The Russian coat of arms is placed on the gate of the Ukrainian navy March 19, 2014.

Control of Crimea has shifted many times throughout its history. The Black Sea peninsula had at one point or another been home to Greeks, Scythians, Goths, Huns, Golden Horde Tatars and the Mongols, just to name a few. The Russian Empire wrested control of Crimea from the Ottomans and French and British armies during the Crimean War (1853–1856). Sevastopol was the site of bloody, protracted sieges during both the Crimean War and World War II, when the city held out against Nazi forces for eight months from October 1941 until July 1942. After the Soviet Army finally drove out the Germans in 1944, Joseph Stalin’s government forcibly relocated the entire population of Crimean Tatars to Central Asia for supposedly collaborating with the Nazis. During the height of the Soviet Union, on February 19, 1954, Nikita Khrushchev transferred the Crimean Oblast from Russia to Ukraine, largely a symbolic gesture at the time. Russia’s historic ties to Crimea and its economic and strategic interest has put the territory at the heart of East-West conflict in Ukraine ever since.

A portrait of Crimea

1855: Victorious soldiers (Zouaves) pose after the taking of Malakoff in the Crimea. (Photo by Felice A Beato/Getty Images)

25th October 1854: Charge of the heavy cavalry at Balaklava, in the Crimea. Original Artwork: Engraving by J J Crewe. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The British 4th Light Dragoons encamped in the Crimea, circa 1855. (Photo by Roger Fenton/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Crimean War (1853 – 1856) ensnared Russia, the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain and Sardinia.CreditHulton-Deutsch Collection

1855 - Group of Tatars at work repairing roadway in Balaklava; wooden hut, "Store 14th Regiment", in the background. (Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

A French vivandiere, or cantiniere, with French soldiers in the Crimea during the Crimean War, 1855. Vivandieres were women attached to regiments as canteen keepers and as unofficial nursing staff. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

circa 1855: Officers of the 89th Regiment, Princess Victoria's Royal Irish Fusiliers, at Cathcart's Hill in the Crimea. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 

Massandra, Ukraine: A picture taken at the beginning of the 19th century shows the last Russian Tsar and founder of the Massandra winery Nicolas II (L) walking along his vineyards in Massandra, not far from the Crimean resort of Yalta. (Massandra Winery /AFP/Getty Images) 

After the defeat of the White movement in October 1920, Crimea was conquered by the Red Army and incorporated into the RUSSIAN SFSR as the Autonomous Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic. In the Indian-held Crimea, the Bolsheviks carried out a mass terror, killing, according to different sources, from 20 to 120 thousand people.

A group of Ukrainian peasants at Yalta, Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union, July 1930. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

As the German invasion of the Ukraine continues, soldiers of the invading Wehrmacht troops are seen in the cover of a shell-marked wall, at an unknown location on the Crimean peninsula, in November 1941. 

In the autumn of 1941 German occupation of Crimea began. Photo: German soldiers are monitoring the Soviet positions of trenches on the perekop isthmus.

22nd November 1941: Locals watch as a German column passes through the city of Simferopol, the Crimean capital, which they had captured on 2 November. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

As the German invasion of the southern Ukraine continues, soldiers of an advance division are seen at an unknown village, somewhere between the Crimean Mountains and the Black Sea, on March 12, 1941. A military convoy is moving down a street in the background. AP Photo)

This picture shows Nazi Stuka bombers in flight heading towards their target over coastal territory between Dniepr and Crimea, towards the Gate of the Crimea on Nov. 6, 1941. Apparently the narrow neck of the Russian black-sea Peninsula ris where the Germans are reported to be steadily pushing forward. (AP Photo)

Soviet troops in Kerch, in Crimea, on Dec. 1, 1941. CreditYevgeny Khaldei, via Corbis

Sebastopol in the first and last time it was used superheavy 800-mm gun "Dora", which weighed more than 1,000 tons. It was secretly transported from Germany and secretly taken to a special shelter carved into the rock mass in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai. Instrument came into operation in early June and released in total, fifty three 7-ton projectile.

In early July 1942, Soviet troops were forced to leave Sevastopol, and then the entire peninsula. Their losses amounted to more than 200 thousand people. picture: German soldiers in Sevastopol destroyed.

