Yalta

Yalta (Russian: ????) is a town in the Crimea in southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.It has about 77,100 inhabitants (2004). It is situated at coordinates {{coor dm|44|29|N|34|10|E|type:city(70,000)_region:UA}}.

Related Topics:
Russian - Crimea - Ukraine - Black Sea

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The town is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore (yalos in Greek) on which to land. It is situated on a shallow bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by wooded mountains. It enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate with many vineyards and orchards in the vicinity.

Related Topics:
Ancient Greek - Greek - Mediterranean

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The existence of Yalta was first recorded in the 12th century by an Arab geographer, who described it as a Byzantine port and fishing settlement. It became part of a network of Genoese trading colonies on the Crimean coast in the 14th century, when it was known as Etalita or Galita. Yalta and the rest of the Crimea was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1475, which made it a semi-independent subject territory under the rule of the Crimean Khanate. Yalta was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, along with the rest of the Crimea, sparking the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792.

Related Topics:
12th century - Arab - Byzantine - Genoese - 14th century - Ottoman Empire - 1475 - Crimean Khanate - Russian Empire - 1783 - Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792

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In the 19th century, the town became a fashionable resort for the Russian aristocracy and gentry. The writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov spent their summers there; Yalta is the setting for Chekhov's short story The Lady With the Pet Dog. The town was also closely associated with royalty. In 1889 Tsar Alexander III built the Massandra Palace a short distance to the north of Yalta and Nicholas II built the Livadia Palace in the south of the town in 1911.

Related Topics:
19th century - Leo Tolstoy - Anton Chekhov - Short story - 1889 - Alexander III - Massandra Palace - Nicholas II - Livadia Palace - 1911

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During the 20th century Yalta was the principal holiday resort of the Soviet Union. In 1920, Lenin issued a decree "On the Use of the Crimea for the Medical Treatment of the Working People" which endorsed the region's transformation from a fairly exclusive resort area into a recreation facility for tired proletarians. Numerous workers' sanatoria were constructed in and around Yalta. There were, in fact, few other places that Soviet citizens could come for a seaside holiday, as foreign travel was forbidden to all but a handful. The Soviet elite also came to Yalta; the Soviet dictator Stalin used the Massandra Palace as his summer residence.

Related Topics:
20th century - Soviet Union - 1920 - Lenin - Sanatoria - Stalin

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The town came to worldwide attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" powers – the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the Livadia Palace.

Related Topics:
1945 - Yalta Conference - United States - United Kingdom

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Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yalta has struggled economically. Many of the nouveaux riche started going to other European holiday resorts, now that they had the freedom and money to travel; conversely, the impoverishment of many ex-Soviet citizens meant that they could no longer afford to go to Yalta. The town's transport links have been significantly reduced with the end of almost all passenger traffic by sea. In recent years, Yalta has staged a recovery as economic conditions have improved and tourists have returned. It is still almost entirely frequented by Russian and Ukrainian tourists, with relatively few visitors from western Europe.

Related Topics:
Collapse of the Soviet Union - 1991

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