signed and issued a manifesto on the annexation of Crimea to Russia...
Catherine's Crimea.
The long-term geopolitical struggle for the possession of the Crimea between Turkey and Russia ended in favor of the Russian Empire. This struggle was accompanied by numerous wars for almost a thousand years. At the time of signing the manifesto, the Crimean Khan was forced to abdicate. The Crimean Khanate ceased to exist. Part of the Crimean Tatar nobility fled to the Ottoman Turks, part, together with the deposed khan, asked for protection from Russia.
The manifesto on the annexation of Crimea was prepared by His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin - secretly married to Catherine. Potemkin is known to history, rather than as the secret husband of the Empress, but as a wise statesman and her right hand. He, as governor of the southern lands of Russia, oversaw the Crimean issue.
Ancient Russian history of Crimea.
Although April 19, 1783 was considered to be the official date of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula to Russia, in fact, Crimea was Russian long before that, during the time of Ancient Kievan Rus. Kyiv princes, distributing specific principalities to their numerous offspring and closest relatives, uncles and brothers, they also set reign in Tmutarakan, which was conquered in the Khazar campaign by Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich in 965. Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich owns famous phrase"I'm going to you."
According to handwritten chronicles in 988, the Tmutarakan principality, which included part of the Black Sea region and the Crimea, was owned by Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich. The capital - the city of Tmutarakan was located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe current Taman. These territories were attached to Ancient Russia as a result of its defeat of the Khazar Khaganate in the 10th century. Then Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavovich and his sons Oleg and Roman ruled Tmutarakan. After the reign of Oleg, Russian chronicles mention Tmutarakan as Russian principality the last time in 1094. Then, from the main Russia, it was cut off by the nomads of the Polovtsians, who, however, shared their influence on Tmutarakan and the Crimean peninsula with the Byzantines. Byzantine Greeks and Genoese settled in the Crimea and brought the Christian religion with them to the peninsula.
Tatar-Mongols and Russian-Turkish wars.
The next period in the history of the Crimea is associated with the Tatar-Mongol conquests, when, after several victorious centuries, Genghis Khan and his descendants subjugated most of Asia and Europe. Further, when the Tatar-Mongols broke up into many states: Great, White, Blue and golden horde, Tatars settled in the Crimea. For several centuries, the Crimean Khanate tried to pursue an independent policy, maneuvering between the interests of stronger neighbors, either falling under the protectorate of Turkey, or making friends with Moscow against it. For example, under Ivan the Terrible, the Crimean khans either acted together with the Lithuanians and Poles against the Moscow principality, or became allies of the Moscow Tsar, sending their sons to serve him. Then they suddenly turned 180 degrees and tried to win back Astrakhan from Moscow. Under Peter the Great, the Crimean Khanate firmly opposed Russia on the side of the Turks. The Russian-Turkish war of 1686 - 1700, most likely, began due to frequent devastating raids Crimean Tatars to the southern borders of Russia. The Tatars plundered the villages and took the Russians into captivity, then selling them into slavery. The Ottomans filled the ranks of the Janissaries with the strongest Slavic men. The episode of this war is widely known - the capture of the Turkish fortress of Azov by Peter the Great. Below is a reproduction with Azov taken by the troops of Peter:
The war with the Ottoman Empire ended with the Bakhchisaray peace, which did not bring a full return to Russia of its original ancient lands. Crimea, Podolia and part of Western Ukraine remained under the Turks, and the Poles took over the other part of Western Ukraine. Such a precarious position of the southern borders of Russia remained for a long time, until the campaigns of Catherine the Great.
The exact date of accession and the modern history of the Crimea.
Given the above, the date of the Catherine's Manifesto on April 19 should be considered not the date of Crimea's annexation to Russia, but the date of its first reunification with it. The date of the annexation of Crimea, I think, should be considered the year 988, when Tmutarakan was first mentioned in the annals as a Russian principality and its specific prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, or even the date of the defeat of the Khazar kingdom (Kaganate) by Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich in 965. That year, Prince Svyatoslav successively conquered the Khazar cities of Sarkel and Samkerts, named after the capture of Belaya Vezha and Tmutarakan, respectively. Then Semender and the capital of Khazaria Itil were conquered. AT modern history Crimea also has a lot of dramatic twists and turns. First, Crimea, with a voluntaristic stroke of the pen of Nikita Khrushchev, was presented to Ukraine, beloved by this ruler. Then, with the criminal Belovezhskaya Treaty, he moved to another state. Finally, in 2014, by the will of the people, he returned to Russia, thus restoring historical and humanitarian justice.
