SEVASTOPOL
(PanArmenian.net)—In the 8th century, Crimea was a part of the Byzantine
Empire, with Armenians, as its subjects, moving here from various cities of the
empire. The region’s stability allowed them to achieve economic prosperity,
uninterrupted even in the face of the Mongolian invasions.
Hardships in
Armenia drove increasing number of Armenians to Crimea, with Armenians becoming
the 2nd biggest ethnic group after Crimean Tatars. In 1475, Crimea became part
of the Ottoman Empire, and Christian persecutions began. Despite the
strengthening of Islam in the region, Armenian communities still existed in
Kaffa, Karasubazar, Balaklava, Gezlev, Perekop and Surkhat. From 1778-1779,
more than 22,000 Armenians were resettled in the Azov province.
In 1783, the
Russian Empire conquered the Crimean khanate. Russian authorities encouraged
the settlement of foreign colonists, including Armenians, into Crimea. This led
to a fresh wave of Armenian immigrants, reviving former settlements. In 1913,
their numbers totaled around 9,000 and 14,000-15,000 in 1914. The resettlement
of Armenians in the peninsula lasted until the First World War and the Armenian
Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923. The immigrants of the 19th and
20th centuries were largely from Western Armenia and the various regions of the
Ottoman Empire.
In 1944, the
Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union, Lavrentiy Beria signed
Directorate 5984 to deport 37,000 Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians. The
Armenians were deported to Perm Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Omsk Oblast,
Kemerovo Oblast, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Kazakhstan.
In 1989, the
communal life of Crimea’s Armenians was institutionalized with the formation of
one of the peninsula’s first national-cultural associations, the Armenian Luys
(Light) society. Later, after re-registration in 1996, it was renamed the
Crimean Armenian Society. At present, the Crimean Armenian Society consists of
14 regional offices, coordinated by the National Council of Crimean Armenians.
The highest governing body is the National Congress, which convenes at least
once every four years. Operational management of the society is carried out by
the executive committee, which functions in the periods between meetings of the
National Council. The society operates the Luys cultural and ethnographic
center and publishes a monthly newspaper, Dove Masis. The one-hour
Armenian-language program Barev airs twice a month on Crimean television, and
radio broadcasts are made five times a week. There are Armenian churches in
Yalta, Feodosiya and Evpatoria, while the first Armenian secondary school
opened in 1998 in Simferopol.
Armenians
living in the Crimea are currently concentrated in the cities of Armyansk,
Simferopol, Evpatoria, Feodosiya, Kerch, Yalta, Sevastopol, Sudak. The Armenia
Diaspora Encyclopedia indicates that there were 20,000 Armenians living in the
region in 2003.
The Armenians were mostly adherents of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. There were a number of churches built in Yalta, Feodosiya and
Yevpatoria. Construction activity took place from the 14th century and
according to one manuscript the monastery of Gamchak had been built by the
fifteenth century in Kafa.
In Kafa,
there were a number of Armenian schools, dozens of churches, banks, trading
houses, caravanserai, and craftshops. The town was served as a spiritual center
for the Crimean Armenians, and its stature grew so prominently that that in
1438 the Armenians of Kafa were invited to send representatives to the
Ferrara-Florence Cathedral (Florence ecumenical council).
The second
largest Armenian population after Kafa in the same period was Surkhat. The name
of Surkhat is probably a distorted form of the name of the Armenian monastery
Surb Khach (Holy Cross). There were many Armenian churches, schools,
neighborhoods here as well. Other major settlements included Sudak, where until
the last quarter of the 15th century and near the monastery Surb Khach there
was a small Armenian town called Kazarat. Armenian princes kept troops there
and on a contractual basis to defend Kafa.
The social
life of the Crimean Armenians surged in the late 19th and 20th centuries. They
organized themselves into community organizations. Wealthy Armenians and the
church tried to “raise” the nation to the level of modern civilization, and to
carry out charitable activities. The source of money and material welfare of
the church were grants, wills, and donations.
The church’s
role in the colonies was to some extent becoming secularized. In 1842, the
Catholicos in Crimea lost his position to the Chief Guardian of the Crimean
Armenian churches.
Surb Khach
Monastery is a medieval Armenian monastery located on the Crimean peninsula
near Staryi Krym and founded in 1358. It has been an Armenian spiritual center
and a place of pilgrimage for centuries.
Crimea gave
the world many outstanding Armenians, including world-renowned painter
Hovhannes Ayvazovsky, composers Alexander Spendiarov and Christopher
Kara-Murza, and artist Vardges Sureniants.
At present,
no significant outflow of Armenians from Crimea has been noted, with Armenians
safe here, unlike in Syria. However, considering the unpredictability of the
development of events in Ukraine, the possibility of a dangerous situation
should not be ruled out.
