Scientists discovered that a well-known compound called NAD+ plays an unexpected role in DNA repair.
The findings suggest potential strategies to help protect against
cancer, blunt damage from chemotherapy and radiation, and even slow some
aspects of aging.
When NAD+ (red) binds to the DBC1
protein (beige), it prevents DBC1 from attaching to and blocking the
activity of a protein critical for DNA repair.David Sinclair
Our DNA gradually accumulates errors, or mutations, over time.
Many factors, such as tobacco and radiation from sunlight, are known to
actively damage DNA. Cells also naturally accumulate a certain number of
mutations with each division. Although our cells have sophisticated
mechanisms for repairing DNA, errors inevitably slip through.
As we age, the ability of cells to repair damaged DNA declines,
enabling more mutations to collect. Most mutations are harmless, but
some can cause serious problems. Cancer, for example, is caused by
mutations that allow cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. Other
mutations can cause subtle but still harmful changes.
DNA damage is considered an important component of the aging process.
Scientists are just beginning to understand some of the key molecules
involved. Enzymes called sirtuins, which control several biological
pathways, are known to play a role in aging. A compound called
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), which regulates key
signaling pathways in the cell, is known to interact with sirtuins and
declines with age. Among its many roles, NAD+ also interacts with a key DNA-repair protein called PARP1. Yet another protein called DBC1 is known to inhibit sirtuins.
Researchers set out to investigate how these components might work
together to affect the aging process. The team was led by Dr. Jun Li at
Harvard Medical School and Dr. David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School
and the University of New South Wales School of Medicine in Sydney,
Australia. The study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute on
Aging (NIA). Results appeared in Science on March 24, 2017.
The scientists found that DBC1 forms a complex with PARP1 and inhibits PARP1 from repairing DNA. NAD+ interferes with this interaction. It binds to the same part of DBC1 that interacts with PARP1. Thus, as NAD+ levels decrease with age, more DBC1 protein is left to bind PARP1 and prevent it from repairing damaged DNA.
The researchers gave old mice with lower levels of PARP1 activity a NAD+ precursor compound to raise levels of NAD+. The compound restored PARP1 activity and reduced DNA damage. It also reduced DNA damage in mice exposed to radiation.
The reason that NAD+ declines with age is unknown, but
this work suggests it might account for why DNA repair capacity declines
with age. “Our results unveil a key mechanism in cellular degeneration
and aging, but beyond that they point to a therapeutic avenue to halt
and reverse age-related and radiation-induced DNA damage,” Sinclair
says.
Boosting NAD+ levels could have several practical uses.
These might include reducing the side effects of chemotherapy and
radiation exposure, preventing cancer, and slowing some aspects of
aging. Whether NAD+ has such potential in humans is a subject for future study.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was formed as an independent state in 1991 and most of the peninsula was reorganized as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, while the city of Sevastopol retained its special status within Ukraine. The 1997 Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet partitioned the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet and allowed Russia to continue basing its fleet in Crimea: both the Ukrainian Naval Forces
and Russian's Black Sea Fleet were to be headquartered in Sevastopol.
Ukraine extended Russia's lease of the naval facilities under the 2010 Kharkiv Pact in exchange for further discounted natural gas.
The classical name Tauris or Taurica is from the Greek Ταυρική, after the peninsula's Scytho-Cimmerian inhabitants, the Tauri.
Strabo (Geography vii 4.3, xi.2.5), Polybius, (Histories 4.39.4), and Ptolemy refer to the Strait of Kerch as the Κιμμερικὸς Βόσπορος (romanized spellings, Kimmerikos Bosporos, Bosporus Cimmerius), and to Cimmerium as the capital of the Taurida, whence the peninsula, and so also its easternmost part was named Promontorium Cimmerium (Κιμμέριον Ἄκρον).
In English usage since the early modern period the Crimean Khanate is referred to as Crim Tartary. The Italian form Crimea (and "Crimean peninsula") also becomes current during the 18th century, gradually replacing the classical name of Tauric Peninsula
in the course of the 19th century. The omission of the definite article
in English ("Crimea" rather than "the Crimea") became common during the
later 20th century.
The name "Crimea" follows the Italian form from the Crimean Tatar name for the city Qırım (today's Stary Krym) which served as a capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde. The name of the capital was extended to the entire peninsula at some point during Ottoman suzerainty. The origin of the word Qırım is uncertain. Suggestions argued in various sources include:
a corruption of Cimmerium (Greek, Kimmerikon, Κιμμερικόν).
a derivation from the Turkic term qirum ("fosse, trench"), from qori- ("to fence, protect").