On the Problems of Nutrition and Elimination.
Exactly 234 years ago, on April 19, 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto on the annexation of Crimea to Russia, after which the country became a full-fledged Black Sea power. This was the first experience of joining the peninsula, but, as you know, not the last. About the historical features of the status of the Crimean territory - in the material "AiF-Crimea".
"Wart on the nose"
It's no secret that the main merit in the final solution of the Crimean issue belongs to Catherine II and Grigory Potemkin. It was the most illustrious prince who gave great importance annexation of the peninsula to Russia. “Crimea is tearing our borders apart with its position ... Now suppose that Crimea is yours, and that this wart on your nose is no longer there - all of a sudden, the position of the borders is excellent: along the Bug, the Turks border on us directly, therefore they must deal with us directly, and not under the name of others ... You are obliged to elevate the glory of Russia ... ”, Potemkin shared his opinion in a letter to Catherine II. In turn, the Empress of All Russia, having considered the arguments of the prince, became convinced of the need to annex the Crimea, as a result of which, on April 19, 1783, she issued a manifesto, where the inhabitants of the peninsula were promised “holy and unshakably for themselves and the successors of our throne to support them on an equal footing with our natural subjects, protect and protect their faces, property, temples and their natural faith...”. It is important to note that the manifesto became a natural and logical result of the centuries-old struggle (including Russian-Turkish wars) of Russia for these lands. By the way, at that time, not a single country officially challenged the manifesto of the empress.8th century referendum
In the 18th century, Russia set itself the goal of finally gaining a foothold in the Black Sea, and it was impossible to do this without Crimea. By that time, the Crimean Khanate was already considered independent - after the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, according to the Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty, both the Ottoman and Russian empires were forbidden to interfere in the affairs of the khanate.
Having assessed the state of affairs on the peninsula, Potemkin pulled up troops and, through his agents, campaigned among the ruling elite of the khanate about the transition to Russian citizenship. The fact is that against the then Crimean Khan Shagin Giray, who, having declared himself a reformer, began to innovate in a Western manner, regardless of local traditions, uprisings broke out every now and then. In this regard, in April 1783, he renounced the khanate, and then, through the efforts of Potemkin, something like a “referendum” was held in the Crimea - in the style of the 18th century. The so-called "sworn lists" were distributed throughout Crimea, where it was indicated that the inhabitants of such and such locality swear allegiance to Russia. Most of these sheets signed.
The first page of the manifesto of Catherine II on the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. For example, by solving the Crimean issue, Russia got rid of its aggressive southern neighbor - Ottoman Empire, a Russian fleet then firmly established itself on the Black Sea. Crimea, however, won on all fronts: after joining, the economy, culture and trade began to develop rapidly on its territory. So, after the arrival of the Russian administration in 1783, the slave trade was abolished on the peninsula and development began. government controlled European type. Over time, large landed estates were formed in the northwestern Crimea. At the end of 1783, internal trade duties were abolished, which contributed to the development of the Crimean industry and trade, and an increase in internal trade turnover. Thanks to the efforts of Potemkin, who received the title of Tauride for his work, the government policy was carried out for the settlement and economic development of the Crimean peninsula. So, Prince Potemkin took care of the development of horticulture, sericulture, forestry and viticulture, inviting foreign specialists to the Crimea. After a short time, new ports and cities sprang up in the Black Sea steppe. In February 1784, the cities of Crimea became free for foreigners to settle, and three years later, in 1787, Catherine II traveled to the peninsula.
As a result, the economic and economic development of the Crimean peninsula by the end of the 18th century led to an increase in the population of the peninsula, which was one of the goals of Russia.
In 1784, on the territory of the former Crimean Khanate, by decree of Catherine, the Tauride Region of the Russian Empire was formed. Simferopol became the capital of this new entity in the same year. After joining Russia, the Crimea from a poor land, whose population lived off agriculture and robbery of neighbors, turned into a prosperous territory, a resort beloved by Russian emperors, a center of agriculture and winemaking, an industrialized region and the largest naval base Russian fleet.
