Formation and Development of Ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea (End of the 18th — Beginning of the 21st Century) in Domestic Historiography

Abstract

The article describes the state of scientific research on the history of the formation of the Ukrainian community in Crimea in the late 18th – early 21st century, which appeared in the 1990s – early 2000s, when, after the revival of its autonomy, there was a breakthrough in research on various aspects of Crimean history, and written at a new, higher level on the principles of historicism, objectivity, alternativeness. It is the post-Soviet period that is characterized by extensive scholarly discussions on the history of Crimea and the prospects for its development. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of works, which comprehend the debatable issues of the common historical destiny of Ukraine and Crimea, debunk the myths of “originally Russian Crimea”, highlight the problems of solving the Crimean question in 1917–1920, chronology of P. Bolbachan’s campaign, proclamation of Crimean republics in 1918–1921, the Bolsheviks pursuing a policy of indigenization in Crimea, the famine of the 1920s–1930s and repression on the peninsula, as well as guerrilla warfare during World War II. The author claims that after 1991, hundreds of academic monographs and articles appeared, dozens of dissertations were defended, and a number of academic conferences on various areas of Crimean history were held. It is established that there is no comprehensive study of the formation of the community of Ukrainians in Crimea at the end of the 18th – beginning of the 21st century. Scarcely studied is the sociopolitical, demographic, economic situation of Ukrainians on the peninsula during the collapse of the Russian Empire and the existence of national and quasi-state formations on its territory, as well as the policy of Crimean regional governments towards Ukrainians and the policy of UPR and Ukrainian State governments regarding the protection of Ukrainians in Crimea, its state affiliation, etc. A comprehensive analysis is required for the policy of Ukraine towards the Ukrainian ethnic community of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol in 1991–2014, as well as the occupation policy of the Russian Federation after 2014, which led to discrimination against Crimean Ukrainians and the threat of assimilation of some of them. The annexation of Crimea, which took place in violation of the Constitutions of Ukraine and the ARC, laws of Ukraine and universally recognized international legal norms, rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens living in Crimea, was a pre-arranged special operation, information and propaganda policy being one of its key components. Currently, the problems of the emergence and overcoming of pro-Russian identity in Crimea at the present stage and the development of ways to optimize the system of public administration and national security of Ukraine are insufficiently studied.