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Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The population is 2.4 million, and the largest city is Sevastopol. The region has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Called the Tauric Peninsula until the early modern period, Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the classical world and the steppe. Greeks colonized its southern fringe and were absorbed by the Roman and Byzantine Empires and successor states while remaining culturally Greek. Some cities became trading colonies of Genoa, until conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Throughout this time the interior was occupied by a changing cast of steppe nomads, coming under the control of the Golden Horde in the 13th century from which the Crimean Khanate emerged as a successor state. In the 15th century, the Khanate became a dependency of the Ottoman Empire. Lands controlled by Russia and Poland-Lithuania were often the target of slave raids during this period. In 1783, the Russian Empire annexed Crimea after an earlier war with Turkey. Crimea's strategic position led to the 1854 Crimean War and many short lived regimes following the 1917 Russian Revolution. When the Bolsheviks secured Crimea, it became an autonomous soviet republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. It was occupied by Germany during World War II. When the Soviets retook it in 1944, Crimean Tatars were ethnically cleansed and deported under the orders of Joseph Stalin, in what has been described as a cultural genocide. Crimea was downgraded to an oblast in 1945. In 1954, the USSR transferred the oblast to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Treaty in 1654.

After Ukrainian independence in 1991, the central government and the Republic of Crimea clashed, with the region being granted more autonomy. The Soviet fleet in Crimea was also in contention, but a 1997 treaty allowed Russia to continue basing its fleet in Sevastopol. In 2014, the peninsula was occupied by Russian forces and annexed by Russia, but most countries recognise Crimea as Ukrainian territory.

Name
In English, the omission of the definite article in English ("Crimea" rather than "the Crimea") became common during the later 20th century.

The spelling "Crimea" is from the Italian form, la Crimea, since at least the 17th century and the "Crimean peninsula" becomes current during the 18th century, gradually replacing the classical name of Tauric Peninsula in the course of the 19th century. In English usage since the early modern period the Crimean Khanate is referred to as Crim Tartary.

Today, the Crimean Tatar name of the peninsula is Qırım, while the Russian is Крым (Krym), and the Ukrainian is Крим (Krym).

The city Staryi Krym ('Old Crimea'), served as a capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde. Between 1315 and 1329 CE, the Arab writer Abū al-Fidā recounted a political fight in 1300–1301 CE which resulted in a rival's decapitation and his head being sent "to the Crimea", apparently in reference to the peninsula, although some sources hold that the name of the capital was extended to the entire peninsula at some point during Ottoman suzerainty (1441–1783).

The word is derived from the Turkic term  ("fosse, trench"), from  ("to fence, protect").

Another classical name for Crimea, Tauris or Taurica, is from the Greek Ταυρική (Taurikḗ), after the peninsula's Scytho-Cimmerian inhabitants, the Tauri. The name was revived by the Russian Empire during the mass hellenization of Crimean Tatar place names after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate, including both the peninsula and mainland territories now in Ukraine's Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In 1764 imperial authorities established the Taurida Oblast, and reorganized it as the Taurida Governorate in 1802. While the Soviets replaced it with Krym (Крим; Крым) depriving it of official status since 1921, it is still used by some institutions in Crimea, such as the Taurida National University established by the Crimean Regional Government in 1918, the Tavriya Simferopol football club so named in 1963, and the Tavrida federal highway being built under Russian occupation from 2017.

Other suggestions either unsupported or contradicted by sources, apparently based on similarity in sound, include:
 * 1) the name of the Cimmerians, although this derivation is however no longer generally held.
 * 2) a derivation from the Greek Cremnoi (Κρημνοί, in post-classical Koiné Greek pronunciation, Crimni, i.e., "the Cliffs", a port on Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov) cited by Herodotus in The Histories 4.20.1 and 4.110.2). However, Herodotus identifies the port not in Crimea, but as being on the west coast of the Sea of Azov. No evidence has been identified that this name was ever in use for the peninsula.

 * 1) The Turkic term (e.g., in Kırım) is related to the Mongolian appellation kerm "wall", but sources indicate that the Mongolian appellation of the Crimean peninsula of Qaram is phonetically incompatible with kerm/kerem and therefore deriving from another original term.

Strabo (Geography vii 4.3, xi. 2.5), Polybius, (Histories 4.39.4), and Ptolemy (Geographia. II, v 9.5) refer variously to the Strait of Kerch as the Κιμμερικὸς Βόσπορος (Kimmerikos Bosporos, romanized spelling: Bosporus Cimmerius), its easternmost part as the Κιμμέριον Ἄκρον (Kimmerion Akron, Roman name: Promontorium Cimmerium), as well as to the city of Cimmerium and thence the name of the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Κιμμερικοῦ Βοσπόρου).

Ancient history
The recorded history of Crimea begins around 5th century BCE when several Greek colonies were established on its south coast, the most important of which was Chersonesos near modern-day Sevastopol, with Scythians and Tauri in the hinterland to the north. The Tauri gave the name the Tauric Peninsula, which Crimea was called into the early modern period. The southern coast gradually consolidated into the Bosporan Kingdom which was annexed by Pontus in Asia Minor and later became a client kingdom of Rome from 63 BCE to 341 CE.

Medieval history

The south coast remained Greek in culture for almost two thousand years including under Roman successor states, the Byzantine Empire (341–1204 CE), the Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461 CE), and the independent Principality of Theodoro (ended 1475 CE). In the 13th century, some Crimean port cities were controlled by the Venetians and by the Genovese, but the interior was much less stable, enduring a long series of conquests and invasions. In the medieval period, it was partially conquered by Kievan Rus' whose prince was baptized at Sevastopol starting the Christianization of Kievan Rus'.

Mongol Conquest (1238–1449)
The north and centre of Crimea fell to the Mongol Golden Horde, although the south coast was still controlled by the Christian Principality of Theodoro and Genoese colonies. The Genoese–Mongol Wars were fought between the 13th and 15th centuries for control of south Crimea.

Crimean Khanate (1443–1783)
In the 1440s the Crimean Khanate formed out of the collapse of the horde but quite rapidly itself became subject to the Ottoman Empire, which also conquered the coastal areas which had kept independent of the Khanate. A major source of prosperity in these times were frequents raids into Russia for slaves.

Russian Empire (1783–1917)

In 1774, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by Catherine the Great with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca making the Tatars of the Crimea politically independent. Catherine the Great's incorporation of the Crimea in 1783 into the Russian Empire increased Russia's power in the Black Sea area.

From 1853 to 1856, the strategic position of the peninsula in controlling the Black Sea meant that it was the site of the principal engagements of the Crimean War, where Russia lost to a French-led alliance.

Russian Civil War (1917–1921)
During the Russian Civil War, Crimea changed hands many times and was where Wrangel's anti-Bolshevik White Army made their last stand. Many anti-Communist fighters and civilians escaped to Istanbul but up to 150,000 were killed in Crimea.

Soviet Union (1921–1991)
In 1921 the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. It was occupied by Germany from 1942 to 1944 during the Second World War. After the Soviets regained control in 1944, they deported the Crimean Tartars and several other nationalities to elsewhere in the USSR. The autonomous republic was dissolved in 1945, and Crimea became an oblast of the Russian SFSR. It was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954, on the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav.

Ukraine (since 1991)
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991 most of the peninsula was reorganized as the Republic of Crimea, Pro-Russian and pro-autonomy forces dominated the republic's government until it was forcibly abolished by Ukraine in 1995 with the Autonomous Republic of Crimea established firmly under Ukrainian authority. A 1997 treaty partitioned the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, allowing Russia to continue basing its fleet in Sevastopol, with the lease extended in 2010.

Russian occupation (from 2014)

In 2014, Crimea saw demonstrations against the removal of the Russia-leaning Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in Kyiv and smaller protests in support of Euromaidan. On 27 February, Russian forces occupied parliament and government buildings and other strategic points in Crimea and the Russian-organized Republic of Crimea declared independence from Ukraine following an illegal and internationally unrecognized referendum. Russia then annexed Crimea, although most countries (100 votes in favour, 11 against, 58 abstentions) continued to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine.

Geography
Covering an area of 27000 km2, Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the Sea of Azov; the only land border is shared with Ukraine's Kherson Oblast on the north. Crimea is almost an island and only connected to the continent by the Isthmus of Perekop, a strip of land about 5 – wide.

Much of the natural border between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland comprises the Syvash or "Rotten Sea", a large system of shallow lagoons stretching along the western shore of the Sea of Azov. Besides the isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast's Henichesk Raion by bridges over the narrow Chonhar and Henichesk straits and over Kerch Strait to the Krasnodar Krai. The northern part of Arabat Spit is administratively part of Henichesk Raion in Kherson Oblast, including its two rural communities of Shchaslyvtseve and Strilkove. The eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula comprises the Kerch Peninsula, separated from Taman Peninsula on the Russian mainland by the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, at a width of between 3 –.

Geographers generally divide the peninsula into three zones: the steppe, the Crimean Mountains, and the Southern Coast.