Map of the Tauride region of the Russian Empire. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Homecoming
Since then and until 1954, the Crimean peninsula was part of Russia (since the formation of the USSR, December 30, 1922, part of the RSFSR). However, on February 19, 1954, at the initiative of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev, Crimea was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR (Ukraine) in honor of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada. A corresponding decree was issued, where the need to transfer the Crimean region to the Ukrainian SSR was explained as follows: "common economy, territorial proximity and close economic and cultural ties between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR."
At the same time, numerous polls conducted in the subsequent time in the Crimea showed the desire of the population to reunite with Russia. It should be noted that the first of the major Russian politicians to speak about the return of Crimea was Vice President Alexander Rutskoi. Since that time, the issue of the return of Crimea to Russia has been raised many times. However, only on March 16, 2014, a referendum was held on the peninsula, which officially demonstrated the desire of the Crimeans to return to Russia. Thus, more than 90% of those who came to the polling stations three years ago spoke in favor of the republic joining Russia. And two days later, on March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the leadership of Crimea and the mayor of the city of Sevastopol signed an agreement on the entry of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation.
The constant destructive raids of the Mongol-Tatars on Russian lands, weakening the borders of the state, in the sixteenth century, thanks to the formation of the Zaporozhian Sich, began to occur much less frequently. The Cossacks, who opposed the Mongol-Tatars, periodically attacked the Crimean cities, freeing the slaves driven into slavery by the Mongol-Tatars.
The Muscovite state, actively resisting aggression from the Crimean Khanate, repeatedly entered into military conflicts with its patron, Turkey. These conflicts were also caused by the desire of Muscovy to gain access to the Black Sea. The Crimean Muslims, who were under the powerful influence of Turkish Islam, were very aggressive towards the Christians living on the peninsula. The Russian government, fearing for the safety of its co-religionists, removed them from the Crimea in the middle of the eighteenth century, and the population of the peninsula decreased somewhat. Christians settled on the coast of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, which belonged to Russia at that time, forming new villages there. This is how Yalta, Mariupol and other cities appeared.
The collapse of the Crimean Khanate came in 1783. The reason for it was the manifesto announced by the Russian Tsarina Catherine II on the acceptance of Crimea into the Russian state. The need for such radical measures was obvious - regular skirmishes with the Turks and the Mongol-Tatars did not solve the problems of the peninsula, and constant wars had to be put to an end.
After the adoption of the manifesto, the last ruler of the Crimea, Shahin Giray, and with him tens of thousands of Tatars, moved to Turkey. The depopulated lands of the peninsula were occupied by Russian peasants and serfs. They were joined by Moldovans, Poles, Bulgarians, Czechs, French, Greeks.
Prince Potemkin became the governor of the lands received for use by Russia as a result of the manifesto. The Russian treasury allocated him a considerable amount for the improvement of the territories of the peninsula, and new cities, villages and landowners' estates appeared on it. Crimea, renamed after joining Russia in Tavrida, flourished. Well-born nobles, industrialists and manufacturers went here. The southern coast of Crimea was overgrown with rich estates surrounded by magnificent parks. Orchards were planted in the valleys of the peninsula, the slopes of the mountains were covered with luxurious vineyards.
Both new and old Crimean cities developed successfully. In 1783, a naval port, Sevastopol, was founded on the peninsula, a city that later became legendary.
The beginning of the nineteenth century was triumphant for Crimea. Beekeeping, horticulture, viticulture were actively developing, large industrial enterprises were opened one after another, the production of grain and tobacco increased significantly, hundreds of tons of salt were mined, warships were built at the shipyards of Sevastopol, and the shipyards of Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta launched new merchant ships. Museums and gymnasiums were opened in the cities, and in 1812 the famous Nikitsky Botanical Garden was founded on the southern coast of Crimea.
This prosperity ended in the nineteenth century. In 1853, the Russian Empire declared war on Turkey. However, the Russian troops, insufficiently prepared for it, could not withstand the onslaught of Turkey's allies, who, having concentrated their forces on the Black Sea, landed an airborne corps in the Crimea. The fiercely resisting Russian army suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat to Sevastopol.
At the entrance to the bay of the city, in order to prevent the enemy fleet from penetrating into it, several old ships were flooded. The guns from the rest of the ships were brought ashore, and their crews were sent to reinforce the garrison. The command of the defense of Sevastopol was carried out by Admirals Nakhimov and Kornilov. The enemy, however, did not dare to storm the city, which was defended by more than eighteen thousand people. The main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the city of Sevastopol, was besieged. He did not surrender to the enemies for a whole year.
