Looking at the map of Crimea, one cannot help but get the impression that the Greeks played a significant role in the formation of the settlements of the peninsula. Of course, look at Sevastopol and Simferopol, which have the ending pol, which means city in Greek.
However, in reality, most of these Greek names have nothing to do with the Greeks!
Today, let’s talk about Sevastopol. This pseudo-Greek name was invented by Catherine II as part of the Greek project in 1784.
Thus, the city of Aqyar was renamed Sevastopol, which translated means (imperial city). But in fact, this name was borrowed because in ancient times Sebastopolis was the name for the settlement on the site of modern Sukhumi.
So should we return the authentic name of the city? Or will we continue to use the fictitious name of the Russians?
#decolonization_toponymy_of Crimea
The #LIBERATECRIMEA campaign is being implemented by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center as part of its project implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The contents of this campaign are the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and do not necessary reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.