For many people in the summer, vacation in Feodosia is relevant. This wonderful Crimean city on the Black Sea coast captivated hundreds of thousands of tourists annually vacationing in it. What is so attractive that Theodosius has? A description of the location, history of the city, its population, infrastructure, recreational conditions and other issues related to this resort will be the subject of this review.
The geographical location of Feodosia
Before we begin to describe the population of Feodosia and other aspects of the life of the city, let's look at where it is located.
The city of Feodosia is located in the southeastern part of the Crimean peninsula, on the Black Sea, in the region of Theodosius Bay. It is located just between the Kerch Peninsula and the southern coast of the Crimea, being, as it were, a connecting link between them. The eastern part of the settlement is located on the seashore, and the western - on the spurs of the Tepe-Oba ridge of the Crimean mountains.
The climate in Feodosia is temperate, although sometimes there are signs of subtropical, due to the proximity to this climate zone.
Legal status
The legal status of the city, like the whole of Crimea, is ambiguous. According to Russian law (and in fact), this settlement is part of the Feodosiya urban district, which, in turn, is part of the Republic of Crimea. In the south-west, this administrative entity borders on the urban district of Sudak, in the north - with the Kirov region, in the north-east - with Leninsky. South and southeast are washed by the waters of the Black Sea. In addition, this urban district includes several urban-type villages and villages, the largest of which are Primorsky and Koktebel.
At the same time, according to Ukrainian legislation, Theodosius belongs to the city council of the same name, which is part of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and completely coincides with the boundaries of the city district. However, de facto Ukraine does not control these territories, so Russian legislation fully applies to them.
History of the city
Theodosius has a very long history. This is one of the oldest settlements in Crimea and Russia as a whole. The first population of Feodosia is the Greeks. It was the Greek colonists from the city of Miletus in the VI century BC. e. founded this locality. The name given by the Greeks to the locality they founded is translated from the ancient Greek language as "given by God." In the IV century BC e. Theodosius was forced to submit to the most powerful Greek state in Crimea - the Bosporus kingdom, which itself itself over time recognized its dependence on the Roman Empire.
In the 4th century AD, the city was subject to destruction by hordes of Huns. The field of this, what was left of it, was settled by the Alans, calling the village of Ardabd. The Roman Empire this time was able to regain control of Theodosius only after it was transformed into Byzantium, in the V century. True, the city then for some time passed into the hands of the Khazar Khaganate, but in the end it again returned to the sovereignty of the Byzantine Empire. However, the value and size of the ancient times of Theodosius of that time was far away, and, in fact, it existed as an insignificant village.
In the 13th century, Theodosius was controlled by the Golden Horde, which sold the village to merchants from Genoa, while retaining its supreme suzerainty over it. Since then, the city has become a Genoese fortress, which is an outpost of this maritime republic. Now he began to be called Kafa. Since antiquity, the city has not experienced such a heyday as under the Genoese. It was here that the Mamai Temnik fled from the wrath of the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh, after he was defeated by Dmitry Donskoy in the Kulikovo field. The population of Kafa at that time exceeded 70, 000 people, and then became larger than in Constantinople. Most of the residents were Armenians. A branch of the Genoese bank was opened in the Cafe, there was a theater.
Finally, in 1475, the Genoese were ousted from Kafa by the actively expanding Ottoman Empire. Now it has become a Turkish city. Although north of it were the lands of the vassal of the Ottoman Sultan - the Crimean Khan, but Kafa was not part of the Khanate, but was a direct part of the empire. In the Ottoman period, Café became one of the largest points in the slave trade, and there was a slave market. In the Turkish period, the development of salt deposits near the city also developed. In addition, as with the Genoese, there was a large port. Theodosius of that time was subjected to raids and plunder of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, for example, in 1616. During this expedition, many prisoners were also released.
