of Novorossiya, Count G.A. Potemkin, provided the Empress with a project for the administrative structure of the region, the center of which was to become the new city of Simferopol. This name for the city was proposed by the scientist and public figure Evgeniy Bulgaris. “This name means a city of usefulness, and therefore the coat of arms is a hive with bees, with the inscription “Useful” at the top.”

The choice of the Greek name is explained by the fashion that existed during the time of Catherine II to name new cities in the annexed southern territories with Greek names - in memory of the existence of Greek colonies here in ancient and Middle Ages.

The founding date of Simferopol is considered to be February 8, 1784, the first buildings were laid in June 1784 on the territory immediately adjacent to Aqmescit, on the left bank of the Salgir.

Construction of administrative and residential buildings and an Orthodox church began, but the new city was built and developed very slowly. In the early years, it was erected by soldiers discharged from service and state peasants expelled from Ukraine and some regions of Russia.

Paul I, who ascended the Russian throne after Catherine II, returned the name Ach-Mosque to the city, but already at the beginning of the reign of Alexander I the city again began to be called Simferopol. However, throughout the 19th century, both names of the city were often indicated on maps and in official documents.

On October 8, 1802, Simferopol became the center of the newly formed Tauride province, but even in 1816, the main city of the Tauride province consisted of only 445 houses and for a long time was purely administrative.

The development of the city, the revival of its construction and economic activity, was facilitated by road construction; in the 1830-40s, roads were built from Simferopol to Alushta, Yalta, Feodosia, Sevastopol and other Crimean cities.

During the Crimean War (1854-1856), Simferopol was the rear base of the fighting Sevastopol; all the main rear services of the Russian army were concentrated there. In Simferopol at that time, together with the population and the arriving troops, there were more than one hundred thousand people.

In 1874, the construction of the Kharkov-Simferopol railway was completed and the life of the provincial city became more lively - having gained access to the all-Russian market, the capital of Taurida turned into a large craft and trade center of the region, and industry rapidly developed in the city.

A new stage in the development of the lands of Southwestern Crimea began after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to Russia. For a long time, Russia fought for access to the Black Sea. As a result of the outstanding victories of the famous Russian commanders during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, Russia captured the lands of the Northern Black Sea and Azov regions. Russian troops invaded Crimea, the Ottoman Empire had to conclude the Kuchuk-Kaynajir Treaty with Russia, according to which all the conquered lands went to Russia, and the Crimean Khanate gained independence. But Russia's position in the Black Sea region remained extremely precarious.

To secure its southern borders, Russia had to create a strong fleet in the Black Sea. It was necessary to find a convenient place to base it. Commander of Russian troops in Crimea, Lieutenant General A.V. Suvorov proposed to use Akhtiarskaya Bay (currently Sevastopol) for this purpose.

Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov

Suvorov appreciated the qualities of the bay: “...there is no such harbor not only near the local peninsula, but throughout the entire Black Sea, where the fleet would be better preserved and the employees there could be more conveniently and calmly accommodated.”

For the first time, Russian sailors visited Akhtiarskaya Bay in the fall of 1773. Navigator Ivan Baturin compiled the first map of the bays and their immediate surroundings. He also visited the small Tatar village of Akhtiar (White Ravine), with only 9 courtyards, in whose honor the bay was called Akhtiarskaya for some time. By order of Suvorov, temporary fortifications and a barracks were built here, where the crews of the frigates “Brave” and “Brave” spent the winter.

In 1782, ships of the Crimean squadron (13 ships with 1,058 personnel), commanded by a captain of brigadier rank, entered Akhtiarskaya Bay Timofey Gavrilovich Kozlyaninov (?-1798). This was the first commander of an active squadron of the Russian fleet in the Black Fleet.

In May 1783, a month after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, 5 frigates and 8 other ships of the Azov flotilla under the command of Admiral entered the deserted Akhtiar Bay Fedot Klokacheva, appointed commander of the fleet of the Azov and Black Seas, as well as part of the ships of the Dnieper flotilla under the command of the Kosh army of the Black Sea Sidor Bily. The arrival of the ships marked the beginning of the birth of the Black Sea naval fleet (the Black Sea rowing (estuarine) flotilla also operated on the Black Sea).

June 3, 1783 Sailors left the ships on the deserted shore, and construction of the city and port began. On the western shore of the South Bay they were laid the first stone buildings of the future city: chapel, home of the new squadron commander, rear admiral F.F. Mackenzie , forge, pier.

And, of course, the general management of all the actions of the Russian government in the south, in Sevastopol in particular, was carried out by G.A. Potemkin , who often visited Crimea and Sevastopol, came to the construction site.

Medal in honor of the annexation of Crimea and Taman to Russia

Therefore, there is still a dispute: which of the above-mentioned people should be considered the founder of Sevastopol. The most correct point of view, in our opinion, is to talk about the founders of the city, including in this definition A.V. Suvorova, T.G. Kozlyaninova, F.A. Klokacheva, F.F. Mekenzie and G.A. Potemkin.

February 10, 1784 by decree Catherine II The city was named Sevastopol, which translated from Greek means “city of glory, city worthy of worship.” The name turned out to be symbolic; by repeatedly performing military and labor feats, Sevastopol proved that it was worthy of its name. The name Akhtiar returned to Sevastopol after the decree of Paul I in 1797 and remained with it until March 29, 1826, when, by the will of Nicholas I, a Senate decree was issued: “So that the city of Sevastopol will no longer be called Akhtiar, but always Sevastopol.”

