The history of Yevpatoriya is going through a dramatic period, which will not end until the international community recognizes the current status of the city. Crimea was annexed by Russia at the beginning of 2014, and the peninsula, considered the territory of Ukraine since 1991, is today represented as two constituent entities of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. The international community overwhelmingly condemned the actions of Russia.
Two resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly insist that Crimea is Ukrainian territory and strongly condemn the "occupation" of the peninsula by the Russian Federation, confirming its non-recognition of its accession to Russia. The UN also called on all states, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any changes in the status of the former Ukrainian Autonomous Republic and to refrain from any actions or decisions that could be construed as recognition of any such amended status. This is by the way in which year Crimea was annexed to Russia. But the article is not about this, but about the history of the wonderful Crimean city. This city is called Evpatoria, its history is full of secrets, curiosities and dramatic episodes. So, let's begin.
Antiquity
This picturesque city was founded in 500 BC. It was built by the Greek colonists who arrived from Pontus, and originally it was called Kerkinitida (or Kerkintis). Kerkinitida was one of many port towns founded by practical Greeks. Later, more than two millennia later, the Russian liberators will give this port the name Evpatoria - in honor of Mithridates VI Eupator, the "good father" of Pontus, during whose reign the Hellenic colonization of the region took place.
Türkic settlement
In the second half of the first millennium AD, bloody Khazars ruled in Evpatoria, who, in addition to Turkic toponyms, brought here Judaism, a religion that is rare for the local people. Under the influence of the Turkic substrate, it turned into an exotic and original religion of the Karaites (which, strictly speaking, are descendants of the Khazars). Later, the city was subjected to settlement by Cumans (Kipchaks), Mongols and Crimean Tatars. At that time, Evpatoria alternately bore the Crimean Tatar and Ottoman names: Kezlev, Gezlev, but they just didn’t call it ... The Russian medieval name "Kozlov" is the Russification of the Crimean Tatar name. The emblem of Yevpatoria at that time was a ram-dried head, which is still depicted on it today.
Middle Ages
For a brief period between 1478 and 1485, the port was controlled by the Ottoman administration. The history of Yevpatoriya then was a string of wars for the possession of the Crimea. In 1783, together with the rest of Crimea, the so-called. Kezlev was solemnly annexed by the Russian Empire. Its rather shameful Turkish-Tatar name was officially changed to Evpatoria as early as the next 1784. The name, as mentioned earlier, comes from the name of Evpatoria Dionysius. In the official report on the renaming of the city, its name was written in French, German, Spanish and English. Once bearing the proud name of Kerkinitid, Yevpatoria again rose, turning into one of the pearls of the Black Sea.
New time
During the miserably lost Crimean War, this quiet port town became the scene of a bloody battle. However, he did not suffer much from the battle. It was here that Adam Mickiewicz wrote almost the best part of his Crimean notes, later translated by Lermontov.
Soviet period
In the 30s of the twentieth century in the highest echelons of power, it was a question of building a medical resort in Yevpatoria. Natural factors create excellent conditions for the treatment of osteoarcular tuberculosis and other childhood diseases. In 1933, at a scientific conference in Yalta, it was decided that among the Soviet resort cities of Yevpatoriya, Odessa, Anapa or another city on the southern coast of Crimea - the most suitable places for organizing a state network of children's resorts. In Yevpatoriya, however, the perfect combination of climatic and balneological factors contributing to the healing of the most serious diseases of the time, such as tuberculosis. An additional positive factor is the absence of mosquitoes in Yevpatoriya: on the southern coast of Crimea there are not so many of these blood-sucking insects as in Anapa.
In 1936, the government decided to determine the construction site of the All-Union Children's Resort in Yevpatoriya. In 1938, a plan for the general reconstruction of the city was approved. During the Second World War, sanatoriums were used as military hospitals. By July 1, 1945, 14 sanatoriums operated in Yevpatoria, in which 2885 people rested. By 1980, 78 sanatoriums for 33 thousand people worked in the city. About a million vacationers visited Evpatoria in the summer without any medical goals.
Our days
But the history of Yevpatoria did not end there. Today it is a major Black Sea port, railway junction and resort city. In the summer months, the population of Yevpatoria makes money on tourism, and many residents of more northern cities enjoy visiting local beaches. Thus, locals work actively in the summer months, but in the winter they often suffer from unemployment. Major industries include fisheries, food processing, winemaking, limestone mining, weaving and manufacturing of building materials, machinery, furniture and tourism.
In Evpatoria there are resorts of mineral water, salt and mud lakes. They belong to a vast territory with medical institutions, where the main health factors are sunlight, sea, air and sand, silt and mud of salt lakes, as well as mineral water of hot springs. The population of the city is well aware of the healing properties of the local mud, which can be found here since time immemorial, as evidenced by the manuscripts of Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar (about 80 BC).
On December 24, 2008, an explosion destroyed a five-story building in the city. 27 people were killed. President Viktor Yushchenko declared December 26 a day of national mourning. At that time, however, no one doubted that Crimea was Ukrainian.
The population of the city is 105,719 people (2014 census).
Conclusion
Evpatoria is not just a picturesque city, but a real historical curiosity. Having arisen 500 years before the birth of Christ as a Greek colony, he passed from hand to hand until he was reunited with the Russian Orthodox Empire - the Third Rome. After spending a short time as part of Ukraine, Yevpatoria again became part of the Russian state, which is quite symbolic.
Today this city is a place of pilgrimage for tourists not only from all over the CIS, but also from abroad. Here is the center of the mysterious religion of Karaites, many Orthodox churches and one of the largest mosques in Crimea. Here, aesthetic ancient ruins harmoniously coexist with gloomy Soviet high-rise buildings, majestic palaces of the imperial era and trendy boutiques. Here Christians can afford to look into the mosque, and Muslims - into the Orthodox church. This is a wonderful city, the history of which cannot but surprise.