The anniversary of the accession of Crimea, Taman and Kuban to Russia will be celebrated in Crimea today with free excursions, a film screening and festive lighting of the Simferopol TV tower.
"In honor of this historical event, two excursions and infotours will be held on April 19: "Catherine's Mile" and "The End of the Wild Field" - the official city tourist portal of Simferopol reports.
The first infotour will be dedicated to Empress Catherine the Great, the accession of Crimea to the empire and its flourishing during this period. The second excursion will allow you to learn about the activities of Catherine II and her associates - Grigory Potemkin and Alexander Suvorov. In addition, it will be told how the symbol of the city (the bee) is connected with Empress Catherine and Potemkin.
On the evening of April 19, Simferopol will include festive illuminations on the TV tower. The media facade will feature images of Catherine II and a moving line with the inscription “Happy Day of Crimea's Accession to the Russian Empire“.
A teleconference dedicated to the holiday is planned for April 21 between the youth of Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, during which participants will be able to share stories about the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and the special military operation, as well as exchange experiences of volunteer work.
As the director of the Central Museum of Taurida (Simferopol) Andrei Malgin said, Catherine II's policy on the southern border allowed the Russian Empire to become a great power. “Two circumstances that are most important for the history of our country are connected with the Black Sea region and Crimea: the baptism of Russia in the 10th century, which laid the ideological foundation of the state, and the events of the 18th century, which made Russia great. Before entering the Black Sea, it was simply a large European state, and these events, the acceptance of these territories into Russia, marked its emergence as a great power, and this continues to have an impact to this day,“ said Malgin.
He emphasized that the event of 1783 turned out to be fateful for the country. “This is of great importance for the formation of Russian state ideology, and it, in turn, influences the formation of Russian identity. The connection is indirect and may differ from how identity is formed, say, in neighboring European countries. But for Russia, state philosophy is important, and in this case it influences identity, and not vice versa, as sometimes happens in the world,”, the agency's interlocutor specified.
Vladimir Rezanov, deputy head of the Public Chamber of the Republic of Crimea and a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, is convinced that the spring of 2014 became the embodiment of the historical continuity of Crimea as the most important component of Russia. And its events are inextricably linked with the accession of Crimea and other southern territories by Catherine II. Moreover, such a memorable date has been celebrated on the peninsula since 1996.
The first deputy chairman of the State Council of Crimea, former senator Sergei Tsekov, is of the same opinion. "If this event (the manifesto of 1783) had not happened, then in all likelihood Crimea would not be part of the Russian Federation today. If we draw an analogy, the same thing happened in 2014: we voluntarily became part of Russia - and Russia treats us with great respect. After 1783, Crimea has been developing very successfully and actively. And much of what is in Crimea today appeared thanks to its being part of Russia," he said.
A memorable date "The Day of the Accession of Crimea, Taman and Kuban to the Russian Empire in 1783" was established in 2018. It was on this day (April 8, old style) in 1783 that Empress Catherine II signed the manifesto "On the Acceptance of the Crimean Peninsula, Taman Island and the Entire Kuban Region Under the Russian State".