Stories

The Chora of Chersonesos. A Unique Outlook on the Ancient Civilisation

Sevastopol’s predecessor Chersonesos that had existed from the times of the Classic Greece (5th century B.C.) until the end of the Byzantine epoch (15th century A.D.) is a unique spot that allows one to see what the ancient civilisation looked like in reality and not on a textbook page. Traditionally, we view a colonial polis as a ground point directly tied to the metropolis. But actually, it was a system of settlements that we can define as a cell structure – the centre of the city was surrounded by a huge territory consisting of land parcels
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Film by Vladimir Mayakovsky about Jews in Crimea, 1927

Documentary "The Jews on the Land" was filmed in the USSR in the late 1920s.  It was part of a campaign against anti-Semitism. The film shows how the Jewish workers colonize the Black Sea area and Crimean lands. The film was made with the participation of notable avant-garde figures Viktor Shklovsky, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Lilia Brik, who were committed to the project of Jewish emancipation
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Birth of the Black Plague: The Mongol Siege on Caffa

Caffa (present-day Feodosiya) was a city set in Crimea, on the northern coast of the Black Sea. In 1345, the city of Caffa was razed by a vicious pandemic, in what would, centuries later, be recognized as the first use of biological warfare in history.
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Camels in Crimea

Camels occupied an essential place in the economic system of the Muslim Tatars of the Crimean peninsula andNorthern Black Sea region, which they had supposedly taken over from the nomads – Cumans and Turkicpeoples – of the Golden Horde. Natural conditions of the steppe zone, such as the semi-arid climate, low rainfall,low-density river system, and treeless grasslands, as well as cultural aspects such as the nomadic way of life and therespect for camels preached by Islam, contributed to the spread of the use of camels on the new lands.
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The incredible adventures of the German artist Josef Beuys in Crimea

Joseph Beuys is a famous German artist, one of the main theorists of postmodernism, the founder of "fluxus" - a specific kind of performance art. He created his art objects from melted bacon, felt, felt and honey. One of his famous works is a 1965 project called "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare", where a master, covering his head with honey and gold foil, moves through the gallery from picture to picture, "explaining" to the dead hare what kind of canvases they are.
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2017: Crimean artists’ Venice voyage meets a damp conclusion

Group of artists from Crimea set out for Venice on a raft made of their own artistic works. Things didn’t go exactly swimmingly, however. The "art gondola" was supposed to leave the village of Dobroi in the Simferopol region through the Black and Mediterranean seas to the 57th Venice Biennale on July 9, 2017. Having planned to broadcast the journey live on Periscope, their transmission ended as the vessel met its watery end.
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“Crimea, a place for sure I want to return”. Another Crimea: photo from Christopher Morris (USA)

My whole career I've had a strong desire to visit Crimea. In part from my past work as a war photographer, which helped create this long fascination with historic wars.The Crimean War has such a strong mystical sound to it. A sound of a place I've aways desired to go. So I jumped at the opportunity to visit this historic peninsula known as Crimea.My main focus turned in on Sevastopol, and the coast running up to Yalta.What I found was a people, be it locals or tourist from Russia, who were in love with their Sevastopol.Sevastopol with such a alluring presence about it, for everywhere your reminded of the sea & the sun. You walked the streets and everywhere you can feel the historic beauty of this wonderful city and her people.Crimea, a place for sure I want to return
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