Armenians in Crimea
Encyclopedia
Background
The ArmenianArmenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
presence in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
region dates back to the 8th century. The first wave of Armenian immigration into this area began during the mid-11th century and, over time, as political, economic and social conditions in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
proper failed to improve, newer waves followed them. The Armenians preserved their customs and traditions and established a number of prospering communities in the region, several of which survive to this day.
Early communities
In an ethnic and national sense, the Crimea has been a host to wide group of peoples. Historians and other scholars have placed dated the Armenian presence in the Crimea to the 8th century and have distinguished three distinctive stages of their settlement in the region. The Crimea was under the control of the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
during this time and some Armenian troops serving in the Byzantine military were stationed here. In the course of the next two centuries, Armenians from their homelands in the Armenian Highlands and other Byzantine cities came to settle here as well.
As life grew more unbearable in Armenia proper following the destructive Seljuk
Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
raids of the 11th and 12th centuries, many Armenians were forced to migrate to Byzantium and elsewhere and with some of them eventually settling in the Crimea. They most prominently found their new homes in Kaffa (modern Feodosiya), Solhat
Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym is a small historical town in the Eastern Crimea, approximately 25 km west of Theodosia. The population of Staryi Krym in 2001 was 9,960 people.-History:...
, Karasubazar
Bilohirsk
Bilohirsk , formerly Karasubazar is a town in Crimea, Ukraine, situated 25 miles east-northeast of Simferopol on the Biyuk Karasu river. Both Russian and Ukrainian names mean "white mountains", and original Crimean Tatar name Qarasuvbazar means "bazaar on the Karasu river".The site is low, but...
(Belogorsk
Bilohirsk
Bilohirsk , formerly Karasubazar is a town in Crimea, Ukraine, situated 25 miles east-northeast of Simferopol on the Biyuk Karasu river. Both Russian and Ukrainian names mean "white mountains", and original Crimean Tatar name Qarasuvbazar means "bazaar on the Karasu river".The site is low, but...
), and Orabazar (Armyansk
Armyansk
Armyansk is a city in northern Crimea, Ukraine. It is located on the Isthmus of Perekop.Armyansk was founded in the beginning of the 18th century by Armenians and Greeks, who had come from the nearby city of Or Qapı . The first name of the town was Ermeni Bazar .-External links:*...
), with Kaffa at its center. The stability of the region allowed many of them to find work in agriculture and engage in commercial activity. Even when the region came under Mongol control during the mid-13th century, their economic life was left largely undisturbed. The Armenians' ties to commercial interests also greatly benefited the Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
when they secured their economic domination there in the late 13th century. The widening economic opportunities in the Crimea attracted more Armenians to settle there. According to Genoese sources, in 1316, Armenians had three churches, two Armenian Apostolic and one Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, of their own in Kaffa.
As the foreign wars in Armenia continued unabated, greater numbers of Armenians chose to settle in the Crimea, to the degree that some Western sources began to refer to the region as Armenia Maritama and the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
as Lacus armeniacus. A rich literary tradition and the art of illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
writing were established. The Armenian Church played a central role in Armenian social life and counted 44 churches under its jurisdiction in 1330. From the 14th to 18th centuries, the Armenians formed the second largest ethnic group after the Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
. The flourishing life Armenians established here came to a quick end, however, when the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
took the region in 1475. Many Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
were killed, enslaved or fled the peninsula and as many as sixteen Armenian churches were converted to mosques as Armenians were subordinated to the rule of the Crimean khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
, which remained an ally of the Ottoman Empire.
Despite this, in the 16th century, Armenian settlements in the Crimea continued to exist in the Kaffa, Karasubazar
Bilohirsk
Bilohirsk , formerly Karasubazar is a town in Crimea, Ukraine, situated 25 miles east-northeast of Simferopol on the Biyuk Karasu river. Both Russian and Ukrainian names mean "white mountains", and original Crimean Tatar name Qarasuvbazar means "bazaar on the Karasu river".The site is low, but...
, Balaklava
Balaklava
Balaklava is a former city on the Crimean peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government...