A German signboard at the entrance to the seafront in Sevastapol. A relic from the recent past when the Germans briefly ruled

The bodies of two fallen Soviet soldiers lie at roadside, while a truck of the Romanian Army, with an artillery gun in tow, advances towards the city of Kerch, in June 1942, during the Battle of the Crimea in World War II. (AP Photo) 

The rock-like defence of Sevastopol, the Malta of the Crimea, on June 12, 1942, shows no signs of weakening under a new all-out offensive by General von Mannheim’s armies. Symbolic of the heroic garrison is this Russian girl sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who has killed by her accurate shooting the magnificent total of 300 Germans before Sevastopol. (AP Photo) 

October 1942: German troops making a dash to escape in the Crimea are cut off by Russian forces. An armoured personnel carrier is seen rushing through a burning Russian village on their way to the Dnieper River. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) 

circa 1944: Germans in the Crimea making their escape from the approaching Russians. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

A column of German POW in the Crimea. 1944.

Captured German POW in the Crimea. 1944

In April 1944, the liberation of Crimea. Crimean operation resulted in the complete defeat of the German 17th Army, which only irretrievable losses in the fighting were more than 120 thousand people. In the photo: a partisan who participated in the liberation of Crimea. Simeiz village on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula. 1944. Author: Pavel Trochkine.

In May 1944, were deported from Crimea 183 thousand Tatars. Basically - to Uzbekistan. Officially, the cause of deportation were declared facts collaboration and cooperation much of the Crimean Tatar population during the German occupation of the Crimea. 20,000 Crimean Tatars (one third of military age) wore uniforms of the Third Reich. Also suffered deportation Crimean Armenians, Bulgarians and Greeks.

February 1945: American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945), right, with Admiral William D. Leahy (1875 - 1959) and General George C. Marshall (1880 - 1950) at the conference in Yalta, in the Crimea. Russian premier Marshal Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953), left of centre at the table, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965), with his back to the camera, are also amongst those present at the conference. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Marshal Stalin, accompanied by Foreign Secretaries, Chiefs of Staff and other Advisors, met at Yalta in the Crimea in February 1945. (AP Photo)

With their foreign secretaries behind them, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin sit on the patio of Livadia Palace, Yalta, Crimea, Feb. 4, 1945. Standing, from left: Foreign Sec. Anthony Eden, Sec. of State Edward R. Stettinius, and Foreign Commissar Vyasheslav Molotov. (AP Photo)

circa 1950: A shady bus stop in Yalta. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Some of 100 thousand Tatars, (Turkic ethnic group) who returned to their native land, stare from behind a barbed wire fence in a ìghettoî in Crimea on Sunday, Oct. 30, 1990, which they built with official permission near small village Koreis in Cremea, the slogan reads Motherland or death. (AP Photo/Vladimir Lagrange) 

Black Sea Fleet sailor adjusts a former Soviet navy flag atop a fleet submarine, Wednesday, March 20, 1996 at the Sevastopol naval base, the Crimea, Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine so far have failed to divide their shares of the fleet ships, which still carry old Soviet naval flags along with Russian ones. (AP Photo/Sergei Volkov) 

Crimea, Ukraine - August 18: Sunbathers lay out on the rugged beach of Yalta August 18, 2003 in Crimea, Ukraine. After the number of annual visitors to the Black Sea peninsula dropped from 8 million in the late Soviet era to just 3 million in the mid 1990's, about 4.5 million vacationers traveled to Crimea in 2002. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

Sevastopol, Ukraine - August 15: Russian sailors tend to a "Varshavyanka" submarine August 15, 2003 in Sevastopol, Crimea in the Ukraine. Sevastopol is the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russia and the Ukraine have an agreement keeping the base in Sevastopol through 2017. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

Sevastopol, Ukraine : Russian sailors linger on a street August 15, 2003 in Sevastopol, Crimea in the Ukraine. Sevastopol is the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russia and the Ukraine have an agreement keeping the base in Sevastopol through 2017. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images) 

Crimean Tatars wipe their tears at a mourning rally during the 60th anniversary of deportation of ethnic Tatars under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, in the Crimean capital of Simferopol, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 18, 2004. Thousands of people gathered in Simferopol main square to honor the memory of victims of the Soviet regime (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Lenin Square in Yalta, Crimea May 15, 2010

Crimea 2010:Chords of friendship bind accordionist Olesya Kamovich and comrades, who meet Sundays in Sevastopol to sing.

Crimea 2010:To remember the sacrifice of fallen soldiers is viewed as a holy duty in Sevastopol, which endured a 247-day-long siege by Hitler's army in 1941-42. Yuri Perov, a Ukrainian naval cadet, takes the bus to his barracks after rehearsal for the Victory Day parade.

