Population of Sevastopol: dynamics in historical perspective

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Sevastopol is a hero-city located on the Black Sea coast. A large industrial, scientific, cultural and tourist center of the Republic of Crimea, due to the presence of large ports, is distinguished by a developed maritime trade. In ancient times, on the site of Sevastopol there was a Greek colony - Khersones, so the settlement, among other things, also has a rich historical past.

A brief history of the city and demographics

The city was founded in 1783, and at that time a small population of Sevastopol was represented by sailors of the Black Sea Fleet. The settlement looked more like a military camp, strict discipline reigned around. For several thousand sailors and soldiers, there were only a couple of hundred civilians.

The situation began to change when the crew members of the Black Sea Fleet began to start families. Many have retired. The active development of family life in Sevastopol and the growth of the population attractedvarious merchants, merchants.

A major demographic leap occurred at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The reason for this was the order for the mass construction of the Vice-Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet MP Lazarev. It was this event that led to the influx of labor, and the civilian population finally began to prevail.

Population growth was facilitated by another decree, which was already issued at the imperial level. All merchants and artisans, at the will of the emperor, were provided with quotas for living in Sevastopol: visitors over the next three years from the moment of resettlement were exempted from paying taxes, and after this period, the amount of fees was only half of the assigned amount. This influenced the fact that the population of Sevastopol quickly became larger than in other cities of the Crimean peninsula. Accordingly, the infrastructure of the settlement began to develop more actively.

Crimean war: fertility decline and military casu alties

Sevastopol was turned into ruins by military operations during the Crimean War. The city held the defense to the last, but the enemy broke through. The population of Sevastopol was reduced to three thousand inhabitants. Having destroyed the Lazarevsky Admir alty, the invaders deprived the city of its economic basis. And after the liquidation of the Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol was completely called a ghost town. The city remained in this state for the next thirty years.

The revival of Sevastopol was facilitated by the construction of a railway connection with Moscow. An international commercial port was opened, which received both domestic and foreign ships. Soon the city regained the status of the main naval base.

The bloody twentieth century

Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the city was a progressive cultural, economic and commercial center. The growth of the population of Sevastopol has reached fifty thousand inhabitants.

But the war came again, only the First World War, and then the civil and revolution. All these events led to the fact that there were ten thousand fewer Sevastopol residents. People died not only from fighting, but also from disease and hunger. The city was constantly trying to get back on its feet, recovering from the destruction, but who could have known that it was only the calm before the storm.

The Great Patriotic War began for the population of Sevastopol one and a half hours earlier than for other cities of the Soviet Union. By May 9, 1941, about two thousand inhabitants lived in the city, before the war the figure was about one hundred thousand. The enemy did not spare anyone: half of the townspeople were evacuated, most of the rest went to the front, the rest, if not executed by the Nazis, died from bombing or starvation.

In the post-war period, the population gradually grew due to the fact that those who were evacuated or forcibly taken to concentration camps returned to their homes. Workers who rebuilt the city were added to the permanent residents. The return of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet also contributed to the influx of people.

Ethnic composition of the population

To date, the population of Sevastopol is four hundred and twenty-eight thousand people. The city can rightly be considered multinational, because the indigenous people make up only half of the population.

On the territory of modern Sevastopol live:

• Russians, who make up fifty percent of the total number of citizens;
• Ukrainians, mostly from the southern, eastern and central regions of the country;
• Jews;
• Armenians;
• Belarusians;
• Tatars;
• Moldovans.

All national groups get along well with each other and are fluent in their native languages. Such ethnic diversity in no way interferes with the development and existence of the city.

Employment of the population of Sevastopol

As evidenced by the social protection of the population, Sevastopol is a cluster of civil servants. It is in this sector that most of the city's residents work. Next, follow the military and employees of insurance companies. Representatives of trade and auto mechanics also became top leaders. A large number of residents are employed in education and he althcare. A significant percentage of workers are employed in the manufacturing industry. The mining industry and fishing closes this list of employment.

Sevastopol rightfully has the status of a hero city. After all, so much fell on the fate of the inhabitants of the city: Sevastopol wasalmost wiped off the face of the earth and revived again thanks to caring citizens. Today, Sevastopol is a rich and developing city, which will only prosper in the future.