There are 18 [lower-alpha 2] populated places in the Crimean peninsula that are recognized as having city status. [7] [8] The territory of Crimea has been disputed between Russia and Ukraine since Russia's covert invasion and internationally unrecognized annexation of the peninsula on 18 March 2014. [9] [10] [6] [11] [12] The region is recognized by most countries as Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as one of Ukraine's cities with special status while, since its annexation, the region has been de facto governed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as a city of federal importance. [6] [13] [14] [15] As of 2014, the largest city on the peninsula by population according to Russia's post-annexation census was Sevastopol, with a recorded population of 393,304 people, while the peninsula's second largest city was Simferopol, with 332,317 people. [8] The least populous city on the peninsula was Alupka, which was recorded with a population of 7,771 people in the 2014 census. [8]
In Ukraine, city status (Ukrainian : місто, romanized: misto) is granted by the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to settlements of 10,000 people or more or to settlements of historical or regional importance. [16] [17] Following its occupation and annexation of Crimea, Russia recognized and maintained the existing status of the peninsula's 18 cities. [8] In 2019, Russian officials granted the settlement Balaklava, located in Sevastopol's Balaklava urban district, the status of a city, although still keeping it as part of Sevastopol. [18] [19] Due to the international support for UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262, which recognizes Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea and endorses a policy of non-recognition of Russia's occupation of the peninsula, the new city status is largely not recognized. [4] [6]
Following the passing of decommunization laws, the city of Krasnoperekopsk was renamed in 2016 to Yany Kapu (its original Crimean Tatar name) for Krasnoperekopsk's connection to people, places, events, and organizations associated with the Soviet Union. [20] [21] [22] Two cities on the peninsula (Kerch and Sevastopol) were awarded by Soviet officials with the honorary title Hero City of Ukraine in 1973 and 1965, respectively, for their resistance to the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II; the titles were renewed in 2022 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. [23] [24]
From independence in 1991 to 2020, 11 cities in the autonomous republic were designated as cities of regional significance (municipalities), which had self-government under city councils, while the autonomous republic's remaining five cities were located in 14 raions (districts) as cities of district significance, which are subordinated to the governments of the raions. [25] [26] [7] Sevastopol, as one of two [lower-alpha 3] cities given special status by the constitution, was governed together with the city of Inkerman and other nearby settlements by the Sevastopol City Council, independently from the autonomous republic. [27] [29] Since the country's independence in 1991, the territory of the Sevastopol City Council has been divided between four urban districts: Gagarin, Lenin, Nakhimov, and Balaklava. [7]
On 17 July 2020, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada passed a major administrative reform, abolishing the autonomous republic's 11 city municipalities and 14 raions and merging them into 10 reformed raions. [16] [30] [1] The ten raions that make up the territory of the autonomous republic are Bakhchysarai, Bilohirsk, Dzhankoi, Yevpatoria, [lower-alpha 4] Kerch, [lower-alpha 5] Kurman, [lower-alpha 6] Perekop, [lower-alpha 7] Simferopol, Feodosia, [lower-alpha 8] and Yalta raion. [lower-alpha 9] [1] For Sevastopol, the Verkhovna Rada merged Inkerman and other surrounding areas outside Sevastopol's city boundary (except Balaklava, which remained administratively part of Sevastopol) into the enlarged Bakhchysarai raion. [1] Due to the region's continued occupation since 2014, the new raions and boundaries have remained solely de jure [lower-alpha 1] and Russian officials continue to use the pre-reform administrative divisions in Crimea. [34] [35] [36]
Sevastopol, sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base throughout its history. Since the city's founding in 1783 it has been a major base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet. During the Cold War of the 20th century, it was a closed city. The total administrative area is 864 square kilometres (334 sq mi) and includes a significant amount of rural land. The urban population, largely concentrated around Sevastopol Bay, is 479,394, and the total population is 547,820.
Balaklava is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevastopol Municipality. Population: 18,649 .
The administrative divisions of Ukraine are under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Constitution. Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions, 136 raions (districts) and 1469 hromadas.
Krasnoperekopsk or Yany Kapu is a city in Crimea. Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, it was incorporated into Russia's Republic of Crimea. However, a majority of countries recognises the territory as part of Ukraine within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. It is the administrative center of Krasnoperekopsk Raion. Administratively is not a part of the raion (district) and is incorporated separately as a town of regional significance. Population: 26,268 .
Bakhchysarai Raion is one of the 25 regions of Crimea, an internationally recognized territory of Ukraine occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014. Population: 90,911 .
Kirovske Raion was one of the 25 regions of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea until 2020. The raion's administrative centre is the urban-type settlement of Kirovske. Population: 50,834 .
Yalta City Municipality, officially "the territory governed by the Yalta city council", also known as Greater Yalta is one of the 25 regions of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine but forcibly incorporated into Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014.
Sudak City Municipality, officially "the territory governed by the Sudak city council" is one of the 25 regions of the Crimean peninsula, currently subject to a territorial dispute between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Population: 32,278 .
A raion, often translated as district, is the second-level administrative division in Ukraine. Raions were created in a 1922 administrative reform of the Soviet Union, to which Ukraine, as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, belonged.
Krasnohvardiiske Raion, known by Ukrainian authorities as Kurman Raion is one of the 25 regions of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognised by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine and annexed by Russia. The administrative centre of the raion is the urban-type settlement of Krasnohvardiiske. Krasnohvardiiske Raion is located in the central part of Crimea. Population: 83,135 .
Krasnoperekopsk Raion is one of the 25 districts of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine, but currently occupied and incorporated by Russia as the Republic of Crimea. It is situated in the northern part of the republic. The administrative center of the raion is the town of Krasnoperekopsk. The latter is not a part of the raion (district) and incorporated separately as a town of regional significance. Population : 24,738 .
Lenine Raion or Yedy-Kuiu Raion was one of the twenty-five districts of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine until its abolition in 2020. It continues to be used by the Russian administration known as the Republic of Crimea, as Russia has occupied Crimea since 2014.
Pervomaiske Raion was one of the twenty-five regions of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine until its abolition in 2020. Russia, which has occupied the entire Crimean Peninsula since 2014, continues to use it as part of its administration, the Republic of Crimea. It is situated in the north-western part of the peninsula. The raion is named after its administrative center, the urban-type settlement of Pervomaiske. Population: 32,789 .
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula, while the City of Sevastopol occupies the rest.
The Crimean Peninsula is a disputed area which as a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation is controlled and recognized by Russia as the Republic of Crimea, a federal subject of Russia. At the same time, Ukraine and most UN countries around the world recognize the territory as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a part of Ukraine.
The Sevastopol City Council is the unicameral legislature of the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol. The council is composed of 76 members.
Sevastopol is a city on the Black Sea, located in the southwest of the Crimean Peninsula—a territory disputed between Russia and Ukraine as a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. It has been under the de facto Russian control since March 2014, when it was incorporated into Russia as one of its federal subjects, with a status of a federal city. Being a disputed territory, Sevastopol has two sets of laws governing how its administrative and municipal divisions are set up. Under both Ukrainian and Russian laws, the city is administratively divided into four districts.
Ukraine's 5th electoral district is a Verkhovna Rada constituency in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Established in its current form in 2012, it includes the city of Kerch, and the part of Lenine Raion east of the city of Lenine itself. The constituency is home to 143,545 registered voters, and has 98 polling stations. Since the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, the seat has been vacant.
The Kerch Raion is a prospective raion (district) of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine. It was created on September 7, 2023, from the territories of Yedi Quyu Raion along with the Kerch Municipality. The administrative center is the city of Kerch.