Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. Called the Tauric Peninsula until the early modern period, Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the Graeco-Roman world and the steppe.

Quotes

• I understand that the Crimea Autonomous Republic has been working hard to resettle the Tatar returnees and attend to their needs. We empathise with the Crimean Tatars' struggle to rebuild their lives and reclaim their national and cultural rights in the face of difficult social and economic obstacles. In solidarity with the people of the Crimea Autonomous Republic, the Government of Malaysia is pleased to contribute a sum of US$ 10,000 for the reconstruction of the mosque in the city of Evpatoria. We sincerely hope that this modest contribution from us could help bring back in a small way the environment with which you have been familiar with.
  • Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, [1] (15 July 2003)

• The Crimean landscapes are remarkably unique. The resort cities form amphitheaters at the foot of mountains, on the shores of tranquil, cozy bays. The evergreen parks, the quaint summits with glistening snowcaps, the white-stone sanitarium buildings, the blue of the sea expanses, create a splendid harmony of colors.
  • A. Shuster, Krym (Kiev: Ministerstva Kulturi U.R.S.R., 1961), p. 6; quoted by Brian Glyn Williams, The Crimean Tatars (Oxford, 2016), p. 115

• Среди зеленых волн, лобзающих Тавриду,
  На утренней заре я видел Нереиду.
  Сокрытый меж дерев, едва я смел дохнуть:
  Над ясной влагою полубогиня грудь
  Младую, белую как лебедь, воздымала
  И пену из власов струею выжимала.
  • Among the glaucous waves that kiss gold Tauris' beaches
    I saw a Nereid, as dawn flushed heaven's reaches.
    I barely dared to breathe, hid in the olive trees,
    While the young demigoddess rose above the seas;
    Her young, her swan-white breast above the waters lifting,
    From her soft hair she wrung the foam in garlands drifting.
  • Alexander Pushkin, «Нереиды» (wr. 1820; pub. 1824); translated by Babette Deutsch and Avrahm Yarmolinsky, "A Nereid", Modern Russian Poetry (1921), p. 5

• В Крыму буквально всё пронизано нашей общей историей и гордостью. Здесь древний Херсонес, где принял крещение святой князь Владимир. Его духовный подвиг – обращение к православию – предопределил общую культурную, ценностную, цивилизационную основу, которая объединяет народы России, Украины и Белоруссии. В Крыму – могилы русских солдат, мужеством которых Крым в 1783 году был взят под Российскую державу. Крым – это Севастополь, город-легенда, город великой судьбы, город-крепость и Родина русского черноморского военного флота. Крым – это Балаклава и Керчь, Малахов курган и Сапун-гора. Каждое из этих мест свято для нас, это символы русской воинской славы и невиданной доблести.
  • Everything in Crimea speaks of our shared history and pride. This is the location of ancient Khersones, where Prince Vladimir was baptised. His spiritual feat of adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the overall basis of the culture, civilisation and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The graves of Russian soldiers whose bravery brought Crimea into the Russian empire are also in Crimea. This is also Sevastopol – a legendary city with an outstanding history, a fortress that serves as the birthplace of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Crimea is Balaklava and Kerch, Malakhov Kurgan and Sapun Ridge. Each one of these places is dear to our hearts, symbolising Russian military glory and outstanding valour.
  • Vladimir Putin, Speech to the Federal Assembly of Russia (18 March 2014), translated by Wikisource (8 May 2023)

• Красочна крымская красота.
  В мире палитры богаче нету.
  Такие встречаются здесь цвета,
  что и названья не знаешь цвету.
  Но в окруженье тюльпанов да роз,
  я не покрылся забвенья ряской:
  светлую дымку твоих волос
  Крым никакой не закрасит краской.
  • ?
  • Yaroslav Smelyakov, «Крымские краски» (1940); Стихотворения и поэмы, 2nd ed. (Leningrad, 1979)