Eviction of Christians from Crimea

Date: July 26, 1778 • Location: Berdiansk Raion, Ukraine

On the orders of Catherine the Great the first of tens of thousands of Greek and Armenian Christians were removed from Crimea and resettled in Pryazovia.

Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great, was Empress of Russia from 9 July 1762 until her death in 1796. Before her accession, Catherine had been a royal consort as the wife of Emperor Peter III, whom she overthrew in a coup d'état. Her reign of over 34 years saw an era of prosperity during the Enlightenment in which many new cities, universities and theatres were established; large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe occurred; and the Russian Empire was recognised as a great power of Europe.