Sevastopol
From Freepedia
- For other uses, see Sevastopol (disambiguation).
| city of Sevastopol’ місто Севастополь Image:Map of Ukraine political simple City Sewastopol.png | |
|---|---|
| population total | 328,600 (2004) |
| area | 900 km² |
| raions cities city districts urban-type localities villages | - 2 4 1 29 |
| includes town of Inkerman, Kacha urban-type locality, and rural councils | |
Sevastopol (Севастополь, Sevastopol’ in Russian and Ukrainian; Aqyar in Crimean Tatar), formerly known as Sebastopol, is a port city in Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of Crimean peninsula. It has a population of 328,600 (2004). Home of the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet, the city is still a Russian naval base.
The unique geographic location and navigation conditions of the city's harbours make Sevastopol an ever-important naval point.
It is also a popular seaside resort and tourist destination, mainly for visitors from the CIS countries.
The trade and shipbuilding importance of Sevastopol's port is growing since the fall of the Soviet Union despite the difficulties that occur from the joint military control over harbours and piers.
Also, Sevastopol is an important centre of marine biology. In particular, studying and training of dolphins has been developing in the city since the end of World War II, initially as a secret naval programme of using these animals in underwater special operations.
Contents |
Political status and subdivision
Image:Sevastopol gerb1.gif Administratively, Sevastopol is a municipality independent from surrounding Crimean autonomy (see Subdivisions of Ukraine for more details). It is further subdivided into four raions. Some of the raions include dependent towns and village (rural) communities that were subsumed by Sevastopol earlier, the most notable among those being Balaklava, Inkerman and Kacha.
History
Sevastopol rivals Kronstadt and Gibraltar as the most famous naval citadel in Europe. It was founded in 1783, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula. It became an important naval base and later a commercial port. It was besieged by the British and French during the Crimean War, falling after 11 months. A panorama created by Franz Roubaud, and restored after its destruction in 1942, is housed in a purpose-built building, and depicts the situation at the height of the siege, on 18 June 1855.
During World War II Sevastopol withstood an Axis siege for 250 days in 1941–1942. It was awarded the title of Hero City in 1945.
In 1954, the city with the rest of Crimea was transferred by the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to the Ukrainian SSR as a gesture to mark the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav between Ukrainian Cossacks and Russia. At that time, the city was not incorporated in the Crimean Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR, but was formally subordinate to Kiev (actually to Moscow).
In 1957, the town of Balaklava was incorporated into Sevastopol.
Like the rest of Crimea, the town remains predominantly Russophone, although there have been some attempts of Ukrainization following the independence of Ukraine.
Etymology of the Name
Sevastopolis (Greek: Σεβαστόπολις) like in other cities at the peninsula of Crimea is a name with a Greek origin and a Greek etymology.
It is a synthetic of two Greek nouns, Sevastos (highly respectable, in direct translation) and Polis (city).
Sevastos or Se{b}astos (Greek: Σε{β=b}αστός) was also a Byzantine synonym of the roman "Augustus" (=directly translated as "Majesty"; someone with a divine origin, thus highly respectable by others).
The Roman/Byzantine emperors were called by the name Augustus (Greek: Αύγουστος)
There is a posibility that the city was named after the tsaritsa Catherine II of Russia, who was the founder of Sebastopol as the Polis (=city) of the Sebasta (fem.) (=Augusta, =Tsaritsa)
Russian naval base and Ukraine-Russia Black Sea Fleet dispute
- Image:Stop hand.png The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please view the article's talk page.
According to a 1997 treaty, the Russian naval base is declared to be "located in Sevastopol" on the terms of lasting rent, following a long diplomatic and political dispute between Russia and the newly independent Ukraine. At first, Moscow refused to recognize Ukrainian sovereignty over Sevastopol as well as over the surrounding Crimean oblast, arguing that the city was never practically integrated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic due to its military base status. This was later resolved by the bilateral "Peace & Friendship" treaty, stating that Sevastopol belongs to Ukraine.
Despite this, naval base command and Russian-backed organisations actually control the city, dominating its business and cultural life. Russian society (including highest statesmen) in fact never agreed with the loss of Sevastopol, considering it as temporarily parted from their country. Moscow city authorities, guided by Mayor Luzhkov, continuously sponsor pro-Russian social, educational and cultural activities in Sevastopol (especially those related to Russian Navy servicemen and their families). These activities are directed to promote the city's practical independence from the rest of Ukraine. While Ukrainian-appointed authorities retain formal control of Sevastopol's life (such as of taxation and civil policing), trying to avoid confrontation with base command and Moscow-oriented groups. A few years ago the Communist-dominated city council rejected EBRD loan for renovation of Sevastopol's poor sewage system, declaring that the project intended to increase the city's dependence on the Ukrainian government and the West.
The ex-Soviet Black Sea Fleet with all facilities was divided between Russia's Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy after a continuous struggle. Two navies now share some of the city's few harbours and piers, while others were demilitarised or controlled by one country. Sevastopol remains the home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Headquarters, while Ukrainian Naval HQ is also based in the city. A judicial row continues over naval hydrographic infrastructure (see hydrographic office) in Sevastopol and on the Crimean coast (especially lighthouses used in civil navigation support).
External links
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- "Narodny Oglyadach" ezine reports on morale situation in Russian naval base in Sevastopol : http://observer.sd.org.ua/news.php?id=3962
- BBC News reports on WWII bomb destroyed in Sevastopol: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3470099.stm
- BBC News reports on Russian Navy in Sevastopol:[1][2][3][4]
| Subdivisions of Ukraine | Image:Ukraine flag large.png | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| oblasts: | Cherkasy | Chernihiv | Chernivtsi | Dnipropetrovsk | Donetsk | Ivano-Frankivsk | Kharkiv | Kherson | Khmelnytskyi | Kirovohrad | Kiev | Luhansk | Lviv | Mykolaiv | Odessa | Poltava | Rivne | Sumy | Ternopil | Vinnytsia | Volyn | Zakarpattia | Zaporizhia | Zhytomyr | ||
| autonomous republic: | Crimea | ||
| cities with special status: | Kiev | Sevastopol | ||
Categories: NPOV disputes | Subdivisions of Ukraine | Coastal cities | Cities in Ukraine | Ukrainian Navy | Russian Navy | Crimean towns
