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113-543: Between late 1771 and 1772, Catherine the Great , empress of the Russian empire , issued an edict which decreed that, from that point on, any person who died (regardless of social standing or class origins) no longer had the right to be buried within church crypts or adjacent churchyards . New cemeteries had to be built across the entire Russian Empire and from then on they all had to be located outside city limits. One of

226-702: A League of Armed Neutrality , designed to defend neutral shipping from being searched by the British Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War . From 1788 to 1790, Russia fought a war against Sweden instigated by Catherine's cousin, King Gustav III of Sweden, who expected to overrun the Russian armies still engaged in war against the Ottomans and hoped to strike Saint Petersburg directly. But Russia's Baltic Fleet checked

339-523: A pleuritis that almost killed her. She credited her survival to frequent bloodletting ; in a single day, she received four phlebotomies . Her mother's opposition to this practice brought her the Empress's disfavour. When Sophie's situation looked desperate, her mother wanted her confessed by a Lutheran pastor. Awaking from her delirium, however, Sophie said, "I don't want any Lutheran; I want my Orthodox father [clergyman]". This increased her popularity with

452-501: A set-term lease agreement was signed in 1997. On 10 July 1993, the Russian parliament passed a resolution declaring Sevastopol to be "a federal Russian city". At the time, many supporters of President Boris Yeltsin had ceased taking part in the parliament's work. On 20 July 1993, the United Nations Security Council denounced the decision of the Russian parliament. According to Anatoliy Zlenko , it

565-485: A "Northern Accord" between Russia, Prussia, Poland, and Sweden to counter the power of the Bourbon – Habsburg League. When it became apparent that his plan could not succeed, Panin fell out of favour with Catherine and she had him replaced with Ivan Osterman (in office 1781–1797). Catherine agreed to a commercial treaty with Great Britain in 1766, but stopped short of a full military alliance. Although she could see

678-534: A "people's mayor" and said it would not recognise orders from Kyiv . After Russia annexed Crimea, the Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol replaced the City Council. Within the Russian municipal framework , the territory of the federal city of Sevastopol is divided into nine municipal okrugs and the town of Inkerman . While individual municipal divisions are contained within the borders of

791-639: A "revolution" in her teenage mind as Tacitus was the first intellectual she read who understood power politics as they are, not as they should be. She was especially impressed with his argument that people do not act for their professed idealistic reasons, and instead she learned to look for the "hidden and interested motives". According to Alexander Hertzen , who edited a version of Catherine's memoirs, Catherine had her first sexual relationship with Sergei Saltykov while living at Oranienbaum, as her marriage to Peter had not yet been consummated, as Catherine later claimed. Nonetheless, Catherine would eventually leave

904-485: A 1749 Russian military plot to crown Peter (together with Catherine) in Elizabeth's stead. As a result of this plot, Elizabeth likely wanted to deny both Catherine and Peter any rights to the Russian throne. Elizabeth, therefore, allowed Catherine to have sexual lovers only after a new legal heir, Catherine and Peter's son Paul , survived and appeared to be strong. After this, Catherine carried on sexual liaisons over

1017-728: A 1790 letter to Baron de Grimm written in French, she called the Qianlong Emperor " mon voisin chinois aux petits yeux " ("my Chinese neighbour with small eyes"). In the Far East, Russians became active in fur trapping in Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands . This spurred Russian interest in opening trade with Japan to the south for supplies and food. In 1783, storms drove a Japanese sea captain, Daikokuya Kōdayū , ashore in

1130-669: A Polish anti-reform group known as the Targowica Confederation . After defeating Polish loyalist forces in the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and in the Kościuszko Uprising (1794), Russia completed the partitioning of Poland, dividing all of the remaining Commonwealth territory with Prussia and Austria (1795). The Qianlong Emperor of China was committed to an expansionist policy in Central Asia and saw

1243-467: A chairman (also known as mayor) appointed by the Ukrainian president. The Sevastopol City Council is the legislature of Sevastopol. Sevastopol is administratively divided into four districts: On 18 March 2014, Russia claimed to have annexed Crimea with Sevastopol being administered as a federal city of Russia, the others being Moscow and St. Petersburg . The head of the executive branch in

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1356-430: A cold, abusive woman who loved gossip and court intrigues. Her hunger for fame centered on her daughter's prospects of becoming Empress of Russia, but Joanna also infuriated Elizabeth , who eventually banned her from the country for allegedly spying for King Frederick. Elizabeth knew the family well and had intended to marry Joanna's brother Charles Augustus (Karl August von Holstein). He died of smallpox in 1727, before

1469-472: A new war against Persia in 1796 after they, under the new king Agha Mohammad Khan , again invaded Georgia and established rule in 1795, expelling the newly established Russian garrisons in the Caucasus. The ultimate goal for the Russian government, however, was to topple the anti-Russian shah (king), and to replace him with his pro-Russian half-brother Morteza Qoli Khan , who had defected to Russia. It

1582-476: A popular seaside resort and tourist destination, mainly for visitors from the former Soviet republics . The city is also an important centre for marine biology research. In particular, the military has studied and trained dolphins in the city for military use since the 1960s. The name of Sevastopolis was originally chosen following the same etymological trend as other cities in the Crimean peninsula; it

