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Taurida Governorate
Taurida Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire. It included the territory of the Crimean Peninsula and the mainland between the lower Dnieper River with the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. It formed after the Taurida Oblast was abolished in 1802 during Paul I's administrative reform of the territories of the former Crimean Khanate, which were annexed by Russia from the Ottoman Empire in 1783. The governorate's centre was the city of Simferopol. The name of the province was derived from Taurida (Greek: Ταυρική), a historical name for Crimea.
Today the territory of the governorate is part of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts of Ukraine, which were annexed by Russia after their 2022 invasion, but remain internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.
Almost all of the territory of the governorate is, as of September 2025, controlled by Russia, with Ukrainian control limited to two small areas of the north, with Orikhiv being the only significant settlement not captured.
In 1783, the Khanate of Crimea was annexed from the Ottoman Empire by Catherine the Great’s Russia. Soon after, Taurida Oblast was established. During the reign of Paul I the oblast was abolished, but in 1802 re-established as a governorate (guberniya). It was a part of the Russian Empire until the Russian Revolution of 1918.
Following the 1917 October Revolution, the ethnic Tatar government proclaimed the Crimean People's Republic on December 13, 1917, which was the first Muslim Democratic state. The Tatar republic covered the peninsular portion of the former governorate, while its northern counties ended up temporarily under jurisdiction of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate. However neither Ukraine nor the Crimea managed to hold on to their territories and were overrun by Bolshevik Red Guards in the winter of 1917-18. Briefly in early 1918 the bolsheviks split the governorate territories between the Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic and the Donetsk-Krivoi Rog Soviet Republic before being overrun by the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic with military assistance from the German Empire.
The governorate bordered Yekaterinoslav Governorate and Kherson Governorate to its north. The Strait of Kerch bordered the Free lands of the Don Cossacks. It has natural borders, being surrounded by the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The mainland and the peninsular parts of the region differ significantly. The total area of the governorate was 63,538 km2 (24,532 sq mi) of which the mainland portion consisted of 38,405 km2 (14,828 sq mi) and is largely black earth steppe land. The population of the whole region was 1,634,700 in 1906. At that time, the mainland part of the governorate was mostly populated by Ukrainians and a large Russian minority, but had significant ethnic minorities of Germans, Bulgarians, Armenians and Jews, while major ethnic groups of the Crimean peninsula were Crimean Tatars and Russians with German, Greek, Poles, Armenian, and Karaim minorities, while the far north and east of the peninsula was mostly inhabited by Ukrainians. Major urban centres were Simferopol, Sevastopol, Theodosia, Bakhchisaray, and Yalta in Crimea, and Aleshki, Berdyansk, and Melitopol on the mainland.
The governorate comprised three counties (uyezds) on the mainland:
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Taurida Governorate
Taurida Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire. It included the territory of the Crimean Peninsula and the mainland between the lower Dnieper River with the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. It formed after the Taurida Oblast was abolished in 1802 during Paul I's administrative reform of the territories of the former Crimean Khanate, which were annexed by Russia from the Ottoman Empire in 1783. The governorate's centre was the city of Simferopol. The name of the province was derived from Taurida (Greek: Ταυρική), a historical name for Crimea.
Today the territory of the governorate is part of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts of Ukraine, which were annexed by Russia after their 2022 invasion, but remain internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.
Almost all of the territory of the governorate is, as of September 2025, controlled by Russia, with Ukrainian control limited to two small areas of the north, with Orikhiv being the only significant settlement not captured.
In 1783, the Khanate of Crimea was annexed from the Ottoman Empire by Catherine the Great’s Russia. Soon after, Taurida Oblast was established. During the reign of Paul I the oblast was abolished, but in 1802 re-established as a governorate (guberniya). It was a part of the Russian Empire until the Russian Revolution of 1918.
Following the 1917 October Revolution, the ethnic Tatar government proclaimed the Crimean People's Republic on December 13, 1917, which was the first Muslim Democratic state. The Tatar republic covered the peninsular portion of the former governorate, while its northern counties ended up temporarily under jurisdiction of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate. However neither Ukraine nor the Crimea managed to hold on to their territories and were overrun by Bolshevik Red Guards in the winter of 1917-18. Briefly in early 1918 the bolsheviks split the governorate territories between the Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic and the Donetsk-Krivoi Rog Soviet Republic before being overrun by the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic with military assistance from the German Empire.
The governorate bordered Yekaterinoslav Governorate and Kherson Governorate to its north. The Strait of Kerch bordered the Free lands of the Don Cossacks. It has natural borders, being surrounded by the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The mainland and the peninsular parts of the region differ significantly. The total area of the governorate was 63,538 km2 (24,532 sq mi) of which the mainland portion consisted of 38,405 km2 (14,828 sq mi) and is largely black earth steppe land. The population of the whole region was 1,634,700 in 1906. At that time, the mainland part of the governorate was mostly populated by Ukrainians and a large Russian minority, but had significant ethnic minorities of Germans, Bulgarians, Armenians and Jews, while major ethnic groups of the Crimean peninsula were Crimean Tatars and Russians with German, Greek, Poles, Armenian, and Karaim minorities, while the far north and east of the peninsula was mostly inhabited by Ukrainians. Major urban centres were Simferopol, Sevastopol, Theodosia, Bakhchisaray, and Yalta in Crimea, and Aleshki, Berdyansk, and Melitopol on the mainland.
The governorate comprised three counties (uyezds) on the mainland: