PEOPLE’S COMMISSARIAT OF NATIONALITIES OF THE RSFSR AND THE CREATION OF THE CRIMEAN ASSR
Authors: Mineeva Elena K. , Zykina Alevtina P. , Mineev Alexey I. 
Published: June 2022

Just recently, Russia celebrated the 8th anniversary of the return of Crimea “to its native harbor.” This important event, both for the whole country and the region, makes us once again turn to the historical fate of the Crimean Peninsula. At almost all important stages of historical development, from the time of colonization of the Northern Black Sea region by the Greeks and to the present, this region attracted the attention of all neighbors, both close and the most remote ones, which is due to the special geopolitical position of the Crimea. We can say that whoever owns the peninsula controls the entire Northern Black Sea region, and is an intermediary between Europe and the Middle East. The geographical location enables the Crimean Peninsula to play an important role as a commercial and military-political port, which also indicates the strategic importance of the region.

The years 1991 to 2008 are one of the most difficult periods in the history of Crimea. And most of the problems of the Crimean people at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries were associated with the consequences of the not fully thought-out policy of the Soviet leadership. In this regard, we consider it necessary to analyze more carefully most of the events of the Soviet Union era, since in one way or another they continue to influence modern processes. So far, a complete compromise has not yet been reached among individual active figures of the Crimean Tatar social movement and the leadership of the Republic of Crimea. History already has the experience of successfully resolving such a confrontation between representatives of the Soviet government in Crimea, on the one hand, and the Crimean Tatars in 1920-1921, on the other. As a result, the Crimean ASSR was created as part of the RSFSR. This problem has not yet received proper coverage in historiography. A certain obstacle for those wishing to be engaged in this research topic was the fact that documentary materials have long been part of the archival repositories of two states: the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea (until 2014 in Ukraine) and the State Archive of the Russian Federation. Current international events also do not contribute to an objective and impartial assessment of the problem of the formation of the Crimean Autonomy, which in October 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the Crimean ASSR. Despite the anniversary date, this historical event, in our opinion, has received insufficient attention and coverage in society.

In modern conditions, further study and generalization of the experience of the creation and existence of the Crimean ASSR is required. It can be useful at the current stage of the national-state development of the peninsula. The purpose of the study is to analyze the historical conditions in which the formation of national-territorial autonomy on the Crimean Peninsula took place with the active and leading role of the People’s Commissariat. The study does not pretend to be exhaustive, but makes a certain contribution to the coverage of the issue.