1695-742: A record two months and weighed 2.3 kg (5.1 lbs). From 1762, the Great Imperial Crown was the coronation crown of all Romanov emperors until the monarchy's abolition in 1917. It is one of the main treasures of the Romanov dynasty and is now on display in the Moscow Kremlin Armoury Museum . During her reign, Catherine extended the borders of the Russian Empire by some 520,000 square kilometres (200,000 sq mi), absorbing New Russia , Crimea ,

1808-596: A regent or as a usurper , tolerable only during the minority of her son, Grand Duke Paul. Catherine was crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on 22 September 1762. Her coronation marks the creation of one of the main treasures of the Romanov dynasty, the Great Imperial Crown of Russia , designed by Swiss-French court diamond jeweller Jérémie Pauzié . Inspired by Byzantine design,

1921-590: A stalemate as well. The front settled into the siege of Sevastopol , involving brutal conditions for troops on both sides. Sevastopol finally fell after eleven months, after the French had assaulted Fort Malakoff . Isolated and facing a bleak prospect of invasion by the West if the war continued, Russia sued for peace in March 1856. France and Britain welcomed the development, owing to the conflict's domestic unpopularity. The Treaty of Paris , signed on 30 March 1856, ended

2034-896: A system of government fully controlled by the Russian Empire through a Permanent Council , under the supervision of her ambassadors and envoys . Fearing that the May Constitution of Poland (1791) might lead to a resurgence in the power of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the growing democratic movements inside the Commonwealth might become a threat to the European monarchies, Catherine decided to refrain from her planned intervention into France and to intervene in Poland instead. She provided support to

2147-904: A time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was annexed following victories over the Bar Confederation and the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War . With the support of Great Britain , Russia colonised the territories of New Russia along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas . In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth —ruled by Catherine's former lover, King Stanisław August Poniatowski —was eventually partitioned , with

2260-565: A title to his successors. The city was probably named after Empress (" Augusta ") Catherine II of the Russian Empire who founded Sevastopol in 1783. She visited the city in 1787, accompanied by Joseph II , the Emperor of Austria, and other foreign dignitaries. In the west of the city, there are well-preserved ruins of the ancient Greek port city of Chersonesos , founded in the 5th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica . This name means "peninsula", reflecting its immediate location. It

2373-568: A war with Austria and Germany, impossible without her foreign policy. Sevastopol Sevastopol ( / ˌ s ɛ v ə ˈ s t oʊ p əl , s ə ˈ v æ s t ə p oʊ l / ), 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

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2486-634: A year later. During the Soviet era, Sevastopol became a so-called " closed city ". This meant that any non-residents had to apply to the authorities for a temporary permit to visit the city. On 29 October 1948, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian SFSR issued an ukaz (order) which confirmed the special status of the city. Soviet academic publications since 1954, including

2599-419: Is 15–16 °C (59–61 °F) during the day and around 9 °C (48 °F) at night. In the coldest months, January and February, the average temperature is 5–6 °C (41–43 °F) during the day and around 1 °C (34 °F) at night. In the warmest months, July and August, the average temperature is around 26 °C (79 °F) during the day and around 19 °C (66 °F) at night. Generally,

2712-1102: Is not related to the ancient Greek name for the Crimean Peninsula as a whole: Chersonēsos Taurikē ("the Taurian Peninsula"). The name of the city is spelled as: Chersonesus founded in 6th century BC Hellenic Colonies 6th century BC – 480 BC Bosporan Kingdom 480 BC – 107 BC Kingdom of Pontus 107 BC – 63 BC Roman Republic 63 BC – 27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC – 330 Byzantine Empire 330 – 1204 Empire of Trebizond 1204 – 1461 Principality of Theodoro 1461 – 1475 Crimean Khanate 1475 – 1783 (Ottoman vassal from 1478 to 1774) Russian Empire 1783 – 1917 Founded as Sevastopol in 1783 Russian Republic 1917 Russian SFSR ( Soviet Union from 1922) 1917 – 1942 Nazi Germany 1942 – 1944 ( de facto ) Russian SFSR ( Soviet Union ) 1944 – 1954 Ukrainian SSR ( Soviet Union ) 1954 – 1991 Ukraine 1991 – 2014 ( de facto ; de jure – 1991–present) Russian Federation 2014 – present ( de facto ) In

2825-613: The Great Soviet Encyclopedia , indicated that Sevastopol, Crimean Oblast was part of the Ukrainian SSR . In 1954, under Nikita Khrushchev , both Sevastopol and the remainder of the Crimean peninsula were administratively transferred from being territories within the Russian SFSR to being territories administered by the Ukrainian SSR. Administratively, Sevastopol was a municipality excluded from

2938-521: The Aleutian Islands , at that time Russian territory. Russian local authorities helped his party, and the Russian government decided to use him as a trade envoy. On 28 June 1791, Catherine granted Daikokuya an audience at Tsarskoye Selo . Subsequently, in 1792, the Russian government dispatched a trade mission to Japan, led by Adam Laxman . The Tokugawa shogunate received the mission, but negotiations failed. Nicholas I, her grandson, evaluated