Sevastopol was founded as the main base of the Black Sea Fleet (although the city received this status later) and as a military fortress.

From the decree of Catherine II on the founding of Sevastopol

On the only street of the new city, which was called the Balaklava Road, houses of ship commanders, contractors, and merchants were erected. Retired family sailors and artisans built their mud huts on the central city hill, on the shore of Artillery Bay and in other places, forming settlements. “All these buildings,” says the notes of Lieutenant D.N. at that time. Senyavin, the future famous admiral, was made from wattle fence, coated with clay, whitewashed with lime, covered with reeds in the manner of Little Russian huts.” .

The first builders of Sevastopol were sailors and soldiers of the Black Sea squadron under the command of Rear Admiral F.F. Mekenzie and F.F. Ushakova. The entrance to the bay was protected by coastal fortifications, erected in accordance with the ideas of A.V. Suvorov. For construction work, stones and marble were used, mined from the ruins of Chersonesos ("Akhtiar city , - noted academician P.S. Pallas, who visited Chersonese and Akhtiar (Sevastopol) in those years, arose from the ruins of ancient Chersonese."

Construction of a shipyard for the repair of warships was underway in South Bay.

Preparations for the journey began in 1784 with the strengthening of the Black Sea Fleet and the army located in the south of Russia. The construction of cities and fortifications began, the emergence of which influenced the growth of the economy of the newly acquired region. In the fall of 1786, Potemkin gave the order to the regiments of the Russian army to be stationed at the locations of the proposed travel route. With this order, Potemkin pursued 2 goals: the proximity of troops in case of unforeseen actions of Russia’s enemies and for the troops to carry out part of the preparatory work. For example, an army was concentrated near Kyiv under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev (100 thousand people). Composition The Imperial retinue consisted of about 3,000 thousand people (32 highest dignitaries of the Empire, ambassadors of England, Austria and France, court officials, governors, governors and administrators of the lands through which the motorcade, lackeys and other servants moved). The imperial train consisted of 14 carriages, 124 sleighs with wagons and 40 spare sleighs. Catherine II rode in a carriage for 12 people, drawn by 40 horses, where she was accompanied by courtiers, representatives of foreign diplomatic missions who were invited on the trip, and servants. For the first time in the world! The trip of the Highest Person (as they would say now - VIP) to the noon region had no precedents - neither in scale, number of participants, travel time, cost... However, neither the long journey nor age-related ailments (the Empress turned 58 years old) forced Catherine give up the desire to personally explore the newly acquired “midday region”. This was a trip for the first time in the world planned according to all the rules of organizing a tour. Here you can trace all the components of a classic tour: transport, accommodation, food, cultural program and even souvenirs. So we can say with complete confidence: the journey of Catherine the Great marked the beginning of Crimean tourism as a whole. In addition, this event laid the foundation for the traditions of political VIP tourism, which were successfully developed and continued by almost all the rulers of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and independent Ukraine. The money allocated by the treasury - 15 million rubles - corresponded to the grandeur of the plan. To imagine this amount, it is enough to say that a good cash cow at that time cost 8 rubles. So, in the fall of 1784, His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin signed an order “On the preparation of a certain number of horses at various stations, on the places where there will be dining tables during the trip, on the palaces that should be built according to the sent drawing, on apartments in the cities for the retinue.” The army received orders to change quarters and move closer to the places along which the route of travel was supposed to be taken: the soldiers, as usual, were entrusted with all the numerous work on the ground. And there was no end to the work: entire cities were built for travel: Ekaterinoslavl, Kherson, Nikolaev, Simferopol, Sevastopol... Roads Roads continued to be the second main problem of Russia. Therefore, it was a matter of honor for Potemkin to pave a worthy path for the Empress. The prince demanded that the road to Crimea be “made with a rich hand, so that it is not inferior to the Roman ones. I’ll call it Catherine’s Way.” In development of this theme, His Serene Highness ordered that Catherine’s victorious procession from sea to sea be marked with special “road signs”: each verst was marked with a special triangular obelisk “made of wild stone”, and every ten versts a stone “mile” was erected - “a round proportionally hewn column with decoration like an octagonal capital." Catherine's Miles, an absolutely unique architectural monument, are today the only structure specially built in honor of the Empress's trip to Crimea. For more than two hundred years, not a single “verst” remained, and only five “miles” remained in Crimea. Transport Transport remained the most important problem. Over 200 carriages were made for the journey, some of which could be on both skids and wheels. Two carriages, intended personally for the Empress, turned out to be luxurious. Interestingly, one of the carriages that took part in the journey is now on display at the Dnepropetrovsk Museum of Local Lore. As you know, the travel route ran through Ekaterinoslavl (present-day Dnepropetrovsk), founded by Potemkin. The carriage broke down here, and it was decided to leave it, fortunately there was no shortage of spare ones. But the loyal citizens of Ekaterinoslav carefully preserved the royal “souvenir”, which later became a museum exhibit. Guidebook Catherine the Great's Journey to Crimea.jpg An original guide-diary “The Journey of Her Imperial Majesty to the Midday Land of Russia, undertaken in 1787” was published especially for the participants of the trip (one of the copies of this unique book is kept in the Tavrika library). The preface notes the purpose of the book: “All the cities, famous rivers, towns, and noteworthy tracts that this journey will follow, a geographical and historical brief description is intended here.” Interestingly, on each spread there was a special blank page where the empress’s companion could write down his observations

230 years ago, Empress Catherine II issued a manifesto on the annexation of Crimea to Russia. This event was a logical result of Russia’s long struggle with the Crimean Khanate and Turkey, which kept Crimea in vassalage.

