In 1783 , Crimea became a part of the Russian Empire as the result of the Russo-Turkish War ( 1768 – 1774 ) . Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 , Crimea became an autonomous republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in the USSR . During World War II , Crimea was downgraded to the Crimean Oblast after its entire indigenous population , the Crimean Tatars , were deported to Central Asia , an act recognized as a genocide . In 1954 , it was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR from the Russian SFSR
were deported to Central Asia
Deportation of the Crimean Tatars
Crimea