3051-607: The Battle of Sevastopol . German forces used railway artillery —including history's largest-ever calibre railway artillery piece in battle, the 80-cm calibre Schwerer Gustav —and specialised mobile heavy mortars to destroy Sevastopol's extremely heavy fortifications, such as the Maxim Gorky Fortresses . After fierce fighting, which lasted for 250 days, the fortress city finally fell to Axis forces in July 1942. It

3164-570: The CIS . On 28 July 1993, one of the leaders of the Russian Society of Crimea, Viktor Prusakov, said that his organisation was ready for an armed mutiny and the establishment of Russian administration of Sevastopol. In September, the commander of the joint Russian-Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet, Eduard Baltin , accused Ukraine of converting some of his fleet and conducting an armed assault on his personnel and threatened to take countermeasures placing

3277-766: The Crimean mountains are represented in Sevastopol, the southern chain by the Balaklava Highlands, the inner chain by the Mekenziev Mountains, and the outer chain by the Kara-Tau Upland (Black Mountain). Sevastopol has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ). Due to the summer mean straddling 22 °C (72 °F) it borders on a four-season oceanic climate , with cold winters and warm summers. The average yearly temperature

3390-478: The North Caucasus , right-bank Ukraine , Belarus , Lithuania , and Courland at the expense, mainly, of two powers—the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Catherine's foreign minister, Nikita Panin (in office 1763–1781), exercised considerable influence from the beginning of Catherine's reign. A shrewd statesman, Panin dedicated much effort and millions of rubles to setting up

3503-555: The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 . Russia inflicted some of the heaviest defeats ever suffered by the Ottoman Empire, including at the Battle of Chesma (5–7 July 1770) and the Battle of Kagul (21 July 1770). In 1769, a last major Crimean–Nogai slave raid , which ravaged the Russian held territories in Ukraine, saw the capture of up to 20,000 slaves for the Crimean slave trade . The Russian victories procured access to

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3616-522: The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 . This war was another catastrophe for the Ottomans, ending with the Treaty of Jassy (1792), which legitimised the Russian claim to the Crimean peninsula and granted the Yedisan region to Russia. In the Treaty of Georgievsk (1783), Russia agreed to protect Georgia against any new invasions and further political aspirations of their Persian suzerains . Catherine waged

3729-591: The Ukrainian SSR elected to the Verkhovna Rada , A. Korovchenko and M. Kulakov. In 1957, the town of Balaklava was incorporated into Sevastopol. Following Ukraine 's declaration of independence from the USSR in 1991, Sevastopol became the principal base of the Ukrainian navy . As the key naval base of the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet , it was a source of tensions for Russia–Ukraine relations until

3842-600: The United Nations General Assembly consider the referendum illegal and illegitimate. On 18 March, Russia annexed Crimea , incorporating the Republic of Crimea and federal city of Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia . However, the annexation remains internationally unrecognised, with most countries recognizing Sevastopol as a city with special status within Ukraine. While Russia has taken de facto control of Sevastopol and Crimea,

3955-462: The 1790s. In 1768, she formally became the protector of the political rights of dissidents and peasants of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which provoked an anti-Russian uprising in Poland, the Confederation of Bar (1768–1772), supported by France. After the rebels, their French and European volunteers, and their allied Ottoman Empire had been defeated, she established in the Commonwealth

4068-534: The 6th century BC, a Greek colony was established in the area of the modern-day city. The Greek city of Chersonesus existed for almost two thousand years, first as an independent democracy and later as part of the Bosporan Kingdom . In the 13th and 14th centuries, it was sacked by the Golden Horde several times and was finally totally abandoned. The modern day city of Sevastopol has no connection to

4181-587: The Black Sea and allowed Catherine's government to incorporate present-day southern Ukraine, where the Russians founded the new cities of Odessa , Nikolayev , Yekaterinoslav (literally: "the Glory of Catherine") and Kherson . The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca , signed 21 July 1774 (OS: 10 July 1774), gave the Russians territories at Azov , Kerch , Yenikale , Kinburn and the small strip of Black Sea coast between

4294-662: The Black Sea. After extended preparations, allied forces landed on the peninsula in September 1854 and marched to a point south of Sevastopol after winning the Battle of the Alma on 20 September. The Russians counterattacked on 25 October in what became the Battle of Balaclava and were repulsed, but the British Army 's forces were seriously depleted as a result. A second Russian counterattack, at Inkerman in November, ended in

4407-529: The Crimean state and maintain friendly relations with Russia. His period of rule proved disappointing after repeated effort to prop up his regime through military force and monetary aid. Finally, Catherine annexed Crimea in 1783. The palace of the Crimean Khanate passed into the hands of the Russians. In 1787, Catherine conducted a triumphal procession in the Crimea, which helped provoke the next Russo-Turkish War. The Ottomans restarted hostilities with Russia in

4520-549: The Empress and her court as a whole. Elizabeth doted on Sophie and saw her as a daughter after this. Sophie's father, a devout German Lutheran, opposed his daughter's conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy . Despite his objections, on 28 June 1744, the Russian Orthodox Church received Sophie as a member. It was then that she took the new name Catherine (Yekaterina or Ekaterina) and the (artificial) patronymic Алексеевна (Alekseyevna, daughter of Aleksey), so that she

