Everything you need to know about the Crimean peninsula. Crimean peninsula

Crimean peninsula. Tourism . In this article, we will tell you about Crimea peninsula. Despite the fact that in last years more and more tourists flock to relax on the coast, as well as on tropical islands Crimea still remains a popular destination for hundreds of thousands of people. Foreign tourists, first of all, visit the capital city of Ukraine - Kiev, which has many historical and architectural sights.
In addition, in the city of Kiev, you can use the Internet directly in the parks. And if one of the tourists did not take his tablet computer on a trip, then he can buy a Kiev laptop at an affordable price in numerous FoxMart stores in the city, which offer a wide range of laptops from various world famous brands, such as: SAMSUNG, ACER, LENOVO, ASUS, HP, SONY and some others. Thanks to the Internet and a laptop, you can learn a lot of necessary, useful and, of course, interesting information, for example, about the Crimean peninsula.
Geography of the Crimean Peninsula . Extensive fertile resort Crimean peninsula wash: in the west and south -, from the east - the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, including the Sivash Bay. Crimean peninsula deep into the Black Sea.
Crimean peninsula located in the southern part of the Republic. Geographically Crimean peninsula belongs to the Northern Black Sea region.
On the territory of the Crimean peninsula are the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, as well as part of the Kherson region. Crimean peninsula in documents Russian Empire until the 20s of the XX century it was called Tauris.
After creation Soviet Union The Taurida Peninsula was renamed and received the name " Crimea". The toponym "Crimea" probably comes from the Turkic word "kyrym", which literally means - a rampart, a wall, a ditch.
Area of ​​the Crimean peninsula is approximately 26,860 km², of which 72% is a flat surface, 20% is occupied Crimea mountains, 8% are water bodies- lakes, rivers.
The length of the coastline of the peninsula Crimea is over 1000 km.
The total length of the sea and land borders of the peninsula Crimea is over 2500 km.
The greatest length Crimea of the peninsula in the direction from west to east between the picturesque capes Kara-Mrun and Lantern is approximately 325 km, and in the direction from north to south from the narrow Perekop Isthmus to Cape Sarych is 205 km.
Geography of the Crimean Peninsula . There are the largest bays on the Black Sea coast: Karkinitsky Bay, Kalamitsky Bay, Feodosiya Bay. On the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov there are the following bays: Sivash Bay, Kazantip Bay and Arabat Bay.
in the east Crimea peninsula between the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov is the Kerch Peninsula, and in the west the tapering part Crimea and forms a relatively small Tarkhankut Peninsula.
In the northern part Crimean peninsula It is connected to the mainland by a rather narrow Perekop isthmus, the width of which at its widest point does not exceed 8 km.
The relief of the Crimean peninsula . Picturesque Crimean peninsula according to the nature of the relief, it is subdivided into platform-flat, which occupies 70% of the entire territory, the rest falls on the folded-mountain surface. On the southern part of the peninsula Crimea sprawled beautiful Crimea sky mountains.
The highest mountain of the peninsula Crimea- Mount Roman-Kosh, which reaches a height of 1545 meters above sea level.
The extreme northern point of the Crimean Peninsula is located on the Perekop Isthmus, its extreme southern point is the beautiful Cape Sarych, the extreme western point is Cape Kara-Mrun (Priboyny) on the Tarkhankut Peninsula, the extreme eastern point of the peninsula is Cape Lantern on the Kerch Peninsula.

Translated from the Turkic, the modern name of the Crimean peninsula is translated as “shaft” or “wall”. In former times (until the 1920s) the peninsula was called Tauris. The Crimean peninsula is located in the southwestern part of Russia, on its territory there is a part of the Kherson region (), the city and the Republic of Crimea.

Crimea - video

The southern and western coasts of Crimea are washed by the waters of the Black Sea, the eastern coast by the Sea of ​​Azov. In the northern part, the peninsula is connected to the mainland by the Perekop Isthmus, the width of which does not exceed 8 kilometers. In the southern part of Crimea there are quite young Crimean mountains, the rest of the peninsula is flat. The total area of ​​the Crimean peninsula is approximately 27 thousand square kilometers.

The climate of the Crimean peninsula is quite diverse: in the north it is temperate continental, in the south - subtropical. The central part of the peninsula is in the zone of influence temperate climate. The average temperature of the hottest summer month is +25 °C, while the coldest winter month ranges from -2 to +4 degrees. The average annual rainfall is 300-500 mm, in mountainous areas - up to 1,200 mm.

About 2 million people live on the territory of the Crimean peninsula, of which Russians make up 58.3%, Ukrainians - 24.3%, Crimean Tatars - 12.1%, Belarusians - 1.4%, Armenians - 0.4%, Jews, Poles, Moldovans, Azerbaijanis - 0.2% each, Uzbeks, Koreans, Greeks, Germans, Mordovians, Chuvashs, Gypsies, Bulgarians, Georgians and Maris - 0.1% each. There are also Karaites, Krymchaks and other national minorities here.

Most of the population of Crimea in religious terms are Orthodox Christians, among the rest of the population, supporters of Islam, Jews, Protestants and Catholics can be distinguished.

Among the major cities of the Crimean peninsula, Simferopol and Kerch can be distinguished - they own the first three places in terms of population. About 390 thousand people, 340 thousand people and 150 thousand people live here, respectively.

