Car numbers with the designation on the right side of the "Region 92" until recently were quite rare. But historical circumstances have decreed that soon there will be significantly more. Let's try to understand in more detail why this happened.
From the history of regional codification
The system for designating regional codes was put into circulation in the early nineties of the last century. Its introduction was driven by the demand of the times - car numbers should have been easily read by automatic means of traffic control. The indices of the regions are indicated by two-digit numbers. The exception was made only by such densely populated areas as the city of Moscow and the Moscow region. In addition, as many as four codes are reserved for Moscow cars, and three for regional cars. For the rest, the official codifier was built quite simply and logically. It ended with index 89, which, according to the alphabetical order, was assigned to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. At the same time, the list contains number 92. Which region it indicates is not marked, but it is stipulated that these two numbers are used by the military. Information on the binding of the mentioned index to a specific place in the codifier is missing.
92 region - which city?
It is easy to understand the bewilderment of interested people who sometimes saw this unusual code on the numbers of oncoming cars. Their question was quite reasonable: "Whose region is 92?" The official text of the codifier did not give an answer to this question, but knowledgeable people claimed that these numbers belong to cars registered in the city of Sevastopol, in the Crimea. But until recently, it was the territory of a foreign state. And this circumstance raised even more questions. To deal with them, one should turn to the historical events of the middle of the last century, when the territory of the Soviet Union was not yet divided by state borders.
From Soviet history
In 1954, the Crimean region was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. This happened on the personal initiative of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev and aimed to optimize the material supply of the peninsula. The geographical position of Crimea is such that almost all transport communications to it go through the territory of Ukraine. The decision was mainly driven by logistical causal factors. Without going into political assessments of this event, it should be noted that the city of Sevastopol was removed from the scope of this document. Being a strategically important city and base of the Black Sea Fleet, it was administratively subordinate directly to the capital of the USSR.
In the post-Soviet period
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, cars with Sevastopol registration received the code designation "Region 92". Moreover, Crimea itself for more than two decades has been the territory of a foreign state. Around the status of Sevastopol and the deployment of the Black Sea Fleet in it, political tension constantly arose. After difficult and lengthy negotiations, the fleet base began to belong to the Russian Federation on a rental basis. And the number of the regional code on car license plates once again confirmed the fact that Sevastopol is nothing more than 92 regions of Russia. And this was even a kind of political subtext. Thus, the hero city was not going to form part of Ukraine, even formally. He declared his belonging to Russia even with code marks on car numbers.
After the return of Crimea to Russia
The turbulent political events in Ukraine in early 2014 turned out to be revolutionary for the Crimea. The field of the referendum held in March, the Crimean Peninsula returned to the Russian Federation. This event entailed many consequences, many of which relate to the administrative sphere. Among other things, the question arose of the need for re-registration of vehicles in accordance with the standards adopted in the Russian Federation. It was decided to register all automotive equipment in the Crimea with license plates, which appear: region 92. It seemed convenient also because such a code already exists, and it has long been customary in the territory of the peninsula. Therefore, there is no need to reload the database with new designations. In addition to the traditional Sevastopol code, it was supposed to use the designation “Region 91” for other cities of the Crimean peninsula, which is listed as a reserve in the codifier. But a final decision on this issue has not yet been made.
New initiative
The code designation "Region 92" for the entire Republic of Crimea within the Russian Federation has not yet been adopted. The discussion dragged on in connection with a new administrative initiative that arose in the depths of the offices of the Ministry of the Interior. A number of officials had the idea to designate Crimean car numbers with a code index of 82, which turned out to be vacant. Previously, these figures applied to the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, which was abolished after it became part of the Kamchatka Territory. Moreover, the designation "region 92" should remain with all the equipment registered in the city of Sevastopol. It is not yet possible to say how long the discussion of this issue will take, what decision will be made. But on the territory of the Crimean peninsula they already managed to get used to the regional code 92. And if someone in the Moscow offices deigned to inquire about the opinion of the Crimeans, then the choice would be made in favor of a designation that has become traditional.
Crimean problems
One of the main problems of region 92 is its isolation from the territory of the Russian Federation. Bypassing Ukraine, Russia can only be reached from Crimea today via a ferry crossing in the Kerch Strait. And she obviously can not cope with the traffic flow. Those who want to get to the other side have to wait their turn for a day. Only the bridge across the strait can change the situation, the completion of which is expected in five years.