4633-536: The Great of Prussia took an active part. The objective was to strengthen the friendship between Prussia and Russia, to weaken the influence of Austria , and to overthrow the chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin , a known partisan of the Austrian alliance on whom the reigning Russian Empress Elizabeth relied. The diplomatic intrigue failed, largely due to the intervention of Sophie's mother, Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp . Historical accounts portray Joanna as

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4746-601: The Ismailovsky Regiment to go to the Semenovsky Barracks, where the clergy was waiting to ordain her as the sole occupant of the Russian throne and began her reign as Empress of Russia as Catherine II. She had her husband arrested and forced him to sign a document of abdication, leaving no one to dispute her accession to the throne. On 17 July 1762—eight days after the coup that amazed the outside world and just six months after his accession to

4859-596: The Royal Swedish navy in the tied Battle of Hogland (July 1788), and the Swedish army failed to advance. Denmark declared war on Sweden in 1788 (the Theatre War ). After the decisive defeat of the Russian fleet at the Battle of Svensksund in 1790, the parties signed the Treaty of Värälä (14 August 1790), returning all conquered territories to their respective owners and confirming the Treaty of Åbo . Russia

4972-462: The Russian Empire as a potential rival, making for difficult and unfriendly relations between Beijing and Saint Petersburg. In 1762, he unilaterally abrogated the Treaty of Kyakhta , which governed the caravan trade between the two empires. Another source of tension was the wave of Dzungar Mongol fugitives from the Qing Empire who took refuge with the Russians. The Dzungar genocide which

5085-448: The Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russians became the first Europeans to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America . Many cities and towns were founded on Catherine's orders in the newly conquered lands, most notably Yekaterinoslav , Kherson , Nikolayev , and Sevastopol . An admirer of Peter the Great , Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and

5198-401: The Russian language, rising late at night to repeat her lessons in her bedroom. Staying up late at night in the harsh Russian cold caused her to fall ill with pneumonia , though she survived and recovered. In her memoirs, she wrote that she made the decision then to do whatever was necessary and to profess to believe whatever was required of her to become qualified to wear the crown. Although she

5311-572: The Russian protectorate since the reign of Peter I, but he did not intervene into the problem of political freedoms of dissidents advocating for their religious freedoms only. Catherine did turn Russia into a global great power, not only a European one, but with quite a different reputation from what she initially had planned as an honest policy. The global trade of Russian natural resources and Russian grain provoked famines, starvation and fear of famines in Russia. Her dynasty lost power because of this and of

5424-525: The Zubovs had other plans for the army, ordered the troops to retreat to Russia. This reversal aroused the frustration and enmity of the powerful Zubovs and other officers who took part in the campaign; many of them would be among the conspirators who arranged Paul's murder five years later. Catherine longed for recognition as an enlightened sovereign. She refused the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, which had ports on

5537-581: The adjacent Crimean Oblast . The territory of the municipality was 863.5 km and it was further subdivided into four raions (districts). Besides the City of Sevastopol proper, it also included two towns—Balaklava (having had no status until 1957), Inkerman, urban-type settlement Kacha, and 29 villages. For the 1955 Ukrainian parliamentary elections on 27 February, Sevastopol was split into two electoral districts, Stalinsky and Korabelny (initially requested three Stalinsky, Korabelny, and Nakhimovsky). Eventually, Sevastopol received two people's deputies of

5650-470: The administrative districts, they are not otherwise related to the administrative districts. Apart from navy-related civil facilities, Sevastopol hosts some other notable industries. An example is Stroitel, a major plastic manufacturer. There are different types of transport in Sevastopol: Sevastopol Shipyard comprises three facilities that together repair, modernise, and re-equip Russian Naval ships and submarines. The Sevastopol International Airport

5763-443: The amount of compensation it is paying to the city of Sevastopol for hosting the foreign Russian Black Sea Fleet, instead of requesting such compensation from the Russian government and the Russian Ministry of Defense in particular. On 27 April 2010, Russia and Ukraine ratified the Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas treaty , which extended the Russian Navy's lease of the Crimean facilities for 25 years after 2017 (through 2042) with

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5876-491: The ancient and medieval Greek city other than geographical location, but the ruins are a popular tourist attraction located on the outskirts of the city. Sevastopol was founded in June 1783 as a base for a naval squadron under the name Akhtiar ( White Cliff ), by Rear Admiral Thomas MacKenzie (Foma Fomich Makenzi), a native Scot in Russian service; soon after Russia annexed the Crimean Khanate . Five years earlier, Alexander Suvorov ordered that earthworks be erected along

5989-408: The benefits of friendship with Britain, Catherine was wary of Britain's increased power following its victory in the Seven Years' War , which threatened the European balance of power . Peter the Great had gained a foothold in the south, on the edge of the Black Sea, during the Azov campaigns . Catherine completed the conquest of the south, making Russia the dominant power in the Balkans following

