All articles tagged with #crimean tatars
Ukrainian President Zelensky handed over a list of Crimean Tatars held in Russian prisons to Turkish President Erdogan, seeking Turkey's mediation for their release and emphasizing the need to free all unlawfully detained individuals, including warriors and civilians, who have suffered Russian repression in Ukraine's occupied territories.
After 10 years of Russian occupation, Crimea has become highly militarized, subsidized, and isolated, with a significant shift in its economy towards dependence on the Russian federal budget and the military-industrial complex. The population has seen a mass resettlement of Russians and the deportation of Ukrainians, while education has been heavily Russified and the indigenous Crimean Tatars have faced repression. As Ukraine aims to liberate Crimea, local partisans have played a key role in aiding Ukrainian military operations on the peninsula, and Ukraine is actively preparing for Crimean reintegration, but the process will be challenging.
Russia has added Ukrainian singer Susana Jamaladinova, who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest under the stage name Jamala, to its wanted list. She is charged with violating a law that bans spreading fake information about the Russian military and the ongoing fighting in Ukraine. Jamala, who is of Crimean Tatar descent, won the contest with the song "1944," which refers to the year the Soviet Union deported Crimean Tatars en masse. Russia had protested the song's inclusion in the competition, but it made no specific criticism of Russia or the Soviet Union.
The Atesh movement, comprised of Crimean Tatars, has emerged as a prominent resistance group in the Ukraine war against Russian occupation. Atesh aims to disrupt logistics, sabotage key targets, and sow discontent within the Russian army. Their methods, including the killing of Russian servicemen and online courses on sabotaging equipment, have proven effective. The history of repression and deportation faced by the Crimean Tatars under Soviet rule has fueled their determination to resist Russian aggression. The significant military contribution of the Crimean Tatars is shaping Kyiv's stance on self-determination for the Crimean Tatar nation and the future of Crimea.
Russian authorities have warned the Crimean Tatar ethnic minority against protesting on the anniversary of their deportation under Stalin. The Crimean Tatars, who largely opposed Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, say they now face persecution by Moscow-installed officials. Russian authorities have banned Crimean Tatars from commemorating the Stalin-era deportations since the annexation. The United Nations has said the human rights situation in Crimea had "significantly deteriorated" after Russia occupied the Black Sea peninsula.
The Muslim minority of Crimean Tatars, who consider the peninsula their historic homeland, are facing a crackdown by Russian authorities due to their loyalty to Kyiv. Nariman Dzelyal, a deputy head of the Crimean Tatar representative body, Mejlis, is one of nearly 200 Tatars whom Ukraine considers to be political prisoners in Crimea. Despite denials from the Russian government, human rights groups have accused the Kremlin of cracking down on dissent and stifling opposition. The situation highlights the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine over the annexation of Crimea.