The fate of Crimea was decided during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. The Russian army under the command of Vasily Dolgorukov invaded the peninsula. The troops of Khan Selim III were defeated, Bakhchisarai was destroyed, and the peninsula was devastated. Khan Selim III fled to Istanbul. The Crimean nobility agreed and agreed with the accession of Sahib II Giray. Crimea was declared independent from the Ottoman Empire. In 1772, an agreement on an alliance was signed with the Russian Empire, Bakhchisarai received a promise of Russian military and financial assistance. According to the Russian-Turkish Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace of 1774, the Crimean Khanate and the Kuban Tatars gained independence from Turkey, maintaining ties only on religious issues.

However, the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace could not last forever. Russia has only just gained a foothold near the Black Sea, but the Crimean Peninsula, this pearl of the Black Sea region, remains, as it were, no one’s. The power of the Ottomans over it was almost eliminated, and the influence of St. Petersburg had not yet been established. This unstable situation caused conflict situations. Russian troops, for the most part, were withdrawn; the Crimean nobility was inclined to return to the former status of Crimea - to a union with the Ottoman Empire.

Even during the peace negotiations, the Sultan sent Devlet-Girey with a landing force to Crimea. An uprising began, attacks occurred on Russian troops in Alushta, Yalta and other places. Sahib Giray was overthrown. Devlet-Girey was elected khan. He asked Istanbul to terminate the treaty concluded with Russia on the independence of the Crimean Khanate, return the peninsula under its supreme authority and take Crimea under its protection. However, Istanbul was not ready for a new war, and did not dare to take such a radical step.

Naturally, St. Petersburg did not like this. In the fall of 1776, Russian troops, with the support of the Nogais, overcame Perekop and broke into Crimea. They were also supported by the Crimean beys, whom Devlet IV Giray wanted to punish for supporting Sahib II Giray. Shahin Giray was placed on the Crimean throne with the help of Russian bayonets. Devlet Giray left for Istanbul with the Turks.

At the request of Shagin-Girey, Russian troops remained on the peninsula, stationed at the Ak-Mosque. Shahin (Shahin) Giray was a talented and gifted person, he studied in Thessaloniki and Venice, and knew Turkish, Italian and Greek. He tried to carry out reforms in the state and reorganize governance in Crimea according to the European model. He did not take into account national traditions, which irritated the local nobility and the Muslim clergy. They began to call him a traitor and an apostate. The nobility was dissatisfied that they began to remove her from government. Shigin-Girey transformed the possessions of the Tatar nobility, almost independent of the khan, into 6 governorships (kaimakamstvos) - Bakhchisarai, Ak-Mechet, Karasubazar, Gezlev (Evpatoria), Kafin (Feodosia) and Perekop. The governorships were divided into districts. Khan confiscated the waqfs - the lands of the Crimean clergy. It is clear that the clergy and nobility did not forgive the khan for the attack on the basis of their well-being. Even his brothers Bahadir Giray and Arslan Giray spoke out against Shahin Giray’s policies.

The reason for the uprising was the Khan’s attempt to create armed forces of a European model. In the fall of 1777, a riot began. In December 1777, a Turkish landing force led by Khan Selim Giray III, appointed in Istanbul, landed on the peninsula. The uprising spread across the entire peninsula. The civil war began. With the support of Russian troops, the uprising was suppressed.

At the same time, the Russian command strengthened its positions in the south. At the end of November 1777, Field Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev appointed Alexander Suvorov to command the Kuban Corps. At the beginning of January 1778, he accepted the Kuban Corps and in a short time compiled a complete topographical description of the Kuban region and seriously strengthened the Kuban cordon line, which was actually the border between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In March, Suvorov was appointed instead of Alexander Prozorovsky as commander of the troops of Crimea and Kuban. In April he arrived in Bakhchisarai. The commander divided the peninsula into four territorial districts and created a chain of posts along the coast at a distance of 3-4 km from each other. Russian garrisons were located in fortresses and several dozen fortifications, reinforced with guns. The first territorial district had a center in Gezlev, the second - in the southwestern part of the peninsula, in Bakhchisarai, the third in the eastern part of Crimea - in the Salgir fortification-retrenchment, the fourth - occupied the Kerch Peninsula with its center in Yenikal. The brigade of Major General Ivan Bagration was stationed behind Perekop.

Alexander Suvorov issued a special order in which he called for “to maintain complete friendship and establish mutual agreement between Russians and ordinary people of different ranks.” The commander began to build fortifications at the exit from Akhtiar Bay, forcing the Turkish warships remaining there to leave. Turkish ships left for Sinop. To weaken the Crimean Khanate and save Christians, who were the first to become victims during riots and the landing of Turkish troops, Suvorov, on the advice of Potemkin, began to facilitate the resettlement of the Christian population from Crimea. They were resettled to the coast of the Azov Sea and the mouth of the Don. From spring to early autumn 1778, more than 30 thousand people were resettled from Crimea to the Azov region and Novorossiya. This irritated the Crimean nobility.

