Perekop

Perekop [Перекоп]. See Google Map; EU map: VII-14. City until 1920, now a village (2011 pop 894) on the Perekop Isthmus in Armiansk city council, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The Slavic name ‘Perekop’ is a translation from the Crimean Tatar ‘Or-Qapi,’ meaning ‘Gate at the Trench.’

In antiquity its predecessor was the walled city of Tafros (in Greek, Tαϑроç, meaning ‘Trench’), mentioned twice by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, with plans of becoming a major port. This trench extends 8 km, linking Karkinit Bay of the Black Sea with Syvash Lake and the Sea of Azov. In 1370 Armenian records mentioned the town as Orabazaar (Marketplace on the Trench) when it was taken by Emir Mamai. By the 15th century, with the establishment of the Crimean Khanate, it served as the departure point for Tatar raids into Ukraine. At the end of the 15th century Mengli-Girei built the fortress of Ferah Kermen (meaning the ‘Joyful Fortress’) and the Sahib Girei Mosque at the site. The city, called Qapi, had 1,500 houses, 12 mosques, and served as the main defensive position for the Crimean Tatars from the north, a source of salt trade, and customs control. Cossack Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny defeated the Tatars there in 1620. In 1736 and 1738 the Russians captured and destroyed the fortress, but it was rebuilt by the Tatars in 1754. Meanwhile, Armenian merchants from the destroyed city established (in the 1730s) 3 km farther south their Yeni Bazar (also called Ermeni Bazar, meaning, Armenian Market, later called Armiansk).

In 1783 Russia annexed the territory, established their settlement north of the trench, named it Perekop (although the Crimean Tatar name Qapi was also used) and turned it into a county center of Tavriia gubernia. Russian military continued to use the fort until 1835, when it was dismantled for building material. After the Crimean War (1854–1856) many Crimean Tatars emigrated from the region to Turkey, and Ukrainian settlers moved in. With the building of the Lozova–Sevastopol railway line (1873-75) the town lost its commercial importance. By 1896 the population of both Perekop and Armiansk was only 7,400. During the First World War and the Russian Civil War, fierce fighting in the area reduced the population even more.

In 1921 Perekop, now a village re-built on its N side and named after what was its namesake city, had 708 residents and Armiansk had 2,400. Together with other settlements, the Armiansk raion had 10,843. According to the census of 1926, Perekop was not mentioned, but Armiansk had 2,670 residents; the largest ethnic group (in percent) was Ukrainian (43.6), then Russian (22.9), Tatar (21.2), Jewish (7.2), German (0.8), Armenian (0.7) and Polish (0.7).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Halenko, O., and D. Vortman, ‘Perekop,’ Entsyklopediia istoriï Ukraïny, vol 8 (Kyiv 2011)

Ihor Stebelsky

[This article was updated in 2024.]