Yevpatoria. Crimea’s microcosm

Yevpatoria was reborn in the 1990s, after Ukraine became independent. The city changed: a building which in Soviet times was used as a dormitory for construction workers turned out to be the Khan Jami Mosque; a grain warehouse was actually the Craftsmen’s Synagogue; a kindergarten was the Karaite Kenesa; while a military facility turned out to be the Dervish Monastery, whose design dates back to the 15th century. The same happened to religious monuments. In the early 2000s, these buildings were returned to their faithful and were opened to tourists. During Leonid Kuchma’s presidency, considerable restoration was undertaken upon the initiative of the city administration. It was carried out in relation to the preparations for the commemoration of the 2,500-year anniversary of Yevpatoria.

As a result of these efforts the so-called Little Jerusalem became an important part of the city’s landscape. This small one-square-kilometre area includes two Karaite Kenesas, two synagogues, and a prayer house for evangelical Protestants. They are all located on the main street. Additionally, in the nearby districts there is the Dervish temple, a prayer house for Krymchaks (Crimean Jews), the Orthodox Cathedral, two mosques, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. These buildings provide tangible evidence that different religions and cultures used to peacefully co-exist there.

The visit of Tsar Nicholas II and his family to Yevpatoria in 1916 is additional proof that this argument holds true. It is known that neither Muslims nor Jews were among the emperor’s favourites. Despite that, the Russian monarch understood that the city lived by its own rules. Thus, setting his personal prejudice aside, he visited places of worship of all denominations in the city.

What is Yevpatoria like now?

I would say that since the 2014 annexation of Crimea the city has been put into a deep sleep and its people are reported to be living in fear. The railway station that used to be a very busy place in the summertime, with at least three regular trains coming from Kyiv every day, is now a desolate place. The uncertainty about the future is really affecting people’s moods. Before, the inhabitants of Yevpatoria used to live a relatively normal life. Since 1991 Crimean Tatars started returning to the peninsula. The city shared Ukraine’s European aspirations and thus, what we are seeing now, especially the oppression of the Crimean Tatars and favouritism towards Russians and Orthodox Christians, resembles more the Soviet times.

It has become quite easy to intimidate people. Imagine a car approaching your house late at night. Everyone hears the sirens and sees armed FSB officers rushing out – a spectacular show for neighbours. Those whose house is raided are subject to interrogation. Among the questions they are asked include: Why did you visit a Ukrainian website? What information were you looking for there? And even: Are you pro-Ukrainian?

In addition, there are the Chechens who came from Russia. They are a separate group but are reported to intimidate the Muslim community attending the Khan Jami Mosque, their co-believers. Apparently, there were some unsuccessful attempts to replace the local mufti with one of the Chechens. The mosque is now monitored by security cameras, which are there to help identify the mosque-goers. From time to time, the FSB pays visits to some Muslim homes searching for religious literature. Officially, the Russian Federation recognises Islam, but some forms of Muslim literature are perceived as extremist material. Thus, in order to avoid further problems, people bury the Quran and other religious texts in their backyards.

Various occasions are used to obtain personal data about residents. For example, those who purchase a new gas oven have to register it and fill out an application form with details about the applicant, their life and even parents. Again this is a method similar to those used in the Soviet Union to authorise access to private information. That is why many people in Yevpatoria, especially those who sympathise with Ukraine, do not add their personal photos to their Facebook profiles and prefer to use fake names and use metaphors or code language while chatting online.

Let me give you a more personal example: My friend’s son moved to Kyiv to study at university. His parents, who are still in Yevpatoria, keep this fact a secret and do not share it with anyone. Instead they say he studies in Simferopol. They go to Kyiv without telling their neighbours about it and he never visits them at their home. 

What about the Little Jerusalem? Has anything changed in this area?   

The city administration initiated restoration work on the Great Synagogue to turn it into the municipal museum of Jewish history. There is even a poster about this restoration, however, so far only the façade has been renovated. The work has been stopped and no one knows what will happen next.

Also quite tellingly, the local newspaper Yevpatoriyskaya Zdravnitsa increasingly refers to Little Jerusalem as the “old city”. However, while Little Jerusalem is a reference to Yevpatoria’s multi-cultural heritage, the term “old city” is just an impersonal geographical description. Even further, when it comes to Little Jerusalem, the emphasis is now being shifted from the place itself to Tsar Nicholas II’s visit there in 1916. It could be seen in 2016 when the 100th anniversary of this event was celebrated with a pageant parade; even the head of the House of Romanovs was invited from France to attend the festivities. Representatives of various ethnic communities sung praises to the Tsar and the legacy of multi-cultural Yevpatoria was discredited.

And what about St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral?

This cathedral was built to commemorate the liberation of Yevpatoria from the aggressors during the Crimean War (1853-1856). The first occupation of Crimea by Russia took place exactly 70 years before the war, in 1783. In 1784, as a result of the war, with historical memory initiated by Catherine II, the city’s name was changed from the Crimean Tatar Kezlev to Yevpatoria.  

How was it possible that Russia, which lost the Crimean War, did not lose the peninsula?

In 1856 the Paris Peace Treaty was signed. Russian diplomats managed to convince the Europeans that Crimea should remain Russian. The Russian diplomats implored the Europeans to retain Crimea under Russia and not occupy the empire’s territory. In return, Russia had to accept all the terms and conditions, including a naval prohibition in Crimea. Thus, Russia kept its territories but had to wait a few decades. At that time, Sevastopol had only a civilian commercial port.

