The Crimea/La Crimée/Die Krim/Crimea [antikvár]

The Crimean peninsula is a land of contrasts. In the south and southeast there are curving chains of mountains, the highest being Roman-Kosh-1,545 m. above sea level. Nature has been generous with the Crimea, but man has enriched it even more. Since the establishment of Soviet power the Crimean steppe has changed beyond recognition. Until quite recently the area around the Sivash sufíered from lack of water. Today many thousands of hectares are covered with rich orchards, vineyards and ricefields. Rice was introduced here after the construction of the North Crimean Canal to bring water to the area from the Dnieper. It now yields from 6 to 6.5 tons a hectare. There are alsó rich harvests of fruit, grapes, industrial crops and wheat. The Crimea had orchards and vineyards before the Great October Socialist Revolution. In 1914 they covered an area of about 20,000 hectares, concentrated mainly along the south coast, the valleys of the Alma, Belbek and Karasu rivers and round Sudak. Today the vineyards extend far into the steppe, covering an area of 110,000 hectares. Viniculture is carried on at state farms in the Jankói, Krasnogvardeisk, Kirov and Simferopol districts and other areas íncluding the agricultural zone of Feodosiya. A new wine-producing centre, the Zolotaya Balka (Golden Gully), has been set up near Sevastopol. The Crimea now supplies wine to all the Soviet republics and many foreign countries. Today two large centres such as the Predgorye (Foothills) and Chkalov state farms produce more fruit than the whole of the Crimea in 1914. As well as expanding fruit and wine cultivation, the Crimea is constantly increasing its grain production. During the years of Soviet power the Crimea has become one of the world's major producere of volatile oils, such as attar, lavender and sage. Its industry is alsó making great strides, and it now exports engineering and chemical products to many foreign countries. Iron ore is being mined on an increasingly large scale in the Kerch peninsula, new deposits of oil and natural gas are being tapped, and the fishery and food industries are expanding. Both at home and abroad the Crimea is best known for its splendid health and holiday resorts, its bracing climate, and warm, blue sea.