Krasnohvardiiske,[a] also known as Krasnogvardeyskoye[b][2] or Kurman,[c] is an urban-type settlement in the Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine and annexed by Russia. The town also serves as the administrative center of Krasnohvardiiske Raion (district) - also known as Kurman Raion - and houses the district's local administration buildings.[3] Its population is 11,134 (2014 Census).[4]
The exact date of foundation of the settlement is unknown. It is first mentioned in written sources in 1865 under its original name, Kurman-Kemelchi (Ukrainian: Курман-Кемельчі; Russian: Курман-Кемельчи).[5] This name, which comes from a Crimean Tatar-language phrase literally meaning "not-drying", is a reference to the swampy, wet conditions of the area around the village.[6] At this time, it was part of Perekopsky Uyezd of Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire.[5]
In the 1870s, a railway station was built nearby, spurring the growth of the village and making it a hub for wheat sales. In 1905, Kurman-Kemelchi had a population of 48 people, all of whom were Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea. In 1908, a church was built in the village. By 1913, the population had grown to 72.[5]
Soviet period
During the Russian Civil War that began in 1918, Kurman-Kemelchi changed hands between the warring sides multiple times. In 1921, the village was designated a selyshche (rural-type settlement), and became the center of Kurman Raion [ru] within the Crimean ASSR. In 1926, Kurman-Kemelchi had a population of 811 people, of whom 617 were Russians, 74 Jews, 61 Germans, 24 Ukrainians, eight Armenians, five Crimean Tatars, and five Greeks. In 1935, Kurman-Kemelchi became the center of a national raion for the ethnic German minority, named after Ernst Thalmann. By 1939, the village had a population of 1,754 people.[5]
During World War II, Kurman-Kemelchi was occupied by Nazi Germany. In either 1941 or 1942, around 60 Jews from Kurman-Kemelchi and surrounding villages were imprisoned in a building in the village by the Nazis for days, before being murdered at a brickworks by a yet-unidentified Nazi SS unit.[7] On 21 August 1945, after the end of fighting in Crimea, the village was renamed Krasnohvardiiske by the Soviet government.[6] That same year, the German national raion it was in was renamed to Krasnohvardiiske Raion. By 1946, the population had fallen to 1,612 people.[5]
Krasnohvardiiske received urban-type settlement status in September 1957.[6] The population had grown rapidly, reaching around 4,200 by 1959. It continued to grow throughout the remainder of the 20th century, reaching 7,600 by 1970 and 9,100 people by 1979.[5]
21st century
In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the entire Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, including Krasnohvardiiske, beginning an ongoing occupation. Krasnohvardiiske has been the site of repressions against Jehovah's Witnesses, a religious minority group that is persecuted in Russia.[8]
During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022, Ukraine has retaliated by repeatedly attacking Russian assets in Crimea. On 22 July 2023, Russia-installed governor of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov reported there had been an explosion at an ammunition depot in Krasnohvardiiske, attributing it to a Ukrainian drone strike. The authorities evacuated all civilians in a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) radius and briefly paused traffic on the Crimean Bridge.[9]
In September 2023 a law enacted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine came into effect restoring the historic name Kurman in Ukrainian law as part of decommunization in Ukraine.[10] Russia, which has occupied the peninsula since 2014, continues to refer to the town as Krasnogvardeyskoye.
As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, its population was 11,112. In terms of self-reported ethnic background, 58% of residents were Russians, 24.9% were Ukrainians, and 16.6 were Crimean Tatars.[5] By 2014, the population had stayed mostly the same, at 11,134.[4]
