Sebastopol

Sebastopol or SEVASTOPOL, the chief naval port and arsenal of Russia, on the Black Sea, stands, at the S.W. extremity of the Crimea, on the S. shore of the estuary of the Tchernaya, which, with a length of nearly 4 miles and a breadth of over half a mile, affords secure anchorage for the largest vessels. In 1854 the siege, whieh lasted nearly a year and a half, reduced the city to a heap of ruins. By the treaty of Paris terminating the Crimean War Russia was folbidden to restore the fortifications or to maintain a Black Sea fleet. These obligations, however, were repudiated in 1870, and now Sebastopol has almost recovered its former population and military importance.