Places
Given its long history and many conquerors, most towns in Crimea have several names.

West: The Isthmus of Perekop/Perekop/Or Qapi, about 7 km wide, connects Crimea to the mainland. It was often fortified and sometimes garrisoned by the Turks. The North Crimean Canal now crosses it to bring water from the Dnieper. To the west Karkinit Bay separates the Tarkhankut Peninsula from the mainland. On the north side of the peninsula is Chernomorskoe/Kalos Limen. On the south side is the large Donuzlav Bay and the port and ancient Greek settlement of Yevpatoria/Kerkinitis/Gözleve. The coast then runs south to Sevastopol/Chersonesus, a good natural harbor, great naval base and the largest city on the peninsula. At the head of Sevastopol Bay stands Inkermann/Kalamita. South of Sevastopol is the small Heracles Peninsula.

South: In the south, between the Crimean Mountains and the sea runs a narrow coastal strip which was held by the Genoese and (after 1475) by the Turks. Under Russian rule it became a kind of riviera. In Soviet times the many palaces were replaced with dachas and health resorts. From west to east are: Heracles Peninsula; Balaklava/Symbalon/Cembalo, a smaller natural harbor south of Sevastopol; Foros, the southernmost point; Alupka with the Vorontsov Palace (Alupka); Gaspra; Yalta; Gurzuf; Alushta. Further east is Sudak/Sougdia/Soldaia with its Genoese fort. Further east still is Theodosia/Kaffa/Feodosia, once a great slave-mart and a kind of capital for the Genoese and Turks. Unlike the other southern ports, Feodosia has no mountains to its north. At the east end of the 90 km Kerch Peninsula is Kerch/Panticapaeum, once the capital of the Bosporian Kingdom. Just south of Kerch the new Crimean Bridge (opened in 2018) connects Crimea to the Taman Peninsula.

Sea of Azov: There is little on the south shore. The west shore is marked by the Arabat Spit. Behind it is the Syvash or "Putrid Sea", a system of lakes and marshes which in the far north extend west to the Perekop Isthmus. Road- and rail-bridges cross the northern part of Syvash.

Interior: Most of the former capitals of Crimea stood on the north side of the mountains. Mangup/Doros (Gothic, Theodoro). Bakhchysarai (1532–1783). Southeast of Bakhchysarai is the cliff-fort of Chufut-Kale/Qirq Or which was used in more warlike times. Simferopol/Ak-Mechet, the modern capital. Karasu-Bazar/Bilohorsk was a commercial center. Solkhat/Staryi Krym was the old Tatar capital. Towns on the northern steppe area are all modern, notably Dzhankoi, a major road- and rail-junction.

Rivers: The longest is the Salhyr, which rises southeast of Simferopol and flows north and northeast to the Sea of Azov. The Alma flows west to reach the Black Sea between Yevpatoria and Sevastopol. The shorter Chornaya flows west to Sevastopol Bay.

Nearby: East of the Kerch Strait the Ancient Greeks founded colonies at Phanagoria (at the head of Taman Bay), Hermonassa (later Tmutarakan and Taman), Gorgippia (later a Turkish port and now Anapa). At the northeast point of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Don River were Tanais, Azak/Azov and now Rostov-on-Don. North of the peninsula the Dnieper turns westward and enters the Black Sea through the east–west Dnieper-Bug Estuary which also receives the Bug River. At the mouth of the Bug stood Olvia. At the mouth of the estuary is Ochakiv. Odesa stands where the coast turns southwest. Further southwest is Tyras/Akkerman/Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

Crimean Mountains
The southeast coast is flanked at a distance of 8 – from the sea by a parallel range of mountains: the Crimean Mountains. These mountains are backed by secondary parallel ranges.

The main range of these mountains rises with extraordinary abruptness from the deep floor of the Black Sea to an altitude of 600 –, beginning at the southwest point of the peninsula, called Cape Fiolent. Some Greek myths state that this cape was supposedly crowned with the temple of Artemis where Iphigeneia officiated as priestess. Uchan-su, on the south slope of the mountains, is the highest waterfall in Crimea.

Hydrography
There are 257 rivers and major streams on the Crimean peninsula; they are primarily fed by rainwater, with snowmelt playing a very minor role. This makes for significant seasonal fluctuation in water flow, with many streams drying up completely during the summer. The largest rivers are the Salhyr (Salğır, Салгир), the Kacha (Кача), the Alma (Альма), and the Belbek (Бельбек). Also important are the Kokozka (Kökköz or Коккозка), the Indole (Indol or Индо́л), the Chorna (Çorğun, Chernaya or Чёрная), the Derekoika (Dereköy or Дерекойка), the Karasu-Bashi (Biyuk-Karasu or Биюк-Карасу) (a tributary of the Salhyr river), the Burulcha (Бурульча) (also a tributary of the Salhyr), the Uchan-su, and the Ulu-Uzen'. The longest river of Crimea is the Salhyr at 204 km. The Belbek has the greatest average discharge at 2.16 m3/s. The Alma and the Kacha are the second- and third-longest rivers.

There are more than fifty salt lakes and salt pans on the peninsula. The largest of them is Lake Sasyk (Сасык) on the southwest coast; others include Aqtas, Koyashskoye, Kiyatskoe, Kirleutskoe, Kizil-Yar, Bakalskoe, and Donuzlav. The general trend is for the former lakes to become salt pans. Lake Syvash (Sıvaş or Сива́ш) is a system of interconnected shallow lagoons on the north-eastern coast, covering an area of around 2560 km2. A number of dams have created reservoirs; among the largest are the Simferopolskoye, Alminskoye, the Taygansky and the Belogorsky just south of Bilohirsk in Bilohirsk Raion. The North Crimea Canal, which transports water from the Dnieper, is the largest of the man-made irrigation channels on the peninsula. Crimea was facing an unprecedented water shortage crisis following the blocking of the canal by Ukaine in 2014. After the 2022 Russian invasion, the flow of water was restored however the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam could lead to problems with water supply again.

Steppe
Seventy-five percent of the remaining area of Crimea consists of semiarid prairie lands, a southward continuation of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, which slope gently to the northwest from the foothills of the Crimean Mountains. Numerous kurgans, or burial mounds, of the ancient Scythians are scattered across the Crimean steppes.

Southern Coast

The terrain that lies south of the sheltering Crimean Mountain range is of an altogether different character. Here, the narrow strip of coast and the slopes of the mountains are covered with greenery. This "riviera" stretches along the southeast coast from capes Fiolent and Aya, in the south, to Feodosia. There are many summer sea-bathing resorts such as Alupka, Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta, Sudak, and Feodosia. During the years of Soviet rule, the resorts and dachas of this coast served as prime perquisites of the politically loyal. In addition, vineyards and fruit orchards are located in the region. Fishing, mining, and the production of essential oils are also important. Numerous Crimean Tatar villages, mosques, monasteries, and palaces of the Russian imperial family and nobles are found here, as well as picturesque ancient Greek and medieval castles.

The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion. The natural vegetation consists of scrublands, woodlands, and forests, with a climate and vegetation similar to the Mediterranean Basin.

Climate
Crimea is located between the temperate and subtropical climate belts and is characterized by warm and sunny weather. It is characterized by diversity and the presence of microclimates. The northern parts of Crimea have a moderate continental climate with short but cold winters and moderately hot dry summers. In the central and mountainous areas the climate is transitional between the continental climate to the north and the Mediterranean climate to the south. Winters are mild at lower altitudes (in the foothills) and colder at higher altitudes. Summers are hot at lower altitudes and warm in the mountains. A subtropical, Mediterranean climate dominates the southern coastal regions, is characterized by mild winters and moderately hot, dry summers.

The climate of Crimea is influenced by its geographic location, relief, and influences from the Black Sea. The Southern Coast is shielded from cold air masses coming from the north and, as a result, has milder winters. Maritime influences from the Black Sea are restricted to coastal areas; in the interior of the peninsula the maritime influence is weak and does not play an important role. Because a high-pressure system is located north of Crimea in both summer and winter, winds predominantly come from the north and northeast year-round. In winter these winds bring in cold, dry continental air, while in summer they bring in dry and hot weather. Winds from the northwest bring warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean, causing precipitation during spring and summer. As well, winds from the southwest bring very warm and wet air from the subtropical latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea and cause precipitation during fall and winter.

Mean annual temperatures range from 10 °C in the far north (Armiansk) to 13 °C in the far south (Yalta). In the mountains, the mean annual temperature is around 5.7 °C. For every 100 m increase in altitude, temperatures decrease by 0.65 C-change while precipitation increases. In January mean temperatures range from -3 °C in Armiansk to 4.4 °C in Myskhor. Cool-season temperatures average around 7 °C and it is rare for the weather to drop below freezing except in the mountains, where there is usually snow. In July mean temperatures range from 15.4 °C in Ai-Petri to 23.4 °C in the central parts of Crimea to 24.4 °C in Myskhor. The frost-free period ranges from 160 to 200 days in the steppe and mountain regions to 240–260 days on the south coast.

