According to the latest data, the population of Sudak is 16 thousand 784 people. These are the data for 2018. It is a city of republican subordination, located on the territory of the Republic of Crimea. It is located in the southeast of the peninsula, on the very shore of the Black Sea. Officially part of the urban district of the same name, it is considered a traditional and popular resort, the center of wine production.
Numbers
The first information about the population in Sudak dates back to 1805. At that time, the city was in blatant decline, and only 320 people lived on its territory.
After the Bolsheviks came to power, the situation changed radically, the population of Sudak began to grow before our eyes. If in 1926 no more than two thousand people were registered here, then already in 1966 - more than eight thousand inhabitants.
More accurate data on the population of Sudak, according to censusespopulation, have been conducted since 1979. At that time, 11 thousand 281 inhabitants were recorded in the city.
Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population of Sudak grew to 15,399 people. When Ukraine separated from the USSR, the city, together with the Republic of Crimea, became part of the largest state among those located entirely in Europe.
By 2001, the population of Sudak in the Crimea has changed slightly, decreasing to approximately 14.5 thousand inhabitants. By 2009, the situation remained at about the same level, the number of officially registered citizens exceeded fifteen thousand people.
After that, statistics on how many people are in Sudak can be found for each year. Since 2010, there has been a slight but steady growth every year.
The mark of sixteen thousand people was overcome in 2014, when the city, together with the Crimean peninsula, became part of the Russian Federation. In 2016, a slight decline was noted, while it can be said that the population in Sudak in Crimea remained at the same level, having decreased by only a few dozen people.
In 2017, there was again a slight increase. The population of Sudak in 2018 is, according to official figures, 16,784 people.
The results of the population census held in the Crimean Federal District in 2014 have been summed up. More than half of the inhabitants of the urban district of the same name live on the territory of Sudak. In 2018, the population of Sudak still prefers to stay in the largest settlement in the district.
National composition
The vast majority of local residents are Russians. They are about 65 percent of the total population of Sudak. The figures are approximate, because not everyone wanted to indicate their nationality.
About 17 percent of the population of Sudak are Crimean Tatars. Also, about 12.5 percent of Ukrainians live here, about one and a half percent of Tatars. Less than one percent of the population of Sudak in Crimea are Belarusians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Poles and Uzbeks.
About two and a half percent of residents did not want to indicate their nationality, exercising their right to do so.
Employment
Basically, the population of the city of Sudak is employed in the resort industry, in the production of champagnes and fine wines, as well as the famous local rose oil.
Sudak is a well-known Black Sea climatic resort, which has been popular since the days of the Soviet Union. People are still actively sent here not only for recreation, but also for treatment in numerous local sanatoriums. This area is recommended for patients with cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases of a non-tuberculous nature, and functional diseases of the nervous system.
Sudak is still the only city on the territory of the entire Crimean peninsula, which has he althy mineral sulfate-hydrocarbonate water from local sources and beaches made of quartz sand.
Every year, about 180 thousand people come to Sudak and the urban district of the same name, which is more than tentimes the population of Sudak in 2018.
The vast majority of them are the so-called "wild tourists" or unorganized vacationers. They stay in hotels, hostels, apartments with local residents who, during the high season, tend to rent out every square meter. Therefore, in one way or another, the vast majority of the local population is employed in the tourism sector.
Also, there are eighteen boarding houses in the city, in which, as a rule, there are no free places during the summer.
History of the city
According to researchers, the city was founded by the Alans, most likely in 212. These are tribes belonging to the Iranian-speaking group. This conclusion, in particular, was made by the Soviet professor, ethnographer-caucasian, doctor of historical sciences Alexander Vilyamovich Gadlo. It was he who led the Caucasian archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the Leningrad State University.
In the future, the history of the city developed as follows. In the Middle Ages, it was called Sugdea (among the Greeks) and Soldaya (among the Italians). The population at that time was actively growing due to the arrival of merchants, merchants and artisans from various countries. There were especially many Italians and Greeks, which is why the variants of the name of Sudak from these languages have survived to this day.
