Simferopol
Encyclopedia
Russian Empire and Civil War
The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean KhanateCrimean 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...
to 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...
by Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Συμφερόπολις (Simferopolis), translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the administrative center of the Taurida Governorate
Taurida Governorate
The Taurida Governorate or Government of Taurida was a historical governorate of the Russian Empire. It included the Crimean peninsula and the mainland between the lower Dnieper River and the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov It was formed after the defunct Taurida Oblast in was abolished in...
. During the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
of 1854-1856, the Russian Imperial Army reserves and a hospital were stationed in the city. After the war, more than 30,000 Russian soldiers were buried in the city's vicinity.
In the 20th century, Simferopol was once again affected by wars and conflicts in the region. At the end of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, the headquarters of General Pyotr Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
, leader of the anti-Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
White Army
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, were located there. On November 13, 1920, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
captured the city and on October 18, 1921, Simferopol became the capital of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Crimean 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,...
.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Metropolitan was occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
from November 1, 1941 to April 13, 1944. Retreating NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
police shot a number of prisoners on October 31, 1941 in the NKVD building and the city's prison. Germans perpetrated one of the largest war-time massacres in Simferopol, killing in total over 22,000 locals—mostly Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Krymchaks
Krymchaks
The Krymchaks are a Turkic people, community of Turkic languages and adherents of Rabbinic Judaism living in Crimea. They have historically lived in close proximity to the Crimean Karaites...
, and Gypsies. On one occasion, starting December 9, 1941, the Einsatzgruppen D
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
under Otto Ohlendorf
Otto Ohlendorf
Otto Ohlendorf was a German SS-Gruppenführer and head of the Inland-SD , a section of the SD. Ohlendorf was the commanding officer of Einsatzgruppe D, which conducted mass murder in Moldova, south Ukraine, the Crimea, and, during 1942, the north Caucasus...
's command killed an estimated 14,300 Simferopol residents, most of them being Jews.
In April 1944, the Red Army liberated Simferopol. On May 18, 1944, the Crimean Tatar population of the city along with the whole Crimean Tatar nation of Crimea (except the families of the Red Army soldiers) was forcibly deported to Central Asia in a form of collective punishment
Collective punishment
Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
. On April 26, 1954, Simferopol, together with the rest of the Crimean Oblast
Crimean Oblast
The Crimean Oblast was an oblast of the former Russian SFSR and Ukrainian SSR , which was at the time part of the Soviet Union. Its capital was the city of Simferopol....
, was transferred from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
.
Minor planet
An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...
2141 Simferopol
2141 Simferopol
2141 Simferopol is a main-belt asteroid discovered on August 30, 1970 by T. Smirnova at Nauchnyj.- External links :*...
discovered in 1970 by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova
Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova
Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova was a Russian astronomer.From 1966 to 1988 she was a staff member of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Leningrad. She co-discovered the periodic comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh, along with Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh. She has also discovered various asteroids...
is named after the city.
After Ukrainian independence
After the collapse of the Soviet UnionHistory of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
in 1991, Simferopol became the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within newly independent Ukraine. Today, the city has a population of 340,600 (2006) most of whom are ethnic Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, with the rest being Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
minorities.
After the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
were allowed to return from exile in the 1990s, several new Crimean Tatar suburbs were constructed, as many more Tatars returned to the city compared to number of exiled in 1944. Land ownership between the current residents and returning Crimean Tatars is a major area of conflict today with the Tatars requesting the return of lands seized after their deportation.
Location
Simferopol is located in the south-central portion of the CrimeaCrimea
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...
n peninsula. The city lies on the Salhir River
Salhir River
The Salhir River is the longest river in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. Its length is 204 km, and its drainage basin is 3,750 km². The average discharge of the water is 2 m³/s....
and near the artificial Simferopol Reservoir, which provides the city with clean drinking water.
Climate
The city experiences a humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
near the boundary of the humid continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
. The summers are very warm and humid, and the winters are cold and wet and often snowy. The average temperature in January is 3 °C (37.4 °F) and 26.3 °C (79.3 °F) in July. The average rainfall is 509 millimetres (20 in) per year, and there is a total of 2,569 hours of sunshine per year.
Politics and administrative divisions
Verkhovna Rada of Crimea
The Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the 100-member unicameral parliament of the Ukrainian territory the Autonomous Republic of Crimea...
and Council of Ministers. Simferopol is also the administrative center of the Simferopolskyi Raion
Simferopol raion
Simferopol raion is one of the 25 regions of Crimea. Simferopol raion is situated in the central part of the republic....
(district
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
), however, it is directly subordinate to the Crimean authorities rather than to the raion authorities housed in the city itself.
The city of Simferopol is administratively divided into three raions (Zaliznychnyi, Tsentralnyi, and Kyivskyi), four urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...
s (Ahrarne, Aeroflotskyi, Hriesivskyi, Komsomolske) and one village (Bitumne). The city's mayor is Henadiy Babenko, formerly from the Party of Regions
Party of Regions
The Party of Regions is an Ukrainian political party created on October 26, 1997 just prior to the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary elections under the name of Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine. It was reformed later in 2001 when the party united with several others...
but expelled from that party in September 2009.
