Crimean People's Republic

The Crimean People's Republic, also called the Crimean Democratic Republic, was a self-declared state that existed from December 1917 to January 1918. It was proclaimed by the Kurultai of the Crimean Tatars after the October Revolution shattered the Russian Republic. The Kurultai, chaired by Asan Sabri Ayvazov, adopted a basic law that guaranteed equality for all ethnic groups on the peninsula, convened an All-Crimean Constituent Assembly and set up a provisional government headed by Noman Çelebicihan. The republic's authority rested on Tatar national councils and a small volunteer force. Although Crimean Tatars were a minority, they briefly became the dominant political force in Crimea. The Bolshevik-dominated Black Sea Fleet seized Sevastopol in December 1917 and advanced on the peninsula. After fighting in January 1918, Bolshevik forces took Simferopol and arrested Çelebicihan, who was later executed. The republic collapsed within weeks, one of many short-lived states born from the Russian Revolution's collapse.