Other suggestions that have not been supported by sources but are apparently based on similarity in sound include:
a derivation from the GreekCremnoi (Κρημνοί, in post-classical Koiné Greek pronunciation, Crimni, i.e., "the Cliffs", a port on Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov) cited by Herodotus in The Histories 4.20.1 and 4.110.2).
However, he identifies the port not in Crimea, but as being on the
west coast of the Sea of Azov. No evidence has been identified that this
name was ever in use for the peninsula.
The Turkic term is related to the Mongolian appellation kerm "wall", but sources indicate that the Mongolian appellation of the Crimean peninsula of Qaram is phonetically incompatible with kerm/kerem and therefore deriving from another original term.
Swallow's Nest, built in 1912 for businessman Baron Pavel von Steingel
In the 8th century BCE the Cimmerians migrated to the area in retreat from Scythian
advances, of whom the later also migrated to the region.
Contemporaneously, and possibly because of the migration, the region
came within sphere of Greek maritime interest, and became the site of Greek colonies. The most important Greek city was Chersonesos at the edge of today's Sevastopol.
The Persian Achaemenid Empire, under Darius I, expanded to Crimea as part of his campaigns against the Scythians in 513 BC.
The peninsula, then under the control of the Bosporan Kingdom, later became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire in 63 BC.
Medieval history
In the 9th century CE, Byzantium established the Theme of Cherson to defend against incursions by the Rus' Khaganate. The Crimean peninsula from this time was contested between Byzantium, Rus' and Khazaria.
The area remained the site of overlapping interests and contact between
the early medieval Slavic, Turkic and Greek spheres. It became a center
of slave trade. Slavs were sold to Byzantium and other places in Anatolia and the Middle-East during this period.
Trapezuntine Perateia had already been subjected to pressure from the Genoese and Kipchaks by the time Alexios I of Trebizond died in 1222 before the Mongol invasions
swept through in 1223. With them, the peninsula's status quo changed in
the 1230s, as all but the Perateia of Crimea was incorporated into the
territory of the Golden Horde throughout the 14th century CE. In the
course of the 13th century CE, portions were controlled by the Republic of Venice and by the Republic of Genoa, the Perateia soon became the Principality of Theodoro and Genoese Gazaria, respectively.
The Crimean Khanate, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, succeeded the Golden Horde and lasted from 1449 to 1783. In 1571, the Crimean Tatars attacked and sacked Moscow, burning everything but the Kremlin. Until the late 18th century, Crimean Tatars maintained a massive slave trade with the Ottoman Empire, exporting about 2 million slaves from Russia and Ukraine over the period 1500–1700.
The Taurida Oblast was created by a decree of Catherine the Great on 2 February 1784. The center of the oblast was first in Karasubazar but was moved to Simferopol later in 1784. The establishment decree divided the oblast into 7 uyezds. However, by a decree of Paul I on 12 December 1796, the oblast was abolished and the territory, divided into 2 uyezds (Akmechetsky [Акмечетский] and Perekopsky [Перекопский]) was attached to the second incarnation of the Novorossiysk Governorate.
The eleven-month siege of a Russian naval base at Sevastopol during the Crimean War
From 1853 to 1856, the peninsula was the site of the principal engagements of the Crimean War, a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia.
Russian Civil War (1917–1921)
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the military and political situation in Crimea was chaotic like that in much of Russia. During the ensuing Russian Civil War, Crimea changed hands numerous times and was for a time a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White Army. The White Army controlled Crimea before remnants were finally driven out by the Red Army in November 1920. It was in Crimea that the White Russians led by General Wrangel made their last stand against Nestor Makhno and the Red Army. When resistance was crushed, many of the anti-Communist fighters and civilians escaped by ship to Istanbul. Between 56,000 and 150,000 of the Whites were murdered as part of the Red Terror.
The Artek youth camp was created in 1925.
