Estonians in the Crimea

Authors

• Jüri Viikberg
• Ott Kurs

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23979/fypr.44990

Keywords:

Crimea, Crimean Estonians, Crimean Tatars, immigration, integration

Abstract

The article gives an overview af Estonian peasants settling in the Crimea in the midl91hcentury.
Havingfor several centuries been under the contra! af the Golden Horde
and the Crimean Khanate, the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in 1783.
The imperial colonization policy that succeeded the deportation af the Crimean Tatars
ta Turkey encouraged the peasants af the Estonian and Livonian gubernias ta emigrate
ta the Crimea. The drivingforces behind the emigration were not only economic
but also religious. For the members af a sect led by the Prophet Maltsvet the Crimea
had become the Promised Land.
Thefirst Estonian settlements in the Crimea werefoundedin 1861-1864. Their names
Zamruk, Kara-Kiyat, Konchi-Shavva, etc., indicate that the Estonians settled in the
deserted villages af Crimean Tatars. After a long journey and in an unfamiliar setting,
it was di.fficult ta adapt ta and start a new life, but by the l 880s, the settlers had
already established themselves. Sharing the community af interests, they built schools
and churches together. When the Estonian writer Eduard Vildecame ta see the Crimean
Estonians in 1904, he could only give high praise for their ejforts.
Ey the beginning af World War I, the Estonians in the Crimea had achieved a living
standardwhich was the highestwhen compared ta other Estonians in Russia. In 1921,
the number af Estonians in the Crimea was 2,367, whereas in 1995 there were only
about 500 Estonians living mainly at Beregovoe (Zamruk), Krasnodarka (KonchiShavva)
and Novo-Estonia. Since the l 990s, Estonian cultural activities have again
become possible in the Crimea. In Simferopol and Krasnodarka Estonian societies
have been established and any support from native Estonia would be welcome. From
autumn 2002, a native language teacher from Estonia started ta work at the
Krasnodarka secondary school.