Civil war has caused a once-popular tourist destination to lay vacant. (traroth, Wikimedia Commons)

Since its annexation in March by Russia, the popular coastal vacation spot has been seemingly devoid of happy vacationers. In the midst of a bloody struggle for territory, no Ukrainian would be caught walking along its sandy shores - and with a ceasefire that is clearly failing to keep order, Russian-subsidized programs have also failed to bring business to the peninsula.

Many of the popular vacation towns in Crimea were especially popular for the gay community and "hippies," none of whom feel safe going there now because of Russia's notoriously harsh anti-gay policies. Instead of dance-clubs and rock n' roll, Russian authorities have voted to replace those "vices" with another, more morally acceptable one - gambling, to the chagrin of Crimea's original inhabitants, who feel that the new gambling zones "spit in the face of Orthodox values."

It remains to be seen whether these initiatives will restore Crimea's formerly booming tourism economy. 

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Reach Web Producer Ashley Yang here, or follow her on Twitter.