Roads

Empress Catherine II’s ceremonical journey from St. Petersburg to Crimea in the spring of 1787 was funded in large part by the Crimean salt expedition, which in and of itself connected the empress’s progress through the empire (and her projection of power across the Black Sea) with the famous salt lakes of the peninsula. The salt funds were essential for carrying out the roadwork that would integrate the newly-acquired southern provinces into imperial transportation networks. Officials working under Prince Grigorii Potemkin poured thousands of rubles into building roads intended to connect Sudak with Akmechet, Bahçesaray and Karasubazar, as well as bridges and stone verst’ markers. The new road from Alma to Bahçesaray would require mining through a mountain, and the urban plan of Bahçesaray would have to be adjusted to accommodate a street sufficiently wide to provide space for the fanfare surrounding Catherine’s visit.