Crimea (Crimean Tatar: Къырым, Qırım; Russian: Крым, Krym; Ukrainian: Крим, Krym), formally known as the Republic of Crimea, is a republic of the Soviet Union. Encompassing most of the Crimean Peninsula, the republic borders Ukraine to the north, Russia to the east, the Black Sea to the south, and the Union City of Sevastopol to the west. Crimea was historically part of Russia and Ukraine prior to become a republic in the late 1990s.