In July 1778, a Turkish fleet of 170 pennants under the command of Hassan Gazy Pasha appeared off the Crimean coast in Feodosia Bay. The Turks were thinking about landing troops. The Turkish command handed over a letter with an ultimatum demanding a ban on Russian ships sailing along the coast of the Crimean Peninsula. If this requirement was not met, the Russian ships threatened to be sunk. Suvorov was firm and stated that he would ensure the security of the peninsula by all means available to him. The Turks did not dare to land troops. The Ottoman fleet returned home ingloriously. The Turkish fleet held another demonstration in September. But the measures of Suvorov, who fortified the coast and ordered Bagration's brigade to enter the Crimea, maneuvered his troops in sight of the enemy fleet, corresponding to his movement, again forced the Ottomans to retreat.

On March 10, 1779, the Anayli-Kavak Convention was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It confirmed the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty. Istanbul recognized Shagin Giray as the Crimean Khan, confirmed the independence of the Crimean Khanate and the right of free passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles for Russian merchant ships. Russian troops, leaving 6 thousand. garrison in Kerch and Yenikal, in mid-June 1779 they left the Crimean peninsula and Kuban. Suvorov received an appointment to Astrakhan.

The Ottomans did not accept the loss of Crimea and the territories of the Northern Black Sea region; in the fall of 1781 they provoked another uprising. The uprising was led by the Shagin-Girey brothers Bakhadyr-Girey and Arslan-Girey. The uprising began in Kuban and quickly spread to the peninsula. By July 1782, the uprising had completely engulfed the entire Crimea, the khan was forced to flee, and the officials of his administration who did not manage to escape were killed. Bahadir II Giray was elected as the new khan. He turned to St. Petersburg and Istanbul with a request for recognition.

However, the Russian Empire refused to recognize the new khan and sent troops to suppress the uprising. Russian Empress Catherine II appointed Grigory Potemkin as commander-in-chief. He had to suppress the uprising and achieve the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula to Russia. Anton Balmain was appointed to lead the troops in Crimea, and Alexander Suvorov was appointed to lead the troops in Kuban. Balmain's corps, which was formed in Nikopol, occupied Karasubazar, defeating the army of the new khan under the command of Prince Halim Giray. Bahadir was captured. His brother Arslan Giray was also arrested. Most of the khan's supporters fled through the North Caucasus to Turkey. Potemkin again appointed Alexander Suvorov commander of the troops in the Crimea and Kuban. Shagin Giray returned to Bakhchisarai and was restored to the throne.

Shagin Giray began to carry out repressions against the rebels, which led to a new rebellion. Thus, Tsarevich Mahmud Giray, who declared himself khan in the Cafe, was executed. Shigin Giray also wanted to execute his own brothers - Bakhadyr and Arslan. But the Russian government intervened and saved them, the execution was replaced by imprisonment in Kherson. The Russian Empress “advised” Shagin Giray to voluntarily renounce the throne and transfer his possessions to St. Petersburg. In February 1783, Shagin Giray abdicated the throne and moved to live in Russia. Lived in Taman, Voronezh, Kaluga. Then he made a mistake and left for the Ottoman Empire. Shagin was arrested, exiled to Rhodes and executed in 1787.

On April 8 (19), 1783, Empress Catherine II issued a manifesto on the inclusion of the Crimean Khanate, the Taman Peninsula and Kuban into the Russian state. By order of G. Potemkin, troops under the command of Suvorov and Mikhail Potemkin occupied the Taman Peninsula and Kuban, and Balmain’s forces entered the Crimean Peninsula. From the sea, Russian troops supported the ships of the Azov flotilla under the command of Vice Admiral Klokachev. Almost at the same time, the Empress sent the frigate “Caution” to the peninsula under the command of captain II rank Ivan Bersenev. He received the task of choosing a harbor for the fleet off the southwestern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. In April, Bersenev inspected the bay near the village of Akhtiar, which was located near the ruins of Chersonese-Tauride. He proposed turning it into a base for the future Black Sea Fleet. On May 2, 1783, five frigates and eight small ships of the Azov military flotilla under the command of Vice Admiral Klokachev entered the bay. Already at the beginning of 1784, the port and fortress were founded. It was named by Empress Catherine II Sevastopol - “The Majestic City”.

In May, the Empress sent Mikhail Kutuzov, who had just returned from abroad after treatment, to Crimea, who quickly settled political and diplomatic issues with the remaining Crimean nobility. In June 1783, in Karasubazar, on the top of the Ak-Kaya rock (White Rock), Prince Potemkin took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Empire from the Tatar nobility and representatives of all segments of the Crimean population. The Crimean Khanate finally ceased to exist. The Crimean Zemstvo Government was established. Russian troops stationed in Crimea received Potemkin’s order to treat the residents “friendly, without causing offense at all, which is what superiors and regimental commanders set as an example.”

In August 1783, Balmain was replaced by General Igelstrom. He proved himself to be a good organizer and established the Tauride Regional Board. Almost the entire local Tatar nobility entered it, together with the zemstvo government. On February 2, 1784, by decree of the empress, the Tauride region was established, headed by the president of the military college G. Potemkin. It included Crimea and Taman. In the same month, Empress Catherine II granted the upper Crimean class all the rights and benefits of the Russian nobility. Lists of 334 new Crimean nobles were compiled, who retained their old land property.

