Today, May 18, is the Day of Struggle for the Rights of the Crimean Tatar People. On the same day, in 1944, the deportation of Crimean Tatars began in the USSR.
In Ukraine today, as in previous years, May 18 — Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide. In 2024, this date marks the 80th anniversary of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.
It was on this day in 1944 that the totalitarian machine of the USSR began one of the most terrible crimes in history — illegal deportation of Crimean Tatars from Crimea.
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In just three days, May 18-20, more than 180 thousand people were evicted from the peninsula.
The Crimean Tatar people again faced pressure, political repression and persecution in 2014, after the illegal occupation of Crimea by Russia.
Deportation of the Crimean Tatar people — how it happened
In 1944, on May 18, the deportation of the Crimean Tatars began. At 03:00 in the morning, the Soviet government began a criminal special operation, which involved more than 32 thousand NKVD officers.
The security forces entered the houses of the Crimean Tatars and announced that, allegedly, because of treason, they were being evicted from the peninsula. People were given from a few minutes to half an hour to get ready.
After that they were led to the railway, put into wagons, sent to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia.
Ukrainian historian, coordinator of the NGO Tauride Humanitarian Platform Andrey Ivanets said that the operation to evict the people was carried out ahead of schedule.
— The resolution of the USSR State Committee, which initiated this crime, gave time until the end of May, but security forces evicted the Crimean Tatars literally within three days. People traveled in terrible conditions, they were put in cattle cars. There was no normal food or sanitary and medical care. Deaths began already at the time of transportation of the Crimean Tatars, — said the historian.
Predominantly women, children and old people fell under the deportation of the Crimean Tatars. For April-May 1944 to labor camps in Russia and to the trust “Moskvugol” 11 thousand male Crimean Tatars were mobilized.
Another 6 thousand Crimean Tatars were arrested in the spring of 1944 for so-called anti-Soviet elements. Thus, almost the entire people ended up in places of exile.
— The mortality rate among Crimean Tatars in places of exile in the early years was extremely high. Scientists from the Institute of Demography named after M.V. Ptukhi believe that a quarter of the Crimean Tatars from their number as of 1939 died. This is almost 50 thousand people died due to difficult living conditions in special settlements, hunger, disease, hard work, — told the historian.
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How the USSR authorities explained the actual genocide of the Crimean Tatar people
May 10, 1944, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Lavrentiy Beria sent a memo to Stalin, which contained “justification” the need to evict the Crimean Tatars.
It spoke about the alleged massive collaboration of the Crimean Tatars and the undesirability of living in the border area.
— Many scientists believe that the second reason that Beria wrote about, living in the border region, played a key role. The Soviet Union had been harboring imperial dreams since the Romanov Empire and sought to extend its influence to the Bosporus and Dardanelles. Therefore, in preparation for a likely conflict with Turkey, purges of potentially disloyal populations were carried out in the border regions, — told by Andrey Ivanets.
The historian noted that such genocide of the Crimean Tatar people led not only to extremely heavy demographic losses, but also to the destruction of the cultural heritage of the Crimean Tatars.
— In Crimea, almost any mention of the Crimean Tatars was cleared, most geographical names were changed, monuments of the cultural history of the Crimean Tatars, mosques, cemeteries, book collections in the Crimean Tatar language, as well as other items of material heritage were destroyed, — Ivanets added.
Putin's annexation — how Russia infringes on the rights of the Crimean Tatars
A new challenge for the Crimean Tatars was the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014.
— The invaders destroyed the self-government bodies of the Crimean Tatar people; in 2016 they banned the Mejlis, one of the two highest self-government bodies. Russia is flagrantly violating the order of the UN International Court, which, following a lawsuit from Ukraine, ordered the restoration of the activities of the Crimean Tatar people back in 2017. The occupation regime persecutes many Crimean Tatars for their religious beliefs, — said the historian.
Andrey Ivanets noted that the Crimean Tatar people are one of the most discriminated communities in Crimea.
— The situation is very dramatic due to the fact that the occupiers are persecuting activists, conducting mass searches, and detaining Crimean Tatars. They created such conditions that part of the people were forced to leave their homes in Crimea and leave, — he added.
Last year, when Russia began a full-scale war against Ukraine, many Crimean Tatars began to be illegally conscripted into the occupation army.
This contributed to another surge of Crimean Tatars leaving the Crimean Peninsula and created a new traumatization that did not allow the wounds of 1944 to heal, when the Kremlin decided to begin the deportation of the Crimean Tatars.