, Gezlev, Perekop
Perekop
Perekop is a village located at the Perekop Isthmus connecting Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the Fortress Or Qapi that served as the gateway to Crimea...
and Surkhat
Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym is a small historical town in the Eastern Crimea, approximately 25 km west of Theodosia. The population of Staryi Krym in 2001 was 9,960 people.-History:...
. From 1778-1779, more than 22,000 Armenians resettled in the Azov province and on the coast of the Dnieper and Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, leading to gradual economic decline. In 1783, the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
conquered the Crimean khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
. Russian authorities encouraged the settlement of foreign colonists, including Armenians, into the Crimea. This led to a fresh wave of Armenian immigrants, reviving former colonies. In 1913, their numbers hovered around 9,000 and 14,000-15,000 in 1914. The resettlement of Armenians on the peninsula lasted until the First World War and the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1915-1923. The immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries were largely from Western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
and the various regions of Ottoman Empire.
Soviet era
In 1919, there were 16,907 Armenians living in the Crimea. In 1930, in the recently established Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist RepublicCrimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created on October 18, 1921 as Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of RSFSR in place of Taurida Governorate and within the Crimean Peninsula,...
, there were two Armenian national districts, and on the peninsula there were approximately 13 thousand Armenians. According to the All-Union census of 1989
Soviet Census (1989)
The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
, the number of Armenians living in the Crimea had dwindled down 2,794.
Deportation of Armenians in 1944
After the deportation of Crimean Tatars in May 1944, held a passport check and registration of BulgariansBulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
.
On May 29, 1944, Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union, Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
, introduce a circumstatial report to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, "Armenians live in various parts of the peninsula. An Armenian Committee, established by Germans, actively cooperate with Nazi Germany and doing anti-Soviet performance." Later on, he suggested to deport all Bulgarians, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
from Crimea. On June 2, 1944, he signed Directorate 5984, titled "The Deportation of German satellites - Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
from Crimea". This resolution deported 37,000 Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians. The Armenians were deported to Perm Oblast
Perm Oblast
Until December 1, 2005, Perm Oblast was a federal subject of Russia in Privolzhsky Federal District. According to the results of the referendum held in October 2004, Perm Oblast was merged with Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug to form Perm Krai.The oblast was named after its administrative center,...
, Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...
, Omsk Oblast
Omsk Oblast
Omsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia. The oblast has an area of and a population of with the majority, 1.15 million, living in Omsk, the administrative center....
, Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast , also known as Kuzbass after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian mountains...
, Bashkortostan
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
, Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
.
Since Perestroika
In 1989, the communal life of the Crimea's Armenians was institutionalized with the formation of one of the peninsula's first national-cultural associations, the Armenian "Luys" (Light) society. Later, after re-registration in 1996, it was renamed the Crimean Armenian Society. At present, the Crimean Armenian Society consists of 14 regional offices, coordinated by the National Council of Crimean Armenians. The highest governing body is the National Congress, which convenes at least once every four years. Operational management of the society is carried out by the executive committee, which functions in the periods between meetings of the National Council. The society operates the "Luys" cultural and ethnographic center and publishes a monthly newspaper, Dove Masis. The one-hour Armenian-language program "Barev" airs twice a month on Crimean television, and radio broadcasts are made five times a week. There are Armenian churches in YaltaYalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, Feodosia and Evpatoria, while the first Armenian secondary school opened in 1998 in Simferopol
Simferopol
-Russian Empire and Civil War:The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek, Συμφερόπολις , translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the...
.
Distribution
Armenians living in the Crimea are currently concentrated in the cities of ArmyanskArmyansk
Armyansk is a city in northern Crimea, Ukraine. It is located on the Isthmus of Perekop.Armyansk was founded in the beginning of the 18th century by Armenians and Greeks, who had come from the nearby city of Or Qapı . The first name of the town was Ermeni Bazar .-External links:*...
, Simferopol
Simferopol
-Russian Empire and Civil War:The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek, Συμφερόπολις , translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the...
, Evpatoria, Feodosia, Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
, Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Sudak
Sudak
Sudak or Sudaq is a small historic town located in Crimea, Ukraine situated to the west of Feodosiya and to the east of Simferopol, the capital of Crimea...