To attract the population, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kherson were declared open cities for all nationalities friendly to Russia. Foreigners could freely come to these settlements, live there and accept Russian citizenship. Serfdom was not introduced in Crimea; the Tatars of non-privileged classes were declared state-owned (state) peasants. The relations between the Crimean nobility and the social groups dependent on them were not changed. The lands and income that belonged to the Crimean “tsar” passed to the imperial treasury. All prisoners, Russian subjects, received freedom. It must be said that at the time of the annexation of Crimea to Russia, there were about 60 thousand people and 1,474 villages on the peninsula. The main occupation of the villagers was raising cows and sheep.

Changes for the better, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, appeared literally before our eyes. Internal trade duties were eliminated, which immediately increased the trade turnover of Crimea. The Crimean cities of Karasubazar, Bakhchisarai, Feodosia, Gezlev (Evpatoria), Ak-Mosque (Simferopol - it became the administrative center of the region) began to grow. The Tauride region was divided into 7 counties: Simferopol, Levkopol (Feodosia), Perekop, Evpatoria, Dnieper, Melitopol and Phanagoria. Russian state peasants, retired soldiers, and immigrants from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Turkey were settled on the peninsula. Potemkin invited foreign specialists in the field of horticulture, viticulture, sericulture and forestry to develop agriculture in Crimea. Salt production was increased. In August 1785, all Crimean ports were exempted from paying customs duties for 5 years and customs guards were transferred to Perekop. By the end of the centuries, the turnover of Russian trade on the Black Sea increased several thousand times and amounted to 2 million rubles. A special office was created on the peninsula for the management and development of “agriculture and home economics.” Already in 1785, the Vice-Governor of Crimea K.I. Gablitz carried out the first scientific description of the peninsula.

Potemkin had enormous energy and ambition. On the shores of the Black Sea he was able to implement many projects. The Empress fully supported him in this matter. Back in 1777, she wrote to Grimm: “I love unplowed countries. Believe me, they are the best." Novorossiya was indeed an “untilled” territory where the most amazing projects could be implemented. Fortunately, Potemkin had the full support of the empress and the enormous human and material resources of Russia. In fact, he became a kind of vice-emperor of the South of Russia, who had full will to realize his plans. Military and political victories were combined with rapid administrative, economic, naval and cultural development of the region.

Entire cities and ports arose in the bare steppe - Sevastopol, Kherson, Melitopol, Odessa. Thousands of peasants and workers were sent to build canals, embankments, fortifications, shipyards, piers, and enterprises. Forests were planted. Streams of immigrants (Russians, Germans, Greeks, Armenians, etc.) rushed to Novorossiya. The population of the Crimean Peninsula by the end of the century increased to 100 thousand people, mainly due to immigrants from Russia and Little Russia. The richest lands of the southern Russian steppes were developed. The Black Sea Fleet was built in record time, which quickly became master of the situation in the Black Sea and won a series of brilliant victories over the Turkish fleet. Potemkin planned to build a magnificent southern capital of the empire, not inferior to the Northern capital, Ekaterinoslav on the Dnieper (now Dnepropetrovsk). They were going to build a huge cathedral in it, larger than the Vatican St. Peter's, a theater, a university, museums, a stock exchange, palaces, gardens and parks.

Potemkin’s versatile talents also touched the Russian army. The empress's all-powerful favorite was a supporter of new tactics and strategies for waging war and encouraged the initiative of commanders. He replaced the tight German-type uniforms with light and comfortable uniforms of a new type, more suitable for combat operations. The soldiers were forbidden to wear braids and use powder, which was sheer torture for them.

The transformations proceeded so quickly that when in 1787 the Russian ruler Catherine II traveled to the peninsula through Perekop, visiting Karasubazar, Bakhchisarai, Laspi and Sevastopol, Potemkin had something to brag about. Suffice it to recall the Black Sea Fleet, consisting of three battleships, twelve frigates, twenty small ships, three bombardment ships and two fire ships. It was after this journey that Potemkin received the title of “Tauride” from the Empress.

It is clear that Istanbul has not come to terms with the loss of the Crimean Khanate. The Ottomans, egged on by England, were actively preparing for a new war. In addition, the interests of Russia and Turkey collided in the Caucasus and the Balkan Peninsula. It ended with Istanbul, in the form of an ultimatum, demanding the return of the Crimean peninsula, but received a decisive refusal. On August 21, 1787, the Turkish fleet attacked the Russian fleet off the western coast of the Crimean Peninsula, which served as a signal for the start of a new war. In the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. success accompanied Russian weapons. In Moldova, Rumyantsev inflicted a number of heavy defeats on the Turkish troops, Golitsyn occupied Iasi and Khotyn. Potemkin's army captured Ochakov. Suvorov defeated the Turkish army near Rymnik. The “impregnable” Izmail and Anapa were captured. The Black Sea Fleet defeated the Turkish fleet in a series of battles. The Iasi Peace Treaty assigned the entire Northern Black Sea region, including the Crimean Peninsula, to the Russian Empire.

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Crimea... Majestic mountain peaks covered in legends, an azure sea, a boundless steppe bursting with heat, fragrant with herbs... This ancient land has welcomed people into its arms since the Paleolithic, and, finding peace, the ancient Hellenes and Byzantines, the warriors of the Golden Horde, became equal before it. and residents of the Crimean Khanate. The Crimean land remembers the times of the Ottoman Empire, and it has not forgotten Russia.

The land of Crimea gave life, and then eternal peace, to the Tatars, Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Estonians, Czechs, Turks, Armenians, Germans, Bulgarians, Jews, Karaites, Gypsies, Crimeans. What are people to her if the land of Crimea quietly whispers through the steppe grasses a song about how it buried entire civilizations. Oh, people are truly crazy who think that time passes too quickly. Foolish people. This is what you are going through.

