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The archaeology of Crimea is pretty interesting; abandoned Soviet submarine bases, Genoese castles, Pontic and Byzantine ruins. Chersonesus was one of the most

The archaeology of Crimea is pretty interesting; abandoned Soviet submarine bases, Genoese castles, Pontic and Byzantine ruins. Chersonesus was one of the most fascinating places I've visited ... and you can go swimming amidst Greek/Pontic ruins. I'm assuming the rest of the Black Sea coast is similarly interesting. Kind of difficult to get there as an American at this point, but for everyone else.

cpursley 6y ago
Politics aside, it's not so difficult if you have a Russian visa or passport and arrive from Russia. Even then, most of the time you won't even get stopped driving in from Russia proper. Just remember to bring cash and a Russian SIM due to western sanctions and leave the politics at home.
- mrpetruccio 6y ago
  I will report you for giving advices on illegal border crossing. I hope github will block your account and you will "leave politics at home"
  - cpursley 6y ago
    Your threat is bizarre (and quite frankly rude and probably against the yc rules). There's nothing illegal about traveling to Crimea, only warnings from the US state department and maybe some other western nations. From the Russian perspective, the Crimean territory is theirs. If you have valid Russian travel documents, you can enter. From the Ukrainian perspective, the Crimean territory is theirs and US citizens can spend up to an entire year in Ukraine visa-free.
    - mrpetruccio 6y ago
      You can't go to Crimea from Russia. It's against the international law. It's an illegal border crossing. Also, if you will try to access to GitHub from Crimean is's you will be blocked. And that your advice for going to Crimea from russia can bring troubles to people who will try to do that.
      - vkou 6y ago
        What trouble will it bring?
      - djbebs 6y ago
        There is no such thing as international law. Its not illegal border crossing either because there is de facto no border there. A dejure argument doesn't make sense because no matter which side of the argument you take, crossing into crimea isn't on its own illegal. At worst you're supposed to get a visa, but Ukraine has a pretty open policy so that is generally not required for tourism under 90 days. Presumably if you're coming from Russia you already have a visa to be in Russia too
082349872349872 6y ago
My socioeconomic determinism conspiracy theory for the filibustering of Crimea: one can find deepwater ports anywhere, but how else were the Moscow elite supposed to send their children to Artek? Artek then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NepI7BTYpnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NepI7BTYpnY and now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMTN6udbBKc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMTN6udbBKc
- scottlocklin 6y ago
  Thanks for that; stayed in a hotel near there when I visited Yalta. I tried using Ukrainian politeness on people in Crimea in ~2011 and got what amounted to "speak Russian or die Americano running dog," so my theory of what happened there is considerably simpler.
  - cpursley 6y ago
    Most Crimeans were speaking Russian as a first language well before the takeover (the Russian Empire took the peninsula directly from the Ottoman Empire and started moving Russians in after). You'd be about as likely to encounter Crimean Tartar as Ukrainian.
    - gimmeThaBeet 6y ago
      That's why I find the Crimea situation so complicated, making the big assumption that I have the history correct. You have the Tatar Exile during WWII, people re-settling the area, and then later Crimea was borderline on being independent or part of Ukraine during the dissolution. So you end up with the fact that, whether right or wrong, Crimea is full of ethnic Russians who were lukewarm about being part of Ukraine in the first place. So as sketchy as the whole annexation was, was it wrong? I honestly can't say it is, which is probably why Russia felt they were able to take that chance.
      - vkou 6y ago
        > So as sketchy as the whole annexation was, was it wrong? As a Russian who generally thinks that both Russia and NATO need to back down from the pissing contests they engage in... Yes, it was wrong. Ukraine was done wrong by it. It was not done legally. Even if it was done with respect to the doctrine of self-determinism (I generally approve of secessionist movements), it was not done correctly. There are correct means of going about secession, and the War in Donbass was not one of them. It was a thin pretense for other geopolitical ambitions.

cpursley 6y ago

Politics aside, it's not so difficult if you have a Russian visa or passport and arrive from Russia. Even then, most of the time you won't even get stopped driving in from Russia proper. Just remember to bring cash and a Russian SIM due to western sanctions and leave the politics at home.

mrpetruccio 6y ago
I will report you for giving advices on illegal border crossing. I hope github will block your account and you will "leave politics at home"
- cpursley 6y ago
  Your threat is bizarre (and quite frankly rude and probably against the yc rules). There's nothing illegal about traveling to Crimea, only warnings from the US state department and maybe some other western nations. From the Russian perspective, the Crimean territory is theirs. If you have valid Russian travel documents, you can enter. From the Ukrainian perspective, the Crimean territory is theirs and US citizens can spend up to an entire year in Ukraine visa-free.
  - mrpetruccio 6y ago
    You can't go to Crimea from Russia. It's against the international law. It's an illegal border crossing. Also, if you will try to access to GitHub from Crimean is's you will be blocked. And that your advice for going to Crimea from russia can bring troubles to people who will try to do that.
    - vkou 6y ago
      What trouble will it bring?
    - djbebs 6y ago
      There is no such thing as international law. Its not illegal border crossing either because there is de facto no border there. A dejure argument doesn't make sense because no matter which side of the argument you take, crossing into crimea isn't on its own illegal. At worst you're supposed to get a visa, but Ukraine has a pretty open policy so that is generally not required for tourism under 90 days. Presumably if you're coming from Russia you already have a visa to be in Russia too

082349872349872 6y ago

My socioeconomic determinism conspiracy theory for the filibustering of Crimea: one can find deepwater ports anywhere, but how else were the Moscow elite supposed to send their children to Artek? Artek then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NepI7BTYpnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NepI7BTYpnY and now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMTN6udbBKc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMTN6udbBKc

scottlocklin 6y ago
Thanks for that; stayed in a hotel near there when I visited Yalta. I tried using Ukrainian politeness on people in Crimea in ~2011 and got what amounted to "speak Russian or die Americano running dog," so my theory of what happened there is considerably simpler.
- cpursley 6y ago
  Most Crimeans were speaking Russian as a first language well before the takeover (the Russian Empire took the peninsula directly from the Ottoman Empire and started moving Russians in after). You'd be about as likely to encounter Crimean Tartar as Ukrainian.
  - gimmeThaBeet 6y ago
    That's why I find the Crimea situation so complicated, making the big assumption that I have the history correct. You have the Tatar Exile during WWII, people re-settling the area, and then later Crimea was borderline on being independent or part of Ukraine during the dissolution. So you end up with the fact that, whether right or wrong, Crimea is full of ethnic Russians who were lukewarm about being part of Ukraine in the first place. So as sketchy as the whole annexation was, was it wrong? I honestly can't say it is, which is probably why Russia felt they were able to take that chance.
    - vkou 6y ago
      > So as sketchy as the whole annexation was, was it wrong? As a Russian who generally thinks that both Russia and NATO need to back down from the pissing contests they engage in... Yes, it was wrong. Ukraine was done wrong by it. It was not done legally. Even if it was done with respect to the doctrine of self-determinism (I generally approve of secessionist movements), it was not done correctly. There are correct means of going about secession, and the War in Donbass was not one of them. It was a thin pretense for other geopolitical ambitions.