| Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the northwestern coast of the Black Sea became part of the independent republic of Ukraine. Except for a brief period of independence during the Russian Revolution (1917-20), Ukraine had been part of Russian or Soviet empires since 1654. However, the coastline of the Black Sea was mostly under the control of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire until it was taken by Russia during a series of wars in the second half of the 1700s. The Ukrainian coast is in three sections. In the west is the bight of Odessa, named for Ukraine's largest port. In the center is the diamond shaped peninsula of Crimea. To the east is the Sea of Azov, connected to the rest of the Black Sea by the very narrow Kerch Strait. The Sea of Azov occupies a shallow elliptical basin about 225 km from east to west and 140 km from north to south (140 by 90 miles). The Gulf of Taganrog extends from the northeastern corner of the sea and forms the lower estuary of the River Don. The northwestern 60% of the sea lies in Ukraine and the southeastern 40% lies in Russia. Lighthouses of the Russian shore are listed on the Southern Russia page. The Ukrainian coast features four long sand spits projecting to the south. Lighthouses in Ukraine are maintained by Gosgidrografiya, the hydrography and navigation service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The Ukrainian word for a lighthouse is mayak, identical to the Russian word. As in Russia, the provinces of the country are called oblasts. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. UA numbers are the Ukrainian light list numbers as reported by Ukrainian Lighthouses on the Air. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: Russia Black Sea | West: Crimea
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Posted February 19, 2007. Checked and revised September 13, 2011. Lighthouses: 17. Site copyright 2011 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.