Travel Guide Simferopol (Сімферополь)

440,000 inhabitants. Simferopol is the capital of the Republic of Crimea. All roads in Crimea lead to Simferopol. Indeed, it is one of the only cities on the peninsula to have an airport and a train station. Although small in size (you can cross it in only 40 minutes), it is the largest city in the Crimea.The history of Simferopol began in the 3rd century BC, when it belonged to the Scythians, whose traces can still be seen in the suburbs of the ancient capital, Neapolis. Then the peoples who lived on the peninsula (Allains, Sarmatians, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, then Genoese and Tatars) lost interest in this steppe town, far from the ports and therefore from the trade routes to invade the coast. The Tartars established their first capital in Staryi Krym, in the east of the peninsula, and then in Bakhtchissarai, a little south of Simferopol. Nevertheless, they installed an imperial secondary residence there and the city then took the name of Ak-Merchet. In 1784, the city was annexed to Russia by Catherine II. Trade and exchanges then took a new direction. Russian domination requires the creation of a capital in the land, in order to extract ports from local community influences and to provide land transport to the north. It was therefore from the 19th century that Simferopol developed under Russian influence.In 2014, as part of the Ukrainian crisis, the territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol were taken over by pro-Russian separatists and the Russian Armed Forces. Following a referendum contested by Ukraine and many other countries, the decision was taken to attach Crimea to Russia.