Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Autonomous Republic of Crimea Автономна Республіка Крим Автономная Республика Крым Qırım Muhtar Cumhuriyeti
Autonomous republic of Ukraine[a]
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина" (Russian) Nivy i gory tvoi volshebny, Rodina  (transliteration) Your fields and mountains are magical, Motherland
Location of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (red) in Ukraine (light yellow) before September 2023
Location of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (light yellow) in the Crimean Peninsula
Autonomy	12 February 1991
Constitution	21 October 1998
Russian occupation	20 February 2014[b]
Annexed by Russia	18 March 2014[2]
Capital and largest city	Simferopol
Official languages	Ukrainian, Russian, Crimean Tatar[3]
Ethnic groups (2001)	60.12% Russians 25.78% Ukrainians 14.1% Crimean Tatars
Government	Autonomous republic
• Presidential Representative	Tamila Tasheva
Legislature	Supreme Assembly (suspended)
Area
• Total	26,100 km2 (10,100 sq mi)
Population
• 2001 census	2,033,700
• Density	77.9/km2 (201.8/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	UA-43

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,^[4][5] while the City of Sevastopol (a city with special status within Ukraine) occupies the rest.

The Cimmerians, Bulgars, Greeks, Scythians, Goths, Huns, Khazars, the state of Kievan Rus', Byzantine Greeks, Kipchaks, Ottoman Turks, Golden Horde Tatars and the Mongols each controlled Crimea in its earlier history. In the 13th century, it was partly controlled by the Venetians and by the Genoese. They were followed by the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire in the 15th to 18th centuries, the Russian Empire in the 18th to 20th centuries, Germany during World War II, and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and later the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, within the Soviet Union during the rest of the 20th century until Crimea became part of independent Ukraine with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

After the Revolution of Dignity in February 2014, Russian troops took control of the territory.^[6] Russia formally annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014, incorporating the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol as the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia.^[7] While Russia and 17 other UN member states recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, Ukraine continues to claim Crimea as an integral part of its territory, supported by most foreign governments and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262.^[8]

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine^[4] and was governed by the Constitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine. The capital and administrative seat of the republic's government is the city of Simferopol, located in the centre of the peninsula. Crimea's area is 26,200 square kilometres (10,100 sq mi) and its population was 1,973,185 as of 2007. These figures do not include the area and population of the City of Sevastopol (2007 population: 379,200), which is administratively separate from the autonomous republic. The peninsula thus has 2,352,385 people (2007 estimate).

Crimean Tatars, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority who in 2001 made up 12.10% of the population,^[9] 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. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars began to return to the region.^[10] According to the 2001 Ukrainian population census 58% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians and 24% are ethnic Ukrainians.^[9] The region has the highest proportion of Muslims in Ukraine.^[9]

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