Precipitation in Crimea varies significantly based on location; it ranges from 310 mm in Chornomorske to 1220 mm at the highest altitudes in the Crimean mountains. The Crimean mountains greatly influence the amount of precipitation present in the peninsula. However, most of Crimea (88.5%) receives 300 to 500 mm of precipitation per year. The plains usually receive 300 to 400 mm of precipitation per year, increasing to 560 mm in the southern coast at sea level. The western parts of the Crimean mountains receive more than 1000 mm of precipitation per year. Snowfall is common in the mountains during winter.

Most of the peninsula receives more than 2,000 sunshine hours per year; it reaches up to 2,505 sunshine hours in Qarabiy yayla in the Crimean Mountains. As a result, the climate favors recreation and tourism. Because of its climate and subsidized travel-packages from Russian state-run companies, the southern coast has remained a popular resort for Russian tourists.

Strategic value
The Black Sea ports of Crimea provide quick access to the Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans and Middle East. Historically, possession of the southern coast of Crimea was sought after by most empires of the greater region since antiquity (Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Russian, British and French, Nazi German, Soviet). The nearby Dnieper River is a major waterway and transportation route that crosses the European continent from north to south and ultimately links the Black Sea with the Baltic Sea, of strategic importance since the historical trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The Black Sea serves as an economic thoroughfare connecting the Caucasus region and the Caspian Sea to central and Eastern Europe.

According to the International Transport Workers' Federation, there were at least 12 operating merchant seaports in Crimea.

Economy

In 2016 Crimea had Nominal GDP of US$7 billion and US$3,000 per capita.

The main branches of the modern Crimean economy are agriculture and fishing oysters pearls, industry and manufacturing, tourism, and ports. Industrial plants are situated for the most part in the southern coast (Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch) regions of the republic, few northern (Armiansk, Krasnoperekopsk, Dzhankoi), aside from the central area, mainly Simferopol okrug and eastern region in Nizhnegorsk (few plants, same for Dzhankoj) city. Important industrial cities include Dzhankoi, housing a major railway connection, Krasnoperekopsk and Armiansk, among others.

After the Russian annexation of Crimea in early 2014 and subsequent sanctions targeting Crimea, the tourist industry suffered major losses for two years. The flow of holidaymakers dropped 35 percent in the first half of 2014 over the same period of 2013. The number of tourist arrivals reached a record in 2012 at 6.1 million. According to the Russian administration of Crimea, they dropped to 3.8 million in 2014, and rebounded to 5.6 million by 2016.

The most important industries in Crimea include food production, chemical fields, mechanical engineering, and metalworking, and fuel production industries. Sixty percent of the industry market belongs to food production. There are a total of 291 large industrial enterprises and 1002 small business enterprises.

In 2014, the republic's annual GDP was $4.3 billion (500 times smaller than the size of Russia's economy). The average salary was $290 per month. The budget deficit was $1.5 billion.

Agriculture
Agriculture in the region includes cereals, vegetable-growing, gardening, and wine-making, particularly in the Yalta and Massandra regions. Livestock production includes cattle breeding, poultry keeping, and sheep breeding. Other products produced on the Crimean Peninsula include salt, porphyry, limestone, and ironstone (found around Kerch) since ancient times.

The vine mealybug (Planococcus ficus) was first discovered here in 1868. First discovered on grape, it has also been found as a pest of some other crops and has since spread worldwide. Sunn pests—especially Eurygaster integriceps and E. maura —are significant grain pests. Scelioninae and Tachinidae are important parasitoids of sunn pests. Bark beetles are pests of tree crops, and are themselves hosts for Elattoma mites and various entomopathogenic fungi transmitted by those Elattomae.

Energy
Crimea possesses several natural gas fields both onshore and offshore, which were starting to be drilled by western oil and gas companies before annexation. The inland fields are located in Chornomorske and Dzhankoi, while offshore fields are located in the western coast in the Black Sea and in the northeastern coast in the Azov Sea:

The republic also possesses two oil fields: one onshore, the Serebryankse oil field in Rozdolne, and one offshore, the Subbotina oil field in the Black Sea.

 * Electricity

Crimea has 540 MW of its own electricity generation capacity, including the 100 MW Simferopol Thermal Power Plant, the 22 MW Sevastopol Thermal Power Plant and the 19 MW Kamish-Burunskaya Thermal Power Plant. This local electricity generation has proven insufficient for local consumption, and since annexation by Russia, Crimea has been reliant on an underwater power cable to mainland Russia.

Power generation is set to be increased by two combined-cycle gas steam turbo thermal plants PGU, each {or should this be both combined?} providing 470 MW (116 167 MW GT, 235 MW block), built by TPE (among others) with turbines provided by Power Machines; NPO Saturn with Perm PMZ; either modified GTD-110M/GTE-160/GTE-180 units or UTZ KTZ, or a V94.2 supplied by MAPNA, modified in Russia by PGU Thermal.

Solar photovoltaic SES plants are plentiful on the peninsula, including a small facility north of Sevastopol. There also is the Saky gas thermal plant near the Jodobrom chemical plant, featuring SaKhZ(SaChP) boosted production with Perm GTE GTU25P (PS90GP25 25 MW aeroderivative GP) PGU turbogenerators. Older plants in operation include the Sevastopol TEC (close to Inkerman) which uses AEG and Ganz Elektro turbines and turbogenerators generating about 25 MW each, Simferopol TEC, Yevpatoria, Kamysh Burun TEC (Kerch south – Zaliv) and a few others.

Transport

 * Crimean Bridge

In May 2015, work began on a multibillion-dollar road-rail link (a pair of parallel bridges) across the Kerch Strait. The road bridge opened in May 2018, and the rail bridge in December 2019. With a length of 19 km, it is the longest bridge in Europe, surpassing Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon. The Crimean Bridge was damaged by an attack on October 8, 2022, and another on July 17, 2023.

Almost every settlement in Crimea is connected with another settlement by bus lines. Crimea contains the longest (96 km or 59 mi) trolleybus route in the world, founded in 1959, stretching from Simferopol to Yalta. The trolleybus line starts near Simferopol's Railway Station (in Soviet times it started near Simferopol International Airport) through the mountains to Alushta and on to Yalta. The length of line is about 90 km and passengers are assigned a seat. Simferopol, Yalta and Alushta also have an urban and suburban trolleybus network. Trolleybuses also operate in Sevastopol and Kerch.
 * Public transportation

A tram system operates in the city of Yevpatoria. In the nearby townlet village of Molochnoye, a 1.6 km-long tram line provides the only connection between the sea shore and a holiday resort, but its operation is halted since 2015.

There are two railroad lines running through Crimea: the non-electrified Armiansk–Kerch (with a link to Feodosia), and the electrified Melitopol–Simferopol–Sevastopol (with a link to Yevpatoria), connecting Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland.
 * Railway traffic

Until 2014 the network was part of the Cisdneper Directorate of the Ukrainian Railways. Long-distance trains provided connection to all major Ukrainian cities, to many towns of Russia, Belarus and, until the end of the 2000s, even to Vilnius, Riga, Warsaw and Berlin.

Since 2014 the railways are operated by the Crimea Railway. Local trains belong to the Yuzhnaya Prigorodnaya Passazhirskaya Kompaniya (Southern Suburban Passenger Company), serving the entire network of the peninsula and via the Crimean Bridge three trains daily to Anapa. Long-distance trains under the name Tavriya – operated by the company Grand Servis Ekspress – connect Sevastopol and Simferopol daily with Moscow and Saint Petersburg; in the summer season Yevpatoria and Feodosia are also directly connected by them. Several times a week Simferopol is also linked with Volgograd, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Omsk and even Murmansk by train.

Further development plans consist of a bypass line between Simferopol and Kerch, and a complete electrification of the network with changing the voltage of the already electrified lines from 3 kV DC to 25 kV 50 Hz AC.

 * Aviation
 * Simferopol International Airport is an air transport hub of Crimea.

– north Feodosia – Kerch south (strait bridge)
 * Highways
 * А-291 – Tavrida highway (route Yevpatoria-) Sevastopol – Simferopol (SW to W N to East ring) – Bilohirsk
 * E105/M18 – Syvash (bridge, starts), Dzhankoi, North Crimean Canal (bridge), Simferopol, Alushta, Yalta (ends)
 * E97/M17 – Perekop (starts), Armiansk, Dzhankoi, Feodosia, Kerch (ferry, ends)
 * A290 – Novorossiysk to Kerch via the Crimean Bridge (formerly known as Highway M25)
 * H05 – Krasnoperekopsk, Simferopol (access to the Simferopol International Airport)
 * H06 – Simferopol, Bakhchysarai, Sevastopol
 * H19 – Yalta, Sevastopol
 * P16
 * P23 – Simferopol, Feodosia
 * P25 – Simferopol, Yevpatoria
 * P27 – Sevastopol, Inkerman (completely within the city of Sevastopol)
 * P29 – Alushta, Sudak, Feodosia
 * P34 – Alushta, Yalta
 * P35 – Hrushivka, Sudak
 * P58 – Sevastopol, Port "Komysheva Bukhta" (completely within the city of Sevastopol)
 * P59 (completely within the city of Sevastopol)

 * Sea transport

The cities of Yalta, Feodosia, Kerch, Sevastopol, Chornomorske and Yevpatoria are connected to one another by sea routes.

