the political issues and do not concentrate on the people of the peninsula . The social and political issues that Crimean Armenians have encountered during the post-Soviet transitional period are not sufficiently discussed . In order to fill the articulated gaps , interviews with representatives of the Crimean Armenian Community and content analysis have been conducted .
The Crimean Armenians in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods
Crimea has always been a multinational hub that underwent a number of transformational phases . In 1921 , the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union . In 1936 , it was renamed the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic and in 1945 it was transformed into the Crimean Oblast . Even within Soviet Russia , Crimea had witnessed significant transformations . From 1942 to 1943 it was under the control of Nazi Germany . A year later , in 1944 , after regaining control over Crimea , Stalin ordered the deportation of the Crimean Tatars using their collaboration with the Nazis as a pretext . Around 250,000 Tatars were deported to Central Asia ( Potichnyj 1975 ). Later , Armenians , Greeks and Bulgarians of the peninsula were deported as well . The demographics of Crimea witnessed a dramatic shift . In 1954 , the Crimean Oblast was given to the Ukrainian SSR . The decree was published on the front page of “ Pravda ” and stated that the decision was made taking into account the economic commonalities , closeness and cultural and communication links between Crimea and Ukraine ( Siegelbaum 2021 ). After the collapse of the Soviet Union , Crimea transformed into the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within independent Ukraine and a special status was given to the city of Sevastopol . According to Article 133 of the Ukrainian Constitution of 1996 , the cities of Kiev and Sevastopol have a special status , which is regulated by the laws of Ukraine ( Constitution of Ukraine 1996 ). According to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine № 11-rp / 2001 from 13.07.2001 , forms of local self-government in each state are determined taking into account its political and territorial structure as well as historical , national , economic and other characteristics ( Constitutional Court of Ukraine 2001 ). There is special provision on the special status of the city of Sevastopol which states that the hero-city Sevastopol is a city of national importance with a special status due to a number of reasons such as historical and geographical significance , the base of the Ukrainian naval forces and the temporarily located Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation , the characteristics of local budget formation , executive power and local selfgovernment ( Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 2006 ).
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