Greeks in Ukraine
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The Greeks established colonies on the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea as early as 6th century B.C. The Greek colonies traded with various ancient nations around the Black sea: Scythians, Maeotae, Cimmerians, Goths, proto-Slavs. After Polovtsy, Mongol-Tatar invasion of steppes to the north of Black Sea Greeks remained only in towns beyond Crimean Mountains, on its Southern slopes.
They lived among Crimean Tatars till the conquest of Crimea by the Russian Empire and Tsar Ekaterina II's design to relocate Greeks from Crimea to Northern shores of Azov sea. New territory was assigned for Greek is between today's Mariupol and Donetsk cities and basically presents all the southern portion of Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. Among Greeks were settled Ukrainian and Germans: and afterward Russians. Ukrainians mostly settled villages and partly towns in this area, unlike Greeks, who rebuilt their towns, even giving them original Crimean names. Since this time in Ukraine names of settlements in Crimea matches names of places in southern Donetsk Oblast: Yalta-Yalta, Gurzuf-Gurzuf, etc.
During the Soviet era, Crimean Greeks were extradited after the Second World War. By the 2001 census there were 91,500 Greeks. Higher estimates has been reported in the past, explained by intensive assimilation enacted by the Soviet government. Thus many Greeks were intended to change to the more prestigious Russian nationality. Other concentrations of Greeks are in Odesa and other major cities.
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