Transportation
Simferopol has a main railway station, which serves millions of tourists each year. The city is also connected via the Simferopol International Airport, which was constructed in 1936.The city also has several main bus stations, with routes towards many cities, including 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....
, 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...
, and Yevpatoriya. The Crimean Trolleybus
Crimean Trolleybus
Crimean Trolleybus Line in Crimea, Ukraine is currently the longest trolleybus line in the world. It is long, and runs between the autonomous republic's capital, Simferopol, and the coastal city of Yalta on the Black Sea....
connects Simferopol to the city of 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...
on Crimean Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast. The line is the longest trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
line in the world with a total length of 86 kilometres (53.4 mi).
Demographics
As of the Ukrainian National Census, 2001Ukrainian Census (2001)
The first Ukrainian Census was carried out by State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989....
, Simferopol's population is 363,600. According to the census, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
constitute 66.7% of the total population, Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
- 21.3%, Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
- 7%, Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
- 1.1%, Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
- 0.2% and Moldovans
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
- 0.1%.
Economy
When it existed, Crimea AirCrimea Air
Crimea Air was an airline on the grounds of Simferopol International Airport in Simferopol, Ukraine. It was established and started operations on 4 October 1996 and operated regional feeder services...
had its head office on the grounds of Simferopol Airport
Simferopol Airport
Simferopol International Airport is airport in Simferopol, Ukraine. It was built in 1936. The airport has two terminals - International and Local.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:* /*NOAA/NWS weather observations*ASN...
. Simferopol hosts some industries, such as ‘Zavod ’Phiolent’ JSC producing Marine automation control systems; Precise electrical micro machines of low input power; Power tools, for both professional and household usage.
Education
The largest collection of higher education institutions in Crimea is located in Simferopol. Among them is the largest university in Simferopol and Crimea, the Taurida V.Vernadsky National University, which was founded in 1917. Crimea State Medical University named after S. I. GeorgievskyCrimea State Medical University named after S. I. Georgievsky
Crimea State Medical University named after S. I. Georgievsky is the institution of higher medical education situated in Simferopol . According to some independent estimations it is one of the most prominent medical schools of Ukraine. The university has 6 faculties and 54 departments...
, also located in Simferopol, is one of the most prominent medical schools of Ukraine. The Crimean Medical University is situated on the plot, where in 1855 a nursery garden was planted by the founder of the Nikita Botanical Gardens Ch.Ch.Steven (1781–1863). In 1863-66 a school for girls was built here and in 1931 a medical institute was opened. On the same plot P.Krzhizhanovsky built a three-storeyed hostel for medical students after the design in 1934. The building with clear geometric masses was completed in 1938.
Famous people
|
Zara Levina Zara Aleksandrovna Levina , February 5, 1906 – Moscow, June 27, 1976) was a pianist and composer. She was from a Jewish family. Zara Levina studied piano in the Odessa Conservatory, which she passed with a gold metal... , Russian composer Composer A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... Yuri I. Manin Yuri Ivanovitch Manin is a Soviet/Russian/German mathematician, known for work in algebraic geometry and diophantine geometry, and many expository works ranging from mathematical logic to theoretical physics.-Biography:... , Russian-born mathematician Ekaterina Serebrianskaya Kateryna Serebrianskaya is a former Individual Rhythmic Gymnast. She was born in Simferopol, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union - in present day Ukraine. She started gymnastics in 1982 at age 4, her mother Liubov was her coach, at the Gratsia club in Simferopol... , an individual rhythmic gymnast Valery Sigalevitch Valery Sigalevitch is a Russian classical concert pianist.-Biography:... , pianist Evhen Tsybulenko Evhen Tsybulenko is an Estonian legal scholar of Ukrainian descent. He is a founder and director of the Tallinn Law School's Human Rights Centre at the Tallinn University of Technology . Tsybulenko had been elected professor of Law and had been appointed as a Chair of International and... , professor of international law Rostislaw Wygranienko Rostislaw Wygranienko is a Polish concert organist, pianist and musicologist of Ukrainian origin. In 2003 he graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy, Warsaw , where he studied with Joachim Grubich... , organist |
Twin towns
Simferopol is currently twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Kecskemét
Kecskemét
Kecskemét is a city in the central part of Hungary. It is the 8th largest city of the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third-largest city, Szeged, 86 kilometres from both of them and almost equal distance from the two...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Ruse, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Bursa, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, since 1991
In the center of Heidelberg, there is a "Heidelberg House", which was constructed in 2000 from the private donation of Manfred Lautenschlaeger, the founder of MLP AG. The House belongs to two partner organizations: "Freundeskreis Heidelberg – Simferopol" (Heidelberg) and "Circle of Friends Simferopol – Heidelberg" (Crimea).