Tourism

The development of Crimea as a holiday destination began in the second half of the 19th century. The development of the transport networks brought masses of tourists from central parts of the Russian Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century, a major development of palaces, villas, and dachas began—most of which remain. These are some of the main attractions of Crimea as a tourist destination. There are many Crimean legends about famous touristic places, which attract the attention of tourists.

A new phase of tourist development began when the Soviet government started promoting the healing quality of the local air, lakes and therapeutic muds. It became a "health" destination for Soviet workers, and hundreds of thousands of Soviet tourists visited Crimea.

Artek is a former Young Pioneer camp on the Black Sea in the town of Hurzuf, near Ayu-Dag, established in 1925. By 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km2, and consisted of 150 buildings. Unlike most of the young pioneer camps, Artek was an all-year camp, due to the warm climate. Artek was considered to be a privilege for Soviet children during its existence, as well as for children from other communist countries. During its heyday, 27,000 children a year vacationed at Artek. Between 1925 and 1969 the camp hosted 300,000 children. After the breaking up of the Young Pioneers in 1991 its prestige declined, though it remained a popular vacation destination.

In the 1990s, Crimea became more of a get-away destination than a "health-improvement" destination. The most visited areas are the south shore of Crimea with cities of Yalta and Alushta, the western shore – Yevpatoria and Saky, and the south-eastern shore – Feodosia and Sudak. According to National Geographic, Crimea was among the top 20 travel destinations in 2013.

Places of interest include • Koktebel

• Livadia Palace

• Mount Mithridat

• Scythian Treasure

• Swallow's Nest

• Tauric Chersonesos

• Vorontsov Palace

• Bakhchisaray Palace

• Massandra Palace and Winery

• Novyi Svit

• Nikitsky Botanical Garden

• Aivazovsky National Art Gallery in Feodosia

• Naval museum complex Balaklava

• The Valley of Ghosts

Sanctions
Following Russia's largely unrecognized annexation of Crimea, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several other countries (including Ukraine) imposed economic sanctions against Russia, including some specifically targeting Crimea. Many of these sanctions were directed at individuals—both Russian and Crimean. In general they prohibit the sale, supply, transfer, or export of goods and technology in several sectors, including services directly related to tourism and infrastructure. They list seven ports where cruise ships cannot dock. Sanctions against individuals include travel bans and asset freezes. Visa and MasterCard temporarily stopped service in Crimea in December 2014. The Russian national payment card system now allows Visa and MasterCard cards issued by Russian banks to work in Crimea. The Mir payment system operated by the Central Bank of Russia operates in Crimea as well as Master Card and Visa. However, there are no major international banks in Crimea.

Politics
Crimea is Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia; Ukraine has not relinquished title over the Crimean territory since the events of 2014, and Crimea is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. They exercise administration of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea from Kyiv in the Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew attention to this fact in August 2022 when he stated that it was "necessary to liberate Crimea" from Russian occupation and to re-establish "world law and order".

Demographics
, the total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was 2,248,400 people (Republic of Crimea: 1,889,485, Sevastopol: 395,000). This is down from the 2001 Ukrainian Census figure, which was 2,376,000 (Autonomous Republic of Crimea: 2,033,700, Sevastopol: 342,451). According to the 2014 Russian census, 84% of Crimean inhabitants named Russian as their native language; 7.9% – Crimean Tatar; 3.7% – Tatar; and 3.3% – Ukrainian. It was the first official census in Crimea since a Ukrainian-held census in 2001.

According to the 2001 census, 77% of Crimean inhabitants named Russian as their native language; 11.4% – Crimean Tatar; and 10.1% – Ukrainian. In 2013, however, the Crimean Tatar language was estimated to be on the brink of extinction, being taught in Crimea only in around 15 schools at that point. Turkey provided the greatest support to Tatars in Ukraine, which had been unable to resolve the problem of education in their mother tongue in Crimea, by bringing the schools to a modern state.

The ethnic composition of Crimea's population has changed dramatically since the early 20th century. The 1897 Russian Empire Census for the Taurida Governorate reported: 196,854 (13.06%) Crimean Tatars, 404,463 (27.94%) Russians and 611,121 (42.21%) Ukrainians. But these numbers included Berdyansky, Dneprovsky and Melitopolsky uyezds which were on mainland, not in Crimea. The population number excluding these uyezds is given in the table below.

Crimean Tatars, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority who in 2001 made up 12.1% of the population, formed in Crimea in the early modern era, after the Crimean Khanate had come into existence. The Crimean Tatars were forcibly expelled to Central Asia by Joseph Stalin's government as a form of collective punishment, on the grounds that some had joined the invading Waffen-SS, forming Tatar Legions, during World War II. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars began to return to the region. According to the 2001 Ukrainian population census, 60% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians and 24% are ethnic Ukrainians.

Jews in Crimea were historically Krymchaks and Karaites (the latter a small group centered at Yevpatoria). The 1879 census for the Taurida Governorate reported a Jewish population of 4.20%, not including a Karaite population of 0.43%. The Krymchaks (but not the Karaites) were targeted for annihilation during Nazi occupation. The Nazis murdered around 40,000 Crimean Jews.

The number of Crimea Germans was 60,000 in 1939. During WWII, they were forcibly deported on the orders of Stalin, as they were regarded as a potential "fifth column". This was part of the 800,000 Germans in Russia who were relocated within the Soviet Union during Stalinist times. The 2001 Ukrainian census reports just 2,500 ethnic Germans (0.1% of population) in Crimea.

Besides the Crimean Germans, Stalin in 1944 also deported 70,000 Greeks, 14,000 Bulgarians and 3,000 Italians.

 * Life expectancy at birth

 * Religion

In 2013, Orthodox Christians made up 58% of the Crimean population, followed by Muslims (15%) and believers in God without religion (10%).

Following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, 38 out of the 46 Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate parishes in Crimea ceased to exist; in three cases, churches were seized by the Russian authorities. Notwithstanding the annexation, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) kept control of its eparchies in Crimea.

Culture

What is thought to be the first work of literature in the Crimean Tatar language, a version of Yusuf and Zulaykha, was composed around the early thirteenth century, apparently by Mahmud Qırımlı. Alexander Pushkin visited Bakhchysarai in 1820 and later wrote the poem The Fountain of Bakhchisaray. Crimea was the background for Adam Mickiewicz's seminal work, The Crimean Sonnets inspired by his 1825 travel. A series of 18 sonnets constitute an artistic telling of a journey to and through the Crimea, they feature romantic descriptions of the oriental nature and culture of the East which show the despair of an exile longing for the homeland, driven from his home by a violent enemy.

Ivan Aivazovsky, the 19th-century marine painter of Armenian origin, who is considered one of the major artists of his era was born in Feodosia and lived there for the most part of his life. Many of his paintings depict the Black Sea. He also created battle paintings during the Crimean War.

Crimean Tatar singer Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 representing Ukraine with her song "1944", about the historic deportation of Crimean Tatars in that year by Soviet authorities.

Sport
Following Crimea's vote to join Russia and subsequent annexation in March 2014, the top football clubs withdrew from the Ukrainian leagues. Some clubs registered to join the Russian leagues but the Football Federation of Ukraine objected. UEFA ruled that Crimean clubs could not join the Russian leagues but should instead be part of a Crimean league system. The Crimean Premier League is now the top professional football league in Crimea.

A number of Crimean-born athletes have been given permission to compete for Russia instead of Ukraine at future competitions, including Vera Rebrik, the European javelin champion. Due to Russia currently being suspended from all international athletic competitions, Rebrik participates in tournaments as a "neutral" athlete.

title: Crimea


text:
Alexios Komnenos (disambiguation)

Alexios I Komnenos was a Byzantine emperor (1081–1118).

Alexios Komnenos (Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός) or Alexius Comnenus may also refer to:
 * Alexios Komnenos (governor of Dyrrhachium), nephew of Alexios I
 * Alexios Komnenos (died 1136), son of Isaac Komnenos
 * Alexios Komnenos (co-emperor), son of John II Komnenos
 * Alexios Komnenos (son of Andronikos I), illegitimate son of Andronikos I Komnenos
 * Alexios Komnenos (protosebastos), grandson of John II, lover of the Empress Maria Komnene and leader of her regency council
 * Alexios II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1180–1183)
 * Alexios Komnenos (died 1188), illegitimate son of Manuel I Komnenos
 * Alexios I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1204–1222)
 * Alexios II of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1297–1330)
 * Alexios III of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1349–1390)
 * Alexios IV of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1417–1429)
 * Alexios V of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1460)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Alexios Komnenos (disambiguation)


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Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of former president George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. She was previously the second lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, and founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Among her children are George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd governor of Florida. She and Abigail Adams are the only two women to be the wife of one U.S. president and the mother of another. At the time she became first lady, she was the second oldest woman to hold the position, behind only Anna Harrison, who never lived in the capital. Bush was generally popular as first lady, recognized for her apolitical grandmotherly image.

