It seems that I played the game and now I was detained by the British police. And not in Britain, but in Cyprus! British military bases. Russian military bases in Cyprus

Cyprus falls into the Persian province of Ionia after the defeat of Egypt (526 BC). Protracted Greco-Persian military skirmishes have been disturbing the island for decades. It would seem that two hundred Athenian ships will put an end to this confrontation, but in 380 BC. the ruler of the Persians, Artaxerxes II, returns everything to normal, and Cyprus becomes a Persian autonomy. After 30 years, the island is shaken by an uprising against the Persians, which after 6 years, like the last sparks of a fire, is extinguished by the authorities of Persia.

Alexander the Great enters the arena of history. His campaigns lead to the annexation of Cyprus in 321 BC. to Egypt. The reign of the Seleucids was short at the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries BC.

The island becomes a province of the Roman state in 58 BC. More than 15 Hellenistic rulers survived Cyprus during this period. Culture develops on ancient Roman and Greek myths. In are: the Houses of Aeon, Dionysus, Orpheus, Theseus, the House of the Four Seasons. The temple of Apollo Khilatsky, the patron of forests and animals, was built in Kourion.

Particular attention is paid to the goddess Aphrodite. On the island you can see the place of her birth - - rocks in the middle of the bay. The worship of Aphrodite here has resulted in several world famous buildings. For example, built in the 12th century, it is able to rejuvenate anyone who dips in it with its waters.

The rule of Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, who tried to carry out a coup in 1185, did not save the island from the troops of Richard I the Lionheart. The King of England occupies Cyprus during his Third Crusade. Isaac Komnenos did not even save where he took refuge.

On May 12 of the same year, in the chapel of the Limassol castle, Richard is married to the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre, Berengaria. It was at this event that Richard proclaimed the local wine "commandaria" the best in the world, we told this story in the article "".

The crusaders give the Cypriots peace architectural masterpieces: Hagia Sophia (Nicosia), Church of St. Nicholas (Famagusta). During this period, Bellapais Abbey appears. The castle of St. Hilarion becomes a bastion of the Crusaders. Now they have the glory of the most beautiful castle ruins in the Mediterranean.

Richard sells the island to the Knights Templar. Those resell it soon to the lord of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan. The Lusignans ruled for 3 centuries. In 1489, Caterina Cornaro, the last of the queens of Cyprus, leaves the throne and hands over the island to the Venetians.

The Ottoman Empire strengthened its positions in the Mediterranean, and the Venetians, trying to defend themselves from the attacks of the Turks, were building fortresses-castles in Kyrenia, Famagusta and Nicosia. The 16th century completes the prosperity of the Republic of Venice. 1570 - Famagusta surrendered. The Ottomans converted St. Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta into a mosque, naming it after Pasha Lala Mustafa, a Turkish general.

Recently, I had to once again debunk the canard that Cyprus will host Russian military bases.

I'm already tired of debunking and refuting various myths about Cyprus, so I decided to collect them in one place and refute them at once.

Cyprus offshore

There are no “Cypriot offshores” in nature. It's been 12 years since it didn't exist. Until 2004, Cyprus was indeed a very popular offshore zone. But in 2004, Cyprus joined the European Union, which made it legally impossible for offshore companies to exist on the island. All owners of Cyprus offshore companies received offers in advance to either change the jurisdiction of their companies, or transform them into ordinary European companies, or close them.

Since 2004, not a single offshore company has remained in Cyprus.

However, Cyprus is still referred to as "offshore" all the time. Perhaps because it is still the main foreign jurisdiction where Russian entrepreneurs open companies. The number of Cypriot companies with Russian founders is almost more than the number of Russian LLCs.

However, this is not because it is offshore, but because Cyprus was able to create an infrastructure that makes doing business through the island “laying companies” extremely profitable. First of all, a Cypriot company or a Russian LLC, the founder of which is a Cypriot company, cannot be “squeezed out” or subjected to raider capture. All questions - only through the court in Cyprus and British lawyers.

The same applies to the property of these companies in Russia, or rather, it was so until recently, until the constitutional norm on priority was shattered. international law over national. Few people know, but in Russia even the real estate of state-owned companies, such as Gazprom, for example, is registered in the name of Cypriot companies.

Another important circumstance is the information impenetrability of information about Cypriot companies. No information other than that contained in publicly available registries may be issued to any foreign authorities on any request, except by order of a local court. So Cyprus beautiful place where you can hide the ends in the water.

These are all very pleasant things, but they have nothing to do with the concept of "offshore".

British military bases

There are no "British military bases" in Cyprus.

Part of the island of Cyprus still belongs to the British crown and has the status of "overseas territories of Britain." Britain's troops and its military infrastructures are stationed on this Earth, but they are not "military bases". A “military base” is when the troops of one state are legally located on the territory of another state. And the British military are on their territory, not on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, but on the territory of Britain on the island of Cyprus.

In fairness, it should be noted that these British lands have a special status and are under joint management, there are even municipal authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, but the UK is the owner of these lands.

For this reason, by the way, any dreams of Russian patriots and the canards constantly appearing in the Russian press that “Cyprus will refuse the British and place Russian military bases instead of the British” are nothing more than ducks. Cyprus cannot "deny" the British what it is not the master of.

But Cyprus cannot simply “place” Russian military bases on the island in parallel with the English ones ...

Russian military bases in Cyprus

Russian military bases in Cyprus can appear only under one circumstance: if the British lease a piece of their territory on the island of Cyprus to the Russians.

The Republic of Cyprus itself has no right to deploy foreign military bases and foreign military contingents on its territory - this was precisely the condition for granting independence to Cyprus in 1960. In the event that this happens, any of the three guarantor countries that put their signatures under the "Treaty on Guarantees of the Independence of Cyprus" (Turkey, Britain, Greece) will receive the formal right to send their troops to Cyprus. And this is not an empty threat. It was the observance of the "Treaty of Guarantees of the Independence of Cyprus" that served as the reason for Turkish invasion to Cyprus in 1974, in response to a military coup that took place on the island. Then almost half of the island was occupied by Turkey, and it is clear that no one wants to repeat such a lesson.

And we move on to the next myth

Turkey will seize Cyprus or start a war between northern and southern Cyprus

Turkey will not capture Cyprus, the war will not start. Of course, as they say, do not promise, but almost half a century has passed since the 1974 conflict, and the situation in the region has changed radically.

Thanks to the presence of British enclaves, Cyprus has become the main NATO base in the Mediterranean. Of course, NATO will not tolerate any military conflicts on the island. To fight with Cyprus means to fight with NATO. To fight with Cyprus means to fight with Britain, since the number of British citizens living on the island or having dual Cypriot-British citizenship is tens of percent of the island's population. To imagine that Turkey, being a member of NATO, would start a war with NATO and with Britain, one must have a very flexible imagination.

The same applies to relations between the Greek and Turkish communities. New generations have grown up, between which there are no personal grievances, no reasons for conflicts. In 2008, a local “ Berlin Wall"- the fortifications separating the two parts of the island were dismantled and now anyone can move freely between parts of the island, even on foot, even by car, and it happens that you are no longer even asked to show your passport.

The buffer zone with UN troops still exists, but the last shot on the separation line was fired 20 years ago.

Nobody doubts that Cyprus will soon be united. Nobody has any objections. To do this, a lot of legal work needs to be done - to amend the constitution, harmonize the financial and legal systems of the territories, and resolve issues of ownership. But few people know that the vast majority of this work is already over.

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June 2013. The large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Panteleev" and the ocean rescuer "Fotiy Krylov", which are part of the operational formation of the Russian Navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea, made a business call at the port of Limassol of the Republic of Cyprus to replenish supplies and rest the crews.

Russia got the opportunity to create a stronghold in Cyprus. While the former colonial power Great Britain, on the contrary, weakens its control over the two military bases that it has on this island. Cypriots get more rights.

Road safety islands allow motorists to get an idea of ​​the features and structure of traffic organization, while transport hubs deliberately attract all traffic flows to themselves - that's what they are designed for - and then redistribute them to new directions. Cyprus would gladly play the role of an island of safety in history and would prefer that captains hungry for conquests and Ottoman pashas carefully studying maps bypassed it, but at the same time it would serve as a transport hub for merchants and other people skilled in crafts without crooked sabers and combat helicopters.

However, this green Island in the eastern part mediterranean sea located between Europe and the Arab world, quickly turns into a staging post and refueling base - for the crusaders and imperial armies, for refugees and US-British listening installations.

This month, Cyprus made some changes to the functioning of its transport hub, and his actions did not attract much attention, but they did not become less significant: the Russian leadership will be able to use the air base of the Cypriot armed forces in Paphos, located on west coast islands in close proximity to a small civil airport, which is used by the owners of villas and tourists on vacation. This agreement was reached in early January during talks between Defense Minister Fotis Fotiou and representatives Russian Ministry foreign affairs. How much Russia will pay for this, and whether it will pay at all, is still unknown. Politically, this is a very important agreement, and if it had been reached during the reign of leftist former President Dimitris Christofias, who was in power from 2008 to 2013 and was educated in Moscow during Soviet times, it would , would probably cause a lot of noise on the island itself, as well as critical comments from NATO in Brussels. Cyprus is not a full member of NATO, but participates in the Partnership for Peace program (Partnership-for-Peace).

The Russian navy is now able to use the port of Limassol on a long-term basis, although in the past Russian ships regularly and increasingly frequently called in for refueling and resupply. The reason for the conclusion of this Russian-Cypriot agreement was, of course, Syria. Only 200 kilometers separate Cyprus, which is a member of the European Union, from the coast of Syria. At Tartus, in the southern part of the coast, Russia has the only naval base in the Mediterranean area; reports of an imminent withdrawal from this base due to the dangers associated with fighting between government forces and rebels, Russia constantly denies. Nevertheless, the Russian Air Force would not interfere with the second reliable point of support in Cyprus. The port in Limassol, as well as the Andreas Papandreou Air Force Base in Paphos, will help Russian army to carry out transport operations for humanitarian purposes, as well as in case of emergency - at least as stated in the statement of the Cypriot Minister of Defense. Storage and placement of weapons is not provided.

But back in 2013, Russia had an intention to use the air base in Cyprus. And this led to a conflict of interests between the United States and Russia in island nation, according to an article published on Tuesday in the Greek newspaper Greek Reporter.

Its author notes that the Cypriot government, forced to look for a solution that suits both sides, found itself between two fires, since any option could create problems in Cyprus' relations with Moscow or Washington.

According to the SigmaLive website, the starting point of the conflict was a request Russian government to the defense department of Cyprus on the lease of the air base. In response, the Cypriot government stated that it could agree to the use of military facilities, but the request to lease the air base would be difficult to satisfy.

The Americans, having received information about the Russian request, made it clear to the Cypriot government that they categorically disagree. When the Cypriot government reminded the United States that Russia was providing continuous security and financial assistance to Cyprus, the United States responded that "Cyprus is also under the influence of the United States," the article says.

Cyprus in the midst of a crisis

The Cypriot government signed a similar agreement with France in 2007 regarding Paphos. However, the opening of the air base for Russia, as well as the beginning of the long-term use of the port of Limassol, come at a time when reports are coming in that Moscow is increasing arms supplies to the Syrian regime. It is possible that weapons and ammunition are also delivered by sea with a call to Cyprus.

Conservative Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, also this month, completed negotiations begun under his predecessor on changes to the functioning of both British military air bases on the island. In this case, we are talking about the use of non-military sites on the territory of these bases, while the sovereign base areas (Sovereign Base Areas) is a separate issue: a total of 254 square kilometers British overseas territory are under the authority of the queen and are controlled by military commanders, and the Cypriot villages located inside are considered enclaves.

This piece of UK territory was retained by the British government in 1960, when Cyprus was granted independence. Fifty-four years later, Anastiasiadis signed the treaty, which he called historic: “The rights of the people living in these bases have been restored, while again taking into account the needs of communities and the local population regarding their land and property.” About 8,000 Cypriots and 7,500 British soldiers with their families live in the Akrotiri base, located on the southern tip of the island near Limassol, as well as the Dhekelia base, located east of Larnaca. By bus or car, you can easily pass through the overseas military territories, but the rights of the Cypriots, who remained under British control, were limited for a long time. Now more than three-quarters of the territory will be put into circulation again - for the construction of houses, roads, for new investments, mainly in the tourism sector.

British listening service GCHQ as well as its big American brother The Agency national security(NSA) reacted much faster: they have already upgraded their wiretapping installations in Cyprus and have begun to take information from submarine cables in order to monitor data flows in the Middle East. This is evidenced by documents provided by Snowden. According to a newspaper investigation published in November 2013, half of the cost of maintaining British listening equipment in Cyprus is paid by the NSA, and this primarily applies to installations in the town of Agios Nikolaos (Ayios Nikolaos) on the territory of the Dhekelia base, which in a certain sense represent the divine ear Anglo-Saxons. This is exactly what happens when it comes to a transport hub, and not a quiet island of safety.

For many it will seem surprising, but the history of Cyprus has approximately 9000 years. It was so many years ago that the first signs of man appeared on the island.

The very first settlements arose near rivers and hills, and they were built from wood, stone and clay. Excavations show that the first inhabitants of Cyprus were engaged in fishing and hunting. Around 300 BC, the first attempts were made to breed animals and cultivate the land.

During the stone age most of of all settlements fell on the West of the island. At the same time, the first copper products began to spread.

During the Copper Age, the island began to flourish. This happened due to the active production and use of copper. The inhabitants of Cyprus actively traded with their neighbors. In 1400 B.C. e., the first inhabitants of Mycenae began to settle on the island, bringing with them the Greek language, culture and Orthodox art.

Greek period

It is believed that the heroes of the Trojan War were the first to settle in Cyprus, who founded the first city-states here. They decorated them with wonderful monuments and imposing walls. It was then that the Greek period began in Cyprus, which led to the prosperity of the island. In total, there were 10 city-states for the period of the VIII century BC. e .. At that time, metal processing, weaving, and ivory processing reached the highest development.

Age of struggle

The archaic era (750-475 BC) is a time of struggle for Cyprus. City-states tried to maintain their independence in the fight against many conquerors. Despite resistance, they gradually began to fall under the influence of the Persians, Egyptians and Assyrians.

In the classical period of history (475-325 BC), Greek wars took place, the purpose of which was to liberate the island from the Persians. The Athenians made many attempts to free him. As a result, with the joint efforts of the Cypriot kingdoms and the Athenians, an offensive against the Persians was organized. Years of war led to the signing of a peace treaty, which resulted in the preservation of Persian power over the city-states. They were also forced to pay tribute to the Persians. Only Alexander the Great managed to liberate Cyprus from the Persians in 332 BC. e.

New rise of Cyprus

After the empire of Alexander the Great collapsed, Cyprus again fell to the Greeks, this time to the Egyptian kings Ptolemies. At this time, a period of wealth and prosperity began on the island. All kingdoms were abolished and united with the capital in Paphos. Peacetime brought the development of culture and economy. At this time, the Greek alphabet spread throughout the island.

Within the Roman Empire

Not the most peaceful times for the island came again with the outbreak of war between Egypt and Cyprus. In 31 BC. e. Cyprus, after the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actia, became part of the Roman Empire. In A.D. 45 e. Cyprus adopted Christianity during the first campaign of the apostles Barnabas and Paul. Cyprus was the first country to be ruled by a Christian.

In 313, Christians received the right to freedom of worship by decree of Mediolanum. 325 - the time of the participation of the Cypriot bishops in the First Ecumenical Synod, which was held in Nicaea. This period saw another rise in culture and economy. It was during this period that such remarkable historical monuments as theaters, temples, asclepeions and other architectural structures were built.

