SevastopolOn 10 February 1784, port and settlement which construction began on 3 June 1783, received the name Sevastopol. Ekaterina II by her order commanded to call it "great city", "the city deserved worship". The order also commanded to erect at the bank of Ikhtiarskaya Bay big fortress with the first range Admiralty, shipyard, port and military settlement. Thus, the city destiny of which was to stand two sieges outstanding by common heroism and strength of defenders appeared at the place settled at the beginning of I millennium B.C.
During Crimea War (1853-1856), Sevastopol became the arena of main military actions. For 349 days – from 13 September 1854 till 27 August 1855, armies of enemies siege the city. Second lieutenant L.N. Tolstoi was among the defenders of Sevastopol and described everything he saw in famous "Sevastopol Stories". Sevastopol – main base of the Black Sea Fleet – occupied special place in Hitler head-quarter’s plans. The battle for the city began at rise of 22 June 1941, when fascist aircraft tried to mine entries into Sevastopol bays. 250 days of Sevastopol defending began on 30 October 1941, and finished on 3 July 1942. As a result of the battle for the city fascists troops lost time and had great losses (up to 300 thousand of officers and soldiers were killed or wounded). In 1965, Sevastopol was awarded the name of City Hero. New Sevastopol was restored by the whole country and now it is one of the most beautiful cities of Crimea. |