The most developed economic spheres of the peninsula are industrial, commercial, construction, healthcare and agricultural industries.

The transport of the peninsula is represented by railway, bus and trolleybus intercity routes. In the city of Evpatoria, one of the types of municipal transport is a tram, and in Sevastopol, boats plying from the southern part of the city to the north are considered urban transport. In 2010, the presidents signed an agreement (the so-called "Kharkov agreements"), according to which a bridge will be built between Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory of Russia international importance. Since March 2014, most of the Crimean peninsula has been the subject of territorial disputes between Russia and Ukraine.

Sights of Crimea

Ai-Petri mountain is the symbol of Crimea, whose name translates from Greek like Mount St. Peter. The top of Ai-Petri is located at an altitude of about 1,236 meters above sea level. The mountain is part of a mountain range, at the beginning of which is the swallow nest, and at the end of the famous white teeth up to 15 meters high. From the top of Mount St. Peter, beautiful landscapes of Greater Yalta open up. Separately, it is worth noting Yayla Ai-Petri - this is a place popular among lovers of skiing and downhill skiing. Snow here is up to 1.5 meters and it lies until late spring.

Kara-Dag or "Black" mountain is a large volcano that has not been active for about 150 million years. At the end of the 80s of the last century, Kara-Dag acquired the status of a state reserve, which includes 4 mountain ranges and part of the sea, which is adjacent to the slopes of the volcano. The total area of ​​the reserve is approximately 22 square kilometers. In the reserve you can find some plant species that are not found anywhere else in the world. The rarest species of fish and animals listed in the Red Book live here. On the territory of the reserve is located founded by the doctor of medical sciences T.I. Vyazemsky Biological Station is a branch of the Institute of the Academy of the Southern Seas and the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

On the southern coast of Crimea there are many palaces - Livadia, Vorontsovsky, Massandrovsky and others. Livadia Palace built by architect Krasnov. The palace with the adjoining park is an outstanding historical monument. Here, during World War II, the famous Yalta Conference was held, at which Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met. Vorontsov Palace combined English Gothic and Oriental architecture. The park area adjacent to the palace covers an area of ​​about 40 hectares. Massandra Palace built at the foot of the mountain on a site surrounded by forest plantations. The palace was intended for leisure activities, so there are no large halls for official receptions.

Livadia Palace:

Vorontsov Palace:

Massandra Palace:

In addition to the listed attractions, pay attention to the Nikitinsky Botanical Garden, the Marble Caves, the Grand Canyon, the Red Cave, Bakhchisaray and others.

1. Citizens of Switzerland, Japan, the USA, the European Union can apply for tourist visas at the consulate dealing with this issue. The consulate is located in the city of Simferopol. In order to obtain a group visa, it is necessary to submit a list of people who are part of the group, indicating their passport details, citizenship, as well as a letter from the travel company and a document confirming the hotel reservation.

2. Tourists entering Crimea with children under 12 years of age should take into account that children need to have a certificate from a doctor stating that the child is in Lately did not suffer from viral diseases and was vaccinated with all mandatory vaccinations (especially against diphtheria).

3. In hotels and inns of the Crimea, payment for rooms is made at the estimated time. If for some reason it was not indicated to you, then 8 am is taken as the estimated time.

4. If you booked a hotel room and did not arrive on time, then the reservation is canceled and your expenses are not compensated.

5. In case of arrival more tourists than indicated in the ticket or receipt for the reservation, the hotel administration can provide them with places to stay, subject to availability, for a fee.

6. When planning a trip to the Crimea, you should take care of first aid supplies, necessary medical preparations, as well as sunscreens. If the hotel provides you with food, then the administration of this institution is responsible for its quality.

7. Protect documents, money, valuables, photo and video equipment from prying eyes. There are known cases of theft in hotels, beaches, train stations, airports and other public places.

8. In the event of a traffic accident with your participation or any conflict situation, you must contact the local law enforcement agencies or the embassy of your country.

9. Take into account that the cost of comfortable rooms in hotels with quality food in the Crimean resort towns is somewhat higher than in similar establishments or in Bulgaria.

It is a well-known fact that the Crimean peninsula has a unique climate. Crimea, whose territory occupies 26.9 thousand km 2, is not only a well-known Black Sea health resort, but also a health resort of Azov. The waters of these two continental seas wash its shores. In addition, Crimea is endowed with significant potential for the development of irrigated agriculture: horticulture and viticulture.

The peninsula has a multi-level relief. In the north and in the center, the steppe relief prevails, it occupies ¾ of the territory of Crimea, in the south it is limited to three ridges of gentle sedimentary Crimean mountains, stretching a strip 160 km long. The southern coast pleases with its resort opportunities. Accordingly, in terms of climate, the peninsula includes three recreational zones:

The most demanded - subtropical;

Millions of tourists in the summer become guests of his friendly cities: Kerch, Feodosia. This - Largest cities peninsula, short description we will present some of them below. According to statistics, at present, 5-6 million tourists visit the peninsula during the season. Is it a lot or a little? For comparison, resorts in Turkey in 2011 were visited by 31.456 million tourists. It's all about infrastructure and promotion. As you can see, Crimea has something to strive for…

Population of Crimea

The population of the Crimean peninsula, according to Krymstat data as of 01/01/2014, is more than 2.342 million people and tends to increase. The reason is the migration attractiveness of the Crimea. At the same time, urban residents have a share of 62.7% on the peninsula, and rural residents, respectively, 37.3%. In national terms, according to the 2001 census, the population of Crimea is represented mainly by Russians (58.3%), Ukrainians (24.3%), Crimean Tatars (12.1%), Belarusians (1.5%). The remaining nationalities in the population of the peninsula occupy a much smaller share - less than 1%.