The Crusades and the Rise of the Monarchy

The first raid on Cyprus by the Arabs came in 647. Since then, for almost 300 years, it has been subjected to constant raids by Arabs and pirates. Only in 965, Cyprus was liberated from the invaders by the emperor Fok and became part of the Byzantine Empire.

Byzantium was interested in strengthening the borders and protecting the island after the Muslims occupied Asia Minor. At this time, the castles of Vufavento, St. Hilarion and Kadaras were built for the defense and protection of Cyprus. Also at this time, many monasteries were founded, among which the most famous were the monasteries of Machairas, St. John Chrysostom, Mother of God Kykkos and St. Neophyte.

Such a large number of monasteries testifies to the flowering of the monarchy. The most revered at that time was the Mother of God, to whom most of the monasteries were dedicated.

In 1191, King Richard the Lionheart of England took part in the Third Crusade. Near Limassol, Cyprus, the ship with the king's sister was wrecked. The ruler of Cyprus did not want to help wrecked which infuriated the king and he took over the island. In Lissamon, Richard and Berengaria were married, and the latter was proclaimed Queen of England. Some time later, Richard sold Cyprus to the Templar Naites for 100,000 dinars.

As part of France

The Naites sold the island to King Franck Gu de Lusignan after the uprising of the locals. A new era began in the history of Cyprus - the era of Frankish oppression.

The king introduced a feudal system on the island, turning the locals into slaves. The official church was the Catholic, which began to persecute the Greek orthodox faith.

The people of Cyprus have preserved the Orthodox faith, despite all the pressure on them. The capital of the island was Nicosia, where the residence was french king. The period of French rule ended after the island was given by its queen, Catherine Cornard, to Venice in 1489.

As part of Turkey

Cyprus was a little more than a hundred years part of Venice, but the Ottoman Empire, despite all the fortifications and desperate defenses, conquered Nicosia in 1570, killing about 20 thousand people. Famagusta was besieged by Turkish troops for a little over a year. Despite heroic resistance, in 1571 the city had to surrender. Cyprus joined Ottoman Empire. Between local population and the power introduced the principle of dragomania, which bound them.

Dragoman copied the property of the Greeks, calculated and collected taxes. The most famous dragoman is Hadjigeorgakis Kornesius, who, taking advantage of his position, tried to make the life of the captive Greeks easier. He was beheaded in Constantinople as a result of a conspiracy by his political opponents.

In 1821, a revolution began on the island, during which hundreds of civilians were shot. As a result, many Orthodox churches turned into mosques.

As part of England

In 1878, as a result of an agreement between the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain, an agreement was concluded, the result of which was the transfer of control of the island to the British. Officially, Cyprus was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1914. After the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the first world war on the side of Germany, the island became an English colony. The people of Cyprus greeted this change with joy, hoping that Britain would soon hand over the island to Greece.
Turkey renounced Cyprus in 1923 and it officially became a British colony in 1925. After that, positive changes began in the rule of the island.

Cypriots volunteered to fight in Greece during World War II under the flag of Great Britain, but she refused to grant the island self-determination at the end of hostilities.

In 1955, an armed liberation movement began in Cyprus, to which England responded with mass arrests and punishments. Only 5 years later he was able to win back his independence. In 1960, the Republic of Cyprus was proclaimed.

From independence to the first half of the 2000s

According to the constitution adopted in 1960, the entire island was divided into two communities: Greek (about 80%) and Turkish (about 18%). Between the two communities, tensions were established from the very beginning, gradually increasing and eventually leading to an armed conflict in 1974.

The result was the coming to power of the radicals, who were supported by Greece. The Turkish authorities became worried, fearing the accession of Cyprus to Greece. The Turkish army that landed on the island established control over 35% of the territory, finally dividing the island into two parts. Greece, in protest, even withdrew from NATO. As a result, about 200 thousand Greeks fled from the Turkish part to the Greek part, and about 30 thousand Turks from the Greek to the Turkish part.
The line between the two parts is guarded by the armed forces of the UN.