Barbara Pierce was born in New York City and grew up in Rye, New York. She met George H. W. Bush at the age of sixteen, and the two married in 1945. They moved to Texas in 1948, where George was successful in the oil industry and later began his political career. Bush had six children between 1946 and 1959, and she had to endure the loss of her three-year-old daughter Robin to leukemia in 1953. She lived in Washington, D.C., New York, and China while accompanying her husband in his various political roles in the 1960s and 1970s. She became an active campaigner for her husband whenever he stood for election. Bush became second lady after her husband became vice president in 1981. She took on the role of a social hostess as second lady, holding frequent events at the vice president's residence, and she traveled to many countries with her husband on his diplomatic missions.

Bush became first lady in 1989 after her husband was inaugurated as president. She enjoyed the role and life in the White House, though her experience as first lady was complicated by her protectiveness over her family and her diagnosis of Graves' disease in 1989. She frequently carried out charity work, including her projects to promote literacy and her support for people with AIDS. Among the most prominent of her actions as first lady was the commencement speech she gave at Wellesley College; it saw considerable publicity and her selection was controversial, but it was widely regarded as a success. She remained active in political campaigning after leaving the White House, as two of her sons ran for office in both governatorial and presidential campaigns.

Childhood
Barbara Pierce was born in New York City on June 8, 1925, to Pauline Pierce (Robinson) and Marvin Pierce. Her father was a businessman who worked at the McCall Corporation; he descended from the Pierce family that included U.S. president Franklin Pierce. She had a close relationship with her father, and she considered him a mentor in many aspects of her life. Pierce's mother, the daughter of a Supreme Court of Ohio justice, was a housewife who was involved in the gardening community. Pierce's father descended from Robert Coe, an early Puritan colonist who founded several towns in the New England Colonies and served as a magistrate of colonial government. Barbara was the third of her parents' four children, and she often felt overshadowed as a middle child: her older sister Martha was well liked and modeled for Vogue, her older brother Jimmy was a delinquent, and her younger brother Scott had a bone cyst that led to several surgeries throughout his childhood. Barbara felt especially neglected by her mother, with whom she often argued. Noticing her mother's poor financial habits and general pessimism about her life, Barbara came to see her mother as an example to avoid, instead believing that she had to choose to be happy with what she had. She later came to understand the ordeals faced by her mother, particularly after Barbara had a sick child of her own.

Pierce grew up in Rye, New York, where she lived in relative comfort with servants assisting the family. She later described herself as a "very happy fat child". While the family lost some of their comforts during the Great Depression, her father's successful career kept them from poverty. In her youth, Pierce was athletic and enjoyed swimming, tennis, and cycling. For the first years of her schooling, Pierce was a public school student, attending Milton School. Insecure about her appearance as a child, she adopted a self-deprecating sense of humor and harshly judged her schoolmates. She also took on more traditionally masculine interests, such as playing football. In her teenage years, she became more popular and was often sought after as a partner in her dance classes. Pierce attended the Rye Country Day School from seventh to tenth grade. She then attended Ashley Hall, a boarding school in Charleston, South Carolina, for eleventh and twelfth grade.

Courtship and marriage
When Pierce was 16 and on Christmas vacation, she met George H. W. Bush. They met at a Christmas dance at the Greenwich Country Club, when he saw her across the room and asked a friend to introduce them. After a dance together, they instead sat and talked because Bush did not know how to waltz. They were immediately infatuated with one another, and they met again, first at a dance the following night, and then when Bush agreed to play a basketball game with her brother—a game that was attended by the entire Pierce family, who all wished to see the object of her affections. They kept a correspondence after Pierce returned to Ashley Hall, and they went on a date during their spring break. He then asked Pierce to accompany him to his senior prom. Bush enlisted in the navy in 1942 after he graduated, and they saw each other on visits until the following year, when they were secretly engaged. Despite their original intention of secrecy, their families soon knew of it. Pierce graduated from Ashley Hall in 1943.

Pierce briefly attended Smith College while Bush was fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II, but she dropped out at the beginning of her second year in anticipation of their wedding. While in college, she focused on the social and athletic aspects rather than her studies, as she already had the promise of a stable life after her wedding. To support the war effort, she worked at a nuts-and-bolts factory as a gofer. While Bush was on leave, Pierce accompanied him to his family home. She took quickly to the family, and they gave her the nickname Bar, which was derived from teasingly calling her the name of the family horse, Barsil, rather than from her own name. She retained the nickname for life. In June 1944, she feared him dead after learning that his plane was shot down, but he was soon found and rescued.

Pierce married Bush at the Rye First Presbyterian Church on January 6, 1945, when she was 19 years old. The reception was held at The Apawamis Club, where they had gone on their first date, and they had their honeymoon in Sea Island, Georgia. For the first eight months of their marriage, George and Barbara Bush moved around the Eastern United States, to places including Michigan, Maryland, and Virginia, where George Bush's Navy squadron training required his presence. After George was discharged, they moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and they lived in shared housing while George was attending Yale University. Barbara decided not to return to college, instead working a part-time job on the Yale campus before focusing on having and raising children. Their first child, George, was born on July 6, 1946.

Early married years
The Bushes moved to Texas in 1948 when George graduated from Yale, as he had accepted a job in the oil industry from a family friend. He did not consult Barbara before deciding on the move, and she did not raise any protest. The Bushes first lived in Odessa, Texas, where Barbara sought to set up a life in which she was not subjected to her mother's criticisms or compared to her siblings. She credited this sudden lifestyle shift for prompting her to become more mature, as the distance from their families forced Barbara and George to become self-sufficient.

The following year, the Bushes moved to California, where they lived in several different towns over the course of a year for George's work. While in California, Bush learned that her mother had died in a traffic collision. To her later regret, she decided not to attend the funeral or visit her injured father in the hospital, fearing the toll that cross-country travel would take on her pregnancy. Two months later, she gave birth to her second child, Robin. The Bushes then returned to Texas so George could start his own oil business, and they established a home in Midland, Texas. Bush was often left alone with the children while George was away for work, sometimes for days at a time. She had her third child, Jeb, in 1953. While living in Texas, Bush decided to convert from Presbyterianism to her husband's denomination of Episcopalianism. However, upon taking the necessary classes, the rector congratulated her for achieving "first-class" by becoming an Episcopalian. She was so insulted by the suggestion that members of one denomination are superior to another that she left without joining, and she thereafter attended the church without anyone noticing that she was not a member.

The family life established by the Bushes was interrupted in 1953 when Robin was diagnosed with leukemia. Against the advice of their physician, they took her to New York to get treatment. Barbara forced herself to maintain her composure throughout the ordeal, and she made a point to never cry in front of her daughter. George was unable to do so and required her support. Robin died six months later, and George then had to provide support to Barbara. She fell into a deep depression, in which she struggled to raise her two surviving children. One legend held that her hair began to whiten in her grief, though she later denied this. Her relationship with her husband and her oldest son helped her recover, as Bush felt she had to maintain herself for her family. She began to process her grief after overhearing George W. decline to play with the neighbors because his mother needed him. Bush decided that she would continue having children until giving birth to another daughter. She had three more children over the following years: Neil in 1955, Marvin in 1956, and Dorothy in 1959.

The Bushes drove across the country in 1957, and they found themselves interrupted or barred entry wherever they went, as they were accompanied by their Black housekeeper and their Black babysitter. These incidents instilled in Bush an interest in the civil rights movement. The family moved to Houston in 1959, where Barbara, still pregnant with Dorothy, oversaw the construction of their new home. When her son Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade, she developed a life-long interest in literacy.

1960s
In 1962, Bush learned to campaign when her husband ran for the chairmanship of the Harris County Republican Party. She initially believed that he had been appointed to the position, only later realizing that he would need to seek election. Bush accompanied her husband as he traveled to each precinct in the county. She grew to like campaigning, as it provided her a change of pace and gave her an opportunity to spend more time with him, though found the downtime boring and took up needlepoint to occupy herself. Bush campaigned with her husband again when he ran to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate in 1964. This campaign demonstrated to her a less pleasant aspect of political life, as false information was spread during her husband's primary election, alleging that her father was a communist. While campaigning, she would sometimes hide her last name to solicit more honest feedback about her husband. Bush won the primary, but he lost the general election to incumbent Ralph Yarborough. Because of her involvement with the campaign, she took his loss personally.