History of Crimea since Ancient times

The first people appeared on the Crimean peninsula in ancient Paleolithic times, as evidenced by archaeological excavations near the sites of Staroselye and Kiik-Koba. And in the first millennium BC, tribes of Cimmerians, Scythians and Taurians settled on this land. By the way, it was on behalf of the latter that the land of the coastal and mountainous part of Crimea received its name - Tavrida, Tavrika or, more commonly, Tavria. But already in the sixth - fifth centuries BC, the Greeks settled in the Crimean territories.

At first, the Hellenes settled in colonies, but soon Greek city-states began to emerge. Thanks to the Greeks, majestic temples to the Olympian gods, theaters and stadiums appeared on the peninsula, the first vineyards appeared and ships began to be built. A few centuries later, part of the coast of the Taurian land was captured by the Romans, whose power continued until the Goths invaded the peninsula in the third and fourth centuries AD, putting an end to the existence of the Greek city-states. But the Goths didn’t stay in Crimea for long either.

Already other tribes forced the Goths, like the Tauri and Scythians, to scatter in the human sea, without preserving their national identity, ceasing to be a single people. Starting from the fifth century, Crimea fell under the rule of the Byzantine Empire for several hundred years, but from the seventh to the ninth century the entire peninsula (except Kherson) became the territory of the Khazar Khaganate. In 960, in the rivalry between the Khazars and Ancient Russia, the Old Russian state won the final victory.

The Khazar city of Samkerts, on the Caucasian shore of the Kerch Strait, became known as Tmutarakanya. By the way, it was here, in Crimea in the year 988 from the Nativity of Christ, that the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir was baptized, occupying Kherson (Korsun). In the thirteenth century, the Mongol-Tatars invaded Tavria, where they formed the so-called Crimean ulus of the Golden Horde. And in 1443, after the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate arose on the peninsula. In 1475, the Crimean Khanate became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, and it was the Crimean Khanate that Turkey used as a weapon, carrying out its raids on Russian, Ukrainian and Polish lands. It was to combat the raids of the Crimean Khanate that the Zaporozhye Sich was founded in 1554.

Annexation of Crimea to Russia

But it put an end to three hundred years of Ottoman rule in Crimea. So Crimea becomes Russian territory. At the same time, the fortified cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol were built in Tavria. But Turkey was not going to surrender Crimea just like that - it was preparing for a new war, which was a completely logical decision at that time. But the Russian army was not cut out for it either. The next Russian-Turkish war ended in 1791 after the signing of the Treaty of Iasi.

Crimea in the Russian Empire

From that time on, palaces began to be built in Crimea, fishing and salt production, and winemaking developed. Crimea has become the most beloved health resort of the Russian aristocracy, and ordinary people who go to Crimean sanatoriums to treat all sorts of ailments. A census of the population of the Tauride province was not carried out, but according to data from Shagin-Girey, the peninsula was divided into six kaymakams: Perekop, Kozlov, Kefin, Bakhchisarai, Karasubazar and Akmechet.

After 1799, the territory was divided into counties with 1,400 villages and 7 cities: Alushta, Kerch, Simferopol, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Evpatoria and Yalta. In the year 1834, the Crimean Tatars still dominated in Crimea, but after the Crimean War a decision was made to gradually resettle them. According to the records of 1853, 43 thousand people in Crimea already professed Orthodoxy, and among the Gentiles there were Reformed, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Armenian Catholics, Armenian Gregorians, Muslims, Jews - Talmudists and Karaites.

Crimea during the Civil War

During the civil war at the beginning of the twentieth century, both whites and reds came to power in Crimea. In November 1917, the Crimean People's Republic was proclaimed, but a year later, in January 1918, after Soviet power was established in Crimea, it ceased to exist. Throughout March and April 1918, Crimea was part of the RSFSR as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Taurida.

On April 13, 1918, with the support of the Tatar police and units of the UPR army, German troops invaded the republic and eliminated Soviet power by the first of May. For several months, until November fifteenth of the same year, 1918, Crimea was under German occupation. Afterwards, the Second Crimean Regional Government was created, which lasted from November 15, 1918 to April 11, 1919.

From April to June 1919, Crimea again became part of the RSFSR as the Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic. But already from July 1, 1919 to November 12, 1919, Crimea came under the rule of the All-Soviet Union of Socialists and the Russian Army of the Baron. The Red Army conquered Crimea in 1920, inflicting terror on the peninsula that claimed about 120 thousand lives.

Crimea during the USSR

After the civil war in Crimea, in which, in addition to the Whites and Reds, the French and the British also died, the Soviet authorities made an unprecedented and radical decision - to evict the Crimean Tatars to Siberia, and settle Russians in their place. So Crimea finally ceased to be part of the East. Afterwards, the Red Army was forced to leave Crimea, retreating to the Taman Peninsula.

But the counteroffensive launched from there ended in failure, and the army was thrown back even further, beyond the Kerch Strait. The Great Patriotic War seriously aggravated interethnic conflicts in Crimea. Thus, in 1944, not only the Tatars were finally evicted from Crimea for the collaboration of some of them with the Germans, but also the Bulgarians, Greeks and Karaites.