At the same time, attempts began to unite the island through negotiations. The most recent attempt was in 2004. Then, in a referendum, 75% of the Greek community voted against unification, while Turkish side supported him.

In 2004, Cyprus joined the EU, but the de facto member European Union became only Greek part. 30 years of conflicts have led to different economic development regions, as well as completely different laws.

Second half of 2000s

In 2007, the wall was finally destroyed, which divided the capital of Cyprus Nicosia into two halves. At the same time, free movement between the two halves of the island became possible.

January 1, 2008 - the full entry of Cyprus into the Eurozone. In the same year, the people elected their new president. They became the only head of state-communist Dimitris Christofias. Now great hopes are pinned on him for the final unification of Cyprus.

Cyprus was officially part of the British Empire from 1915 to 1960 as a colony that served as a naval base to protect the Ottoman borders from possible encroachments of the Russian Empire.

There was no mass migration of British to the island during this period. At the same time, already in 1878, that is, long before the direct annexation as a colony, the secret Cyprus Convention recognized the island as a British protectorate. The British period was characterized, on the one hand, by the improvement in the socio-economic situation of the island, which, in Ottoman period was infamous for its malaria outbreaks. On the other hand, the actions of the British authorities, loyal to the policy of "divide and rule" to maintain their colonial empire, led to fierce competition between the Greek Orthodox majority and the Turkish Muslim minority, which ultimately led to the division of the island and the segregation of its main communities.

In 1878 between British Empire and Turkey signed the Cyprus Convention of 1878, a secret Anglo-Turkish treaty of a "defensive alliance" directed against Russia. The treaty was signed on June 4, 1878 in Istanbul before the opening of the Berlin Congress of 1878. Great Britain undertook to help the Ottoman Empire "by force of arms" if Russia, holding Batum, Ardagan and Kars, tried to acquire new territories in Asia Minor. In return, Turkey agreed to the occupation of the island by Great Britain.

However, the expediency of signing the convention caused serious debate in the British Parliament itself. So the Prime Minister of England sent a letter to Queen Victoria, in which he pointed out the importance of Cyprus for the protection of the Indian part of the empire. On the other hand, the liberals expressed doubts about the advisability of establishing a protectorate. The lack of a convenient harbor on the island was cited as arguments. In addition, the expediency of using Cyprus as a military base became quite controversial and financially difficult, especially after the appearance of British bases in Egypt, which needed financial injections.

In accordance with the secret treaty of the protectorate, the British received the right to occupy and manage the island, subject to an annual payment to the treasury of 99,799 pounds sterling. Formally, Cyprus continued to remain part of the Ottoman Empire, which helped to calm the representatives of a rather large Muslim community (21%), but in fact the real power passed into the hands of the British High Commissioner, which was initially welcomed by representatives of the Greek Orthodox majority, since the British were aimed at holding a number of economic reforms and improvement transport infrastructure. The British commissioner settled in Limassol, which became the center of the British administration, where quite large funds were invested by local standards.

The island was finally annexed in 1914 during the First World War.

The salutatory speeches addressed to the first British High Commissioner by representatives of the island's population reflected the hopes of the Cypriots for a change for the better. And although the Greeks and Turks imagined the future in different ways, neither one nor the other imagined that the island would become a British colony.

Initially, the British administration acted rather cautiously, since the convention provided only for a temporary cession of the island. The role of the spiritual head of the Greek Cypriots was retained for the archbishop. In 1882 Cyprus was granted a constitution based on a typical colonial model. The real power in Cyprus passed into the hands of the British governor, a self-governing body was formed - the Legislative Council. However, this fact was negatively perceived by the Greek majority, who hoped for enosis with Greece. The long struggle of the Greeks for independence begins, in which the British authorities supported the interests of the Turkish Cypriots to counterbalance.