The city was defended mainly by Russian sailors, and its defense was stubborn and bloody. They fought to the death, but their attempts to liberate the city from the captivity of the siege were in vain. Sevastopol was continuously stormed and bombed, and its defenders were exhausted in unequal battles. The enemy, in turn, constantly received fresh reinforcements. In the end, after another heavy artillery fire that turned the city into ruins, Prince Gorchakov, who replaced Nakhimov and Kornilov, decided to leave Sevastopol. The enemy was left with only smoking ruins.
In 1856 Crimean War ended. As a result of the peace treaty signed on March 30 of that year, Russia, in exchange for the city of Kars captured by it, received Crimea at its disposal. The economy of the peninsula, destroyed by military operations, began to slowly revive. Cities were rebuilt, peasant farms appeared one after another. Crimea began to develop rapidly, its population grew, railways were actively built connecting the cities of the peninsula with other cities of Russia. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the peninsula again turned into a fertile agricultural land, which is increasingly playing an important role as a resort.
But ... The October Revolution broke out, which became another shock for the Crimea. Until the twentieth year, he remained the last stronghold of the Russian Empire, surrendering its positions one by one. The Bolshevik revolutionaries, based mainly in Sevastopol, initially proclaimed the territory of the peninsula as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Taurida. However, this republic was destined to exist for a little more than a month.
The Bolsheviks were forced out of the Crimea by the Germans, who were replaced by the British and French, who, in turn, were again driven out by the Bolsheviks. Only the Kerch Peninsula was occupied for a long time by the army of General Denikin, which eventually defeated the units of the Red Army based in the Crimea and occupied its entire territory.
The civil war was in full swing, the authorities changed endlessly, terror and devastation reigned. The frightened and agitated Crimean population was shot and robbed. Anarchy and arbitrariness flourished. Red, green, white - this kaleidoscope of governments, of course, could not but have a detrimental effect on the economy of Crimea. The plowed lands were overgrown with grass, the vineyards grew wild, the cattle were destroyed by the starving armies. Only one of the white regimes, the regime of Baron Wrangel, tried to carry out some kind of agrarian and political reforms, but this was not destined to come true.
In 1920, units of the Red Army broke through the defenses at Perekop and entered the Crimea. Their cavalry occupied Simferopol, and dominance over the peninsula passed to the Soviets. The Wrangel troops, and with them noble families and those who did not accept the new power, were forced to leave Russia and departed on steamships en route from the ports of Crimea to distant foreign shores. One hundred and fifty thousand people left their homeland forever.
The bloody Civil War is over. Lenin, who headed the new government, signed a decree according to which all Crimean palaces and mansions became the property of the new government, which used them as sanatoriums and rest homes. On October 18, 1921, Crimea became integral part Russian Federation and was renamed the Crimean ASSR.
Crimea joined Russia twice already. And both accessions have a common feature: it was the result of conflicts and violence, but it itself took place relatively peacefully and voluntarily.
Turkish satellite
In the 18th century, the territory of Crimea (with the exception of the mountainous and coastal parts) was owned by the Crimean Khanate. This state, which arose in the 15th century, throughout its history was in more or less rigid vassal dependence on Turkey. Turkey officially owned the coastal zone of the peninsula.
The Crimean Khanate belonged to the number of advanced and strong states even less than its overlords. Russia, after the appearance of the Black Sea Fleet under the sunset of the 17th century, was interested in the safety of navigation and the right of unhindered passage through the Kerch Strait. At that time, no one considered Crimea an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” due to the lack of aircraft carriers in general, but its military-strategic significance was clear to everyone. And the weak, backward Crimean Khanate was not a serious opponent.
Suvorov miracle heroes
Monument to Potemkin in Crimea
They are most directly related to the results of the Russian-Turkish wars of the XVIII century. The war of 1768-1774 is especially important for understanding the issue of the annexation of Crimea. Crimea in it acted as an ally of Turkey and was captured by the army of V.M. Dolgorukov. The Khan fled, and the nobility chose a new one, who preferred to negotiate with the strongest of the two fighting. Then it was already obvious that this was Russia.
