A map with the Isthmus of Perekop.
The Isthmus of Perekop (Ukrainian: Перекопський
перешийок; translit. Perekops'kyy pereshyyok; Russian: Перекопский перешеек; translit. Perekopskiy peresheek Crimean
Tatar: Or boynu) is the narrow, three- to four-mile-wide strip of land that connects the
peninsula of Crimea to the continent. The isthmus is located
between the Black Sea to the west and theAzov Sea the the
east.
The isthmus takes its name from the Tatar fortress of Perekop. Its original name, in
Crimean Tatar, is Or.
The border between the Crimea republic and the Kherson Oblast runs though the northern
part of the isthmus. The cities of Perekop, Armjansk,
Suvorovo and Krasnoperekopsk are situated on the isthmus
and the Crimean channel though the isthmus secures Crimea watersupplies with deliveries from Dnieper River.
South of Perekop, there are rich salt ores which still are very important commercially for the region.
The strategic and commercial value of this area, together with the strategic value of being the gateway to Crimea, has made
the isthmus the location of some particularly fierce battles. Both ancient Greeks and
Crimean Tatars fortified the area, and from the 15th century the area was a
colony under Genova. From 1783, the
area became a part of Russia, and from 1954 on, together with Crimea it was transferred to the
Ukrainian Soviet Republic. For that reason, it still is a part of Ukrainian territory.
In the Russian Civil War, there was in 1920 a battle here between Red Army and White movement. The Red Army turned out victorious, but
140.000 civilians fled over the Black Sea to Istanbul.
During Second World War, the combined forces of German and Romanian Troops under the
command of Erich von Manstein entered Crimea though the Isthmus of Perekop. The
battle of the isthmus took five days from 24 September 1941
before the isthmus was secured by the Axis forces. 18 October, the Axis forces advanced
further into Crimea and could launch the Battle of Sevastopol. 9 May 1944, Red Army regained Crimea.
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