摘要：The article gives an overview af Estonian peasants settling in the Crimea in the midl91hcentury. Havingfor several centuries been under the contra! af the Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate, the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in 1783. The imperial colonization policy that succeeded the deportation af the Crimean Tatars ta Turkey encouraged the peasants af the Estonian and Livonian gubernias ta emigrate ta the Crimea. The drivingforces behind the emigration were not only economic but also religious. For the members af a sect led by the Prophet Maltsvet the Crimea had become the Promised Land. Thefirst Estonian settlements in the Crimea werefoundedin 1861-1864. Their names Zamruk, Kara-Kiyat, Konchi-Shavva, etc., indicate that the Estonians settled in the deserted villages af Crimean Tatars. After a long journey and in an unfamiliar setting, it was di.fficult ta adapt ta and start a new life, but by the l 880s, the settlers had already established themselves. Sharing the community af interests, they built schools and churches together. When the Estonian writer Eduard Vildecame ta see the Crimean Estonians in 1904, he could only give high praise for their ejforts. Ey the beginning af World War I, the Estonians in the Crimea had achieved a living standardwhich was the highestwhen compared ta other Estonians in Russia. In 1921, the number af Estonians in the Crimea was 2,367, whereas in 1995 there were only about 500 Estonians living mainly at Beregovoe (Zamruk), Krasnodarka (KonchiShavva) and Novo-Estonia. Since the l 990s, Estonian cultural activities have again become possible in the Crimea. In Simferopol and Krasnodarka Estonian societies have been established and any support from native Estonia would be welcome. From autumn 2002, a native language teacher from Estonia started ta work at the Krasnodarka secondary school.