During the Second World War the peninsula was invaded by Nazi Germany and Romanian troops in summer 1941 across the Isthmus of Perekop. Following the capture of Sevastopol on 4 July 1942, Crimea was occupied until German and Romanian forces were expelled in an offensive by Soviet forces ending in May 1944. On 25 June 1946, it was downgraded to the Crimean Oblast, and the Crimean Tatars were deported for alleged collaboration with the Nazi
forces. A total of more than 230,000 people – about a fifth of the
total population of the Crimean Peninsula at that time – were deported,
mainly to Uzbekistan. 14,300 Greeks, 12,075 Bulgarians, and about 10,000 Armenians were also expelled.
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1954–1991)
On 19 February 1954, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree on the transfer of the Crimean region of the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
This Supreme Soviet Decree states that this transfer was motivated by
"the commonality of the economy, the proximity, and close economic and
cultural relations between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR".
At that time no vote or referendum took place, and Crimean population
had no say in the transfer (also typical of other Soviet border
changes). After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation,
doubts have been expressed - from the Russian side by all means, but
even by Western historians (Richard Sakwa, "Frontline Ukraine. Crisis In
the Borderlands", 2015) - about the very legitimacy of the 1954
transition of Crimea to Ukraine; in the critics' view the transition
contradicted even the Soviet law.
In post-war years, Crimea thrived as a tourist destination,
with new attractions and sanatoriums for tourists. Tourists came from
all around the Soviet Union and neighbouring countries, particularly
from the German Democratic Republic.
In time the peninsula also became a major tourist destination for
cruises originating in Greece and Turkey. Crimea's infrastructure and
manufacturing also developed, particularly around the sea ports at Kerch and Sevastopol and in the oblast's landlocked capital, Simferopol. Populations of Ukrainians and Russians alike doubled, with more than 1.6 million Russians and 626,000 Ukrainians living on the peninsula by 1989.
In January 1991, a referendum was held in the Crimean Oblast, and voters approved restoring the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union less than a year later, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was formed as a constituent entity of independent Ukraine, with a slight majority of Crimean voters approving Ukrainian independence in a December referendum. On 5 May 1992, the Crimean legislature declared conditional independence, but a referendum to confirm the decision was never held amid opposition from Kiev,
elected president of Crimea Yuriy Meshkov, was replaced by Kiev
appointed Anatoliy Franchuk, which was done with the intent to rein in
Crimean aspirations of autonomy. The Verkhovna Rada voted to grant Crimea "extensive home rule" during the dispute.
The last election of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea, the parliament of Crimea, took place on 31 October 2010 and was won by the Party of Regions. On 15 March 2014, the Verkhovna Rada
of Ukraine officially dissolved the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea, and, on
17 March 2014, one day before the Russian annexation of Crimea, the State Council of Crimea was established in place of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea.
Russian Federation administration (2014-present)
After the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and flight of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from Kiev on 21 February 2014, Russian President, Vladimir Putin stated to colleagues that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia." Within days, unmarked forces with local militias took over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as occupying several localities in Kherson Oblast on the Arabat Spit,
which is geographically a part of Crimea. Following a controversial
referendum, the official results of which showed majority support for
joining Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty of accession with the self-declared Republic of Crimea, annexing it into the Russian Federation as two federal subjects: the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. Though Russia had control over the peninsula, sovereignty was disputed as Ukraine and the majority of the international community consider the annexation illegal, as was shown by the United Nations General Assembly adopting a non-binding resolution calling upon states not to recognise changes to the integrity of Ukraine. A range of international sanctions have remained in place against Russia and a number of named individuals as a result of the events of 2014.
June 2015: Tourists in Crimea with Russian flag flying
Russia withdrew its forces from southern Kherson in December 2014
Since Russian control over Crimea was established in 2014, the
peninsula has been administered as part of the Russian Federation except
for the northern areas of the Arabat Spit and the Syvash which are still controlled by Ukraine.
Within days of the signing of the accession treaty, the process
of integrating Crimea into the Russian federation began: in March the Russian ruble went into official circulation and clocks were moved forward to Moscow time, in April a new revision of the Russian Constitution was officially released with the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol included in the list of federal subjects of the Russian Federation, and in June the Russian ruble became the only form of legal tender. In July 2015, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia.
Since 2014, the Russian government has been investing heavily in
the peninsula’s infrastructure—repairing roads, modernizing hospitals
and building the Crimean Bridge that links the peninsula to the Russian mainland. New sources of water have been developed to replace closed Ukrainian sources, and Crimea's electrical infrastructure has been replaced with Russian energy sources. It has also modernised the Simferopol International Airport.
