My trip to Crimea

Yalta is a city famous for its beautiful location on the Black Sea. It is known as the place where Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt met to decide the fate of Europe towards the end of World War II. It has been the traditional homeland of Crimean Tatars, an ethnic group who practice Islam. It is also Russian. And now it part of Ukraine. Until 1954, it was part of the Russian Federation, then part of the USSR. The territory was tranferred to Ukraine, within the USSR. At the end of 1991, it became part of the independent nation of Ukraine, after the dissolution of the USSR. But...

The Russian navy still has its fleet at Sevastopol. The dominant language (and official, according to the Crimean parliament) is Russian. Many road signs still point the way to Moscow (800 km.) V.I. Lenin's statues are still visible in many towns. The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian. But Crimea has a strong Russian influence. And many Tatars are finally returning home, two generations after being deported by Stalin en masse to Uzbekistan.

Crimea is a beautiful land, home to Russians, Tatars and Ukrainians. Take the tour of Crimea...

I was in Crimea as part of the American teaching staff at the Crimea Peace Camp. The purpose of the camp was for students to practice their English in an friendly environment while promoting tolerance and understanding using English as a bridge. This camp, brought ethnic Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Chechens and Poles together. The camp was organized by  Bridges for Education, a not for profit educational organization dedicated to international understanding through education.

Click here to the thumbnail images of the pictures.

©Copyright 2004 Mark Doser. All Rights Reserved.