The revival of economic life, advances in health care and education, however, could not relieve the tension that began to be increasingly felt in relations between the local population and the British authorities as the popularity of nationalist ideas grew among the Cypriots, especially the Greek majority. The movement for enosis, that is, the accession of Cyprus to the "motherland" of Greece, was gaining momentum. The very idea of ​​enosis was born in connection with the creation of an independent Greek state. Its active propagandists were the Cypriot Orthodox Church and extreme nationalists in Greece itself, who advocated the creation of " Greater Greece". At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the Greek intelligentsia also adopted the slogan of enosis, but the movement for joining Greece was not yet massive. Its participants used peaceful methods, which consisted in holding rallies and demonstrations, sending petitions and memorandums to the British authorities. Already in 1882, the newly elected Greek members of the Legislative Council protested against the policy of the Gladstone government, which prevented the annexation of Cyprus to Greece. With the help of such demarches, the supporters of the idea of ​​enosis managed to achieve a discussion of the Cyprus issue in the British Parliament in 1895, but the majority of the members of the House of Commons did not support the demands of the Greek Cypriots. As a sign of protest in Nicosia, Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta, "national meetings" were held.

Already in 1931 riots broke out among the Greek population, resulting in the death of 6 people and the burning of the British administration building in Nicosia. During the suppression of the riots, 2 thousand people were arrested, a "reserve police" recruited from Turkish Cypriots was used.

Events in October 1931 began with a speech by Bishop Nicodemus of Kition at a rally in Limassol, where he called for civil disobedience, stating that “53 years of British rule on the island showed everyone the impossibility for enslaved peoples to free themselves through requests for help or appeals to the feelings of tyrants ". The next day in Nicosia, the bishop was supported by the priest Dionysios Kykkotis, who unfurled the Greek flag and declared: "I declare a revolution." The participants of the demonstration moved to the residence of Governor Storrs, demanding a meeting with him. When he refused to comply with this demand, an angry mob smashed and set fire to the residence. The police, on Storrs' orders, opened fire on the demonstrators. Similar clashes occurred in other cities - Limassol, Famagusta, Kyrenia. Started as a movement for enosis, the uprising eventually turned into a mass movement against the British colonial regime. However, it was not supported by the leadership of the Turkish community, which again opposed the annexation of the island to Greece or the granting of independence to Cyprus.

The British hastily brought up military contingents from Egypt and crushed the uprising, which lasted about a week. 400 people were arrested, many of them expelled from the island, including the bishops of Kition and Kyrenia. By special royal decree, the constitution was suspended, all elected bodies (Legislative Council, municipal councils) were dissolved, all political parties were banned, censorship was introduced at all means mass media. By the same decree it was forbidden to hang Greek flags and hold rallies and meetings. All legislative and executive power was concentrated in the hands of the governor. Appointed in 1933 as governor, Herbert Palmer used this power to the full to suppress any manifestations of discontent. The restoration of the constitution from 1937 did not change anything in Palmer's activities.

During World War II, Greek Cypriots took part in the British war effort, fighting on the side of the British. This gave rise to widespread expectations that, at the end of the war, Britain would recognize the independence of the island, however, these hopes did not materialize. After the war, there was a growing movement among the Greek population for the unification of the historical Greek territories, including Cyprus, with Greece. January 1950 a referendum is held in which the Greek majority votes for enosis. Britain refused to recognize the results of the referendum.

During British rule, a railway (Cyprus Government Railway) was built in Cyprus, operating from 1905-1951, with 39 stations. On December 31, 1951, the railway was closed for financial reasons.

In 1955 the first armed clash between the Greeks and the British led to the founding of EOKA, an organization of Cypriot nationalists, and Greek pogroms are taking place in Turkey, the Volkan paramilitary group is being formed, leading the fight against EOKA. In 1956 Britain brings the number of its troops in Cyprus to 30 thousand, and conducts mass repression. By 1959 EOKA managed to get rid of the British, Archbishop Makarios becomes the President of Cyprus. However, the main goal - accession to Greece, was not achieved.

British heritage in Cyprus includes, in particular, left-hand traffic, and two remaining military bases that are under British sovereignty. The island's electricity grids are built to British standards - they have British-style sockets and 250 volts, as well as many legal regulations.