The history of Crimea is complex as it lies at a conjunction of
European and Asian peoples, with a mosaic of distinct and affiliated
ethnic communities. From the ancient period to the medieval period, the
principal ethnic communities classed by linguistic origins are:
The Indo-European language family:
The Iranian language group comprising the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and the Alans
The Greek language group comprising the Greeks, Byzantines, and the Spartocids (hellenized)
The Italic language group comprising the Romans, Venetians, and the Genoese
The Germanic language group comprising the Goths, Ashkenazi Jews
The Slavic language group comprising the Slavs
The Armenian language group comprising the Armenians
The Semitic language group comprising the Jews
The Turkic language family comprising the Bulgars, Khazars, Kipchaks, Tatars, Turkicized Greeks (Urums) and the Ottomans
The Mongolic family is represented by the Mongols
The Huns were of uncertain linguistic origins.
From the medieval period to the early modern period
additional ethnic communities migrated to the area, prominent
representation includes the Armenian, German, Serbian, and Jewish ethnic
communities.
Covering an area of 27,000 km2 (10,425 sq mi), Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the Sea of Azov, the only land border is shared with Ukraine's Kherson Oblast from the north. Crimea is almost an island and only connected to the continent by the Isthmus of Perekop, a strip of land about 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) wide.
The natural border between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland is formed by the Sivash or "Rotten Sea", a large system of shallow lagoons between Russia by Kerch Strait. Beside isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast's Henichesk Raion bridges over the narrow Chonhar and Henichesk straits and Kerch Strait to the Krasnodar Krai. The northern part of Arabat Spit is administratively part of Henichesk Raion in Kherson Oblast, including its two rural communities of Shchaslyvtseve and Strilkove. The eastern tip of the peninsula is the Kerch Peninsula, separated from Taman Peninsula on the Russian mainland by the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, at a width of between 3–13 kilometres (1.9–8.1 mi).
Geographically, the peninsula is generally divided into three zones: steppe, mountains and southern coast.
The Crimean coastline is broken by several bays and harbors. These harbors lie west of the Isthmus of Perekop by the Bay of Karkinit; on the southwest by the open Bay of Kalamita between the port cities of Yevpatoria and Sevastopol.
The Kerch Peninsula is attached to the Crimean mainland by Isthmus of Yenikale, delimited by the Bay of Arabat to the north (interrputed by the incoming Arabat Spit), and the Bay of Caffa to the south (arching eastward from the port of Feodosiya).
Crimean Mountains
Eclizee-Burun Mountain
The southeast coast is flanked at a distance of 8–12 kilometres (5.0–7.5 mi) from the sea by a parallel range of mountains, the Crimean Mountains. These mountains are backed by secondary parallel ranges.
The main range of these mountains shoots up with extraordinary
abruptness from the deep floor of the Black Sea to an altitude of
600–1,545 metres (1,969–5,069 ft), beginning at the southwest point of
the peninsula, called Cape Fiolente. It was believed that this cape was supposedly crowned with the temple of Artemis, where Iphigeneia is said to have officiated as priestess.
Uchan-su, on the south slope of the mountains, is the highest waterfall in Crimea.
Hydrography
There are 257 rivers and major streams on the Crimean peninsula which
are primarily fed by rainwater, with snowmelt playing a very minor
role. This means there is significant annual fluctuation in water flow
with many streams drying up completely during the summer. The largest rivers are the Salhir (Salğır, Салгир), the Kacha (Кача), the Alma (Альма), and the Belbek (Бельбек). Also important are the Kokozka (Kökköz or Коккозка), the Indole (Indol or Индо́л), the Chorna (Çorğun, Chernaya or Чёрная), the Derekoika (Dereköy or Дерекойка),
the Karasu-Bashi (Biyuk-Karasu or Биюк-Карасу) (tributary of Salhir
river), the Burulcha (Бурульча) (tributary of Salhir river), the Uchan-su,
and the Ulu-Uzen'. The longest river of Crimea is the Salhir at 204 km.
The Belbek has the greatest average discharge at 2.16 cubic metres per
second (76 cu ft/s). The Alma and the Kacha are the second and third longest rivers.
There are more than fifty salt lakes and salt pans on the peninsula, the largest of them is Lake Sasyk (Сасык) on the southwest coast, but others include Aqtas, Koyashskoye, Kiyatskoe, Kirleutskoe, Kizil-Yar, Bakalskoe, and Donuzlav. The general trend is for the former lakes to become salt pans. Lake Syvash (Sıvaş or Сива́ш) is a system of interconnected shallow lagoons
on the northern coast, which covers an area of around 2,560 km2. There
are a number of dams that have created reservoirs, among the largest are
the Simferopolskoye, Alminskoye, the Taygansky and the Belogorsky just south of Bilohirsk in Bilohirsk Raion. The North Crimea Canal, which transports water from the Dnieper, is the largest of the man-made irrigation channels on the peninsula.
Steppe
Seventy-five percent of the remaining area of Crimea consists of semiarid prairie lands, a southward continuation of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, which slope gently to the northwest from the foot of the Crimean Mountains.
Numerous kurgans, or burial mounds, of the ancient Scythians are scattered across the Crimean steppes.
The terrain that lies beyond the sheltering Crimean Mountain range is
of an altogether different character. Here, the narrow strip of coast
and the slopes of the mountains are smothered with greenery. This
"riviera" stretches along the southeast coast from capes Fiolente and Aya, in the south, to Feodosiya, and is studded with summer sea-bathing resorts such as Alupka, Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta, Sudak, and Feodosiya. During the years of Soviet rule, the resorts and dachas of this coast served as the prime perquisites of the politically loyal.
In addition, vineyards and fruit orchards are located in the region.
Fishing, mining, and the production of essential oils are also
important. Numerous Crimean Tatar villages, mosques, monasteries,
and palaces of the Russian imperial family and nobles are found here,
as well as picturesque ancient Greek and medieval castles.
The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion. The natural vegetation consists of scrublands, woodlands, and forests, with a climate and vegetation similar to the Mediterranean Basin.
Climate
Crimea's south coast has a subtropical climate
Crimea is located between the temperate and subtropical climate belts and is characterized by warm and sunny weather. It is characterized by the diversity and presence of microclimates. The northern parts of Crimea have a moderate continental climate with short, mild winters and moderately hot dry summers. In the central and mountainous areas, the climate is transitional between the continental climate to the north and the Mediterranean climate to the south. Winters are mild at lower altitudes (in the foothills) and colder at higher altitdues. Summers are hot at lower altitudes and warm in the mountains.
A subtropical, Mediterranean climate is found in the southern coastal
regions, and is characterized by mild winters and moderately hot, dry
summers.
The climate of Crimea is influenced by its geographic location, relief, and influences from the Black sea. The Crimean coast is shielded from cold air masses coming from north and as a result has milder winters.
Maritime influences from the Black Sea are restricted to coastal areas;
inside the peninsula, the influence is weak and does not play an
important role.
Because a high pressure system is located north of Crimea in both
summer and winter, winds predominantly come from the north and northeast
year-round. In winter, these winds bring in cold, dry continental air while in summer, it brings in dry and hot weather.
Winds from the northwest bring warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean
and are responsible for bringing precipitation during spring and
summer.
As well, winds from the southwest bring very warm and wet air from the
subtropical latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea
and are responsible for bringing precipitation during fall and winter.
Mean annual temperatures range from 10 °C (50.0 °F) in the far north (Armiansk) to 13 °C (55.4 °F) in the far south (Yalta). In the mountains, the mean annual temperature is around 5.7 °C (42.3 °F). For every 100 m (330 ft) increase in altitude, temperatures decrease by 0.65 °C (1.17 °F) while precipitation increases. In January, mean temperatures range from −3 °C (26.6 °F) in Armiansl to 4.4 °C (39.9 °F) in Myskhor.
Cool season temperatures average around 7 °C (44.6 °F) and it is rare
for the weather to drop below freezing except in the mountains, where
there is usually snow. In July, mean temperatures range from 15.4 °C (59.7 °F) in Ai-Petri to 23.4 °C (74.1 °F) in the central parts of Crimea to 24.4 °C (75.9 °F) in Myskhor. The frost free period ranges from 160–200 days in the steppe and mountains regions to 240–260 days on the south coast.
Precipitation in Crimea varies significantly based on location; it ranges from 310 millimetres (12.2 in) in Chornomorske to 1,220 millimetres (48.0 in) at the highest altitudes in the Crimean mountains. The Crimean mountains greatly influence the amount of precipitation present in the peninsula. However, most of Crimea (88.5%) receives 300 to 500 millimetres (11.8 to 19.7 in) of precipitation per year.
