was a historical event in which the Greek[b] and Armenian populations of Crimea were resettled by the authorities of the Russian Empire to newly founded settlements in Pryazovia, taking place in 1778 on order of Empress Catherine the Great.

In 1768, Russia began a new round of hostilities against the Ottoman Empire, and by June 1771 an army under the command of Prince Vasily Dolgorukov-Krymsky had captured the entirety of the Crimean peninsula.

Although Selim Giray managed to arrive in Crimea and met with local rebels, Russia intercepted and prevented the landing of the Turkish military force that was planned to assist him.

[6] Russia had long sought to pacify its notoriously unstable southern frontier and coastline with the Black Sea, and, as a consequence of finally having established control over the Crimean peninsula, was now able to move populations and change demographics towards that objective.

Additionally, the exodus of the Christians, who were the wealthiest subjects of the Crimean khan, would cause the Khanate to lose tax revenue and become more dependent on Russia, eventually leading to its complete integration.

Subsequent to the appointment of Alexander Suvorov to the head of the military administration over Crimea in April 1778, the process of preparing the relocation of the Christian population officially began, with the help of metropolitan bishop Ignatius in its implementation.

On 21 July, the Russian government officially informed the khan about the ongoing preparations, prompting him to write a letter to Russian resident minister Andrei Konstantinov [ru] with his objections, in which he requested to be given the power to prevent the relocation from taking place:[12]«Большая половина не согласна отсель отлучаться, в котором прошу дать мне полномочие хорошим способом докончить сие дело.»Which translates to:"More than half [of the Christians of Crimea] do not wish to be relocated, and I ask you to give me the authority to end this matter in a positive way.

"However, by 23 July 1778 Şahin Giray had realized the futility of any resistance to the royal decree of Catherine the Great, and signed an order announcing the withdrawal of Christians from Crimea.

On 14 November 1779 the Russian government instituted the "Charters Granted to Christians of the Greek and Armenian Denominations Who Migrated from the Crimea to Settle in the Azov Province," which gave the migrants the right to administer themselves according to their own legal norms and exempted them from mandatory military service.