Crimea (Russia Dominates the East)

Crimea (Qırım Halq Cumhuriyeti), formally known as the Crimean Peoples' Republic, is a state located in eastern Europe, taking up the entirety of the Crimean Peninsula. The nation only borders the Ukraine, although it shares a maritime border with Russia. It is one of the few Muslim-majority nations in Europe, and also was one of the first secular Muslim nations in the world along with Azerbaijan.

Establishment
The Crimean Peoples' Republic was declared by the Qurultay of the Crimean Tatars, though advocating for equality among all Tatars. It was the first Tatar state since the Kazan Khanate, founded in the late 1430s. The Republic was also one of the first secular Muslim-majority states in the world, founded shortly before Azerbaijan. The country was divided into five counties; Yalta, Akmescit, Kefe, Kezlev, and Orkapy. Shortly before the communist coup d'état, the government created the All-Crimean Constitutional Assembly.

Bolshevik Coup D'etat
The Red Army captured Sevastopol on December 16, 1917, leading to the collapse of the first Crimean Peoples' Republic. Anarchist Ukraine also invaded the peninsula, hoping to found a short-term alliance with the communists and gain an advantage over capitalist Ukraine. To defend itself, the government created the United Crimean Headquarters on December 19, creating the Crimean military; however the Red Army managed to correct and execute former president Noman Çelebicihan. At the end of January, the Red Army captured the whole of Crimea, with some anarchist Ukrainian ports created on the western coast. A mass terror later engulfed Crimea, based primarily on ethnic cleansing. The Bolsheviks later established the Taurida SSR before the area was invaded by the Ukrainian Peoples' Republic and the Second Reich.

Freedom and Second Republic
In 1920, the White Army invaded the Crimean peninsula, hoping to gain an advantage in the Black Sea. The Red Army was already losing, and the loss of the Black Sea made them lose one of their remaining advantages in the civil war. On November 18, 1920, Crimea was freed and the Second Republic was proclaimed. In 1922, they requested an alliance with Azerbaijan due to them being both secular Muslim states. Russia also started diplomacy with them rather quickly, hoping to regain some advantage over the Black Sea. Overall, the 1920s were a prosperous decade for Crimea, the nation gaining much wealth and many allies. The Great Depression, however, hit the nation hard, Crimea wouldn't truly recover until after World War II.

Crimea and World War II
Crimea declared war on Germany along with Russia after their invasion of Poland on September 1st. In 1941, the Third Reich launched an invasion of Crimea hoping to completely annex the nation, despite Hitler clearly stating Crimean Tatars are "non-Aryan". Due to Germany's great distance from Crimea, and the nation's proximity to Russia, the invasion was mostly quelled although Germany took note of Genoan strategies from the 1300s and established a port town on the west coast of Crimea, Schwarzburg. Not too long afterward, in 1942, Crimea and Russia regained all of the nation. However, unknowing to most Crimeans, ethnic cleansing had occurred against the Tatars in Schwarzburg. After the entire peninsula was reunified in '42, Crimea situated most of its active troops in eastern Germany and Poland in attempt to weaken the Reich. Crimea gained almost nothing out of the end-war treaties, although afterward it became a regional power.