page_title: Sevastopol
section_title: Politics and government
hierarchical_section_title: Sevastopol / Politics and government
caption_attribution_description: English: Celebrating Victory Day and the 70th anniversary of Sevastopol’s liberation.
context_page_description: Sevastopol; is the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula and a major Black Sea port. Since the Annexation of Crimea in 2014, Sevastopol has been administered as a federal city of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, Ukraine and a majority of the United Nations member countries continue to regard Sevastopol as a city with special status within Ukraine. The city has a Russian majority population, with smaller minorities of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.
  Sevastopol has a population of 393,304, concentrated mostly near the Sevastopol Bay and surrounding areas. The location and navigability of the city's harbors have made Sevastopol a strategically important port and naval base throughout history. The city has been a home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is why it was considered as a separate city in Crimea of significant military importance and was once operated by the Soviet Union as a closed city.
  Although relatively small at 864 square kilometres, Sevastopol's unique naval and maritime features have been the basis for a robust economy.
context_section_description: On 18 March 2014, the Kremlin announced that Sevastopol would become the third federal city in the Russian Federation, the two others being Moscow and St. Petersburg.
caption: Victory Day in Sevastopol, 9 May 2014
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