In 1771, during the next Russo-Turkish war, Kafa was captured by Russian troops. After the Kuchuk-Kainadzhi peace treaty, this city finally became part of the Russian Empire. Since 1787, it became one of the settlements of the Tauride region. Since 1796, after administrative reform, Kafa was incorporated into the Novorossiysk province. In 1798, she received the status of a free port for 30 years. Six years later, Cafe returned its historical name - Theodosius.
This city was visited by many prominent personalities. He lived a significant part of his life, the famous painter Ivan Aivazovsky created and died. Also in Feodosia there was a Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.
After the 1917 revolution, Crimea, and in particular Theodosius, became the last stronghold of the White Army under the leadership of Wrangel. After the occupation of the city by the Bolsheviks in 1920, a wave of red terror swept here. The population of Feodosia at this time in the city was significantly reduced. The city, like the whole of Crimea, was included in the RSFSR.
During World War II, fierce battles fought over Theodosius. It was finally liberated by the Red Army only in April 1944.
In 1954, like the entire Crimean region, Theodosius became part of the Ukrainian SSR. After Ukraine gained independence in 1991, the city remained part of this state, first as part of the Crimean ASSR, then the Republic of Crimea, and then the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
In 2014, as a result of a referendum, Theodosius, like the whole Crimea, was annexed to the Russian Federation. Currently, the city is the administrative unit of the Republic of Crimea, which is part of the Russian Federation as a subject of the federation.
City population
The time has come to find out how many people make up the population of Feodosia. Currently, 68.6 thousand inhabitants live here. This is the fifth largest city in Crimea, excluding Sevastopol. Not so long ago, Theodosius took fourth place in this indicator, but Yalta surpassed it.
The population density in the city is 1621.2 people / sq. km For comparison, the population density in Simferopol is 3132.5 people / sq. km, in Kerch - 1379 people / sq. km, in Yalta - 4310.1 people / sq. km
Population dynamics
Now let's find out how Theodosius demographically changed over the course of several decades. We will look at the population of this city selectively for individual years from different periods of the relatively recent history of the city.
Let's start from the end of the century before last. In 1897, the population of Feodosia was 24.1 thousand inhabitants. After the revolution, this number decreased. So, in 1923, only 22.7 thousand inhabitants lived in the city. But by 1926 the population increased and reached the level of 27.3 thousand people. The growth in the number of inhabitants of Feodosia continued in the following years. So, in 1939 the number of residents reached the level of 45.0 thousand inhabitants, and in 1979 it was at the level of 76.4 thousand inhabitants. The maximum was reached after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. Then in Feodosia lived 86.4 thousand inhabitants. Neither before nor after this city had such a large population.
Then began a decline in the number of people living in Feodosia. So, in 1998, the population of the city decreased to the level of 80.9 thousand people. In 2008, it already amounted to 71.2 thousand people. A small increase in the number of residents was observed only in 2015, when the number of residents increased from 69.0 thousand inhabitants. (2014) to 69.1 thousand inhabitants. But in 2016, the demographic decline continued. The population decreased to the level of 68.6 thousand inhabitants.
Thus, from 1992 to 2016, the total reduction in the population of the city of Feodosia amounted to 17.8 thousand people.
Ethnic composition
Now consider the ethnic composition of the population living in the city of Feodosia.
According to the 2014 census, the bulk are Russians. Their share among all city residents is 79.4%. In second place with a significant lag are Ukrainians - 11.4%. Then Belarusians and Crimean Tatars follow - 1% each.
It is noteworthy that during the 2001 census, when Theodosius was still Ukrainian, the number of Russians was smaller, and the Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars were large. So, the proportion of Russians was 72.2%, Ukrainians - 18.8%, and Crimean Tatars - 4.6%. Belarusians were also slightly larger - 1.8%. However, this situation is quite expected. In Feodosia, many people have a mixed ethnic origin, so some of them during the census ranked themselves as the titular nation.