The Karasubazar Treaty of 1772 declared the khanate an independent state. Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace with Turkey two years later consolidated this position. But it turned out that the khans were no longer able to rule the Crimea without relying on Russian bayonets.
This especially applies to the last khan, Shahin Giray. He lived in the West for a long time, received a European education, and tried to act as a "European integrator" in the Crimea. The local clergy, and even ordinary Tatars, were categorically opposed, and the khan was glad to receive Russian help in suppressing the uprisings.
In this case, the political genius of G.I. Potemkin (deservedly nicknamed Tauride for these exploits). He sent troops to help the khan, led by Suvorov and de Balmain, but strictly ordered them to treat the Tatar population with extreme courtesy, excluding obvious and stubborn rebels. The right to judge and punish should be transferred to the khan and his entourage.
The enlightened Europeanizer Shahin-Girey so zealously used the right of trial and execution that Suvorov and de Balmain immediately seemed like relatives to most of the Tatars. Potemkin took advantage of this, having managed to reasonably prove that Crimea should be accepted into the empire “at the request of the population.”
Prosperous province
The corresponding decree was signed on April 8, 1783. This date is considered the official day of the annexation of Crimea to Russia. At the same time, “the desire of the population” is not an invention of Potemkin. Most of the Tatars really calmly and even sympathetically accepted the change in their allegiance. The hated Shahin-Girey abdicated, and on July 9, the Crimeans already swore allegiance to the Mother Empress.
Several factors contributed to the positive attitude of the Crimean population towards joining the empire. Some were in effect even before the signing of the decree, others came into force after it.
- Russian troops on the peninsula behaved kindly and respectfully in relations with the locals.
- A strong Russia looked preferable in the eyes of the Tatars to a weakened Turkey and its own controversial khanate - they have never been truly independent.
- Russia guaranteed a number of privileges to new subjects. There were no serfs among the Tatars, noble beys were equalized in rights with the Russian nobility, the Tatars retained the right to practice Islam and the traditional way of life. And all these rules were strictly followed!
- Russian rule contributed to the economic recovery - Potemkin built not only "Potemkin villages", but also cities and roads.
As a result of the loss of formal statehood, Crimea became not a colony without rights, but first the Taurida region, and then (since 1802) a part of the Tauride province, where its inhabitants were no worse, but rather better than the inhabitants of other Russian provinces, truly Russian and Orthodox.
As an independent state unit, the Crimean Khanate arose in the middle of the 15th century - after the collapse of the Golden Horde. However, the declared independence lasted a little more than three decades: already in 1478, the khanate fell into vassal dependence on, and the Black Sea became the Turkish “inland lake” for three centuries.
The Crimean Khanate was of interest to the Ottomans primarily from a strategic point of view: it was a stronghold for the fight against the Russian state and the Commonwealth, as well as a major trade hub of the Black Sea area. The slave trade flourished on the territory of the peninsula, and the subjects of the khan often “visited” the border lands for new “resources” for this market. As a result of numerous raids, about 4 million Russians and Poles were captured and then sold on the slave market of the Ottoman Empire.
“Turkey was a powerful Muslim state, so the Crimean Khanate felt quite confident in foreign policy. Relations with Russia were very difficult, since the Crimean Khanate constantly carried out raids on Russian lands and on Moscow, the last of them in the 16th century was carried out by Khan Kazy Giray under Tsar Fedor Ioannovich. But before late XVII For centuries, Russian sovereigns paid the Crimean khans “commemoration” - a kind of ransom for the fact that the Crimeans did not attack Russian lands, ”said Yevgeny Pchelov, head of the department of auxiliary and special historical disciplines of the Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State Humanitarian University, in an interview with RT.
- The unsuccessful campaign of V.V. Golitsyn against the Crimean Khanate. Miniature from the manuscript of the 1st half. 18th century "History of Peter I", Op. P. Krekshina.
- Wikimedia Commons
In the XVI— XVII centuries the foreign policy of the Moscow sovereigns in the southern direction is undergoing a radical change: realizing the strategic importance of the Northern Black Sea region, as well as the importance of sea trade routes, Russia is moving from defense to offensive. However, the advantage for a long time remains on the side of the Ottomans. The first Russo-Turkish war of the 16th century ended with the Bakhchisaray peace treaty. During the second war with the Ottoman Empire, both campaigns of Prince Vasily Golitsyn ended in failure. And only at the beginning of the reign of Peter I, the situation begins to change.
