After the Bolshevik Revolution and the formation of the Soviet Union, Black Sea Germans, prior to World War II, were subjected to the forced starvation of man-made famines, the closure of German-language churches, schools, and community organisations, and were required to change their language of instruction from German to Russian. The 45,000 Germans in Crimea (along with other Black Sea Germans) were forced into exile in Siberia and Kazakhstan, many into forced labour camps. Many did not survive the labor camps.