The Krymchaks (Krymchak: sg. кърымчах - qrımçax, pl. кърымчахлар - qrımçaxlar) are an ethno-religious community of Crimea derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Rabbinic Judaism. They have historically lived in close proximity to the Crimean Karaites. At first krymchak was a Russian descriptive used to differentiate them from their Ashkenazi Jewish coreligionists, as well as other Jewish communities in the former Russian Empire such as the Georgian Jews, but in the second half of the 19th century this name was adopted by the Krymchaks themselves. Before this their self-designation was "Срель балалары" (Srel balalary) - literally "Children of Israel". The Crimean Tatars referred to them as zuluflı çufutlar ("Jews with pe'ot") to distinguish them from the Karaites, who were called zulufsız çufutlar ("Jews without pe'ot").
By the 11th century, Byzantine Jews of Constantinople had familial, cultural, and theological ties with the Jews of Kiev. For instance, some 11th-century Jews from Kievan Rus participated in an anti-Karaite assembly held in either Thessaloniki or Constantinople.[citation needed] One of the three Kievan city gates in the times of Yaroslav the Wise was called Zhydovski (Judaic).
Crimean Tatars (Crimean Tatar: Qırımtatarlar, Ukrainian: Кримськi татари, Russian: Крымские татары) or Crimeans (Crimean Tatar: Qırım, Qırımlı) are a Turkic ethnic group, and formerly during the Crimean Khanate a Turco-Mongol ethnic group, native to the Crimea (a peninsula on the northern part of the Black Sea) in modern-day Ukraine. They are a subgroup of the Tatars. Crimean Tatars speak Crimean Tatar, Russian or Turkish, depending on locale, and increasingly Ukrainian, as it is mostly the language of education. For example, in Crimea, they use Russian in public and/or with non-Tatars, while Turkey's population of Crimean Tatar ancestry primarily uses Turkish.
In modern times, in addition to living in Ukraine, there is a large diaspora of Crimean Tatars in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Romania, Bulgaria, Western Europe, the Middle East and North America, as well as small communities in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and Poland.
In the Ukrainian Census in 2001, 248,200 reported that they are Crimean Tatars.[8] Of these, 243,400 lived in Crimea.[9] In addition, 1,800 Crimean Tatars lived in the city of Sevastopol,[8] which lies on the Crimean peninsula but has a special status.
As of 2012, there are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Ukraine and about 300,000 of them are Crimean Tatars.[1]
About 150,000 remain in exile in Central Asia, mainly in Uzbekistan. The official number of Crimean Tatars in Turkey is 150,000; some claims are as high as 6,000,000, which would presumably indicate all Turks with at least some Crimean Tatar blood.[3] They mostly live in Eskişehir Province,[3] descendants of those who emigrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the Dobruja region straddling Romania and Bulgaria, there are more than 27,000 Crimean Tatars: 24,000 on the Romanian side, and 3,000 on the Bulgarian side.
Crimean Tatars (Crimean Tatar: Qırımtatarlar, Ukrainian: Кримськi татари, Russian: Крымские татары) or Crimeans (Crimean Tatar: Qırım, Qırımlı) are a Turkic ethnic group, and formerly during the Crimean Khanate a Turco-Mongol ethnic group, native to the Crimea (a peninsula on the northern part of the Black Sea) in modern-day Ukraine. They are a subgroup of the Tatars. Crimean Tatars speak Crimean Tatar, Russian or Turkish, depending on locale, and increasingly Ukrainian, as it is mostly the language of education. For example, in Crimea, they use Russian in public and/or with non-Tatars, while Turkey's population of Crimean Tatar ancestry primarily uses Turkish.
In modern times, in addition to living in Ukraine, there is a large diaspora of Crimean Tatars in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Romania, Bulgaria, Western Europe, the Middle East and North America, as well as small communities in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and Poland.
In the Ukrainian Census in 2001, 248,200 reported that they are Crimean Tatars.[8] Of these, 243,400 lived in Crimea.[9] In addition, 1,800 Crimean Tatars lived in the city of Sevastopol,[8] which lies on the Crimean peninsula but has a special status.
As of 2012, there are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Ukraine and about 300,000 of them are Crimean Tatars.[1]
About 150,000 remain in exile in Central Asia, mainly in Uzbekistan. The official number of Crimean Tatars in Turkey is 150,000; some claims are as high as 6,000,000, which would presumably indicate all Turks with at least some Crimean Tatar blood.[3] They mostly live in Eskişehir Province,[3] descendants of those who emigrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the Dobruja region straddling Romania and Bulgaria, there are more than 27,000 Crimean Tatars: 24,000 on the Romanian side, and 3,000 on the Bulgarian side.