By the way, the 2001 census of the Crimean population showed an interesting fact: there are more Izhors (a small Finno-Ugric people) living on its territory than in their historical homeland.

Cities of Crimea

The cities of the Crimean peninsula are not numerous. Currently, there are 18 of them. Let us present brief characteristics of some of them.

The administrative, cultural and industrial center of Crimea is the city of Simferopol with a population of 360,000. In Greek, its name sounds like "city of benefit." This is the most important transport hub. It is through it that roads lead to all the settlements of the peninsula.

The industry of Simferopol is significant: about 70 large enterprises, including the factories "Photon", "Pneumatics", "Santekhprom", "Krymprodmash", "Fiolent" and others. Accordingly, the population of the city is quite qualified. The main universities of the peninsula are located in the city, so it is called the scientific center of Crimea. We also recall that Simferopol is the birthplace of academician Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov, actor Roman Sergeevich Filippov, singer Yuri Iosifovich Bogatikov.

The city of Sevastopol was built by decree of Empress Catherine II as a fortress. It is of strategic importance in the Black Sea region as an ice-free port and naval base. Since 2014, according to the Russian Constitution, Sevastopol has federal significance, being the main base of the Black Sea Fleet.

In accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, Sevastopol was endowed with a special status. The industrial potential of the "city of Russian sailors" is determined by the local fishing port, fish cannery and plant, Inkerman winery, shipbuilding and ship repair plants. The city of Sevastopol, in addition, is a significant resort center on the southern coast of the Black Sea, with about 200 sanatoriums and 49 kilometers of beaches.

One of ancient cities world is Kerch, in its place in the 7th century AD. e. Hellenes founded the city of Panticapaeum. The industry of Kerch is represented by mining, metal processing, shipbuilding, construction, and fishing enterprises. with a population exceeding 100 thousand are Evpatoria and Yalta, more than 83 thousand inhabitants in Feodosia. A map of the cities of the Crimean peninsula shows that most of them are located on the coast. The exceptions are Simferopol, Belogorsk and Dzhankoy.

It should be noted that the existing urban structure of Crimea is historically balanced. Further urbanization of the peninsula is hampered by its limited water resources.

The recent past. All-Union health resort

Crimea, the Black Sea... these words were well known to every Soviet person. How many people rested on the peninsula? It is difficult to find exact statistics. The official figure is 10 million. However, it was compiled based on data from sanatorium-and-spa institutions.

At the same time, very significant flows of vacationers traveled to the Crimea on their own and organized their holidays themselves. However, they were not included in the official statistics. We are talking about the so-called "savages". One of the authors of Literaturnaya Gazeta made a joke about them in the 1960s. He said that this way of recreation became so popular in the USSR that the press began to use the word "savage" without quotation marks.

In their suitcases lay a map of the Crimean peninsula, and they chose the route and place of rest themselves ... How to count them? To account for the number of citizens who have a rest on their own, an informal "bread" technology was used. The calculation is simple: almost all citizens consume bread every day. One person per day, on average, accounts for 200-250 grams. The growth in bread consumption during the holiday season made it possible to determine the number of "savages". Impressive statistics were obtained: if in 1958 there were about 300 thousand of them, then in 1988 - 6.2 million people.

Thus, the Soviet Crimea during the holiday season (from May to September) provided its recreational resources for 16 million Soviet people. And if we take into account that the holiday season in Turkey is twice as long, then we will come to the conclusion: Crimea in the 80s of the last century provided rest for a flow of people commensurate with modern Turkish, however, if we take into account the "savages".

Natural resources

Crimea is endowed with significant deposits natural gas, oil, mineral salts, iron ore. Preliminary estimates estimate the total volume of gas deposits as follows - more than 165 billion m 3, oil - about 47 million tons, iron ore - more than 1.8 billion tons.

Despite the efficient extraction of minerals, the Crimean Peninsula, according to experts, has a much greater potential due to its unique natural resources, promising for the creation of a year-round base for medical rehabilitation of the international level.

Their fullest use is a strategic task for the entire Crimean economy.

This peninsula is original and able to surprise. On 5.8% of its territory there are objects and lands related to protected funds.

Stocks fresh water Crimea is the subject of many discussions. Although the map of the Crimean peninsula shows the presence of 257 local rivers, the largest of which are Alma, Belbek, Kacha, Salgir, but almost all of them have a limited supply from the mountains and dry up in summer. 120 Crimean rivers are no longer than 10 km, they are more like mountain streams than rivers. The longest of all is Salgir (204 km).

There are many lakes on the peninsula, more than 80. However, these reservoirs are of marine origin, they are lifeless due to the high salinity of the water. Such lakes do not contribute to the development of agriculture, oppressing the soil.