. The Armenia Diaspora Encyclopedia indicates that there were 20,000 Armenians living in the region in 2003.
Feodosiya (Kaffa)
In the 1470s, Armenians comprised two thirds of the total population of Kaffa (numbering 46,000 out of 70,000). Until 1941 Armenians in Feodosiya formed more than 20% of the total population of the city. According to the Feodosiya Office of Statistics, there are only 557 Armenians living in Great Feodosiya itself.Community life
The community has take a very lively role in affairs concerning Armenia and Armenians and has contributed greatly to the region. This is seen more prominently in the context of TurkishTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
foreign policy interests in the Crimea.
The Armenian community of the Crimea forms one of the most important centers of the Armenian Diaspora in the Black Sea region. Its members attach a great importance to Armenia and its foreign policy interests.
Churches and cathedrals
Surb KhachSurb Khach Armenian Monastery, Ukraine
Surb Khach Monastery is a medieval Armenian monastery located on the Crimean peninsula near Staryi Krym and founded in 1358. It has been an Armenian spiritual center and a place of pilgrimage for centuries....
.
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
. There were a number of churches built in Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, Feodosiya and Yevpatoria. Construction activity took place from the 14th century and according to one manuscript the monastery of Gamchak had been built by the fifteen century in Kafa.
In Kafa, there were a number of Armenian schools, dozens of churches, banks, trading houses, caravanserai, and craftshops. The town was served as a spiritual center for the Crimean Armenians, and its stature grew so prominently that that in 1438 the Armenians of Kafa were invited to send representatives to the Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
-Florence Cathedral (Florence ecumenical council).
The second largest Armenian population after Kafa in the same period was Surkhat
Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym is a small historical town in the Eastern Crimea, approximately 25 km west of Theodosia. The population of Staryi Krym in 2001 was 9,960 people.-History:...
. The name of Surkhat
Surb Khach Armenian Monastery, Ukraine
Surb Khach Monastery is a medieval Armenian monastery located on the Crimean peninsula near Staryi Krym and founded in 1358. It has been an Armenian spiritual center and a place of pilgrimage for centuries....
is probably a distorted form of the name of the Armenian monastery Surb-Khach (Holy Cross)
Surb Khach Armenian Monastery, Ukraine
Surb Khach Monastery is a medieval Armenian monastery located on the Crimean peninsula near Staryi Krym and founded in 1358. It has been an Armenian spiritual center and a place of pilgrimage for centuries....
. There were many Armenian churches, schools, neighborhoods here as well. Other major settlements included Sudak
Sudak
Sudak or Sudaq is a small historic town located in Crimea, Ukraine situated to the west of Feodosiya and to the east of Simferopol, the capital of Crimea...
, where until the last quarter of the 15th century and near the monastery Surb-Khach
Surb Khach Armenian Monastery, Ukraine
Surb Khach Monastery is a medieval Armenian monastery located on the Crimean peninsula near Staryi Krym and founded in 1358. It has been an Armenian spiritual center and a place of pilgrimage for centuries....
there was a small Armenian town called Kazarat. Armenian princes kept the troops there and on a contractual basis to defend Kafa.
The social life of the Crimean Armenians surged in the late nineteenth and 20th centuries. They organized themselves into community organizations. Wealthy Armenians and the church tried to "raise" the nation to the level of modern civilization, and to carry out charitable activities. The source of money and material welfare of the church were grants, wills, offering.
The church's role in the colonies was to some extent becoming secularized. In 1842, the Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
lost his position to the Chief Guardian of the Crimean Armenian churches.
See also
- Demographics of Crimea
- Armenians in UkraineArmenians in UkraineArmenians in Ukraine are ethnic Armenians who live in Ukraine. They number 99,894 according to the 2001 Ukrainian census. However, the country is also host to a number of Armenian guest workers which has yet to be ascertained. The Armenian population in Ukraine has nearly doubled since the...
- Surb Khach Armenian Monastery, UkraineSurb Khach Armenian Monastery, UkraineSurb Khach Monastery is a medieval Armenian monastery located on the Crimean peninsula near Staryi Krym and founded in 1358. It has been an Armenian spiritual center and a place of pilgrimage for centuries....