Crimea is an amazing land. Not only in terms of natural landscapes, but also from the point of view of its inhabitants. The peninsula has been inhabited since ancient times. Scythians, Sarmatians, ancient Greeks and Romans left their mark here. In this article we will talk about the modern settlements of the Crimea - the largest cities and villages.
Republic of Crimea: population and administrative-territorial structure
As of the beginning of 2018, 1.91 million people live in Crimea. About half of them live in cities. Three ethnic groups dominate in the ethnic structure of the population: Russians (about 63%), Ukrainians (15%) and Crimean Tatars (12%). In addition, representatives of almost a hundred other nationalities also live on the peninsula. Among them are Armenians, Belarusians, Tatars, Greeks, Moldavians, Jews, Bulgarians and other nationalities.
According to the current administrative-territorial structure, the territory of Crimea is divided into 11 urban districts and 14 districts. Sevastopol, although it is located on the peninsula, however, is not part of the republic. The "capital" of the Crimean land is the city of Simferopol.
Settlements of Crimea
In Crimea, today there are 1019 settlements. Among them - 16 cities, 56 urban settlements and 947 villages. What are the largest settlements in Crimea? The ten largest Crimean cities in terms of population are listed below:
- Sevastopol (436 thousand people).
- Simferopol (342 thousand people).
- Kerch (150 thousand people).
- Evpatoria (106 thousand people).
- Yalta (79 thousand people).
- Theodosius (68 thousand people).
- Dzhankoy (39 thousand people).
- Krasnoperekopsk (25 thousand people).
- Alushta (30 thousand people).
- Bakhchisaray (27 thousand people).
The list of the largest rural settlements of Crimea is as follows:
- Peace (9.28 thousand people).
- Vilino (6.96 thousand people).
- Pioneer (5.53 thousand people).
- Tidy (5.13 thousand people).
- Bright Field (4.91 thousand people).
The largest settlements of Crimea are marked on the map below:
Simferopol
Simferopol (translated from ancient Greek - “city of good”) is the administrative capital of the Republic of Crimea, an important economic, cultural and educational center on the peninsula. Here is the largest university in Crimea - Taurida University. Vernadsky, as well as a number of other educational institutions.
Officially, the year of foundation of the city is considered to be the 1784th. Although it is known that as far back as the 3rd century BC, Naples Scythian, the capital of the Scythians of Tauris, arose on this place. In the XVI-XVIII centuries, the village of Ak-Mechet existed here, in which the residence of the Crimean Tatar Sultan was located.
Administratively, Simferopol is divided into three districts: Central, Kiev and Zheleznodorozhny. The city has about 70 enterprises of mechanical engineering, food and light industry. Despite the abundance of architectural and historical monuments, tourists rarely pay their attention to Simferopol, perceiving it only as a transshipment point on the way to the sea.
Scientific Village
It is impossible not to recall in our article about the village of Scientific. After all, this is the highest mountain settlement of the Crimea. It is located at an altitude of about 600 meters above sea level, 25 kilometers from Bakhchisarai. In Soviet times, the village of Nauchny was not marked on the maps, and all letters addressed to its residents were de jure sent to Bakhchisaray. Such secrecy was caused by the fact that there was the largest astrophysical observatory. It works today. By the way, its domes are clearly visible from the top of Mount Ai-Petri.
Mirnoe and Vilino: demographic champions
The largest village in the Crimea is Mirnoe. At least nine thousand people live in it! The village was founded at the end of the 18th century. Interestingly, Mirnoe is located just two kilometers from the Simferopol railway station. In fact, it is nothing but the northwestern outskirts of the Crimean "capital". The village has its own flag and coat of arms, which depict a white dove in flight.
The second most populated village on the peninsula is Vilino. It is also famous for the colossal dynamics of its population growth. So, over the past half century, the number of villagers has tripled. Even in 2000, the population of Vilino grew, despite the all-Ukrainian tendency to depopulation.