Russian family, descendants of Russian immigrants to the Crimea of ​​the XVIII century, in the village
Russian family, descendants of Russian immigrants to the Crimea of ​​the XVIII century, in the village
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Resettlement policy of tsarism

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German colonies in Sudak (photo of the beginning of the XX century)
German colonies in Sudak (photo of the beginning of the XX century)

The tsarist government had to take decisive measures to compensate for the shortage of working population. The lands left by the Tatars were intended for settlement by natives of the Russian Empire. Again, all those wishing to move to the Crimean peninsula were widely encouraged. The government also resorted to the old method – to invite foreigners to settle: Germans, Bulgarians, Greeks.

Russian family, descendants of Russian immigrants to the Crimea of ​​the XVIII century, in the village
Russian family, descendants of Russian immigrants to the Crimea of ​​the XVIII century, in the village

From 1719 to 1858, population censuses were conducted through audits. They testify to how many new settlers arrived in the Tavriya province. (Table 1)The first large party of colonists numbered 1.5 thousand families and consisted of peasants who were resettled on the land of the Tatars. Then the Estonians arrived in Evpatoria and Perekop counties, who were also placed in Simferopol. Czech emigrants and Germans were taken to Perekop County.

The farm of a wealthy Bulgarian colonist (photo of the beginning of the XX century)
The farm of a wealthy Bulgarian colonist (photo of the beginning of the XX century)

The forced emigration of the Crimean Tatars and the resettlement policy of tsarism changed the ethnic composition of the Tavriya province. The number of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians (under the general name “Russians”) at the beginning of the 1860’s was 370.5 thousand people, the Tatar population – 100 thousand, the Germans – 45.7 thousand, the Bulgarians – 21.4 thousand ., Jews – 14.3 thousand, Greeks – 13.3 thousand, Armenians – 6.3 thousand, Estonians – 800, Czechs – 600 people. The total population reached 573 thousand people.Thus, in 140 years, up to 200 thousand migrants arrived in the Tavriya province. The resettlement continued. During 1861-1886 the population of the Tavriya province increased due to the arrival of settlers by 156,012 people. It is clear that the number of migrants who moved to live on the peninsula was less than in the province as a whole, but not much.

Resettlement policy of tsarism
Table 1

The resettlement was facilitated by the high wages paid to workers in the Tavriya province compared to other provinces to encourage them to move to a depopulated area. If we compare the average annual and daily labor prices in the 1870-1880’s in the Tavriya province and in other provinces of Ukraine, we see a significant difference ( Table 2 ):

Resettlement policy of tsarism

Table 2

Due to the influx of a large number of migrants of different nationalities, the population of the peninsula over time became more diverse in its ethnic composition. Thus, according to the 1897 census, there were 1,447,790 inhabitants in the territory of the Tavriya province, including 546,592 people on the Crimean peninsula. There were 39 ethnic groups, 13 of which were identified as the largest. ( Table 3 )

Resettlement policy of tsarism

Table 3

The development of Crimean cities, which became administrative centers or trading ports to meet the needs of the army and navy, led to the majority of the population becoming Russians. As for the Crimean Tatars, at that time most of them lived in mountainous areas – up to 89%.

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The project was implemented with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation

Tetiana Bikova

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Scientist of the Institute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

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