[krahy-mee-uh, kri-] 
| 1. | the, a peninsula in SE Ukraine, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. |
| 2. | a former autonomous republic of the Soviet Union, now a region of Ukraine. ab. 10,000 sq. mi. (25,900 sq. km). |
| Cri·me·a (krī-mē'ə, krĭ-) A region and peninsula of southern Ukraine on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. In ancient times it was colonized by Greeks and Romans and later overrun by Ostrogoths, Huns, and Mongols. Conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1475, the area was annexed by Russia in 1783. The peninsula was the scene of the Crimean War (1853-1856), in which a coalition of English, French, and Turkish troops defeated the Russians, although Crimea itself did not change hands. It became an autonomous Russian republic in 1921 and a Ukrainian oblast in 1954. Cri·me'an adj. |
Peninsula in the extreme southern Ukraine, bordered by the Black Sea to the east, south, and west.
Note: As a former part of the Russian empire, Crimea was one of the strongholds of opposition to the Soviet government after the Russian Revolution.
Note: It was occupied by German troops from 1941 to 1945.
Note: The Crimean War of the 1850s, fought between Russian forces and the allied armies of Britain, France, Turkey, and Sardinia, was the scene of the battle described in “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
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