6102-411: The bigger Sevastopol Bay . The ruins of ancient Chersonesus were situated to the west. The newly built settlement became an important naval base and later a commercial seaport . In 1797, under an edict issued by Emperor Paul I , the military stronghold was again renamed Akhtiar. Finally, on 29 April (10 May), 1826, the Senate returned the city's name to Sevastopol. In 1803 to 1864 along with Mykolaiv

6215-425: The city administratively separate from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Republic of Crimea , respectively. The city's population has an ethnic Russian majority and a substantial minority of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars . Sevastopol's unique naval and maritime features have been the basis for a robust economy. The city enjoys mild winters and moderately warm summers, characteristics that help make it

6328-404: The city is the Governor of Sevastopol . According to the city charter, amended on 29 November 2016, the governor is elected in a direct election for a term of five years and no more than two consecutive terms. The current governor is Mikhail Razvozhayev . During the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea by Russia , the pro-Russian City Council threw its support behind Russian citizen Alexei Chaly as

6441-417: The city was part of Nikolayev–Sevastopol Military Governorate. From 1853 to 1856, the Crimean peninsula's strategic position in controlling the Black Sea caused it to be the site of the principal engagements of the Crimean War , where Russia lost to a French-led alliance. After a minor skirmish at Köstence (now Constanța ), the allied commanders decided to attack Sevastopol as Russia's main naval base in

6554-421: 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. Sevastopol, along with

6667-399: The claim, threatening negotiations. In response, Ukraine proposed a "special partnership" with NATO in January 1997. In May 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty , ruling out Moscow's territorial claims to Ukraine. This was followed by the Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet on 28 May 1997. A separate agreement established

6780-426: The coast of the Atlantic Ocean and refrained from having a Russian army in Germany. Instead, she pioneered for Russia the role that Britain later played through most of the 19th and early 20th centuries as an international mediator in disputes that could, or did, lead to war. She acted as mediator in the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–1779) between the German states of Prussia and Austria. In 1780, she established

6893-512: The court poet Derzhavin in his famous ode; he later commented bitterly on Zubov's inglorious return from the expedition in another famous poem. By mid-June 1796, Zubov's troops easily overran most of the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan , including three principal cities— Baku , Shemakha , and Ganja . By November, they were stationed at the confluence of the Aras and Kura Rivers , poised to attack mainland Iran. In this month, Catherine died, and her son and successor Paul I, who detested that

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7006-405: The crown was constructed of two half spheres, one gold and one silver, representing the Eastern and Western Roman Empires , divided by a foliate garland and fastened with a low hoop. The crown contains 75 pearls and 4,936 Indian diamonds forming laurel and oak leaves, the symbols of power and strength, and is surmounted by a 398.62-carat ruby spinel and a diamond cross. The crown was produced in

7119-497: The early Soviet period when vital records are missing or prove difficult to find. Historians use them to research the social histories of the city. Catherine the Great Catherine II (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst ; 2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great , was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III . Under her long reign, inspired by

7232-519: The economy continued to depend on serfdom , and the increasing demands of the state and of private landowners intensified the exploitation of serf labour. This was one of the chief reasons behind rebellions, including Pugachev's Rebellion of Cossacks , nomads, peoples of the Volga, and peasants. The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility , issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. The construction of many mansions of

7345-419: The final version of her memoirs to her son, the future Paul I , in which she explained why Paul had been Peter's son. Saltykov was used to make Peter jealous, and she did not desire to have a child with him; Catherine wanted to become empress herself, and did not want another heir to the throne; however, Elizabeth blackmailed Peter and Catherine to produce this heir. Peter and Catherine had both been involved in

7458-433: The fleet on alert. (In June 1992, the Russian president Yeltsin and the Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk had agreed to divide the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet between Russia and Ukraine. Eduard Baltin had been appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet by Yeltsin and Kravchuk on 15 January 1993.) The Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov to claim the city, and in December 1996, the Russian Federation Council officially endorsed

7571-428: The foreign policy of Catherine the Great as a dishonest one. Catherine failed to reach any of the initial goals she had put forward. Her foreign policy lacked a long-term strategy and from the very start was characterised by a series of mistakes. She lost the large territories of the Russian protectorate of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania and left its territories to Prussia and Austria. The Commonwealth had become

7684-413: The harbour and Russian troops be placed there. In February 1784, Catherine the Great ordered Grigory Potemkin to build a fortress there and call it Sevastopol. The realisation of the initial building plans fell to Captain Fyodor Ushakov who in 1788 was named commander of the port and of the Black Sea squadron . The city was established on the western shore of Southern Bay which branches away from

7797-626: The ideas of the Enlightenment , Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe. In her accession to power and her rule of the empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin . Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev , and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor Ushakov , she governed at

7910-403: The international community considers the area as part of Ukraine. The city of Sevastopol is located at the southwestern tip of the Crimean peninsula in a headland known as Heracles peninsula on a coast of the Black Sea . The city is designated a special city-region of Ukraine which besides the city itself includes several of its outlying settlements. The city itself is concentrated mostly in