Bush returned to the campaign trail for her husband in 1966 when he ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the family moved to Washington, D.C. after his victory. In Washington, her primary focus was to raise her younger children and manage her household, but she also involved herself in the activities of the capital. She attended political briefings and social events, and her attendance at regular events at the White House endeared her to first lady Lady Bird Johnson. She also started a newspaper column, "Washington Scene", that was published in Houston. Bush was active in the neighborhood where she lived, befriending prominent neighbors such as Shirley Neil Pettis, Potter Stewart, and Franklin D Roosevelt Jr. The Bushes became known in Washington for the barbecues that they hosted each Sunday, a practice that they carried over from their time in Houston. Andrew Card, a member of the Bush administration, cited Barbara's hosting during this time as a significant factor in George's good relations with members of Congress during his presidency.

1970s
George ran for the U.S. Senate again in 1970, and was again unsuccessful. As with the previous Senate race, Barbara took an emotional toll from her husband's electoral defeat. She also decided to stop dyeing her hair after her dye ran during a campaign trip, instead maintaining the white hair that would become a recognizable part of her public image. After George lost his campaign, President Richard Nixon appointed him the United States ambassador to the United Nations. A large apartment was provided as a residence for the UN ambassador, providing them a home in New York City. She particularly enjoyed sharing this period of her husband's career, as it provided the couple with extensive social opportunities. This also allowed her to form relationships with prominent diplomats. While in New York, she volunteered each week at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where her daughter had been treated for leukemia years before.

Bush was against the idea of her husband becoming the chair of the Republican National Committee in 1973, but he accepted the position. Instead of the opportunities of the ambassadorship, she spent her days away from her husband as he managed the fallout of the Watergate scandal. While in Washington, she reconnected with her friends from the city and attended World Affairs Council meetings. When Gerald Ford became president in 1974 and asked George where he wanted to go, George asked to be appointed United States Ambassador to China. He was given the position, and Barbara moved with him to China. She enjoyed the time that she spent in the country and often rode bicycles with her husband to explore cities and regions that few Americans had visited. As she had while a Congressman's wife in Washington, she wrote a newspaper column which was published in Texas. She considered the experience to be a transformative one, allowing her to evaluate her life and sort her priorities.

The Bushes returned to the United States in 1975 when George accepted a job as the U.S. Director of Central Intelligence. Given the job's highly secretive nature, Barbara was completely excluded from her husband's work. With this, and the fact that her children had all moved away, she was overcome by a feeling of isolation. Bush suffered from depression, which became severe enough that George suggested she seek out a mental health professional. She did not take his advice, though she later regretted this. Bush later cited menopause as a factor that amplified her depression, and some who knew her speculated that George's close relationship with his assistant, Jennifer Fitzgerald, was another cause. Her doubts were amplified by the women's liberation movement, which made her question whether her life as a housewife was the one she wanted. To distract herself, she began regular work at a hospice facility. Barbara eventually reacquainted herself with Washington social life, and built connections for her husband's political career while she gave slideshow demonstrations to practice public speaking, giving talks about China. The Bushes returned to Houston after George left the CIA in 1977.

The Bushes never had a direct conversation about George running in the 1980 presidential election, but the decision was obvious to both of them, and George started his campaign in 1978. Early in the campaign, there were worries that Barbara would be a liability, in part because she looked significantly older than George in a primary election where age was an issue. When Barbara was asked what cause she would champion if she became first lady, she decided on literacy, believing that it would be a non-controversial choice and that it affected all other major issues. Bush was a strong advocate for her husband during the campaign, though she caused a stir with the party's conservative wing when she said that she supported ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and supported legalized abortion. For two years, she traveled the country with her aide Becky Brady to campaign for her husband. He did not win the Republican nomination for the presidency, but the eventual winner, Ronald Reagan, chose him as vice president. Barbara accordingly became the second lady. Upon the selection of her husband as Reagan's vice presidential nominee, she promised Reagan that they were "going to work our tails off for you".

Second Lady of the United States (1981–1989)
Upon becoming vice president and second lady, the Bushes moved into the vice presidential residence. They lived there for the full eight years of George's tenure as vice president, longer than in any of their previous homes. They renovated the house, and Barbara hosted more than one thousand social events there in her time as second lady. She often ignored order of precedence so that individuals would not be regularly seated among the same group, and she would sometimes have important guests sit next to her husband instead of by her. First lady Nancy Reagan grew to dislike the Bushes. During the 1980 primary election, Nancy and Barbara developed an animosity that lasted for the rest of their lives. Nancy, responsible for organizing social events as first lady, reduced the social role of the vice president and the second lady. Because of this, Barbara did not take an active role in White House social events.

Bush joined several associations and programs to promote literacy, her preferred social cause, though she rejected more public positions so as not to overshadow Nancy Reagan. Bush and her initiatives in this area saw public approval. She received many letters from the public, of which her white hair become such a common subject that she began using a stock reply: "Please forget about my hair. Think about my wonderful mind." She also traveled extensively in the United States and abroad, both with her husband and alone while representing him. By the end of her eight years as second lady, Barbara counted 65 different nations that she had visited.

Bush campaigned for her husband's reelection as vice president in the 1984 presidential campaign. By the mid-1980s, Bush was comfortable speaking in front of groups, and she routinely spoke to promote issues in which she believed. She became famous for a self-deprecating sense of humor. During the campaign, she made headlines when she declined to give her thoughts on vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, but that "it rhymes with rich". Bush panicked when it leaked that she may have referred to Ferraro as a bitch. She later apologized and clarified that she meant "witch". Barbara otherwise avoided drawing attention to herself, and this was the only significant criticism of her during her tenure as second lady. Throughout her tenure, she always kept George's political career in mind; after noticing that he had not appeared in any recent issues of the Republican National Committee's First Monday magazine, she orchestrated a meeting between herself and the Republican National Committee chair, and George appeared on the front cover of the following issue.

Bush became a full time campaigner once again when her husband entered the 1988 presidential election to succeed Reagan. Her image as a loyal wife and mother proved valuable for the campaign, especially after rumors emerged that George had engaged in an affair with his assistant Jennifer Fitzgerald. The campaign at times focused on the large Bush family, and contrasted her with the incumbent first lady, Nancy Reagan, by highlighting her interest in domestic staples such as church, gardening, and time spent with family while placing less emphasis on style sense and fashion; she drew attention to both her famous white hair and disinterest in wearing designer clothes. When speaking to the campaign's media advisor, she said that she would do anything for the campaign except "dye my hair, change my wardrobe, or lose weight". After George became the presidential nominee, Barbara was more visible than she had previously been. By this time, she felt confident enough in the world of politics to provide her own input on campaign strategy. She sat in on campaign meetings, and she gave George feedback on his debate answers when they were alone. It was her support for attack ads that convinced George to use them. She spoke at the national party convention, becoming the third candidate's spouse to do so after Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940 and Pat Nixon in 1972.

White House life and ceremonial activity
The Bushes moved into the White House on January 20, 1989, and Barbara become the first lady of the United States. She was the oldest first lady to live in the White House to that date, taking the position at age 63. The only first lady older than her to that point, Anna Harrison, did not live in Washington during her husband's term. She did begin purchasing designer gowns, but this went unnoticed by the press. Bush described the position of first lady as "the best job in America" and "the most spoiled woman in the world". Wishing to avoid the example of Nancy Reagan, Bush ensured that vice president Dan Quayle and second lady Marilyn Quayle were involved in social affairs. Shortly after becoming first lady, Bush was diagnosed with Graves' disease, which gave her double vision and caused her to lose weight. Both the condition and the treatment (which included methimazole, prednisone, and radiation therapy) brought her discomfort. The public was aware of her diagnosis, though she publicly denied it was seriously affecting her. Her husband was diagnosed with the same autoimmune disease in 1991.

Bush loved the White House, admiring the historical significance of each room. She also liked that her husband worked in the same building that they lived in, given the problems of previous years when he was often away for long periods of time. Her day-to-day activities often included charity work, meetings, or interviews until 6pm, at which point the Bushes would host company and Barbara would give tours of the White House. She also exercised in the White House pool, swimming 72 laps to complete a mile each day. She sought to engage in normal activities while living in the White House, patronizing local businesses and walking her dog along Pennsylvania Avenue. She believed it was important for her to leave the White House grounds during the day to avoid feeling trapped or isolated. She theorized that if she went in public enough, people in the area would grow used to her presence. Bush was generally skeptical of reporters and the press, feeling that she was entitled to have a private life separately from her public life. Though she did not hold regular press conferences, she worked to develop relationships with several individual reporters. When dealing with the press, she imposed her policy of "if I said it, I said it", in which her staff was not allowed to explain or justify her statements to the press. Bush's press secretary, Anna Perez, was the first Black woman to hold a high ranking position in the East Wing of the White House.

On June 1, 1990, Bush gave a commencement speech to the graduating class of Wellesley College. Her selection as speaker was controversial among students, many of whom felt that Bush was not representative of a successful woman and was only selected because of her husband's accomplishments. The controversy became a national debate. Publicly, she dismissed it as "much ado about nothing" by twenty-year-olds, but privately she was angered by the protest. The media attention leading up the speech was such that when the day came, it was the first speech by a first lady to ever be nationally broadcast live. Bush chose to invite first lady of the Soviet Union Raisa Gorbacheva, who had a visit scheduled to the United States with her husband, to join her at the commencement. Upon giving the speech, Bush was well received by the students and the public, who responded positively to her message of prioritizing personal fulfillment and relationships.