An inhabitant of Balaklava after taking a swim at the public concrete beach.Balaklava, Crimea 2010

Popular among families with children, Santa Barbara, part of the Utes village (also called Utios), is a picturesque strip along the marvelous rocky Crimean coastline.Utes, Crimea 2010

In Sevastopol, Russian and Ukrainian veterans march proudly together to celebrate the annual Victory Day festivities. The persistence of memory is on parade on May 9 when Russian and Ukrainian troops, citizens, and veterans of the Soviet Army honor those who helped defeat Nazi Germany. Sevastopol, Crimea 2010

The setting sun reflects off of several Russian Black Sea Fleet warships anchored in the bay of Sevastopol. During the Day of the black Sea Fleet they took part in a in the port of Sevastopol. Sevastopol, Crimea 2010

Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses the audience during a rally and concert called "We are together" to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia, at the Red Square in central Moscow, March 18, 2014. Reuters/Maxim Shemetov

People attend a rally called "We are together" to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia in Red Square in central Moscow, March 18, 2014. The flags display portraits of Putin and read "We are together!" Reuters/Maxim Shemetov

Pro-Kremlin activist hold Russian flags near a monument to Red Army soldier as they rally in the southern Russian city of Stavropol, on March 18, 2014, to celebrate the incorporation of Crimea. President Vladimir Putin pushed today every emotional button of the collective Russian psyche as he justified the incorporation of Crimea, citing everything from ancient history to Russia's demand for respect to Western double standards. AFP Photo / Danil Semyonov /AFP/Getty Images

March 18: An elderly woman holds a calendar depicting former Soviet leader Josef Stalin while watching a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech on Crimea in Sevastopol, Crimea, as thousands of pro-Russian people gathered to watch the address. (Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press)

An elderly woman holding a calendar depicting Soviet leader Josef Stalin celebrates after watching a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech on Crimea in Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, March 18, 2014 as thousands of pro-Russian people gathered to watch the address.Fiercely defending Russia's move to annex Crimea, Putin said Russia had to respond to what he described as a western plot to take Ukraine into its influence. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman jumps for joy during a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly in Sevastopol, March 18, 2014. Reuters/Baz Ratner

People watch a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly in Sevastopol, March 18, 2014. Reuters/Baz Ratner

Crowd supporting Crimea's reunification with Russia in downtown Moscow

Participants in a rally in support of Crimea joining Russia, hold Russian flags in Red Square in Moscow, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. With a sweep of his pen, President Vladimir Putin added Crimea to the map of Russia on Tuesday, describing the move as correcting past injustice and responding to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia's vital interests. Photo: Pavel Golovkin, AP

People gather at a square to watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Federation Council, in Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Putin on Tuesday fiercely defended Russia's move to annex Crimea saying Crimea's vote on Sunday to join Russia was in line with "democratic norms and international law." Photo: Andrew Lubimov, AP

Cossacks attend a rally to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia in the Russian southern city of Stavropol, March 18, 2014. Reuters /Eduard Korniyenko

People watch a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly, in Sevastopol, March 18, 2014. The sign reads as "Russian our home". Reuters /Baz Ratner

Cossacks attend a rally to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia in the Russian southern city of Stavropol, March 18, 2014. Reuters /Eduard Korniyenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Federal Assembly in the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. With a sweep of his pen, President Vladimir Putin added Crimea to the map of Russia on Tuesday, describing the move as correcting past injustice and a response to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia's vital interests. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin, AP

Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses a joint session of parliament on Crimea in the Kremlin in Moscow, on March 18, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alexei Nikolsky)

March 18: Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Crimean leaders, Speaker of the Crimean legislature Vladimir Konstantinov, second left, Crimean Premier Sergei Aksyonov, left, and Sevastopol mayor Alexei Chalyi, right, after signing a treaty for Crimea to join Russia, in the Kremlin in Moscow. Putin described the move as the restoration of historic injustice and a necessary response to what he called the Western encroachment on Russia vital interests. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Associated Press)

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, Crimean parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantionov and Alexei Chaly, Sevastopol's new de facto mayor, sign a treaty on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula becoming part of Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow , on March 18, 2014. AFP Photo /Ria-novosti / Pool / Alexey Druzhinin /AFP/Getty Images

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cast A portrait of Crimea

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