Demographic ballad: how many inhabitants in the Crimea?

Not so long ago, Russia annexed new (old) territories - the city of Sevastopol and Crimea. The peninsula has a long and intricate demographic history. To understand how many residents in the Crimea, little naked facts. We need details, at times mournful and tragic. Let's understand. Crimea is a multinational land. In the list of nationalities there are more than one hundred names. Naturally, how many inhabitants in the Crimea are notably influenced by not all, but only by numerous peoples.

Results of the last census

The last time the exact calculation was carried out thirteen years ago. Then the peninsula inhabited 2,024,056 citizens of different nationalities. Most of them are Russian. It should be noted that, according to official figures, the population is constantly decreasing. Those indicators that characterize the demographics of the period of 1989-2001 are called a real catastrophe. During this time, the number of Crimean residents decreased by almost 400 thousand people! This figure is relative, since it characterizes the decrease in the background of the migration of the Crimean-Tatar people, which occurred during the period. The actual decrease is much higher.

Historical facts: how the peninsula was populated

Studying the population of the Crimea, one can not help turning to the events that determined the demographic situation. The Russians began to live here a very long time, back in the tenth century. It is known that the territory of the peninsula was created Tmutarakan principality. Then the Slavs did not exert much influence on the number of inhabitants in the Crimea. The majority were Crimean Tatars, Greeks and others. Since 1771, a more thorough development of the territory by the Russians, who introduced their troops here, began. For two centuries the ratio of the national composition of the population has changed, since many settlers from Russia have developed new lands, and subjects of the Ottoman Empire moved to Turkey. By the beginning of the last century, Russians had become the predominant nation on the peninsula (41.2%), while the share of Crimean Tatars decreased to 28.7% (from 87.8%).

Deportation

The events of the Patriotic War influenced the actual composition of the population of the peninsula. As a result of political decisions, some of the peoples were evicted to other territories. If we consider the facts according to which more than 309 thousand people were exported, then one can be surprised how many residents in the Crimea were traitors. It's not like that at all. These people were moved to Central Asia in order to reduce the threat of tension in the territories near the border. The country was at war, the risks were too serious. A total of 380 thousand people remained on the peninsula. A new filling of the peninsula by the settlers of the Slavic nationalities began. By 1959 there were already more than a million people here. In subsequent years, the proportions of Russians and Ukrainians in the total number gradually changed. The share of the latter increased somewhat. But most of the population of any nationality considered the native language Russian.

Rehabilitation and new resettlement

The number of residents in the Crimea began to increase again, since the sixties. Gradually, the deported population began to return to the peninsula. Significant figures become the end of the last century. So, in 1999, more than three hundred thousand people moved to the Crimea. Despite such an impressive figure, the number of residents in the Crimea was declining. This is due, most likely, to the difficulties affecting the entire population of the collapsed country. A positive indicator of natural growth was recorded only in 2012. Prior to this, the population was steadily decreasing, as the death rate exceeded the birth rate.

Seasonal indicators

There is one more answer to the question of how many residents in the Crimea. The peninsula is a very popular resort. Therefore, its population is steadily increasing by about six million people in the summer. If this figure is not taken into account by statistics, then it affects the economy. The fact is that all this "temporary" population needs to be fed, to satisfy its domestic needs, to entertain and so on. The most difficult is the question of convenience. The fact is that the peninsula has little water, it is supplied via canals from the mainland. Therefore, the arrival of such a huge number of vacationers pleases the Crimeans, but overloads the municipal services, which is constantly threatened with an ecological explosion. Unfortunately, the large-scale reconstruction of this important sphere of life activity did not take place until the peninsula remained part of Ukraine. Until now, many villages are not provided with running water. For their needs, residents punch holes. Their filling is also problematic, since in the dry period the water falls below fifty meters.

Recent history

One might think that the transition of the territory from one state to another will affect the population as well. However, this opinion is erroneous. According to official data, only a few thousand servicemen left the peninsula, employees of specialized services. The overwhelming majority of people gladly accepts new citizenship.