Spacial analysis of the ethnic composition of the Crimea in 1926 using GIS modeling

Abstract

Crimea, with its diversity of neighboring peoples and rich ethnic history, is a unique object of ethnodemographic research. The aim of the work is to map the ethnic composition of the population of the Crimea in 1926 in the context of elementary territorial units — settlements and village councils. According to the developed geodata database from 2650 points of settlements, the reconstruction of the boundaries of village councils was carried out by constructing Thyssen polygons. An ethnographic map of the Crimea was created in 1926, territorial areas were mapped by dominant ethnic groups, their spatial position and degree of grouping were analyzed. The index of ethnic mosaic is analyzed in the context of village councils. It is established that 41 % of the settlements of the Crimea in 1926 were mono-ethnic, where the share of the dominant ethnic group was more than 95 %. At the same time, more than 2/3 of village councils are represented by ethnocontact zones of varying degrees of severity, occupying 84 % of the territory of the peninsula, and half of them can be attributed to polyethnic. Thus, a high index of ethnic mosaic of peoples is formed due to nearby mono-ethnic or close to them settlements. This shows that at different levels of the territorial hierarchy of the Crimea in 1926, the different nature of ethnic diversity is manifested.