The plains usually receive 300 to 400 millimetres (11.8 to 15.7 in) of
precipitation per year, increasing to 560 millimetres (22.0 in) in the
southern coast at sea level. The western parts of the Crimean mountains receive more than 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) of precipitation per year. Snowfall is predominant in the mountains during winter.
Most of the peninsula receives more than 2,000 sunshine hours per
year; it reaches up to 2,505 sunshine hours in Karabi–Yayla in the
Crimean mountains. As a result, the climate is favorable for recreation and tourism.
Because of its climate and subsidized travel packages from Russian
state-run companies, the southern Crimean coast has remained a popular
resort for Russian tourists.
The Dnieper River
is a major waterway and transportation route that crosses the European
continent from north to south and ultimately links the Black Sea with
the Baltic Sea, of strategic importance since the historical trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The Black Sea serves as an economic thoroughfare connecting the Caucasus region and the Caspian Sea to central and Eastern Europe.
Tourism is an important sector of Crimea's economy
In 2016 Crimea had Nominal GDP of US$ 6.7 billion and US$ 3,000 per capita.
The main branches of the modern Crimean economy are agriculture
& fishing oysters pearls else, industry & manufacturing along
mining and chemical, tourism, ports. Industrial plants are situated for
the most part in the southern coast (Eupatoria Sevastopol Feodosia
Kerch) regions of the republic, few northern (Armyansk Krasnoperekopsk
Dzhankoj), aside central area, mainly Simferopol okrug and eastern
region in Nizhnegorsk (few plants, same for Dzhankoj) city . Important
industrial cities include Dzhankoy, housing a major railway connection, Krasnoperekopsk and Armyansk, among others.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in early 2014 and
subsequent sanctions targeting Crimea, the tourist industry suffered
major losses for two years. The flow of holidaymakers dropped 35 percent
in the first half of 2014 over the same period of 2013. The number of tourist arrivals reached a record in 2012 at 6.1 million. According to the Russian administration of Crimea, they dropped to 3.8 million in 2014, and rebounded to 5.6 million by 2016.
The most important industries in Crimea include food production,
chemical fields, mechanical engineering and metal working, and fuel
production industries.
Sixty percent of the industry market belongs to food production. There
are a total of 291 large industrial enterprises and 1002 small business
enterprises.
Agriculture in the region includes cereals, vegetable-growing, gardening, and wine-making, particularly in the Yalta and Massandra regions. Livestock production includes cattle breeding, poultry keeping, and sheep breeding. Other products produced on the Crimean Peninsula include salt, porphyry, limestone, and ironstone (found around Kerch) since ancient times.
In 2014, the republic's annual GDP was $4.3 billion (500 times
smaller than the size of Russia's economy). The average salary was $290
per month. The budget deficit was $1.5 billion.
Energy
Crimea also possesses several natural gas fields both onshore and offshore, which were starting to be drilled by western oil and gas companies before annexation. The inland fields are located in Chornomorske and Dzhankoy, while offshore fields are located in the western coast in the Black Sea and in the northeastern coast in the Azov Sea:
Crimea has 540 MW of its own electricity generation capacity
including Simferopol Thermal Power Plant (100 MW), Sevastopol Thermal
Power Plant (22 MW) and Kamish-Burunskaya Thermal Power Plant (19 MW).
This is insufficient for local consumption and since annexation by
Russia, Crimea is reliant on an underwater power cable to mainland
Russia.
Building and near start up are two combined cycle gas steam turbo
thermal plants PGU, both 470 MW (116 167 MW GT, 235 MW block), build
(plant) by TPE along others and turbines by Power Machines (UTZ
KalugaTZ ?), NPO Saturn with Perm PMZ, either GTD-110M modified or
GTE-160 or 180 units or UTZ KTZ or a V94.2 bought by MAPNA, modified in
Russian plants for PGU Thermal plants specifics. Also many solar
photovoltaic SES plants lie along the peninsula (north of Sevastopol
too, a smaller facility). Also gas thermal Saki plant close to Jodobrom
chemical plant and SaKhZ(SaChP) boosted production with Perm GTE GTU25P
(PS90GP25 25 MW aeroderivative GP) PGU turbogenerators. Older plants are
Sevastopol TEC (close to Inkerman) which use AEG and Ganz Elektro
turbines and turbogenerators abot 25 MW each, Sinferopol TEC (north, in
Agrarne locale) Eupatoria, Kamysh Burun TEC (Kerch south - Zaliv) and
few others.