As a result of the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace between Russia and Turkey in 1774, the final conquest of Crimea became possible. The credit for this belongs to the favorite of the Empress G.A. Potemkin. This event was of key military-political and economic significance.

"GREEK PROJECT"

On July 10, 1774, peace was concluded with the Ottoman Empire in the village of Kuchuk-Kaynarji. The Black Sea cities of Kerch, Yenikali, and Kinburn went to Russia. Kabarda in the North Caucasus was recognized as Russian. Russia received the right to have a military and merchant fleet in the Black Sea. Merchant ships could freely pass into the Mediterranean Sea through the Turkish Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The Danube principalities (Wallachia, Moldavia, Bessarabia) formally remained with Turkey, but in fact Russia kept them under its protection. Türkiye was obliged to pay a huge indemnity of 4 million rubles. But the most significant loss of the Brilliant Port was the recognition of the independence of the Crimean Khanate.

In 1777-1778 in Russia, Commander-in-Chief G.A. Potemkin, who became the first person in the state after the empress, developed the “Greek project”. This project provided for the expulsion of the Turks from Europe by Russia in alliance with Austria, the liberation of Balkan Christians - Greeks, Bulgarians, the capture of Constantinople and the revival of the Byzantine Empire.

It was no coincidence that both of the empress’s grandsons, born at that time, received “antique” names - Alexander and Konstantin. They hoped to place their second grandson, Konstantin Pavlovich, on the Tsaregrad throne. This project, of course, was utopian. The Ottoman Empire was not yet so weak, and the European powers would not have allowed Russia to create a vassal “Byzantium”.

A truncated version of the “Greek project” provided for the creation of the state of Dacia from the Danube principalities with the same Constantine on the throne. They planned to cede part of the Danube lands to Russia's ally Austria. But they failed to come to an agreement with the Austrians about “Dacia”. Russian diplomats believed that Austrian territorial claims were excessive.

Soon, with the help of Russian troops, the Russian protege Khan Shagin-Girey reigned in Crimea. The former khan Devlet-Girey rebelled, but was forced to flee to Turkey. And on April 8, 1783, Catherine II promulgated a decree on the inclusion of Crimea into Russia. The newly annexed Crimean possessions were called Taurida. The Empress's favorite Grigory Potemkin (Prince Tauride) had to take care of their settlement, economic development, construction of cities, ports, and fortresses. The main base of the newly created Russian Black Sea Navy was to be Sevastopol in Crimea. This city was built on the land of ancient Chersonese, known in Russian chronicles under the name Korsun.

FROM THE MANIFESTO OF CATHERINE II OF APRIL 8, 1783

...In such circumstances, WE were forced, in order to preserve the integrity of the building OUR erected, one of the best acquisitions from the war, to accept the well-meaning Tatars under OUR patronage, give them freedom, elect another legitimate Khan in Sahib-Girey’s place, and establish his rule; for this it was necessary to set OUR military forces in motion, to dispatch the nth corps from them to the Crimea in the most severe times, to maintain it there for a long time, and finally to act against the rebels by force of arms; from which a new war almost broke out with the Ottoman Porte, as it is in everyone’s fresh memory.

Thanks be to the Almighty! Then this storm passed with recognition from the Porte of the legitimate and autocratic Khan in the person of Shagin-Girey. Making this change was not cheap for OUR Empire; but WE at least hoped that the future would be rewarded with security from the neighborhood. Time, and a short one, however, actually contradicted this assumption.

A new rebellion that arose last year, the true origins of which are not hidden from US, forced US again to fully arm itself and to a new detachment of OUR troops to the Crimea and to the Kuban side, which remain there to this day: for without them peace, silence and arrangement among the Tatars, when the active trial of many children already proves in every possible way that just as their previous subordination to the Porte was the reason for coldness and strife between both powers, so their transformation into a free region, with their inability to taste the fruits of such freedom, serves as an everlasting US to the worries, losses and toil of OUR troops...

“DID MORE FOR RUSSIA IN THE SOUTH THAN PETER I IN THE NORTH”

By order of Catherine II, immediately after the annexation of Crimea, the frigate “Caution” was sent to the peninsula under the command of captain II rank Ivan Mikhailovich Bersenev to select a harbor off the southwestern coast. In April 1783, he examined the bay near the village of Akhti-ar, located near the ruins of Chersonese-Tauride. I.M. Bersenev recommended it as a base for ships of the future Black Sea Fleet. Catherine II, by her decree of February 10, 1784, ordered the founding here “of a military port with an admiralty, a shipyard, a fortress and to make it a military city.” At the beginning of 1784, a port-fortress was founded, named Sevastopol by Catherine II - “The Majestic City”. In May 1783, Catherine II sent a returnee from abroad after treatment to Crimea, who brilliantly resolved all the diplomatic and political problems relating to the Russian presence on the Crimean Peninsula.

In June 1783, in Karasubazar, on the top of Mount Ak-Kaya, Prince Potemkin took the oath of allegiance to Russia to the Crimean nobility and representatives of all segments of the Crimean population. The Crimean Khanate ceased to exist. The zemstvo government of Crimea was organized, which included Prince Shirinsky Mehmetsha, Haji-Kyzy-Aga, Kadiasker Musledin Efendi.

The order of G.A. has been preserved. Potemkin to the commander of the Russian troops in Crimea, General de Balmain, dated July 4, 1783: “It is the will of Her Imperial Majesty that all the troops stationed in the Crimean peninsula treat the residents in a friendly manner, without causing offense at all, for which superiors and regimental commanders have an example.” .