“Under Princess Sophia, two campaigns in the Crimea were unsuccessfully undertaken, commanded by her favorite Vasily Golitsyn. Azov campaigns Peter the Great allowed him to capture the fortress of Azov - thus Russia approached the Black Sea. The Prut campaign of Peter ended unsuccessfully, Azov had to be returned to Turkey. Then there was the Russian-Turkish war under Anna Ioannovna, which did not end very successfully for Russia, and only the Russian-Turkish wars under Catherine II finally resolved the issue of Russia's access to the Black Sea, ”Pchelov noted.
Path to dominance
In the second half of the 18th century, the struggle for the Crimean peninsula and access to the Black Sea became one of the priority areas. foreign policy Russian Empire.
“Before the accession to the throne of Catherine II, the issue of merchant shipping on the Black Sea did not advance a single step. However, the foreign maritime trade of Russia at that time did not flourish at all, the fleet was in the saddest position, to which the empress turned Special attention. One of her first government actions was to send sailors and craftsmen from abroad to build ships and to train Russians in seafaring. Already at the very beginning of her reign, the question of achieving the freedom of Russian navigation in the Black Sea was one of the main concerns, ”the historian wrote. late XIX century Vladimir Teplov in the essay "Russian Representatives in Tsargrad".
The Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty, signed in 1774, marked the victory of the Russian Empire in the First Russian-Turkish war. As a result, Russia lost the first lands on the peninsula - Kerch and Yenikale. Also, our country received the right to trade and have a navy on the Black Sea. The Crimean Khanate was proclaimed independent and received a protectorate from the Russian Empire. As historians note, from that moment on, the annexation of the peninsula was only a matter of time.
- Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky and Catherine II
- Wikimedia Commons
Nevertheless, despite the peace treaty, the threat of an attack from Turkey still remained - this was well understood by the governor of Catherine II in the southern territories of the empire, Prince Grigory Potemkin. In 1782, he addressed the Empress with a memorandum stating that “the acquisition of the Crimea will only bring peace. With Crimea, dominance will also be obtained. It will depend on you whether to block the Turks and feed them or starve them.”
Catherine listened to Potemkin's arguments: in December 1782, she approved his plan, and on April 19, 1783, the empress signed the corresponding manifesto.
The process of joining the peninsula to the empire was personally led by Grigory Potemkin. After the principled consent of Catherine, the most serene prince assessed the situation in the territory entrusted to him and came to the conclusion that the khan's power would clearly not contribute to political stability in the Crimea. In June 1783, troops under the command of Alexander Suvorov entered the Crimean Khanate. The local dynasty of khans lost their throne, but the nobility retained their status by swearing allegiance to the Russian empress.
- “Meeting A.V. Suvorov and F.F. Ushakov in Sevastopol"
- V.D. Ilyukhin
“Such a change, with God's blessing, will bring countless usefulness... Prospects for service in a powerful empire opened up for the Tatar nobility. Potemkin prepared an unprecedented celebration: the Tatar nobility swore allegiance on the Ak-Kaya rock, fireworks thundered, refreshments were put up everywhere. The entire Crimean region willingly resorted to the power of Your Imperial Majesty, ”the general-in-chief of His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin reported to Catherine II about the entry of Crimea into the Russian Empire.
In 1784, the Empress allowed foreigners to settle in the Crimea, and in 1787 Catherine II herself made a trip to the peninsula, which later became part of the Taurida province.
“Catherine II wanted to rule Russia without conspiracies and coups. To do this, she wanted to show herself the most Russian in the Russian Empire. She, a German by birth, really needed foreign policy successes so that the state elite and the common people saw that the country was ruled by a Russian monarch who continued the work of Peter the Great to establish Russia in the Black and Azov Seas, ”said the doctor of historical sciences in an interview with RT. Professor of St. Petersburg State University Pavel Krotov.
According to Krotov, by that historical moment, all the prerequisites for annexing the peninsula had developed: Crimea was a weak province of the Ottoman Empire, which was opposed by the formidable military machine of the Russian Empire.
The annexation of Crimea to Russia was for Catherine II important event and for ideological reasons, the expert believes, since Vladimir I the Saint was baptized in Chersonese in 988. For the Orthodox, the return of the "same" land was of great importance.