As I'm writing from a hostel computer, I'll keep this brief, but I wanted to record my initial impressions of Crimea. I hadn't thought much about Crimea before coming here, really, but it has definitely exceeded expectations.
Crimea doesn't feel like the rest of Ukraine because it wasn't really part of Ukraine historically and culturally. The Crimean Peninsula was historically pretty multicultural, and in ancient times the Black Sea was home to Greek settlements. Later on, it was the home of the Crimean Tatars, the remnants of the Mongol Golden Horde that terrorized the Slavic population for centuries. Russia conquered this area under Catherine the Great, who wanted to draw on Crimea's Greek roots to legitimize her claim to being the heir of Byzantium (and her designs on Ottoman territory). The Russian Empire devoted a great deal of resources to building up and Russifying these valuable new imperial possessions on the Black Sea, which they called "New Russia."
All of these historical factors are felt in Crimea, and particularly in Sevastopol. You don't immediately feel like you are in a former Soviet city because of the lush vegetation and sea breezes. The architecture here is very neoclassical because of the Russian Empire's efforts to portay itself as ancient Greece's successor, and the white columns for some reason match perfectly with the beautiful bay views. The city is full of Russian tourists, so I'm not the only shutterbug around. It is a great place to walk around, people-watch, and take in as much ocean air as your lungs can hold.
Another legacy of empire is the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet here. Catherine the Great ordered the founding of Sevastopol in order to be the main Russian fortress on the Crimean Peninsula. In the early Soviet period, Crimea was part of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) and thus not included in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Khrushchev transferred the territory to the Ukrainian SSR, and thus the territory became part of independent Ukraine when the USSR collapsed in 1991. The Russian government now has an agreement with Ukraine to keep this base open for about the next 25 years. As a result, the city has a very Russian feel, with lots of Russian flags flying and plenty of Soviet monuments commemorating the heroic defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War and World War II. The presence of the Russian language is definitely more felt here than in other parts of eastern Ukraine. Maybe the military presence also explains why this place feels more orderly and clean than, say, Dnepropetrovsk.
During the summer there is a great beach-town atmosphere in Sevastopol. This evening I strolled through the gardens on the edge of Sevastopol Bay and had a great time watching people enjoy themselves. I stumbled across a band playing one of my favorite Russian songs, "Videli noch'" by '80s cult favorite Kino. The band's version of the song actually sounded more like the cover by the Moldovan group Zdob si Zdub. Old people, middle-aged women and children were dancing like crazy. The lead singer was bantering with the crowd. A guy was passing around a frying pan for donations. I would have stayed another hour but the sky was starting to get dark so I headed back to the hostel.
That's all for now, but I'm hoping to have some picture posts up in a week when I get back to home sweet home in Comrat.
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