Estonians in the Crimea

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 Hordeand the Crimean Khanate, the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in 1783.The imperial colonization policy that succeeded the deportation af the Crimean Tatarsta Turkey encouraged the peasants af the Estonian and Livonian gubernias ta emigrateta the Crimea. The drivingforces behind the emigration were not only economicbut also religious. For the members af a sect led by the Prophet Maltsvet the Crimeahad become the Promised Land.Thefirst Estonian settlements in the Crimea werefoundedin 1861-1864. Their namesZamruk, Kara-Kiyat, Konchi-Shavva, etc., indicate that the Estonians settled in thedeserted 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 hadalready established themselves. Sharing the community af interests, they built schoolsand churches together. When the Estonian writer Eduard Vildecame ta see the CrimeanEstonians 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 livingstandardwhich 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 onlyabout 500 Estonians living mainly at Beregovoe (Zamruk), Krasnodarka (KonchiShavva)and Novo-Estonia. Since the l 990s, Estonian cultural activities have againbecome possible in the Crimea. In Simferopol and Krasnodarka Estonian societieshave been established and any support from native Estonia would be welcome. Fromautumn 2002, a native language teacher from Estonia started ta work at theKrasnodarka secondary school.