In August 1783, De Balmain was replaced by the new ruler of Crimea, General I.A. Igelstrom, who turned out to be a good organizer. In December 1783, he created the “Tauride Regional Board”, which, together with the zemstvo rulers, included almost the entire Crimean Tatar nobility. On June 14, 1784, the first meeting of the Tauride regional board was held in Karasubazar.

By decree of Catherine II of February 2, 1784, the Tauride region was established under the control of the appointed and president of the military college G.A. Potemkin, consisting of the Crimean Peninsula and Taman. The Decree said: “... the Crimean peninsula with the land lying between Perekop and the borders of the Ekaterinoslav governorship, establishing a region under the name of Tauride, until the increase in population and various necessary institutions makes it convenient to establish its province, we entrust it to the management of our general, Ekaterinoslavsky and to the Tauride Governor-General Prince Potemkin, whose feat fulfilled our very assumption and that of all these lands, allowing him to divide that region into districts, appoint cities, prepare for the opening during the current year, and report to us about all the details related to this and to our Senate."

On February 22, 1784, by decree of Catherine II, the upper class of Crimea was granted all the rights and benefits of the Russian nobility. Russian and Tatar officials, on the orders of G. A. Potemkin, compiled lists of 334 new Crimean nobles who retained land ownership. On February 22, 1784, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kherson were declared open cities for all peoples friendly to the Russian Empire. Foreigners could freely come and live in these cities and take Russian citizenship.

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1 Comment

Gorozhanina Marina Yurievna/ Ph.D., Associate Professor

Very interesting material, but it is not clear why not a word is said about the inclusion of the right bank of the Kuban into the Russian Empire along with the Crimean Khanate. This was a very significant event, in many ways it contributed to Russia’s advance into the North Caucasus.
At the end of the 18th century, the right bank of the Kuban was inhabited by nomadic hordes of Nogais, as well as Nekrasov Cossacks. It was urgently necessary to strengthen the southern borders of the Russian Empire. A.V. played an important role in this. Suvorov, under whose leadership the construction of Russian defensive fortifications in the Kuban began. He is also considered the founding father of the city of Ekaterinodar (Krasnodar), which was founded in 1793 on the site of a fortress erected by order of A.V. Suvorov.
An important role in the fate of the Cossacks was played by the main “culprit” of Crimea’s entry into the Russian Empire, gr. G.A. Potemkin. On his initiative, the Black Sea Cossack Army was created in 1787 from the remnants of the former Zaporozhye Cossacks, which earned this name for its brilliant victories on the Black Sea during the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791.
The entry of Crimea into the Russian Empire is a brilliant victory of Russian diplomacy, as a result of which the threat of constant invasion or betrayal by the Crimean Khanate was removed.
Russia was regaining the lands where the legendary Tmutarakan principality once stretched. In many ways, the intensification of Russian politics on Wed. XVIII century This region was facilitated by concern for Christian brothers, whose position under the rule of the Muslim Crimea was very difficult. According to the memoirs of Archpriest Trifillius, the closest assistant to the Got[f]o-Kefai Metropolitans Gideon and Ignatius, the life of the Orthodox in these places was extremely difficult: “We suffered great fears from the Tatars; they hid wherever they could, in houses and closets themselves. I hid the Metropolitan in secret places known to me. And the Tatars were looking for us; If they had found it, they would have cut it into pieces.” The burning of the entire Christian village of Rusokhat by the Tatars also testifies to the tragedy of Christians. Acts of oppression of the Greek Christian population were recorded in 1770, 1772, 1774.
In 1778, a mass exodus of Christians from Crimea was organized. Until now, there is no consensus among studies as to why this happened. Some see this as an attempt by the Russian autocracy to remove the Christian population of Crimea from the influence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, others believe that by providing assistance and land on the territory of the Russian Empire, Catherine II sought, first of all, to economically weaken the Crimean Khanate. In a rescript to Rumyantsev dated March 19, 1778, Catherine II, regarding the issue of resettlement to the Novorossiysk and Azov provinces, wrote that there “under Our protection they will find a calmer life and possible prosperity”22. Prince Potemkin and Count Rumyantsev were ordered to take all measures to provide new subjects with food, supply them with everything they needed locally, as well as privileges. Management of the resettlement process was entrusted to A.V. Suvorov.
As a result of these events, the Christian population in Crimea declined sharply. According to the statistical report compiled for Prince Potemkin, in 1783 there were 80 Orthodox churches in Crimea, including only 33 that were not destroyed. Only 27,412 Christians lived on the peninsula. After Crimea became part of the Russian Empire, the reverse process of restoring Christianity in this region began, but it proceeded at a very slow pace. On this occasion, Archbishop Innocent wrote in a report to the Holy Synod (1851) “... according to the current Code of Laws, it is much more profitable for Mohammedans to remain in Islam than to convert to Christianity; for along with this transition he is immediately subjected to various duties that are new to him, such as recruitment, payment of large taxes, etc. The dignity of the prevailing faith, the most just and sound policy would require the removal of this obstacle, at least to the extent that a Mohammedan, upon conversion to Christianity, if he did not enjoy new rights, would retain the old ones, albeit for life. If Christianity is opened through this door, the benefit of the state itself is obvious: for a Muslim, until he enters the temple, will always turn his eyes and heart to Mecca and consider the foreign Padishah the head of his faith and all devout Muslims.”