On the one hand, the significant climatic agricultural potential of the region, and on the other hand, insufficient water resources have determined the need for human intervention in this imbalance. Of decisive importance for water supply is the North Crimean Canal, which supplies Dnieper water to the peninsula. Its volume in 2003 was 83.5% of the total water supply of Crimea.

Thus, the artificial construction of three stages of the canal compensated for the shortage of water, which objectively could not be provided by either the own rivers of the Crimean Peninsula or its lakes. By the way, the share of rivers in the region's water supply is only 9.5%.

The steppe part of Crimea extracts drinking water from artesian basins. Its share is also low - 6.6% of the total. Although clean, high-quality water is extracted from wells.

Statistics show that one resident of Crimea has an average daily volume of water 4.7 times less than for a resident middle lane. In addition, the cost of water in the Crimea is also traditionally higher.

Flora of Crimea

If in the center and in the north of the peninsula there are arable lands, then in the mountains there is a riot of primordial flora. There, to the delight of specialists, 240 species of unique, endemic plants grow. The northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains are covered with dense deciduous forest, oak groves grow below, oak and hornbeam groves grow above. The southern slopes of the mountains are covered with pine forests. Among conifers - endemic Crimean pine.

The nature of the Crimean peninsula is exceptionally favorable for the creation of cultivated arboretums of the southern coast, numbering hundreds and thousands of plants harmoniously planted by specialists. If wild vegetation is represented by shrub thickets (shibliak), then cultivated seaside parks are man-made pearls of this ancient land. A special place among them belongs to the oldest Nikitsky Botanical Garden, which presents plants from all over the world to tourists. However, Massandra, Livadiysky, Forossky, Vorontsovsky parks also have masterpieces of dendrological collections of hundreds of plants. And this is not a complete list of Crimean dendrological plantations.

History. Ancient world

The history of Crimea is attractive and eventful. Its territory has long attracted conquerors. Some of the original inhabitants, the Cimmerians, who lived as early as the 12th century, were supplanted by the Scythians. Other indigenous people, the Taurians, who lived in the foothills and mountains, assimilated with the conquerors. Crimea became part of the Scythian state.

In the 5th century BC e. the Hellenes used the Crimean peninsula to found on its southern coast (Tavrika, as they called it) their colony cities: Chersonesos, Kafa, Panticapaeum. At this stage, it was not about the statehood of the peninsula, but rather about the Greek colonization of the coast. At the same time, the Scythians owned the steppes.

Recall that the Crimea is also called the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy. It was here, on the land of Chersonesos, in the 1st century AD. e. Apostle Andrew the First-Called landed, preaching to the Taurians and Scythians.

63 AD e. was marked by the annexation of Crimea by the Roman Empire, which took control of the cities built by the Greeks. After the fall of this mighty power, the peninsula was subjected to several attacks. In the 3rd century A.D. e. Crimea was conquered by immigrants from Scandinavia - the Goths, and in the 4th century A.D. e. they were replaced by later aggressors - the Huns, nomads from Asia.

Since the 6th century, Turkic-speaking tribes have dominated the Crimean steppes, forming the Khazar Khaganate. We will recall this fact again in this article.

Crimean city-colonies on the coast fell under the jurisdiction of the heiress of Rome - Byzantium. The Byzantines strengthened Chersonese, new fortresses grew: Alushta, Gurzuf, Eski-Kermen, Inkerman and others. With the weakening of Byzantium on the coast, the Genoese form the Principality of Theodoro.

Middle Ages

Christianity developed on the peninsula in the Middle Ages as well. Saint Prince Vladimir was baptized in Chersonesus, who subsequently spread the Christian faith throughout all of Russia.

From the 8th century A.D. e. in the steppe part of the peninsula, Slavic colonization took place, which was limited in time, since attention Kievan Rus priority was given to the western borders, and the nomads pursued an active and aggressive policy of raids.

In the XII century, the Crimean peninsula becomes Polovtsian. This era is illustrated by individual Polovtsian names that have survived to our time: Ayu-Dag (“Bear Mountain”), Artek (the name of the son of the Polovtsian Khan).

After the conquest of the entire peninsula, including the Tatar-Mongols in the XIII century, the city of Solkhat (located on the territory of the modern small town of Stary Krym.) became its center. The peninsula is part of the vast Tatar-Mongolian state of the Golden Horde.

New story

In the period when the peoples finally became sedentary and nations began to be created, the indigenous nation of the peninsula, the Crimean Tatars, took shape. In 1475, the peninsula was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and Kafa became the capital of Crimea. The Turkish state of Porta became an ally of the Crimean Tatars, who were vassal dependents on it. The Ottoman Empire built its military footholds on the peninsula. On Perekop, the conquerors built the strategic fortress of Or-Kala.

The history of the Crimean peninsula of modern times (its countdown goes back to the Renaissance) is connected with the wars of Russia against the Crimean Khanate. In particular, in 1736 by the army of Christopher Antonovich Minich, and in 1737 by the army of Pyotr Petrovich Lassia, it was significantly weakened. Khan Kyrym Giray, politically trying to create an alliance with the states of the West, died suddenly in 1769.

