Abstract: The subject of the research is the problem of the origin of the toponym "Cimmeria" and changes in its meaning within the cultural tradition of the Russian Empire after the accession of the Crimea. The analysis of the process of toponym transformation in literary sources, memoirs of contemporaries who visited Taurida in the first half of the 19th century was implemented. The author compares the mythological image of Cimmeria formed in European culture with the text of "Odyssey" with the semiotic value of the toponym in the historical and cultural period under study. At the same time information on the organization of the artistic image of the Crimea in the visual arts was received within the proses of the development of the Russian landscape school. In her research Kutusheva has used the method of semotic analysis to analyze the aforesaid sources and cultural-historical method to interpret literary works. The main conclusions of the research are the statements about the difference between the mythological image of Cimmeria developed in the discourse of "Odyssey" and topographically accurate location of Cimmeria in works of ahncient historians and modern researchers as well as changes in the semiotic meaning of the toponymn in terms of Russian and European culture of the 19th century from the sacral meaning of the ancient Greek tradition to geographical description of the Crimea. The author's special contribution to the topic is that she describes semiosis of the toponym "Cimmeria' as part of the Russian artistic culture of the first half of the 19th century. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author uses historical sources and travel essays for a more detailed study of the historical and cultural context of creating an artistic image of the Western Crimea.