Crimea

A peninsula in the northern Black Sea, internationally recognised as part of Ukraine but under Russian occupation and de facto control since 2014. In the nineteenth century, when it formed part of the Russian Empire, it was normally called “the Crimea” in British English. It was the principal theatre of the Crimean War (1853–6), including the siege of Sevastopol. The definite article gradually disappeared from English usage during the twentieth century, and “Crimea” is now the normal form.