8023-457: The likely goal of subsequently getting rid of Peter III since at least 1749. Peter III's temperament became quite unbearable for those who resided in the palace. He would announce trying drills in the morning to male servants, who later joined Catherine in her room to sing and dance until late hours. In 1759, Catherine became pregnant with her second child, Anna, who only lived to 14 months. Due to various rumours of Catherine's promiscuity, Peter

8136-651: The location of the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters, and the Ukrainian Naval Forces Headquarters were also located in the city. A judicial row periodically continued over the naval hydrographic infrastructure both in Sevastopol and on the Crimean coast (especially lighthouses historically maintained by the Soviet and Russian Navy and also used for civil navigation support). As in the rest of Crimea, Russian remained

8249-517: The main motivations behind these measures was overcrowding in church crypts and graveyards. However, the true deciding factor which led to the new laws being enforced on such a mass scale across the entire Russian empire was to avoid further outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, especially the black plague which had led to the Plague Riot in Moscow in 1771. The Volkovo cemetery was founded in 1773. The first person to be buried in this cemetery

8362-426: The marriage was unsuccessful; it was not consummated for years due to Peter III's mental immaturity. After Peter took a mistress, Catherine became involved with other prominent court figures. She soon became popular with several powerful political groups that opposed her husband. Unhappy with her husband, Catherine became an avid reader of books, mostly in French. She disparaged her husband for his devotion to reading on

8475-584: The new government in Kyiv following the overthrow of the president, Viktor Yanukovych . On 27 February, pro-Russian militia, including Russian troops, seized control of government buildings in Crimea, and by 28 February, controlled other strategic locations such as the military airport in Sevastopol. On 16 March 2014, an internationally unrecognised referendum was held in Sevastopol with official results claiming an 89.51% turnout and 95.6% of voters choosing to join Russia. Ukraine and almost all other countries of

8588-481: The night of 8 July 1762 (OS: 27 June 1762), Catherine was given the news that one of her co-conspirators had been arrested by her estranged husband and that the coup they had been planning would have to take place at once. The next day, she left the palace and departed for the Ismailovsky Regiment , where she delivered a speech asking the soldiers to protect her from her husband. Catherine then left with

8701-595: The nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the empress, changed the face of the country. She is often included in the ranks of the enlightened despots . As a patron of the arts, she presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment , including the establishment of the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens , the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe. Catherine

8814-659: The nobility. Peter ceased Russian operations against Prussia, and Frederick suggested the partition of Polish territories with Russia. Peter also intervened in a dispute between his Duchy of Holstein and Denmark over the province of Schleswig (see Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff ). As Duke of Holstein-Gottorp , Peter planned war against Denmark, Russia's traditional ally against Sweden . In July 1762, barely six months after becoming emperor, Peter lingered in Oranienbaum with his Holstein-born courtiers and relatives, while Catherine lived in another palace nearby. On

8927-458: The north-west of present-day Germany near the border with Denmark) in 1739. The newlyweds settled in the palace of Oranienbaum , which remained the residence of the "young court" for many years. From there, they governed the duchy (which occupied less than a third of the current German state of Schleswig-Holstein , even including that part of Schleswig occupied by Denmark) to obtain experience to govern Russia. Apart from providing that experience,

9040-553: The one hand "Lutheran prayer-books, the other the history of and trial of some highway robbers who had been hanged or broken on the wheel". It was during this period that she first read Voltaire and the other philosophes of the French Enlightenment . As she learned Russian, she became increasingly interested in the literature of her adopted country. Finally, it was the Annals by Tacitus that caused what she called

9153-518: The option to prolong the lease in five-year extensions. The ratification process in the Ukrainian parliament encountered stiff opposition and even resulted in a brawl in the parliament chamber. Eventually, the treaty was ratified by a 52% majority vote—236 of 450. The Russian Duma ratified the treaty by a 98% majority. On 23 February 2014, a pro-Russian rally took place in Nakhimov Square declaring allegiance to Russia and protesting against

9266-468: The predominant language of the city, although following the independence of Ukraine there were some attempts at Ukrainisation , with very little success. Russian society in general and even some outspoken government representatives never accepted the loss of Sevastopol and tended to regard it as temporarily separated from Russia. In July 2009, the chairman of the Sevastopol city council, Valeriy Saratov ( Party of Regions ), said that Ukraine should increase

9379-552: The region is mostly rocky, in a series of smaller bays, a great number of which are located within the Bay of Sevastopol. The biggest of them are Southern Bay (within the Bay of Sevastopol), Archer Bay, a gulf complex that consists of Deergrass Bay, the Bay of Cossack, Salty Bay, and many others. There are over thirty bays in the immediate region. Three rivers flow through the region: the Belbek, Chorna, and Kacha. All three mountain chains of

9492-402: The rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine , and under the Ukrainian legal framework, it is administratively one of two cities with special status (the other being Kyiv ). However, it has been occupied by Russia since 27 February 2014, before Russia annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014 and gave it the status of a federal city of Russia . Both Ukraine and Russia consider

9605-525: The rivers Dnieper and Bug . The treaty also removed restrictions on Russian naval and commercial traffic in the Azov Sea , granted Russia the position of protector of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire and made Crimea a protectorate of Russia. In 1770, Russia's State Council announced a policy in favour of eventual Crimean independence. Catherine named Şahin Giray , a Crimean Tatar leader, to head

