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Since 2014 it has been under the de facto control of Russia, which annexed Crimea that year and regards Simferopol as the capital of the Republic of Crimea.
Simferopol is an important political, economic and transport hub of the peninsula, and serves as the administrative centre of both Simferopol Municipality and the surrounding Simferopol District. Its population was 332,317 (2014 Census).[2]
In Crimean Tatar, the name of the city is Aqmescit (or in Cyrillic, Акъмесджит, lit. 'The white mosque', from Aq "white", and mescit "mosque"). But aq does not refer to the colour of the mosque, but rather to its location in cosmology. The Turkic peoples give a colour designation to the cardinal points, and white is the west. Thus, the exact translation of the name of the town is "the Western Mosque."
In English, the name was often given as Akmechet or Ak-Mechet (e.g. in Encyclopædia Britannica).[4] This was a transliteration from the Russian spelling of Crimean Tatar word Акмечет, Ак-Мечеть, where Mechet (Мечеть) is the Russian word for "mosque".
History
Early history
Archaeological evidence in the Chokurcha cave [ru; uk] shows the presence of ancient people living in the territory of modern Simferopol. The Scythian Neapolis, known by its Greek name, is also located in the city, which is the remnants of an ancient capital of the Crimean Scythians who lived in the territory from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD.[5]
Later, the Crimean Tatars founded the town of Aqmescit. For some time, Aqmescit was the residence of the Qalğa-Sultan, the second most important position in the Crimean Khanate after the Khan himself.[6] The area of the city once known as Aqmescit is today called Old Simferopol.
Russian Empire
In 1784 modern Ukrainian[citation needed] Simferopol was founded after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is in Greek, Συμφερόπολις (Simferopolis)[citation needed] and literally means "the city of usefulness." The tradition of Greek place names in newly acquired southern territories began with the Greek Plan of Russian Empress Catherine the Great.[7] In 1802, Simferopol became the administrative centre of the Taurida Governorate. During the Crimean War of 1854–1856, the Russian Imperial Army reserves and a hospital were stationed in the city. After the war, more than 30,000 Russian soldiers were buried in the city's vicinity.
During World War II, Simferopol was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1 November 1941 to 13 April 1944. Retreating NKVD police shot a number of prisoners on 31 October 1941 in the NKVD building and the city's prison.[8] Germans perpetrated one of the largest war-time massacres in Simferopol, killing in total over 22,000 locals—mostly Jews, Russians, Krymchaks, and Romani.[9] On one occasion, starting 9 December 1941, the Einsatzkommando 11b, which was under the command of Werner Braune, whose main unit and superior were Einsatzgruppe D and Otto Ohlendorf, respectively, command killed an estimated 14,300 Simferopol residents, mostly Jewish.[10]
In April 1944 the Red Army liberated Simferopol. On 18 May 1944 the Crimean Tatar population of the city, along with the whole Crimean Tatar nation of Crimea, was forcibly deported to Central Asia as collective punishment for the perceived collaboration of Tatars with Nazi Germany.[11]
After the Crimean Tatars were allowed to return from exile in the 1990s, several new Crimean Tatar suburbs were constructed, as many more Tatars returned to the city compared to number exiled in 1944. Land ownership between the current residents and returning Crimean Tatars is a major area of conflict today with the Tatars requesting the return of lands seized after their deportation.[14]
Russian annexation
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Prior to the seizure of the city by Russia, a mass protest was organised by the city's Crimean Tatars in support of Crimea remaining as part of Ukraine.[16]
Geography
Location
Simferopol is located in the south-central Crimean Peninsula. The city lies on the Salhir River near the artificial Simferopol Reservoir, which provides the city with clean drinking water. The Simferopol Reservoir's earth dam is the biggest in Europe.
Climate
The city experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa),[17] near the boundary of the humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa).[17] The average temperature in January is 0.4 °C (32.7 °F) and 23 °C (73 °F) in July. The average rainfall is 501 millimetres (19.7 in) per year, and there is a total of 2,529 hours of sunshine per year.
Climate data for Simferopol (1991–2020, extremes 1886–present)
As the capital of Crimea, Simferopol houses its political structure including the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Council of Ministers. Simferopol is also the administrative centre of the Simferopol Raion (district), but is directly subordinate to the Crimean authorities rather than to the district authorities housed in the city itself.
Viktor Ageev became city mayor on 11 November 2010 and was then elected chairman of the Simferopol City Council on 29 September 2014.[21]
Igor Lukashyov was installed as the head of Simferopol City administration (i.e. local executive) after Russia annexed the region in 2014. He served in this position until his dismissal on 9 November 2018.[22]
Transportation
Simferopol has a major railway station, which serves millions of tourists each year. In December 2014 Ukraine cut the railway line to Crimea at the border with mainland Ukraine (Kherson Oblast). Currently, the station serves only a commuter (regional) passenger train and the Moscow – Simferopol train every day.
The city has several main bus stations, with routes towards many cities, including Sevastopol, Kerch, Yalta, and Yevpatoriya. The Crimean Trolleybus connects Simferopol to the city of Yalta on Crimean Black Sea coast. The line is the longest trolleybus line in the world with a total length of 86 kilometres (53 mi)[24] (since 2014 again 96 kilometres (60 mi)).
The streets of Simferopol have a rare house numbering – the odd numbers are on the right side of the road, looking in the direction in which the numbers increase.
At the last census in 2014, the population of Simferopol was 332,317, the highest of any city in the Republic of Crimea and second only to Sevastopol within the Crimean peninsula.
Economy
When it existed, Crimea Air had its head office on the grounds of Simferopol Airport.[25] A new 19-gate terminal for the airport finished construction in 2018. The terminal was designed in the shape of a wave by Samoo Architects & Engineers, after their successful bid as part of an international competition.[26]
Industry
Simferopol is home to a number of industrial plants, including the following:
Fiolent (two locations), producer of power tools and other electrical systems
Simferopol chemical industry plants
PO Foton
SEM SElktroMash SELMZ
Plastotekhnika and else plastics related
Santekhprom SSTP
PEK PromElektroKontakt and PromSchitKontakt, ChPO Sfera IzmertelnPribor, SELTZ ElectroTechnical Plant
Pnevmatika, other pneumatics tires etc. related industry
Digital Valley (Tsifrovaya Dolina): silicon industry, computers, wafers and microelectronics, it, other related. It will located (most likely) near the airport for convenience.
Education
The largest collection of higher education institutions in Crimea is located in Simferopol. Among them is the largest university in Simferopol and Crimea, the Taurida V.Vernadsky National University, which was founded in 1917.[27]Crimea State Medical University named after S. I. Georgievsky, also located in Simferopol, is one of the most prominent medical schools of Ukraine. The Crimean Medical University is situated on the plot, where in 1855 a nursery garden was planted by the founder of the Nikita Botanical Gardens Ch.Ch.Steven (1781–1863). In 1863–66 a school for girls was built here and in 1931 a medical institute was opened. On the same plot P.Krzhizhanovsky built a three-storey hostel for medical students after the design in 1934. The building with clear geometric masses was completed in 1938. A new federal university campus was opened 4 August 2014.
^"Simferopol". simferopol.ws (in Russian). Retrieved 13 May 2008.
^Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Zweite aktualisierte Auflage, Frankfurt am Main 2005, page 72