Also in Feodosia live Tatars, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Greeks, Moldavians, Georgians and other peoples. But the number of representatives of each of them does not exceed 1% of the total population of the city.
Religious denominations
There are many religious denominations in Feodosia, but most believers profess Orthodox Christianity.
The Crimean Tatar community, as well as most representatives of such nationalities as the Tatars and Azerbaijanis, practice Islam.
In addition, in Feodosia there is a Catholic community, as well as Christian communities of various Protestant trends.
City Administration
The body that governs the city is Theodosia City Council, consisting of 28 deputies elected every five-year period. At the moment, the chairman of the City Council is Svetlana Gevchuk.
The administration of Feodosia is an executive governing body. Its head is appointed by the City Council from candidates who have passed competitive selection. At the moment, the head of the city administration is Krysin Stanislav.
The administration of Feodosia has many specialized departments. Each of them is engaged in separate areas of work. Among the departments, the following should be distinguished: the Department of Youth and Sports, the Department of Economics, the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population. Theodosius is largely dependent on the quality of work of the city administration.
City Economy
The economy of Feodosia is on two pillars: tourism and sea transport.
According to the typology of resort areas, the city belongs to climatic and balneological resorts. The sea in Feodosia is very gentle and welcoming, but besides it, the city can provide vacationers with wonderful healing springs. We will talk more about the rest in Feodosia in a separate section.
But the main income of the city budget is tax revenues from the port. It is sea transport that largely forms the economy of the city.
However, tourism and transportation, although the main, but far from the only activities in Feodosia. Also, the city is very well developed trade. This is one of the activities that Theodosius can be proud of. The prices for products and goods, however, as in any resort city, are high at the height of the season.
There are in Feodosia and manufacturing industries. There are shipbuilding, optical, juice, wineries, as well as a building materials factory. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the production capacities of these enterprises decreased significantly.
Work in Feodosia
Given that the city is a resort, work here is seasonal. Of course, there are also enterprises that work all year round - factories, factories, a port, etc., but mostly jobs have been occupied for a long time, the staff turnover is relatively small, so you need to stand in a long "queue" to to get to such a place. Work in the port is especially prestigious, since the workers there receive rather high salaries.
But in the holiday season, there is more than enough for both local residents and visitors. In the summer, work in Feodosia is represented mainly by vacancies in the field of trade, as well as job offers in various resort institutions: boarding houses, recreation centers, children's camps.
Recreation Area
As mentioned above, rest in Feodosia is one of the main sources of income for the city and its population. On the territory of the urban district there are a huge number of health resort facilities. Among them, the following are of greatest importance: "Theodosia", "Sunrise", "Ukraine", the children's sanatorium "Volna", "Golden Beach". In each of these institutions, tourists can not only relax and spend time, but also improve their health. In the treatment and prevention of diseases in sanatoriums, mud and mineral therapy are used. Fortunately Feodosia is surrounded by numerous mineral springs, and there are deposits of healing mud.
But most vacationers still prefer to stay in small hotels or rent an apartment or a house in the private sector. This is not least due to lower prices when renting an apartment from private individuals. But in this case the question arises: where is the best way to rent housing in Feodosia? We will talk about this further.
Housing rental
Finding accommodation in Feodosia during the holiday season is really a big problem. Besides the fact that all apartments and private houses, the owners of which accept vacationers, can be crammed, even in high season prices for renting real estate painfully bite. Therefore, it is preferable to rent housing not in the city itself, but in resort villages that are part of the urban district of Feodosia, namely: Beregovoye, Koktebel and Primorsky.
If you are young enough and it is not difficult for you to walk a few kilometers to the sea, then for the removal of housing it is better to choose the streets of Feodosia and the surrounding villages that are located offshore. Thus, you will kill several birds with one stone. Firstly, far from the sea it is much easier to find housing than on coastal streets, secondly, rent prices are lower here, and thirdly, daily runs from home to the sea have a positive effect on health and overall fitness.