During the Russo-Turkish War on 06/14/1770 and 07/29/1770, the Second Army under the command of General-General Vasily Mikhailovich Dolgorukov won two strategic victories over the Crimean Tatars: on the Perekop line and at Cafe. The statehood of the indigenous inhabitants of this region was lost. The map of the Crimean peninsula from 1783 instead of the Crimean Khanate displayed the Taurida province, which belongs to Russia.

Crimean California

In the 20th century, already in Soviet times, this region became the object of controversial geopolitics. On October 18, 1921, the Crimean ASSR, a component of the RSFSR, was formed here.

Meanwhile, the problem of the development of the region arose before the Soviet government. If the Black Sea turned out to be quite densely populated, then this could not be said about its steppe part. The Crimean steppe clearly lacked human resources. The idea arose of creating agricultural Jewish settlements to turn the semi-desert steppe into cultivated lands. The history of the Crimean peninsula, as we see, had an alternative development perspective.

In 1922, the Jewish International Organization "Joint" approached the Soviet government with a lucrative offer. She undertook to invest in agriculture on 375 thousand hectares of the Crimean peninsula, and for this, the RSFSR, accordingly, was offered to realize the old dream of Jews seeking the promised land - to establish a Jewish ASSR here.

This proposal had historical roots. In the VIII-X century, which existed on the territory of the peninsula, professed Judaism.

In the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, under the Council of Nationalities, a separate committee was created for the land employment of Jews. The Committee developed a 10-year plan for the placement of up to 300,000 Jewish settlers in the steppe part of Crimea.

On February 19, 1929, an agreement was signed between the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR and the "Joint" on the development of the Crimean lands. In the world, this project is better known under the name "Crimean California". For its implementation, an international Jewish organization issued securities worth $20 million purchased by American and European private capital. In total - $26 million (according to the current exchange rate - approximately $1.82 billion) of investments passed through the Agro-Joint branch opened in Simferopol.

In 1938, Stalin canceled the project, but the issue was raised during World War II. Joint stockholders wanted compensation. At the Tehran Conference, they were expressed to Stalin by American President Roosevelt. However, during cold war The dispute was resolved by General Secretary Khrushchev using the Gordian knot method. On February 19, 1954, the Crimean region was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR from the RSFSR. The agreement between the USSR and the "Joint" was no longer valid: the subject of the dispute did not belong to the RSFSR.

Crimea within Ukraine

The territory of Crimea, having become part of the Ukrainian SSR, required significant resources for its development. About 300 thousand people were deported from this region the day before, there were clearly not enough workers. In the fighting of the Great Patriotic War a significant portion of the male population perished. The agriculture of the peninsula alone could not get out of the crisis and reach the pre-war level. There were not enough roads.

In 1958, the Ukrainian SSR allocated funds from its budget for laying the longest trolleybus route in the world, linking Simferopol with Alushta and Yalta. In 1961-1971, a strategically important artificial canal was also built, irrigating the steppe lands of Crimea at the expense of the water of the Kakhovka reservoir of the Dnieper. Since then, viticulture and horticulture began to develop in a planned and progressive manner.

However, after 1991, a dangerous downward trend emerged in the development of agriculture on the peninsula. The reason is the high cost of acquiring modern agricultural technologies for peasants and the insufficient state support for agriculture in this problematic region. As a result, the sown areas have more than halved and, accordingly, the water supply by the North Crimean Canal has decreased.

Crimea today

The current political crisis in relations between Russia and Ukraine is largely affecting the economy of the peninsula. Guided by the results of the referendum of the Crimean population (2014), the RSFSR annexed it as a subject of the federation. Ukraine, for its part, did not recognize the legitimacy of this referendum and considers Crimea annexed.

The imbalance of economic ties, generated by the Russian-Ukrainian "trade wars", depresses the economy of the region. In fact, the holiday season failed. Agriculture suffers due to inconsistency in its water supply. However, the population of the peninsula is waiting for these temporary difficulties to be overcome. The Russian Federation, for its part, is building its state infrastructure in Crimea. After all, it is not enough for a nominally new republic to be added to the map of Russia. The Crimean peninsula is currently going through a difficult path of economic and legal integration into Russian society.

Ukraine and the G7 countries, as already mentioned, did not recognize the legitimacy of the referendum. Hence the difficulties in obtaining a proper international status for the peninsula. There are also questions related to the position of the Crimean Tatars, that is, the indigenous population.

However, the story continues, and the population of Crimea, of course, expects federal investment in the economy of their region. In many ways, his choice of statehood was determined by the expectations of the development of the region. What will be the future for the unique peninsula? The question is still open.

Output

What are the prospects for this amazing region? Let's remember the lessons of history. At a time when one of the last general secretaries of the USSR, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, was trying to “strengthen labor discipline” by intensifying control over absenteeism and preventing theft, more constructive processes were taking place in the country located on the other side of the Black Sea ... The Crimean peninsula at that time had more powerful sanatorium base than Turkey.

In the 80s in Turkey, the international investment process in the resort industry was clearly economically planned, legally defined and launched by the entire state machine. The country, whose GDP fell by 10% during the global crisis, was building a new promising revenue item in the budget - the resort business. International agreements were reached on the regime of capital investments for private investors, equal in rights with residents.

At the same time, foreign investors were not only exempted (partially or in full) from taxes and duties when making capital investments in sanatoriums, but also received the right to unlimited equity participation in them. They were also guaranteed a refund and repatriation of capital if the investment "failed".

