Crimea

Republic of Crimea Qırım Cumhuriyeti (Crimean Tatar)
Flag
Motto:  "Yedinstvodaki refah" (Crimean Tatar) "Prosperity in unity"
Anthem:  "Ant etkenmen" (Crimean Tatar) I Pledge! a
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 Republic of Crimea (Crimean Tatar: Qırım Cumhuriyeti), is a country located in Eastern Europe and Northern Black Sea. It is composed of 24 provinces and four autonomous cities, Aqyar and Şaydakbaşı, the largest and second largest city, Baghche-Saray, the capital of Crimea, and Nogaykermen, which is under Cossackian occupation. It occupies 106,709 square km (41,201 square miles) and it has a population of around four and a half million. It is bordered by Ukraine and Gothisnia to the west, Novorussia to the north, and Russia to the southeast.

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 as an independent country was formed in 1441, with the struggle for independence from Golden Horde. Crimean Khanate, the predecessor of the modern republic, would enter an Ottoman protectorate in 1475 during a succession crisis. For centuries, Crimea would be in a struggle with neighboring hordes and Russian entities. During Russo-Turkish War of 1768-74, Crimea would get its independence from Russia with Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, only to be annexed by Russia in 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars.

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.

Today, Crimea is a unitary presidential republic and developed nation with a strong and social-market economy. It ranks 21st highest country in GDP per capita and 27th in World Bank Development Index. While still pursuing conglomeratist agenda and trying to revolutionize monarchical organization, Crimea would be considered as a flawed democracy, and be ranked as 57th in Democracy Index. Crimea is a member of the United Nations, NATO, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Turkic Council.

Name

The classical name for Crimea, Tauris or Taurica, is from the Greek Ταυρική (Taurikḗ), after the regions's Scytho-Cimmerian inhabitants, the Tauri. It is also the name of the nation of Taurica

Strabo (Geography vii 4.3, xi. 2.5), Polybius, (Histories 4.39.4), and Ptolemy (Geographia. II, v 9.5) refer variously to the Strait of Kerch as the Κιμμερικὸς Βόσπορος (Kimmerikos Bosporos, romanized spelling, Bosporus Cimmerius), its easternmost part as the Κιμμέριον Ἄκρον (Kimmerion Akron, Roman name: Promontorium Cimmerium, as well as to the city of Cimmerium and whence the name of the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Κιμμερικοῦ Βοσπόρου).

The Crimean Tatar name of the country is Qırım (Crimean Tatar: Къырым, romanized: Kirim/Qırım) and so also for the city of Krym which is now called Staryi Krym which served as a capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde. Some sources hold that the name of the capital was extended to the entire country at some point during Ottoman rule. But the earliest recorded use of the toponym "Crimea" for the peninsula occurred between 1315 and 1329 CE by the Arab writer Abū al-Fidā where he recounts a political fight in 1300–1301 CE resulting in a rival's decapitation and having "sent his head to the Crimea".

The origin of the word Qırım is uncertain. Suggestions argued in various sources include:

1. a corruption of Cimmerium (Greek, Kimmerikon, Κιμμερικόν).
2. a derivation from the Turkic term qirum ("fosse, trench"), from qori- ("to fence, protect").

Other suggestions either unsupported or contradicted by sources, apparently based on similarity in sound, include:

1. a derivation from the Greek Cremnoi (Κρημνοί, in post-classical Koiné Greek pronunciation, Crimni, i.e., "the Cliffs", a port on Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov) cited by Herodotus in The Histories 4.20.1 and 4.110.2).[25] However, Herodotus identifies the port not in Crimea, but as being on the west coast of the Sea of Azov. No evidence has been identified that this name was ever in use for the peninsula.
2. The Turkic term (e.g., in Turkish: Kırım) is related to the Mongolian appellation kerm "wall", but sources indicate that the Mongolian appellation of the Crimean peninsula of Qaram is phonetically incompatible with kerm/kerem and therefore deriving from another original term.

The spelling "Crimea" is the Italian form, i.e., la Crimea, since at least the 17th century and the "Crimean peninsula", a term used to refer to the peninsula becomes current during the 18th century, gradually replacing the classical name of Tauric Peninsula in the course of the 19th century. In English usage since the early modern period the Crimean Khanate is referred to as Crim Tartary. The omission of the definite article in English ("Crimea" rather than "the Crimea") became common during the later 20th century.

Politics and government

Ever since the fall of Soviet Union. Crimea's forgien policy is centered around joining the European Union

Demographics

Ethnic Groups

• 63.9% Crimean Tatar
• 18.5% Novorussian
• 15.3% Russian
• 1.1% Circassian
• 1.0% Turkish
• 0.2% Other

Religion

• 54.5% Sunni Islam
• 37.2% Eastern Orthodox
• 6.8% Shiite Islam
• 1.5% Other

Language

• 70.8% Crimean Tatar
• 11.5% Novorussian
• 9.8% Russian
• 4.2% Arabic
• 2.5% Turkish
• 1.2% Circassian
• 1.0% Other