Infrastructure
Trolleybus near Alushta
The cableway in Yalta
Crimean Bridge
In May 2015, work began on a multibillion-dollar road-rail bridge
across the Kerch Strait, sometimes referred to as 'Putin's Bridge'. The
road section opened in May 2018, and it is projected to be fully
completed and operational by 2019.
Public transportation
Almost every settlement in Crimea is connected with another
settlement by bus lines. Crimea contains the longest (96 km or 59 mi) trolleybus route in the world, stretching from Simferopol to Yalta. The trolleybus line starts near Simferopol's Railway Station (in Soviet times it started near Simferopol International Airport) through the mountains to Alushta and on to Yalta. The length of line is about 90 km. It was founded in 1959.
Railroad lines running through Crimea include Armyansk—Kerch (with a link to Feodosiya), and Melitopol—Sevastopol (with a link to Yevpatoria), connecting Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland.
International airport
Simferopol International Airport's new terminal opened in from April 2018 with the ability to handle 6.5 million passengers a year. It was built in 22 months and covers an area of 78,000 square meters.
Highways
(building) Tavrida highway (route (Eupatoria-)Sevastopol - Simferopol (SW to W N to East ring) - Belogorsk - north Feodosia - Kerch south (strait bridge) .
Sevastopol Sinferopol, Dzhankoi Nezhgorsk (Feodosia) Kerch, Kerch (bridge) Taman Krasnodar
project building shortcut north Simferopol south Nezhgorsk or Sinferopol Belogorsk (Feodosia) Kerch route
Sea transport
The cities of Yalta, Feodosiya, Kerch, Sevastopol, Chornomorske and Yevpatoria are connected to one another by sea routes. In the cities of Yevpatoria and nearby townlet Molochnoye are tram systems.
Mosque and yard in the Khan Palace in Bakhchisaray
The development of Crimea as a holiday destination began in the
second half of the 19th century. The development of the transport
networks brought masses of tourists from central parts of the Russian Empire.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a major development of palaces,
villas, and dachas began—most of which remain. These are some of the
main attractions of Crimea as a tourist destination. There are many Crimean legends about famous touristic places, which attract the attention of tourists.
A new phase of tourist development began when the Soviet
government realised the potential of the healing quality of the local
air, lakes and therapeutic muds. It became a "health" destination for
Soviet workers, and hundreds of thousands of Soviet tourists visited
Crimea.
Artek is a former Young Pioneer camp on the Black Sea in the town of Hurzuf, near Ayu-Dag,
established in 1925. In 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km². The camp
consisted of 150 buildings Unlike most of the young pioneer camps, Artek
was an all-year camp, due to the warm climate. Artek was considered to
be a privilege for Soviet children during its existence, as well as for
children from other communist countries. During its heyday, 27,000
children a year vacationed at Artek. Between 1925 and 1969 the camp
hosted 300,000 children. After the breaking up of the Young Pioneers in 1991 its prestige declined, though it remained a popular vacation destination.
In the 1990s, Crimea became more of a get-away destination than a
"health-improvement" destination. The most visited areas are the south
shore of Crimea with cities of Yalta and Alushta, the western shore –
Eupatoria and Saki, and the south-eastern shore – Feodosia and Sudak.
According to National Geographic, Crimea was among the top 20 travel destinations in 2013.
Following Russia's largely unrecognized annexation of Crimea, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several other countries (including Ukraine) imposed economic sanctions
against Russia, including some specifically targeting Crimea. Many of
these sanctions were directed at individuals—both Russian and Crimean. In general they prohibit the sale, supply, transfer, or export of goods
and technology in several sectors, including services directly related
to tourism and infrastructure. They list seven ports where cruise ships cannot dock. Sanctions against individuals include travel bans and asset freezes. Visa and MasterCard stopped service in Crimea in December 2014.
To get around this, a new Russian national payment card system started
on 1 April 2015, which allowed Visa and MasterCard cards issued by
Russian banks to work in the Crimea. The Mir (payment system) operated by the Central Bank of Russia is now functioning as well as Master Card and Visa. However, there are no major international banks in the Crimea.
Politics
The politics of Crimea is that of the Republic of Crimea on one hand, and that of the federal city of Sevastopol on the other. Since becoming the 84th and 85th Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation in 2014, both have strongly supported United Russia in both local and national elections.