Obviously, the Crimean peninsula should be economically developed in a similar way. Photos of his resorts after such investments will be able to compete with pictures taken in sanatoriums and water parks in Turkish Antalya.

The Crimean peninsula, or - Crimea, is located in the south of the Russian Federation. Its eastern shores are washed by the waters of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, and the western and southern - by the waters of the Black Sea. The peninsula is a part of the land almost isolated from the mainland, connected to the continent only in the north by a narrow, up to eight kilometers wide, Perekop isthmus. Crimea includes two more peninsulas: Kerch, located between the Black and Azov Seas in the east, and Tarkhankut, occupying the western tapering part of Crimea.

The Crimean peninsula cannot be called small. Its surface area is a little less than twenty-seven thousand square kilometers, and even a small country can be located on such a territory. Such an impressive size provides the Crimea with a variety of landscapes: there are mountains, lakes, small rivers, and steppe plains on the peninsula that occupy its main part. In the west, on Tarkhankut, the plains are replaced by limestone ledges, and the surface of the Kerch Peninsula, located in the east, is mainly hills.

Crimea borders Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Georgia. Its capital, the center of business and cultural life and the largest transport hub, is the city of Simferopol. The population of the city is about four hundred thousand inhabitants.

The natural conditions of the Crimean peninsula are very extraordinary. This amazing region is endowed with fertile lands, and a magnificent sea coast, and majestic, unique in their beauty, mountain ranges. The climate throughout the peninsula is mild, somewhat heterogeneous. On the southern coast of Crimea, it is close to the Mediterranean and subtropical, and in the northern part of the peninsula - continental. Summers on the peninsula are sunny and rather hot, with rare but heavy rains. It begins, as a rule, in mid-May, and continues until the end of September. The air in these places is not characterized by high humidity, so even hot summer days do not cause significant discomfort. Autumn in the Crimea is rainy, but warm, almost windless, smoothly turning into a snowy winter with rare, not severe frosts.

The Crimean mountains stretch for one hundred and fifty kilometers, starting near the city of Sevastopol and ending near the city of Feodosia. They consist of three, almost parallel to each other, ridges, steep from the south and gently descending into the valleys from the north. The height of the main ridge almost everywhere exceeds a thousand meters above sea level. The gentle slopes of the mountains are covered with oak, juniper, pine and beech forests and light forests with rare species shrubs. The pine forests of Crimea, which occupy about 13% of the forest area, are of particular value.

Over seven hundred square kilometers of the territory of Crimea are nature reserves abounding in rare species of flora and fauna. Many of these species are found only in the area.

There are about one hundred and fifty rivers on the peninsula, the total length of which reaches about six thousand kilometers. Almost all rivers, the largest of which, the Salgir River, with a length of two hundred and four kilometers, and the Chatyr-Lyk River, with a length of one hundred and six kilometers, originate in the mountains. In summer, many Crimean rivers dry up, but in the event of heavy rainfall, they quickly turn into swift powerful streams that easily demolish huge boulders and uproot century-old trees. In the spring, during the melting of snow in the mountains, these seemingly harmless water sources can instantly become a stormy, roaring mudflow that sweeps away everything in its path. The most abundant rivers in Crimea are Belbek, Biyuk-Karasu and Chernaya.

Mountain streams, passing through narrow gorges, form waterfalls, the most picturesque of which is the powerful Dzhur-Dzhur waterfall. Even in dry times, it almost does not dry out. The Golovkinsky waterfall is very beautiful, falling from a height of twelve meters into a gorge, surrounded by lush vegetation, found only in these places. The Yalta waterfall, formed by the Uchan-Su river near the city of Yalta, is gaining full strength, mainly in the spring. At this time, he is just great.

There are over three hundred lakes and estuaries on the territory of the peninsula, among which there are many mud lakes. The lakes of Crimea, located along the coast, are mostly salty. On the Tarkhankut peninsula there is a rather large freshwater Ak-Mechet lake. Mountain lakes are mainly artificial reservoirs.

Crimea is one of those corners of the globe where all the factors that contribute to the maximum comfort of the existence of all life on the planet are miraculously combined. The reason for this is the favorable climate and convenient location of the peninsula.

The geographical position of the Crimea.
The Crimean peninsula is located in the extreme south of the European part of Russia and stretches from north to south for 195 km, from west to east - for 325 km. The area of ​​Crimea is 26 thousand square meters. km, population 1 million 600 thousand people.
The sea surrounds the peninsula from all sides, and only in the north is the narrow (up to 8 km) Perekop Isthmus connecting it with the mainland. From the west and south, Crimea is washed by the Black Sea, from the east by the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait.
The Crimean region was formed in June 1945. In February 1954, it became part of Ukraine. In 2014 Russian Federation. Administrative center region - Simferopol. The administrative map of Russia shows the borders of the Crimean region, settlements, communication routes.