In the VI century, on the orders of the influential Bulgarian Khan, a defensive fortress was built in Sudak.
In the famous monument of Byzantine literature called "The Life of St. Surozhsky" you can find a description of how the city was nevertheless conquered by the Rus. This happened at the end of the 8th or at the very beginning of the 9th century. An unknown author notes that the army of Prince Bravlin fell on the entire Crimean coast. The Rus took possession of the Byzantine cities from Kerch to Chersonese. It was possible to take Surozh only after a ten-day siege and fierce battles, breaking the iron gates by force.
It is further described that when Bravlin approached the tomb with the relics of Stefan Surozh (Byzantine saint), which was located in the St. Sophia Church, some kind of enlightenment seemed to happen to him. Bravlin came to his senses and ordered his soldiers to return to the locals everything that was taken from them, to release the prisoners. It turned out that at the moment when he approached the relics, he was struck by an illness, he wanted to be cured in this way, but nothing came of Bravlin, healing did not come. Then the pagan prince was forced to be baptized, only then his face, previously disfigured and mangled, returned to its former position. Bravlin was baptized by the local archbishop Filaret. From that moment on, the spread of Christianity among the ruling elite of Kievan Rus actually began. When describing the city of Sudak, guides and history buffs always focus on this episode, noting that it was thanks to the locals that Christianity began to gradually embrace Russian lands.
Important shopping center
Over time, the city has become an important transit point and commercial center, which was facilitated by its favorable geographicalposition. The famous Great Silk Road ran through it, which reached its peak in the 12th-13th centuries. In 1206, after Constantinople was conquered, and Byzantium was divided, the city came under the actual control of the Venetian commercial republic. But in fact, they were led by the Kipchaks - this is one of the names of the Polovtsy.
Approximately in 1222, the city was raided by the Asia Minor Seljuks on the orders of Ala ad-Din Kay-Kubad, the ruler of the Kony sultanate. They managed to defeat the Polovtsian army, which the Russian troops also tried unsuccessfully to support. In fact, the reason for this cruel raid was the numerous complaints from merchants about the regular ruin of their ships. The result was the almost universal destruction of bells and crosses, minbars (pulpits characteristic of a mosque) and mihrabs (the place where the imam prayed during the service) were installed in the premises of most churches. Sharia was introduced in the city itself.
Interesting fact: it was in medieval Sudak that the house of the uncle of the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo was located.
In the XIII-XIV centuries, the city was ravaged again, this time by the Mongols. However, it was quickly restored. In 1365, Soldaya was conquered by the Genoese, who included it in their possessions in the Crimea. During this period of local history, the ruler was the Italian consul, who was elected every year. From that era, the city has preserved the Genoese fortress, which remains one of the main attractions of Sudak. Her towers and city wallsat that time they were a reliable defensive fortification.
Under the Ottomans
In 1475, Sudak was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. He went to her possessions along with the Orthodox Principality of Theodoro, which existed on the territory of Crimea, and all the Genoese territories on the peninsula.
During the Ottoman rule, the city actually completely lost its military significance, while remaining one of the centers of the smallest administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire, which was officially called kadylyk in those days.
Within the Russian Empire
Sudak went to the Russian Empire together with the entire Crimea in 1783 under Empress Catherine II. At the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, the city remained practically deserted, and it became unprofitable to live here. It turned into a small village, in which for some time a little more than thirty people lived.
The entry of Sudak into the Russian Empire gave the city a second wind, it began to transform before our eyes. In 1804, the first winemaking school in Russia was opened here. At the same time, the village of Sudak remained for almost the entire 20th century. The status of the city was officially returned to him only in 1982.
An important event in the fate of the settlement was the opening of the Sudak winery, which took place in 1920. It is still operating, being the largest among the structures that are part of the federal state unitary enterprise "Massandra". Along with the resort industrya significant part of the local population is still associated with winemaking.
