Crimea
Republic of Crimea Qırım Cumhuriyeti (Crimean Tatar) | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Capital | Baghche-Saray |
| Largest city | Aqyar |
| Official languages | Crimean Tatar |
| Recognised regional languages | Greek, Russian, Novorussian |
| Demonym(s) | Crimean |
| Driving side | right |
| Internet TLD | .qr |
Crimea, (Crimean Tatar: Qırım) officially the Republic of Crimea (Crimean Tatar: Qırım Cumhuriyeti), is a country located in Eastern Europe. It borders Novorussia to the north and west, Cossackia to the east, and the Black Sea to the south.
Crimea (or the Tauric Peninsula, as it was called from antiquity until the early modern period) has historically been at the boundary between the classical world and the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Its southern fringe was colonised by the Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Crimean Goths, the Genoese and the Ottoman Empire, while at the same time its interior was occupied by a changing cast of invading steppe nomads and empires, such as the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths, Alans, Bulgars, Huns, Khazars, Kipchaks, Mongols and the Golden Horde. Crimea and adjacent territories were united in the Crimean Khanate during the 15th to 18th century.
In 1783, the Crimean Khanate was annexed by the Russian Empire as the result of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), and it was spited into two parts, The Crimean Khanate and Taurida Governate. Modern Crimea was formed in the aftermath of World War I, when Crimean politicians and activists declared independence from the Russian Empire and the formation of the Crimean People's Republic. In the first stages of the Eastern Front of World War II, Crimea was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany and again by the Soviets, becoming a constituent socialist republic.
When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Crimea regained its independence. The Crimean government-in-exile and much of the Crimean diaspora returned, quickly establishing Crimea as a haven of development and human rights on the Black Sea. Within the last twenty years Crimea has grown its economy, expanded its development, and aligned itself with Germany and the United States, causing tensions with Russia. Since The First Novoroso-Crimean War that lasted from 1990-1995, the northeastern half of Crimea has been under the control of partially recognised state of the People's Republic, which was annexed by Novorossiya.