Regions and territories: Crimea

The Republic of Crimea, a part of Ukraine, lies on a peninsula stretching out from the south of Ukraine between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is separated from Russia to the east by the narrow Kerch Strait.

The Russian Tsars and Soviet elite spent summers on its subtropical southern shores which still attract holidaymakers and, latterly, wealthy property developers.



Overview
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Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine The Great in 1783 and remained part of Russia until 1954 when it was transferred to Ukraine under the then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Ethnic Russians still make up the bulk of the population, Ukrainians under a quarter and the Muslim Crimean Tatars about 12%.



Sevastopol: A key base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet
Known in ancient times as Tauris, the area came under Greek and Roman influence before being targeted by a succession of invaders. The Mongol Tatars arrived in the 13th century. A Crimean Tatar Khanate with its capital at Bakhchisaray was formed in 1443 and later became an Ottoman vassal state. It outlived the other two Tatar Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan which were conquered by the forces of Ivan The Terrible in the 16th century.

Rival imperial ambitions in the mid 19th century led to the Crimean War when Britain and France, suspicious of Russian ambitions in the Balkans as the Ottoman Empire declined, sent troops.

Tatar deportation

Given autonomous republic status within Russia after the Bolshevik revolution, Crimea was occupied by the Nazis in the early 1940s. The Tatars were accused of collaboration by Stalin and deported en masse to Central Asia and Siberia in 1944. Many did not survive.

Only as the Soviet Union collapsed were they allowed to return. By the time over a quarter of a million did so in the early 1990s, it was to an independent Ukraine where they faced very high unemployment and extremely poor housing conditions. There have been persistent tensions and protests over land rights. The allocation of land to Crimean Tatars remains a highly contentious issue. Ethnic and political tensions are aggravated by economic hardship. Corruption and organised crime are major problems.

The years following Ukrainian independence saw political turbulence in Crimea. Political figures from the local Russian community sought to assert sovereignty and strengthen ties with Russia through a series of moves declared unconstitutional by Kiev.


Yalta: The port city is a mecca for tourists
The 1996 Ukrainian constitution stipulated that Crimea would have autonomous republic status but reasserted that Crimean legislation must be in keeping with that of Ukraine. Crimea has its own parliament and government with powers over agriculture, public infrastructure and tourism.

The Crimean Tatars have their own unofficial parliament, the Mejlis, which states its purpose as being to promote the rights and interests of the Crimean Tatars.

Ukraine-Russia tension

The port of Sevastopol is a major naval base and has been home to the Black Sea Fleet since Soviet times. Following the collapse of the USSR, the fleet was divided up between Russia and Ukraine. Agreement was reached granting Russia a lease for the use of Sevastopol as a base until 2017. Its continuing presence there has been a focus of tension between Russia and Ukraine.

This tension has taken a new twist as the Ukrainian president looks to strengthen ties with Nato. Russian protesters took to the streets to disrupt preparations for Nato-led naval exercises off Crimean shores in summer 2006. Some months later, Crimean voters rejected NATO membership in an unofficial referendum which was declared illegitimate by the authorities in Kiev.

There is a rumbling border dispute between Moscow and Kiev in the Kerch Strait. Tensions rose sharply in late 2003 after Russia started building a causeway between the Russian coast and the island of Tuzla, just off Crimea. Russia said it was motivated by fears about coastal erosion but Ukraine suspected a political motive.

As Moscow keeps a close watch on Ukraine's relations with Nato and the West, it has a particular eye on developments in Crimea.


Facts
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Territory: Crimea Status: Semi-autonomous region of Ukraine
Status: Autonomous republic within Ukraine
Population: 2 million
Capital: Simferopol
Area: 26,100 sq km (10,077 sq miles)
Languages Ukrainian (official), Russian, Crimean Tatar
Ethnic groups Russians, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars,
Religion: Christianity, Islam
Main industries: Tourism, agriculture, ore, mining, chemicals


Leaders
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Chairman of Supreme Council: Anatoliy Hrytsenko

Anatoliy Hrytsenko became chairman of the Crimean Supreme Council following parliamentary elections in March 2006. The Party of Regions, of which Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is leader and of which Mr Hrytsenko is a member, took 44 out of 100 seats in those elections.

Before his appointment he was first deputy chairman of Crimea's Council of Ministers. He also served as chairman of the Crimean Supreme Council from 1997 until 1998.

Anatoliy Hrytsenko was born in 1958.

Prime minister: Viktor Plakyda

The Crimean prime minister is appointed by the Crimean parliament with the approval of the Ukrainian president.

Viktor Plakyda took the post in June 2006 following elections to the Crimean parliament

Chairman of Crimean Tatar Majlis: Mustafa Jemilev


Media
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Crimea's media landscape is in a state of flux as rival business groups and their political backers compete for the attention of the peninsula's many ethnic communities.

In recent times significant new players have entered the market, while established outlets have closed.

Almost 100 broadcasters and around 1,200 publications are registered in Crimea, although no more than a few dozen operate or publish regularly.

Outlets catering for the ethnic Russian majority dominate, supported by a mix of state and private funding. Crimea's ethnic Russians are also served by Russia's main Moscow-based television channels, which can all be received on the peninsula.

Other broadcasters and publishers cater more specifically for the Ukrainian and Tatar minorities.

While there has been a modest decline in the number of Ukrainian-language publications based in Crimea over the past few years, many Ukrainian-language papers published elsewhere in Ukraine are available on the peninsula.

Tatars too can choose from a range of outlets. Crimea's first Tatar-owned, Tatar-language TV channel launched in September 2006.

The only full-time Crimean news agency functioning at present, QHA, is also a Tatar venture. Most other Crimean news agencies do not have their own reporters and borrow material from each other, effectively functioning as news portals.

The press

Krymskaya Pravda - pro-Russian daily
Krymskaya Gazeta - Crimean government daily
Krymskoye Vremya - privately-owned pro-Russian daily
Pervaya Krymskaya - weekly
Sobytiya - weekly
Golos Kryma - Russian-language Tatar weekly
Qirim - Tatar-language daily
Television

Black Sea TV - privately-owned
Crimea TV - state-owned
ATR - Tatar-owned
Radio

Lider - privately-owned
Trans-M - privately-owned