The Crimea Peninsula is a region located in the south of Ukraine. It is bordered by the Black Sea to the west, the Sea of Azov to the east, and the Kerch Strait to the south. The peninsula is connected to the mainland by two bridges, the Crimean Bridge and the Kerch Strait Bridge. Crimea has been part of Ukraine since 1954, when it was transferred from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. It is an autonomous republic within Ukraine and is home to a large ethnic Russian population.