However, in the apt words of Otto von Bismarck, contracts with Russia are not worth the paper they are written on. In January 1871 Tsar Alexander II ordered Russian ambassadors abroad to notify governments of all states that Russia would no longer consider itself bound by any terms of the Paris Peace Treaty which restricted its rights to the Black Sea. Europeans expressed their deep concern but did nothing to counteract. As a result, in May 1886 the first battleship Chesme, built in Sevastopol, set sail on the Black Sea in the presence of the next emperor, Alexander III the “Peacemaker”. Notably, the armour and machinery for this and other ships built in Sevastopol were supplied by Great Britain.

Well, the recent annexation of Crimea also took place under the passive eye of the international community…

Indeed, and this March marks the fourth anniversary of the illegal referendum that was held in the now-occupied Crimea. However, it must be admitted that the occupation was prepared in advance. In Yevpatoria, two weeks before the referendum, private cars were seen on the streets distributing pro-Russian agitation leaflets. People who were driving those cars were saying that when Crimea joins Russia, the price for renting summer flats will increase from 40 US dollars to 100 US dollars per night.

There were also pro-Putin meetings. Locals say that these meetings were attended by unknown people who were delivered to the meeting points by buses and then taken to another one. Pensioners and public officials were the only representatives of the local community who attended the meetings. In Simferopol, many public officials were herded to those meetings. The fact that they were well-equipped with Russian flags and other items is yet one more piece of evidence that all those actions were planned in advance.

It is widely believed that Crimea may not return to Ukraine, but may gain independence. Until the end of the 18th century, it had already been  the case.

Yes, but these were different times. Yevpatoria, called Kezlev at that time, was the main port of the Crimean Khanate, while Bakhchisaray was the capital. Our industrialised world depends on water and power supplies. Crimea depends on Ukrainian resources. Today, electricity is limited there. Last summer, which was extremely hot, the city residents were asked to limit their air conditioning usage to save energy. Those who ignored the request had to deal with FSB officers.

Last year the occupants illegally imported two Siemens gas turbines to Crimea. The turbines were bought by Russia on the pretext of building a power plant on the Taman peninsula in the Krasnodar region. A row blew up because it was a violation of the EU sanctions imposed on Russia for the occupation of Crimea. The turbines have not been installed. Locals had to buy gas-fired power generators – the loud noise of their motors can now be heard from almost every backyard in Yevpatoria.

Also, the North-Crimean Channel built by Soviet Ukraine is now closed. Thus, water has to be imported to the peninsula from different sources. Its supply is limited. In fact there had always been difficulties with water supply even before the occupation. The truth is that the whole Crimean infrastructure – including roads, a trolleybus line connecting Simferopol with Yalta (the world’s longest and only mountain trolleybus system in Europe), the power supply system, the agriculture and tourist sector, hotels, children’s health and sports camps and other facilities –were built and developed by Ukraine during the Soviet times and after independence. Yet Russians love to say it was Catherine II who turned Crimea into a health resort after its first annexation.

But some people argue that Crimea feels better as a part of Russia.

In Yevpatoria today there are no jobs. The dairy plant has been closed; the bakery is the only plant that still works. Many health resorts have also been closed.

The city has always made money on tourists. Last year the difficulties reached their peak. A retail license is very expensive and many retailers have not gotten their money back. The only guests are Russians who receive a free package tour (covering room, board and travel costs) from their employers, a government institution. Otherwise they could hardly afford such a tour. Also, of the 20 sightseeing tourist agencies in Yevpatoria, only two are still in operation offering services to the health resorts. There is a clear shortage of tourists.

What is your view of Crimea’s future?

Forecasting is an ungrateful task. Crimea can only change its status as a result of a change in global affairs. Vladimir Putin pursues the policy of Nicholas I. He even looks like him. Nicholas  created a police state and strong secret service. At that time, Crimea was part of the Russian Empire. The tsar decided to take away Constantinople from the Turks, make it Orthodox again, and thus strengthen the idea of Moscow as the Third Rome. He was very religious and understood the significance of Orthodoxy for his empire.

Putin is satisfied with the fact that Chersonese – where, as the legend says, St Vladimir, the Prince of Kievan Rus’, was baptised – now belongs to Russia. Nicholas I was very carefully preparing an attack on Turkey for a long time. He gave gifts to the Austrian Empire, Great Britain and Prussia and gained their loyalty. Similarly, Putin buys loyalty with Europeans using gas and oil.

The whole system built by Nicholas I turned out to be a colossus on clay feet. The Russian army had over one million fighters, but the ships and weapons of the Europeans were much better and more advanced while their armies were more efficient. Nevertheless, Russia resisted in Crimea but was losing its forces. Finally, it lost the Battle of Yevpatoria in 1855. That was the last chance to change the course of the war. Having understood that defeat was inevitable, the Emperor shot himself dead. All these opened the way for the allies to further occupy the empire’s territories. For the sake of peace, Nicholas’s son was forced to surrender and agreed to sanctions.

To comment on the parallels with today’s situation, I should clarify that it was Nicholas I who started interfering in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of defending the Orthodox population. Putin acts in a similar way when he “defends” the Russians and the Russian-speaking people, even though they usually do not ask for his help. When the colossus on clay feet built by Putin falls one day (this happened a few times in Russia’s history; even twice in the 20th century), Russia may lose not only Crimea but also the Kuril Islands.

Stanislav Tsalyk is a Ukrainian author, screenwriter and expert on local history. His most recent book Our Crimea: Non-Russian Stories of the Ukrainian Peninsula was published in Ukrainian in 2016. 

Katarina Novikova is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Religious Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. She is a freelance translator and journalist and co-ordinator of the interdisciplinary scientific and cultural project – (Post)socialist City (Kraków-Kyiv).

annexation, Crimea, Stanislav Tsalyk, Ukraine, Yevpatoria