Advocacy
While she was first lady, Bush continued her work in promoting literacy that she had begun as second lady. In March 1989, she established the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to promote further literacy programs. In 1990, she hosted the Mrs. Bush's Storytime radio program for ABC, in which she read to children. Bush was known for the affection she had for her pet English Springer Spaniel, Millie, and she wrote the children's book Millie's Book about Millie's new litter of puppies in 1990. The book was a best-seller, producing earnings of nearly $800,000. This was more money than any first lady had ever made while serving in the role. She donated the profits to her literacy foundation. Bush emphasized the issue of adult illiteracy in particular, including work to increase literacy among the homeless and the incarcerated. During her time as first lady, she raised millions of dollars to fund literacy programs, including from large companies such as GM and Motorola. Her interest in the subject broadly affected the administration's education policy: her advocacy contributed to the 1989 education summit, and she convinced her husband to end his opposition to the National Literacy Act of 1991, allowing it to be passed into law.

Bush was an advocate for AIDS patients while first lady. The issue was controversial at the time due to its association with the gay community. For this reason, her work on this issue was not as widely publicized. To prevent discrimination against AIDS patients and to challenge misconceptions about its contagiousness, a photograph was published of her hugging a child with AIDS. In private, she urged her husband to take a stronger stand on the rights of those with AIDS. She compared the discrimination faced by AIDS patients to the discomfort that people expressed when her daughter Robin had leukemia.

Political involvement
Bush was a frequent advisor to her husband, and her suggestions played a role in several of the administration's decisions, including multiple cabinet appointments. A White House aide later described her as "the only voice that he 100 percent trusted". She was occasionally tasked with a more formal responsibility, such as a diplomatic mission in 1990 when she represented the United States at the inauguration of Costa Rican president Rafael Calderón.

In her role as first lady, Bush built a rapport with the first lady of the Soviet Union, Raisa Gorbacheva. This was credited by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as other world leaders such as Helmut Kohl of Germany and Brian Mulroney of Canada, with improving Western–Soviet relations. In one discussion, Kohl assured Mikhail Gorbachev that talks between the United States and the Soviet Union would continue in part because of Barbara's influence. Bush had several relationships with global figures that were beneficial to her husband's administration, as she regularly made efforts to develop these social connections with visiting world leaders. These became especially prominent following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, where her relationship with Gorbacheva and with French president François Mitterrand eased the process of building the coalition response. During the subsequent Gulf War, Bush tasked herself with making the president's job easier. She curated guest lists to avoid those who she felt would "hammer him about his conduct of the war", and she limited the messages that she passed on to him so as not to disturb him.

Bush's attention shifted to her husband's reelection campaign during the 1992 presidential election, and she was invited to give a speech at the Republican National Convention. She was reluctant to engage in another campaign, dreading the political attacks against her husband and her children. Despite this, Bush took a major role in campaigning, more actively endorsing her husband's policy accomplishments than she previously had. The campaign efforts were complicated by the early 1990s recession and the president's subsequent drop in approval ratings.

Due to her strong approval ratings compared to her husband, Barbara was made a more prominent face of the campaign. This also allowed the campaign to contrast her with Hillary Clinton, the wife of opposing candidate Bill Clinton. Bush had conflicting feelings about leaving the White House after her husband lost reelection. She was sorry to see her husband lose but relieved to return to Houston and be free from the frequent criticism of her family. Bush invited Hillary Clinton to tour the White House two weeks after the election, wishing to avoid repeating the example set by Nancy Reagan, who had delayed the tour. On this tour, she gave Clinton advice to avoid the press: "They're not your friends. They're not trying to help you."

Retirement
Bush described January 20, 1993, the day of Bill Clinton's inauguration, as a "tough day" for her and her husband. The Bushes felt that George had earned a second term as president, and Barbara blamed the press—which she accused of being pro-Clinton—for his loss. She believed that they showed preference for Clinton due to his relative youth. The Bushes moved back to Houston, where they lived in a rental home for nine months as they had a new house constructed. This new house featured a six-foot-tall brick wall to ensure the family's privacy.

The day after returning to Houston, the Bushes learned that Nancy Reagan had called into ABC News to criticize them, saying that Barbara had lied about not receiving a tour of the White House in 1988 and falsely stating that the Bushes never invited the Reagans to a state dinner. When Nancy later called Barbara to discuss the impromptu interview, Barbara decided that she "didn't feel like playing her game any more". Barbara corrected the falsehoods, and to make Nancy feel guilty, she lied by saying that reporters were harassing her because of the interview. She hung up after saying "don't you ever call me again". The two never spoke again, excepting brief formalities at state events.

After spending eight years as second lady and then another four as first lady, Bush had gone some time without cooking or driving a car, two skills that she was forced to reacquire after leaving the White House. Though she was able to find more opportunities for relaxation, she remained busy with her various charitable causes, public appearances, and family commitments. For the first weeks of retirement, the Bushes—while still wealthy—did not have access to the funds that they once did and were surprised by the cost of living that they suddenly faced. Later on, between speaking fees and a book deal, Barbara made a considerable amount of money. Her book, Barbara Bush: A Memoir, was published in 1994 and stayed at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list for several weeks. That year, two of Bush's sons sought political office: George W. ran to be the governor of Texas, and Jeb ran to be the governor of Florida. Though she helped the two of them campaign, she found that political attacks against her sons caused her even more stress than those against her husband, and she was unable to watch their respective gubernatorial debates. Jeb lost his election, and George W. was elected governor of Texas. Both sons ran for the same offices again in 1998, and both won.

George W. went to Barbara for advice when he was considering a presidential campaign in the 2000 presidential election. Rather than giving him an answer, she told him to make up his mind. Later, during a church sermon about accepting the call to do the right thing, she turned to her son and said "he is talking to you", and he was convinced in that moment to run for president. When George W. announced his candidacy, his parents did not take a prominent role in the campaign, so as to avoid overshadowing him or making the election about the Bush political dynasty. Barbara's primary role was traveling with other women associated with the campaign in the "W Stands for Women" tour in an attempt to increase his share of the women's vote. After a long legal battle over the results, her son's opponent Al Gore conceded the election, and Barbara became the second woman after Abigail Adams to be both the wife and the mother of a U.S. president.

President's mother
Barbara and George were on a flight when the September 11 attacks occurred, so their plane was grounded and they were taken by the Secret Service to a motel. The next day, they were given special authorization by their son to fly back to Kennebunkport, Maine. They participated at a prayer service with other former presidents and first ladies on September 14. Bush later expressed that she felt great pride in her son's handling of the crisis. The attack also convinced her to reinstate her own personal Secret Service protection, which she had dismissed after leaving the White House.

In 2002 she became an alumna initiate of the Texas Eta chapter of Pi Beta Phi at Texas A&M University. Bush chose this university as it was the location of her husband's Presidential Library. She was also a member of the Junior League of Houston. In 2003, Bush published another memoir, Reflections: Life after the White House.

Tensions between Iraq and the United States grew during her son's presidency, and by 2003 it seemed likely that her son would launch an invasion of Iraq. Barbara and George worried about the possibility of a war. Two days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, she spoke dismissively of television news reports about the impending conflict. Her supporters argued that she was rejecting conjecture and speculation by reporters, while her critics argued that she was being insensitive about the situation's severity. After the invasion, she felt that her son was being unduly influenced by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Chief of Staff Andy Card; she repeatedly urged him to reconsider his decisions on Iraq until he sternly rebuked her. Bush returned to campaigning during the 2004 presidential election, giving speeches on her son's behalf when he sought a second term as president. He went on to win reelection. She was involved in promoting some of his policy goals in his second term, including a 2005 tour of Florida to promote his Social Security reform plan. She generated a controversy during her work supporting victims of Hurricane Katrina when she made a comment to a radio station about the situation that was deemed insensitive, saying that those affected could stay in Texas because they "were underprivileged anyway". The comment was deemed insensitive and reinforced an impression that the Bushes were out of touch.

Her involvement in the hurricane relief efforts was further criticized in 2006, when it was revealed that she donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush–Clinton Katrina Fund on the condition that the charity do business with an educational software company owned by her son Neil. As George worked with Bill Clinton on various charity projects, the Bushs' views of their former rival softened, and he eventually came to be seen as a member of the family, though Barbara took longer to forgive Clinton's victory in the 1992 election than George did.

On October 3, 2008, Bush and her husband opened the "George and Barbara Bush Center" on the University of New England waterfront Biddeford Campus. The center lays the foundation for the heritage of Barbara Bush in New England and houses "The Bush Legacy Collection", material securing the Bush legacy in Maine, including memorabilia on loan from the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University. Particular attention is given to the family's New England heritage and to Barbara's love for Maine.