Geological past of the Crimea.
The geological map and the geological profile introduce the geological past of the Crimea and its constituent rocks. In the geological periods of the sea, remote from us millions of years, replacing each other, now covered, then exposed the territory of the present Crimea. The distribution of rocks in the Crimea is mainly connected with their existence.
In the local history museum of the Crimea, you can see sandstones, shales, limestones and other rocks. There is also a collection of fossils and prints of the inhabitants of the ancient seas: mollusks and fish, cetacean animal citoterium prescum, sea turtle, etc.
During millions of years of the Tertiary period in Central and Southern Europe it was warm and humid, and mastodons, hipparions, and antelopes lived here. The glaciation that occurred in the Quaternary period changed the landscape, flora and fauna.
The glacier did not reach the Crimea, but the climate here was very severe. At that time, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, giant and reindeer, cave bear, cave hyena were found in the Crimea.

Minerals in the Crimea.
About 200 deposits of various minerals have been discovered and studied in the Crimea, which are widely used in national economy. Kerch iron ores are of the most important industrial importance. Ores occur close to the surface and are mined in an open way, in quarries. Crimea is rich in chemical raw materials - salts of chlorine, sodium, potassium, bromine, magnesium, which are found in huge quantities in Sivash brine and numerous salt lakes. Gypsum, table salt, magnesium chloride, etc. are obtained from brine. The use of these salts opens up great prospects for the development of the chemical industry.
A variety of Construction Materials. Some of them are very important and almost never found elsewhere in Russia. Diorite and andesite are used in road construction, for lining monuments and large buildings, and ground trass is added to cement to improve its properties. Marble-like limestones are used in the construction industry, are used in metallurgical plants as a flux.
Some Crimean minerals - rock crystal, chalcedony, carnelian, jasper are used as ornamental stones and are valued for their rich colorful range. Crimea is rich in mineral water resources from hydrogen sulfide sources to Narzan and Borjomi.

The relief of the Crimea.
According to the nature of the surface, Crimea is divided into two parts: steppe and mountainous. In the north and in the central Crimea, a calm undulating plain extends. The steppe occupies about 2/3 of the entire area of ​​the peninsula. In the west, it gradually passes into the ridges and uplands of Tarkhankut. An interesting feature of the eastern part - the slightly hilly Kerch Peninsula - are mud volcanoes, which have nothing to do with volcanism and spewing cold mud, and troughs - bowl-shaped depressions filled with iron ore. In the southern part of Crimea there are mountains consisting of three parallel ridges separated by narrow valleys. The mountains stretch from the southwest to the northeast, bending in a weak arc to the north - their length is 150 km, their width is 50 km. The most significant peak of the Crimean Mountains - Roman-Kosh (1545), is located in the Main (southern) ridge, in the Babugan mountain range. The Highlands of the Main Ridge consist of undulating plateau-yayl (pastures) - Ai-Petrinsky, Nikitskaya, Karabi, etc. In the east of Crimea, the main ridge is closed by the Kara-Dag mountain group, the most interesting monument of volcanic activity of the Jurassic geological era. The main ridge is largely composed of limestone, which, being exposed to atmospheric and groundwater, give vivid manifestations of karst processes (karst sinkholes, cavities and caves).

Flora of Crimea.
The flora of the Crimea is very rich, it is represented by more than two thousand plant species. The distribution of vegetation depends on the climate, topography and soils of the peninsula.
On the plain from north to south, zones of salt-tolerant vegetation inherent in the saline soils of the Sivash region (soleros, sarsazan, kermek and others), sagebrush and sagebrush-fescue steppes replace each other. Further to the south lie the feather grass steppes, and in the foothills there are also shrubby forb steppes with thyme (thyme), rocky alfalfa, and Tauric asphodelina. Currently virgin lands plowed up. The third mountain range (foothill zone) is occupied by the forest-steppe, where groves of low oaks, maples, ash trees, as well as thickets of blackthorn, hawthorn, dog rose, and skumpii are especially common. The slopes of the mountains of the middle and main ridges are covered with oak, beech and pine forests. Yayla are treeless, covered with herbaceous vegetation. Lonely pines and beeches are bizarrely twisted by the wind and give the landscape a peculiar harsh flavor. Of great interest is the flora of the southern slope of the Main Ridge. The natural vegetation here is predominantly forest: pine, juniper, fluffy oak and Mediterranean species: pistachio, arbutus, yellow jasmine. But the typical landscape of the South Shore is created by decorative garden and park vegetation. As a result creative activity exotic plants have become a permanent element of the landscape: Himalayan and Lebanese cedars, cypresses, magnolias, sequoias, ivy, Chinese wisteria. There are also endemic (inherent only in this area) plants in Crimea: Steven's maple (in the forests of the northern slope of the mountains), Biberstein's sapling ("Crimean edel-weiss", on high-altitude plateaus and yayls), Stankevich's pine, on seaside rocks from Balaklava to the cape Aya and near Sudak).

Crimean climate.
The Crimean peninsula lies on the southern border of the temperate zone. The climate of Crimea is distinguished by some features associated with its geographical location: great softness and humidity, significant sunshine. But the variety of relief, the influence of the sea and mountains create great differences in the climate of the steppe, mountainous and southern coastal parts of the peninsula. The steppe Crimea has hot summers and relatively warm winters (July temperature 23-24°, February temperature 0.5-2°), annual precipitation is low. The mountainous Crimea is distinguished by more significant precipitation, less hot summers.
The southern coast gives the most favorable combination of climatic factors: mild winters, sunny hot summers ( average temperature February in Yalta 3.5 °, July 24 °), summer breezes that moderate the heat, fresh breath of forests and parks. The climatic conditions of the Evpatoria region and the southeastern coast (Feodosia, Sudak, Planerskoye), as well as the mountainous Crimea (Stary Krym), are favorable.