9718-427: The ruling dynasties of Germany, she received her education chiefly from a French governess and from tutors. According to her memoirs, Sophie was considered a tomboy and trained herself to master a sword. Catherine found her childhood to be uneventful; she once wrote to her correspondent Baron Grimm , "I see nothing of interest in it". Although Sophie was born a princess, her family had little money; her rise to power

9831-599: The second half of May and the first half of October; the average sea temperature is about 17 °C (63 °F). The average rainfall is about 400 millimetres (16 in) per year. There are about 2,345 hours of sunshine duration per year. According to the Constitution of Ukraine , Sevastopol is administered as a City with special status . Executive power in Sevastopol is exercised by the Sevastopol City State Administration , led by

9944-544: The summer/holiday season lasts 5 months, from around mid-May and into September, with the temperature often reaching 20 °C (68 °F) or more in the first half of October. The average annual temperature of the sea is 14.2 °C (58 °F), ranging from 7 °C (45 °F) in February to 24 °C (75 °F) in August. From June to September, the average sea temperature is greater than 20 °C (68 °F). In

10057-533: The terms of a long-term lease of land, facilities, and resources in Sevastopol and the Crimea by Russia. Russia kept its naval base, with around 15,000 troops stationed in Sevastopol. The ex-Soviet Black Sea Fleet and its facilities were divided between Russia's Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Naval Forces . The two navies co-used some of the city's harbours and piers, while others were demilitarised or used by either country. Sevastopol remained

10170-727: The throne as Emperor Peter III and Catherine became empress consort . The imperial couple moved into the new Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. The Emperor's eccentricities and policies, including his great admiration for the Prussian King Frederick II, alienated the same groups that Catherine had cultivated as allies. Russia and Prussia had fought each other during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) and Russian troops had occupied Berlin in 1761. Peter supported Frederick II, eroding much of his support among

10283-505: The throne included Ivan VI (1740–1764), who had been confined at Schlüsselburg in Lake Ladoga from the age of six months and was thought to be insane. Ivan VI was assassinated during an attempt to free him as part of a failed coup against Catherine. Like Elizabeth before her, Catherine had given strict instructions that Ivan was to be killed in the event of any such attempt. The woman later known as Princess Tarakanova (с. 1745–1775)

10396-411: The throne—Peter III died at Ropsha , possibly at the hands of Alexei Orlov (younger brother to Grigory Orlov, then a court favourite and a participant in the coup). Peter supposedly was assassinated, but it is unknown how he died. The official cause, after an autopsy, was a severe attack of haemorrhoidal colic and an apoplexy stroke. At the time of Peter III's overthrow, other potential rivals for

10509-459: The time of his daughter's birth, he held the rank of a Prussian general in his capacity as governor of the city of Stettin. However, because her second cousin Peter III converted to Orthodox Christianity, her mother's brother became the heir to the Swedish throne and two of her first cousins, Gustav III and Charles XIII , became Kings of Sweden . In accordance with the prevailing custom among

10622-464: The war and forbade Russia from basing warships in the Black Sea. This hampered the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and in the aftermath of that conflict, Russia moved to reconstitute its naval strength and fortifications in the Black Sea. During World War II , Sevastopol withstood intensive bombardment by the Germans in 1941–42, supported by their Italian and Romanian allies during

10735-410: The wedding could take place. Despite Joanna's interference, Elizabeth took a strong liking to Sophie, and Sophie and Peter were eventually married in 1745. When Sophie arrived in Russia in 1744 at age 15, she spared no effort to ingratiate herself not only with Elizabeth, but also with Elizabeth's husband Alexei Razumovsky and with the Russian people at large. She zealously applied herself to learning

10848-496: The western portion of the region and around the long Bay of Sevastopol . This bay is a ria , a river canyon drowned by Holocene sea-level rise, and the outlet of Chorna River . Away in a remote location southeast of Sevastopol is located the former city of Balaklava (since 1957 incorporated within Sevastopol), the bay of which in the Soviet era served as a main port for the Soviet diesel-powered submarines. The coastline of

10961-501: The years with many men, including Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski , Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (1734–1783), Alexander Vasilchikov , Grigory Potemkin , Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov and others. She became friends with Princess Ekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova , the sister of her husband's official mistress. In Dashkova's opinion, Dashkova introduced Catherine to several powerful political groups that opposed her husband; however, Catherine had been involved in military schemes against Elizabeth with

11074-495: Was 10, she met the second cousin who would become her future husband and Peter III of Russia . She later wrote that she immediately found Peter detestable and that she stayed at one end of the castle and Peter at the other. She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol. The choice of Sophie as wife of the future tsar was a result of the Lopukhina affair , in which Count Jean Armand de Lestocq and King Frederick

11187-532: Was Johann Gebhard Brethfeld, a merchant in Saint Petersburg. The person who has done the most work in investigating the history of the cemetery is Dr. Benedikt Böhm in Saint Petersburg. As of 2007, Dr. Böhm and published four volumes on the history of the cemetery, each of which contain extensive lists of names of those people who were buried there between 1773 and 1936. His 2 main sources for these publications are as follows: The publications are used by genealogists for family research in pre-revolutionary Russia and

