Facets of the Administrative Divisions of Crimea

The present scenario of the administrative divisions in Crimea has been a legacy of the past. Crimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea happens to be an an autonomous republic of Ukraine,situaed on the northern coast of the Black Sea being a peninsula with the very same name. It should be noted that the territory of Crimea was conquered and controlled many times throughout the different periods of history. What has been found is that the Cimmerians, Greeks, Iranians, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Khazars, the state of Kievan Rus’, Byzantine Greeks, Kipchaks, and the Mongols have been the prominent an also powerful races that have been instrumental in controlling Crimea in its early history. Till date, the contribution of these races have been relevant, and the present division of Crimea into 25 regions, with 14 raions (districts) and 11 city municipalities, officially known as “territories governed by city councils” are directly related to these legacies.

Crimea Emblem

The region came into proimnence in the modern age, in spite of being witness to the ravages of history, with the emergence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the U.S.S.R. what has been learnt that in the course of the World War II, Crimea happened to be a great scenario of some of the bloodiest battles. It I to be noted that the leaders of the Third Reich were quite anxious to conquer and colonize this very fertile and beautiful peninsula, as a part of their policy international expansio and also for the resettling of the Germans in Eastern half of Europe at the expense of the Slavs. However, it is also a part of the history, that the Germans suffered heavy casualties in the summer of 1941 in the course of the process when they were trying their best to advance through the narrow Isthmus of Perekop, that was linking Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland. However, the plan failed and ended with their devastatng defeat in the hands of the Allie Forces, especialy the army of the U.S.S.R. But at the same time it should also be considered that, though ther was a defeat, he conquest and ggression changed the administrative divisions in Crimea vehemently, leading to the emergence of new administrative structure. For instance, only on May 18, 1944, the entire population of the Crimean Tatars were deported, by means of the exertion of force in the Sürgün (Crimean Tatar for exile) to Central Asia by Stalin’s Soviet government as a form of collective punishment, on the grounds of their collaboration with the Nazi occupation forces, which at the time of their advancement hardly got any resistance from the forces of defense. It has been learnt, that an estimated 46% of the deportees died from hunger and disease. It was on June 26, 1944 a considerable section of the Armenian, Bulgar and Greek population was also deported to Central part of Asia. It was by the end of summer 1944, the saga of ethnic cleansing of Crimea was completed, by the exertion of forces. It was only in 1967 when the Crimean Tatars were rehabilitated by the Government, thoughtheyr were restrained in all measures to make a come back to their homeland until the last days of the U.S.S.R.

In this scenatio the whole framework of the administrative divisions in Crimea was redrwan, that has reached the modern structure. It is to be remembered, that on December 23, 1998, the currently existing constitution was put into effect in conjunction with the name change from the Republic of Crimea to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. At present, Crimea is subdivided into 25 regions with 14 raions (districts) and 11 city municipalities, which is officially known as “territories governed by city councils”. In each region there is the existence of consists of city, urban-type settlement and village communities. Of this the Sevastopol Municipality, the uncolored region existing immediately to the west of Bakhchisarayskyi Raion (#1) is one of two special municipalities within Ukraine and is not part of Crimea itself.

The 14 Raions are;