United Russia maintained its position as the most supported political party across Crimea at the Russian legislative election on 18 September 2016, achieving 72.8% of the vote. At 49.1%, turnout was slightly ahead of that for Russia as a whole which was only 47.8%.
As of 2014, the total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was 2,248,400 people (Republic of Crimea: 1,889,485, Sevastopol: 395,000). This is down from the 2001 Ukrainian Census figure, which was 2,376,000 (Autonomous Republic of Crimea: 2,033,700, Sevastopol: 342,451).
According to the 2014 Russian census, 84% of Crimean inhabitants named Russian as their native language; 7.9% – Crimean Tatar; 3.7% – Tatar; and 3.3% – Ukrainian. It was the first official Russian census in Crimea since Ukrainian that held in 2001.
According to the 2001 census, 77% of Crimean inhabitants named Russian as their native language; 11.4% – Crimean Tatar; and 10.1% – Ukrainian.
In 2013, however, the Crimean Tatar language was estimated to be on the
brink of extinction, being taught in Crimea only in around 15 schools
at that point. Turkey provided the greatest support to Tatars in
Ukraine, which had been unable to resolve the problem of education in
their mother tongue in Crimea, by bringing the schools to a modern
state.
Ethnic composition of Crimea's population has changed dramatically since the early 20th century. The 1897 Russian Empire Census for the Taurida Governorate
reported: 196,854 (13.06%) Crimean Tatars, 404,463 (27.94%) Russians
and 611,121 (42.21%) Ukrainians. But these numbers included Berdyansky,
Dneprovsky and Melitopolsky uyezds which were on mainland, not in Crimea.
Crimean Tatars, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority who in 2001 made up 12.1% of the population, formed in Crimea in the late Middle Ages, after the Crimean Khanate had come into existence. The Crimean Tatars were forcibly expelled to Central Asia by Joseph Stalin's government as a form of collective punishment, on the grounds that they had formed pro-German Tatar Legions. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars began to return to the region. According to the 2001 Ukrainian population census, 58% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians and 24% are ethnic Ukrainians.
Jews in Crimea were historically Krymchaks and Karaites (the latter a small group centered at Yevpatoria).
The 1879 census for the Taurida Governorate reported a Jewish
population of 4.20%, not including a Karaite population of 0.43%.
The Krymchaks (but not the Karaites) were targeted for annihilation during Nazi occupation.
The number of Crimea Germans
was 60,000 in 1939. During WWII, they were forcibly deported on the
orders of Stalin, as they were regarded as a potential "fifth column". This was part of the 800,000 Germans in Russia who were relocated within the Soviet Union during Stalinist times.
The 2001 Ukrainian census reports just 2,500 ethnic Germans (0.1% of population) in Crimea.
Besides the Crimean Germans, Stalin in 1944 also deported 70,000 Greeks, 14,000 Bulgarians and 3,000 Italians.
Religion
In 2013, Orthodox Christians made up 58% of the Crimean population,
followed by Muslims (15%) and believers in God without religion (10%).
Almost 100 broadcasters and around 1,200 publications are registered
in Crimea, although no more than a few dozen operate or publish
regularly. Of them most use the Russian language only. Crimea's first Tatar-owned, Tatar-language TV launched in 2006.
Alexander Pushkin visited Bakhchysarai in 1820 and later wrote the poem The Fountain of Bakhchisaray. Crimea was the background for Adam Mickiewicz's seminal work, The Crimean Sonnets inspired by his 1825 travel. A series of 18 sonnets
constitute an artistic telling of a journey to and through the Crimea,
they feature romantic descriptions of the oriental nature and culture of
the East which show the despair of an exile longing for the homeland,
driven from his home by a violent enemy.
Ivan Aivazovsky, the 19th-century marine painter of Armenian origin, who is considered one of the major artists of his era was born in Feodosia
and lived there for the most part of his life. Many of his paintings
depict the Black Sea. He also created battle paintings during the
Crimean War.
Crimean Tatar singer Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 representing Ukraine with her song 1944, about the historic deportation of Crimean Tatars in that year by Soviet authorities.
According to the, broken in practice by Russian companies,
Ukrainian “law on concert activities” only Ukrainian companies can
organise concerts in Crimea.
Painting of the Russian squadron in Sevastopol by Ivan Aivazovsky (1846)
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