11300-498: Was able to learn Russian, she spoke with a heavy accent, and made grammatical mistakes. Her writing also contained numerous spelling errors. In most circumstances Catherine II spoke French in her court. In fact the use of French as the main language of the Russian imperial court continued until 1812, when it became politically incorrect to speak French in court due to the war with Napoleonic France. Sophie recalled in her memoirs that as soon as she arrived in Russia, she fell ill with

11413-575: Was another potential rival. Although Catherine did not descend from the Romanov dynasty, her ancestors included members of the Rurik dynasty , which had preceded the Romanovs as rulers of Russia. She succeeded her husband as empress regnant , following the legal precedent of Empress Catherine I , who had succeeded her husband Peter I in 1725. Historians debate Catherine's technical status, whether as

11526-526: Was born on 2 May 1729 in Stettin , Province of Pomerania , Kingdom of Prussia , as Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica (Sophie Auguste Friederike) von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg. Her mother was Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp . Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt . He failed to become the duke of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and, at

11639-571: Was committed by the Qing Empire had led many Dzungars to seek sanctuary in the Russian Empire, and it was also one of the reasons for the abrogation of the Treaty of Kyakhta. Catherine perceived that the Qianlong Emperor was an unpleasant and arrogant neighbour, once saying: "I shall not die until I have ejected the Turks from Europe, suppressed the pride of China and established trade with India". In

11752-515: Was in all respects the namesake of Catherine I , the mother of Elizabeth and the grandmother of Peter III. The following year, on 21 August 1745, the long-planned dynastic marriage between Catherine and Peter finally took place in Saint Petersburg . Catherine had recently turned 16. Her father did not travel to Russia for the wedding. The bridegroom, then known as Peter von Holstein-Gottorp, had become Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (located in

11865-646: Was intended to be renamed to " Theodorichshafen " (in reference to Theodoric the Great and the fact that Crimea had been home to Germanic Goths until the 18th or 19th century) in the event of a German victory against the Soviet Union, and like the rest of Crimea was designated for future colonisation by the Third Reich. It was liberated by the Red Army on 9 May 1944 and was awarded the Hero City title

11978-592: Was intended to express its ancient Greek origins. It is a compound of the Greek adjective, σεβαστός ( sebastós , Byzantine Greek pronunciation: [sevasˈtos] ; 'venerable') and the noun πόλις ( pólis , 'city'). Σεβαστός is the traditional Greek equivalent (see Sebastian ) of the Roman honorific Augustus , originally given to the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus and later awarded as

12091-422: Was led to believe he was not the child's biological father and is known to have proclaimed, "Go to the devil!" when Catherine angrily dismissed his accusation. She therefore spent much of this time alone in her private boudoir to hide away from Peter's abrasive personality. In the first version of her memoirs, edited and published by Alexander Hertzen, Catherine strongly implied that the real father of her son Paul

12204-515: Was not Peter, but rather Saltykov. Catherine recalled in her memoirs her optimistic and resolute mood before her accession to the throne: I used to say to myself that happiness and misery depend on ourselves. If you feel unhappy, raise yourself above unhappiness, and so act that your happiness may be independent of all eventualities. After the death of the Empress Elizabeth on 5 January 1762 ( OS : 25 December 1761), Peter succeeded to

12317-478: Was one of the best means of advancing their interests. To improve the position of her house, Sophie was groomed throughout her childhood to become the wife of a powerful ruler. In addition to her native German, Sophie became fluent in French, the lingua franca of European elites in the 18th century. The young Sophie received the standard education for an 18th-century German princess, concentrating on etiquette, French, and Lutheran theology . In 1739, when Catherine

12430-492: Was supported by her mother Joanna's wealthy relatives, who were both nobles and royal relations. The more than 300 sovereign entities of the Holy Roman Empire, many of them small and powerless, made for a highly competitive political system in which the various princely families fought for advantages over one another, often by way of political marriages. For smaller German princely families, an advantageous marriage

12543-601: Was the first time that the council had to review and qualify actions of a legislative body. On 14 April 1993, the Presidium of the Crimean Parliament called for the creation of the presidential post of the Crimean Republic. A week later, the Russian deputy, Valentin Agafonov, said that Russia was ready to supervise a referendum on Crimean independence and include the republic as a separate entity in

12656-469: Was to stop any involvement in the internal affairs of Sweden. Large sums were paid to Gustav III and peace ensued for 20 years even in spite of the assassination of Gustav III in 1792. In 1764, Catherine placed Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski , her former lover, on the Polish throne . Although the idea of partitioning Poland came from Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine took a leading role in its execution in

12769-452: Was widely expected that a 13,000-strong Russian corps would be led by the seasoned general Ivan Gudovich , but the Empress followed the advice of her lover, Prince Zubov , and entrusted the command to his youthful brother, Count Valerian Zubov . The Russian troops set out from Kizlyar in April 1796 and stormed the key fortress of Derbent on 21 May (OS: 10 May). The event was glorified by

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