During World War II, the city was occupied by German and Romanian troops. The settlement was under the rule of the Nazis from November 1941 to April 1944. At the very beginning of 1942, the famous Sudak Soviet tactical landing force landed on the shore, which managed to completely liberate the village and keep it in the hands of the Red Army for two weeks. During this outstanding and heroic operation, most of the paratroopers died.
Currently, Sudak is part of the Russian Federation. Andrey Nekrasov is the mayor of the city.
Transportation
The city has developed public transport. Six routes officially run, but most of them are seasonal, used only when there is a large influx of tourists. Only one of these routes operates without interruption all year round.
Using the bus service, you can also get to one of the nearby settlements. These are the villages of Almond, Novy Svet, Solnechnaya Dolina, Bogatovka, Mesopotamia, Raven, Kholodovka, Grushevka. Most of the routes are served by the only local carrier - this is the limited liability company "Auto Line".
In Sudak itself there is also a bus station. Intercity buses run to Feodosia, Simferopol, Alushta. Rail and air tickets departing from major Crimean cities can be purchased at Sudak itself.
Social sphere
Currently in townthere are three secondary schools. One of them bears the name of the hero of the Soviet Union, participant of the Great Patriotic War Alexei Emelyanovich Chaika. And another offers Crimean Tatar education, as this diaspora is quite impressive.
There is also a children's and youth center, a sports school, a hospital and a clinic, a branch of the Romanov College of the Hospitality Industry, the House of Culture.
Attractions
On the photos from the city of Sudak, which are brought by tourists, you can always see the main attraction of these places - the Genoese fortress. It was built in the XIV-XV centuries, appeared in 1469 as a stronghold for the colony of the Genoese in the northern Black Sea region.
In our time, it is located on the Fortress Hill (about 150 meters above sea level). The fortification complex itself consists of two lines of defense at once. The inner one is based on the castle of St. Elijah and the citadel, and the outer one is based on the castle of the Holy Cross.
Until 2014, the fortress was part of the Sofia Museum, located in Kyiv, its branch was opened here. After the entry of Crimea into Russia, an independent institution was created on the territory of the defensive structure - the museum-reserve "Sudak fortress". You can visit the fortress on your own or as part of organized groups with guides.
In the reviews of tourists about this city, it is noted that this is one of the best resorts in the Crimea, which manages to combine the pleasure of the sun and the Black Sea with useful procedures, healing mineralwater, effective treatment. In addition, there is an important cultural and historical component here, which will attract everyone who is interested in antiquities.
In addition to the fortress, tourists are attracted by the two palaces of Lev Golitsyn, which are located in the village of Novy Svet, which is part of the urban district of Sudak. This is the seaside estate of the famous winemaker, the center of which is two buildings - a house for visitors and the so-called master's house. It is located in the tract with the speaking name Paradise. Golitsyn acquired it from Prince Kherkheulidzev at the end of the 19th century. Soon there was established the production of champagne, which operates today. The Russian prince planted numerous vineyards, and also laid cellars at a considerable depth for storing wine. It is known that Emperor Nicholas II visited these places in 1912.
In addition, tourists are attracted by the local city historical museum, which allows you to trace the entire history of these glorious and ancient places, the Sudak winery, which has existed for almost a century, and a different architecture of the 19th century. The monument "Hill of Glory" was opened (this is a mass grave of underground workers and paratroopers, who in 1942 made that very famous landing on the shore of Sudak, knocking the Germans out of the city for two weeks).
In 2003, a water park was opened on the territory of the resort town, after which even more travelers with children of all ages began to come here.
Besides, there are many places of worship in Sudak. The most ancient of them is the temple of the holy prophetElijah of the IX-XI centuries, the temple of the Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva, built by the Byzantines in the XII-XIII centuries, the Church of the Twelve Apostles of the same time and many other buildings.
