What to know about Crimea and how it factors into the Russia-Ukraine war
The southern coast gradually consolidated into the Bosporan Kingdom which was annexed by Pontus in Asia Minor and later became a client kingdom of Rome from 63 BCE to 341 CE. Following the end of Nazi occupation during World War II, indigenous Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported and the autonomous republic was abolished in 1945, replaced with an oblast-level jurisdiction. When Ukraine became independent, Crimea remained a republic within the country, leading to tensions between Russia and Ukraine as the Black Sea Fleet was based on the peninsula. Solar photovoltaic SES plants are plentiful on the peninsula, including a small facility north of Sevastopol. The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion.
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- Greeks colonised its southern fringe and were absorbed by the Roman and Byzantine Empires and successor states while remaining culturally Greek.
- The republic is coterminous with the Crimean Peninsula, lying between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
- The Genoese–Mongol Wars were fought between the 13th and 15th centuries for control of south Crimea.
- The peninsula is connected on the northwest to the mainland by the Perekop Isthmus, a 5-mile- (8-km-) wide strip of land that has been the site of numerous battles for the control of Crimea.
- A subtropical, Mediterranean climate dominates the southern coastal regions, is characterised by mild winters and moderately hot, dry summers.
- Simferopol, the administrative centre of the republic, is located in the foothills of the Crimean Mountains.
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Why is Crimea significant?
- The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion.
- The southern coast gradually consolidated into the Bosporan Kingdom which was annexed by Pontus in Asia Minor and later became a client kingdom of Rome from 63 BCE to 341 CE.
- Three days later, several Ukrainian bases and navy ships in Crimea reported being intimidated by Russian forces and Ukrainian warships were also effectively blockaded in Sevastopol.
- This “riviera” stretches along the southeast coast from capes Fiolent and Aya, in the south, to Feodosia.
- Maritime influences from the Black Sea are restricted to coastal areas; in the interior of the peninsula the maritime influence is weak and does not play an important role.
- Besides the isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast’s Henichesk Raion by bridges over the narrow Chonhar and Henichesk straits and over Kerch Strait to the Krasnodar Krai.
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The Crimean mountains greatly influence the amount of precipitation present in the peninsula. The plains usually receive 300 to 400 millimetres (11.8 to 15.7 in) of precipitation per year, increasing to 560 millimetres (22.0 in) in the southern coast at sea level. The western parts of the Crimean mountains receive more than 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) of precipitation per year. The Southern Coast is shielded from cold air masses coming from the north and, as a result, has milder winters.
Crimea
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- Winds from the northwest bring warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean, causing precipitation during spring and summer.
- The third region is made up of the alpine fold mountains of the south, which form three chains parallel to the southern coast.
- Most of the peninsula receives more than 2,000 sunshine hours per year; it reaches up to 2,505 sunshine hours in Qarabiy yayla in the Crimean Mountains.
- The frost-free period ranges from 160 to 200 days in the steppe and mountain regions to 240–260 days on the south coast.
- Solar photovoltaic SES plants are plentiful on the peninsula, including a small facility north of Sevastopol.
- This range drops steeply to the sea, where there is a narrow coastal plain broken by cliffs and headlands.
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The Genoese–Mongol Wars were fought between the 13th and 15th centuries for control of south Crimea. However, support for the second question would have restored the republic’s autonomous status within Ukraine. Aksyonov then said that he asserted sole control over Crimea’s security forces and appealed to Spinday Russia “for assistance in guaranteeing peace and calmness” on the peninsula. Three days later, several Ukrainian bases and navy ships in Crimea reported being intimidated by Russian forces and Ukrainian warships were also effectively blockaded in Sevastopol. The peninsula is connected on the northwest to the mainland by the Perekop Isthmus, a 5-mile- (8-km-) wide strip of land that has been the site of numerous battles for the control of Crimea.
Crimea has been key in Russia’s war in Ukraine
Brines from Syvash supply chemical plants at Krasnoperekopsk in northwestern Crimea. 300 people, mainly residing in Kerch.The population number excluding these uyezds is given in the table below. There are 257 rivers and major streams on the Crimean peninsula; they are primarily fed by rainwater, with snowmelt playing a very minor role.
Explainer-Where is Crimea and why is it contested?
The northern parts of Crimea have a moderate continental climate with short but cold winters and moderately hot dry summers. A subtropical, Mediterranean climate dominates the southern coastal regions, is characterised by mild winters and moderately hot, dry summers. Simferopol, the administrative centre of the republic, is located in the foothills of the Crimean Mountains. Along the southern coast, tourism is extremely important, with Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta, and Alupka among the main centres.