Waters in the Crimea.
The waters of Crimea are divided into surface (rivers, streams, lakes) and underground (ground, artesian, karst). The rivers originate in the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains, they are short, shallow and characterized by a large uneven flow (they overflow in the spring and into downpours and dry up in the summer). The most significant river is the Salgir (length 232 km). The water problem in Crimea is solved by the construction of artificial reservoirs and canals (reservoirs on Alma, Kacha, Salgir, Simferopol reservoir, which can hold up to 36 million cubic meters of water). Reservoirs are being built on the river. Belbek and laid through the main mountain range a tunnel about 7 km long to drain Belbek to Yalta.
The waters of the North Crimean Canal will water and irrigate the most arid regions of the Crimean steppe from Perekop to Kerch. The construction of this canal will make it possible to increase the yields of corn, wheat, rye, and tobacco, and to more intensively develop highly productive animal husbandry. The industrial centers and villages of the Crimea will be supplied with excellent Dnieper water.

Soils of the Crimea.
The nature of soils depends on soil-forming rocks, topography, climate, plant and animal organisms. The variety of physical and geographical conditions has created a very heterogeneous composition of soils in the regions. The predominant type are southern chernozems and dark chestnut soils occupying the central part of the steppe Crimea.
The soils of the foothill, mountainous Crimea and the Southern coast are varieties of chernozems: carbonate chernozems, brown mountain-forest soils, mountain-meadow subalpine chernozems, brown soils of forests and shrubs of the Southern coast. On these soils, tobacco, vegetables, ethereal plants, grapes, stone fruits, ornamental trees and shrubs. The main place in agriculture in the steppe Crimea belongs to grain crops, and of them - wheat and corn. In modern conditions, the progressive role of the tilled farming system, which significantly increases grain yields, is especially important.

Black Sea.
The Black Sea belongs to the so-called inland seas, since it is not directly connected to the ocean. In terms of its hydrobiological and hydrophysical properties, the Black Sea stands out sharply from other marine water bodies. Its feature is a sharp fluctuation in temperature surface water(from one to twenty-eight degrees). The salinity of the Black Sea due to desalination by the waters of the Danube, Dniester and other rivers is relatively low: in upper layers 17-18% (in 1 l -i 17-18 g of salt), at a depth it increases significantly, since the deep Bosphorus current brings masses of more salty water from the Sea of ​​​​Marmara. The greatest depth of the Black Sea is determined at 2243 m. Oxygen is contained in the upper horizons, “and at a depth of 200 m and below, oxygen disappears and saturation with hydrogen sulfide increases.
The Black Sea is a source of fish wealth. The history of the formation of the Black Sea basin has several tens of millions of years, during which its outlines and hydrological regime have repeatedly changed. That is why the composition of its animal world is diverse. Three groups of fish are distinguished in the Black Sea: relict (residual, these include herring, sturgeon, many types of gobies), freshwater - in estuaries and estuaries (perch, perch, ram), Mediterranean invaders (anchovy, sprat, mullet, horse mackerel , mackerel, bonito, tuna and others, in total over 100 species of fish). Tuna is the largest commercial fish, its length can reach three meters, and its weight is five hundred kilograms.

Animal world of Crimea.
The fauna of the Crimea is distinguished by a number of features and has the so-called island character. Many species of animals living in the territories close to Crimea are absent in Crimea, but endemic (local) forms of animals are found, the appearance of which is associated with a peculiar geological history of the peninsula (the geological age of the mountainous Crimea is older than the steppe part of the peninsula, and its fauna was formed much earlier and under other conditions). The steppe Crimea belongs to the European-Siberian zoogeographic subregion, and the mountainous one to the Mediterranean. On the territory of the peninsula, these subregions border along the line of foothills.
Crimean scorpion (poisonous), found in rock crevices on the southern coast, Crimean gecko, Crimean owl, black and long-tailed tit, goldfinch, linnet, mountain bunting and some others. The Mediterranean forms of animals are distinguished: phalanx, scolopendra, leopard snake, yellow belly (legless lizard, very useful, as it destroys harmful rodents). In the same showcase there is a rock lizard, a water snake, a marsh turtle; from amphibians, the crested newt, found in small mountain reservoirs, tree frog - an inhabitant of tree plantations near fresh water, as well as shrews, water shrew, the bats, protected beech forest with protected animals: Crimean deer, roe deer and mouflon. For many centuries the Crimean forests and animals were mercilessly exterminated. Only after the Great October Socialist Revolution was an end put to the predatory extermination of the forests and animals of the Crimea.
For the protection of nature and its restoration in the central mountainous part of Crimea, the State Reserve was created in 1923, reorganized in 1957 into the Crimean State Reserve and Hunting Economy. The flora and fauna of the Crimean mountains on the territory of the economy has been largely restored. Many birds fly over the Crimea on their way to warm countries: the snail, the golden plover, the garnish, the white heron, the kite, the night heron, the golden eagle and others. These birds rest in the Crimea before their flight across the Black Sea, the birds that fly to the Crimea for wintering: tap dances, bullfinches, waxwings, siskins, bramblings, larks, Siberian buzzard and others.