Later life and death
In their later years, Barbara and George spent each summer in Kennebunkport, spending the remainder of the year in Houston. Bush was hospitalized for abdominal pains and underwent small intestine surgery in November 2008. In 2009, she underwent aortic valve replacement surgery. In 2010, Bush was the subject of controversy when George W. recounted an anecdote that following her miscarriage she had held the fetus in a jar, causing a misconception that she had kept or displayed the remains. In 2015, after several decades of attending Episcopalian services, she was confirmed as a member of the church so she could accept the Dean's Cross award without misrepresenting her faith.

Bush was initially opposed to her son Jeb making a potential bid for the presidency, worrying that he would be weighed down by criticisms of the previous Bush presidencies and saying in 2013 that "we've had enough Bushes". She recanted this statement in 2015, after Jeb began preparing his presidential campaign in the 2016 presidential election. She campaigned for Jeb during the Republican Party primary elections, describing her son as an honest candidate while criticizing front-runner Donald Trump. She was hospitalized in June 2016 after an incident involving her heart, later blaming the incident on the stress that the Trump campaign caused her. On election day, she wrote in Jeb's name. Trump was elected president, and Bush remained critical of him during his presidency.

She was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure. On March 16, 2018, she fell and fractured her vertebrae and was hospitalized. On April 15, her family released a statement regarding her failing health, stating that she had chosen to be at home with family, desiring comfort care rather than further medical treatment. Bush died in her Houston home at the age of 92 on April 17, 2018. President Donald Trump ordered flags to half-staff in her memory.

Bush's casket was visited by thousands of admirers, and large crowds greeted the hearse as it passed. Her funeral was held at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston on April 21, 2018. She was buried at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, beside the grave of her daughter Robin. By her request, the funeral was only 90 minutes long: a decision she made after attending the two hour funeral of Lady Bird Johnson. Following Bush's death, a cartoon by Marshall Ramsey, of The Clarion-Ledger, was widely circulated, showing Barbara being greeted by Robin upon her entry to heaven. Her husband died seven months later on November 30, 2018.

Political beliefs
Bush regularly spoke with her husband about political topics, including issues that he faced in the White House. Though it was generally understood that she disagreed with him on several major political issues, she refused to speak about policy to the press. Unlike her husband, she favored an assault weapons ban, though she was resistant to broader gun control as she believed that it would only restrict law-abiding citizens while criminals would subvert the law.

Bush described her positions on social policy, and those of the Republican Party, as liberal, defining liberalism in this context as "caring enormously about people". She increasingly disagreed with the Republican Party as its social positions became more conservative. She supported causes that would support the poor and the sick, though she limited herself to those that were not politically charged. She emphasized literacy because of its apolitical nature and because of her belief that illiteracy caused other societal issues. Bush's friends and relatives cited the death of her daughter for informing her social beliefs, saying that she became highly empathetic for the unfortunate after Robin died. She was opposed to the idea of political parties taking stances on issues such as abortion or homosexuality.

Barbara's opinion on abortion was a problem for George during his political career. Though early on she said that it should be limited to the first trimester, she generally refused to comment on the issue. She privately reconciled her beliefs surrounding abortion during the 1980 presidential campaign, when she wrote several pages of notes referencing philosophical questions and her own personal experience with the death of a child. She concluded with the belief that the soul enters the body at birth, and that this made abortion morally permissible. She further believed that abortion should be federally funded so it was accessible to the poor and that government action to prevent unwanted births should take the form of education. Only later in life did she openly state that she believed abortion was permissible.

Though Bush was not an advocate for gay rights, she was not hostile to the idea as many were during her time as first lady. Her work in AIDS relief made her sympathetic to the discrimination faced by the LGBT community, and she said in response to the issue that "we cannot tolerate discrimination against any individuals or groups in our country". This was the first time that someone from the White House made a public statement in support of gay rights. While speaking in 1994, she expressed her opinion that a family caring for its children is more important than whether or not the parents were a same-sex couple. She was skeptical of the Obama administration's publicized hiring of a transgender person in 2015 until her mind was changed following a conversation with historian Timothy Naftali.

Bush was skeptical of the feminist movement, in part because of the criticism that she received about her lifestyle as a housewife. She supported the Equal Rights Amendment through the 1980s, though she stopped expressing public support for it while the first lady. She was ambivalent about women in the military during the United States invasion of Panama, believing that women were emotionally capable of handling war but less so physically. She decided that the issue was unimportant so long as Manual Noriega was captured. She more explicitly supported American action in the Gulf War, and she received little pushback when she suggested that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein should be charged with war crimes and hanged.

Bush opposed the rightward shift of the Republican Party following her husband's presidency. When Pat Buchanan challenged her husband in the 1992 primary elections on a nationalist anti-immigration platform, she accused him of using "racist code words". Bush was also highly critical of Donald Trump, dating back to 1990 before his political career. She opposed his 2016 presidential campaign and his subsequent presidency. She described her reaction to his victory as "horror", and she was confused as to how any woman could support him. After Trump's election, she was gifted a digital clock that counted down the days until the end of his term, which she kept in her bedroom. By early 2018, shortly before her death, Bush decided that she did not identify with the Republican Party as it existed at the time.

Legacy
Bush was generally popular as first lady. On average, she received about 100,000 letters each year during her tenure, far more than she expected. Her image as an easy going woman and a good mother was widely accepted by the American people, as was her determination to remain apolitical on policy issues. This generally affable image of Bush prompted biographer Susan Page to describe her as "the most underestimated first lady of modern times". Where Bush did have critics, they argued that her image as a domestic housewife conflicted with advances made in women's rights. She did not meaningfully alter the role of first lady, and she did not exert significant influence over the White House's social events, instead continuing the practices established by Nancy Reagan. At the time of her death, two of her sons and one of her grandsons had held political office. Because of this, Bush has been described as the "matriarch" of a political dynasty. She rejected the idea of a Bush dynasty, believing that it encouraged a sense of entitlement.

Bush has been contrasted with her predecessor, Nancy Reagan, in the context of image and style. Reagan was known for her fashion sense and her small figure, while Bush was recognized for her white hair and her simpler fashion. Bush was especially known for her three-strand fake pearl necklace, which became popular among American women. She described the positive reception that she received from elderly women who saw themselves in her, and she described herself as a "role model for fat ladies". When contrasted with her successor, Hillary Clinton, Bush has been differentiated by her lifestyle. Clinton was criticized for the level of independence she maintained from her husband throughout her life, while Bush was criticized for a lack of independence from hers. When comparing herself to previous first ladies, Bush likened herself to Eleanor Roosevelt and Bess Truman. Bush was the last first lady to be raised prior to the onset of second-wave feminism, which allowed subsequent first ladies more freedom to seek an education and a career.

Bush's social projects and initiatives were taken up by her children. Jeb and George both emphasized education in their political careers, while Jeb and Dorothy took control of the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation in 2014. George also cited his mother's influence when he enacted the PEPFAR initiative while president, which supported millions of AIDS patients in Africa. Her granddaughter Barbara Pierce Bush co-founded Global Health Corps, which prioritizes AIDS relief as one of its primary goals. Bush's personal papers, including her diaries and letters, are not scheduled to be publicly released until 35 years after her death, in 2053. In 2021, while speaking at the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy's National Summit, First Lady Jill Biden said that she considers Bush to be one of her role models and a First Lady she hopes to emulate in her own role.

Awards and honors

In 1995, Bush received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards Foundation. In 1997, she was the recipient of The Miss America Woman of Achievement Award for her work with literacy programs. The same year, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In 2016, she received honorary membership in Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Houston chapter.

Multiple schools are named after Barbara Bush. Schools have been named Barbara Bush Elementary School in Houston; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Mesa, Arizona. Schools have been named Barbara Bush Middle School in San Antonio and Irving, Texas. The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, was also named in her honor. Of the places that were given her name, she said that she was most proud of the "Literacy Plaza" that was under construction in Houston at the time of her death that would connect city hall with the neighboring library.

Honorary degrees
Barbara Bush received honorary degrees from many institutions. These include:

Historical assessments
Since 1982 Siena College Research Institute has conducted occasional surveys asking historians to assess American first ladies according to a cumulative score on the independent criteria of their background, value to the country, intelligence, courage, accomplishments, integrity, leadership, being their own women, public image, and value to the president. In terms of cumulative assessment, Bush has been ranked:
 * 7th-best of 37 in 1993
 * 15th-best of 38 in 2003
 * 12th-best of 38 in 2008
 * 11th-best of 39 in 2014

In the 2003 survey, Bush was ranked the 5th-highest in the criteria of public image. In the 2008 Siena Research Institute survey, Bush was ranked the 9th-best of the twenty 20th and 21st century First Ladies. In the 2014 survey, Bush and her husband were ranked the 21st-highest out of 39 first couples in terms of being a "power couple". In the 2014 survey, historians ranked Bush 5th among 20th and 21st century American first ladies that they felt "could have done more".

title: Barbara Bush