Propaganda says that Crimea has “always been Russian” and its inhabitants feel Russian. This is not true. This is a lie fueled by the regime of Vladimir Putin (image above, close-up, on a motorcycle in Crimea in 2010). And the emotional and historical bond between Ukraine and the Crimean Tatars in Kiev is felt even in the restaurant. dishes rice And coats, Rice and meat ravioli comes to the table shortly after the accompanying green tea. The carpets on the walls, the low-cushioned chairs, the spicy scents and the tea ritual itself take you to the East. Traditional costumed waiters add to the atmosphere. Musafir restaurant, located on Saksahanskoho street in the center of the capital, is one of the turning points where the unity between Ukraine and Crimea is renewed every evening.
There are other restaurants and cafes in the capital inspired by the peninsula that was occupied by Russia in 2014 and annexed in a referendum that was never recognized by the international community. So, on a normal weekday, with the war going on, you have to wait to find an empty table. Residents of Kiev often visit and appreciate Crimean establishments. They feel at home. The peninsula, whose main city is Simferopol, is considered purely Ukrainian here. So much so that for many, his reconquest could mean a blow to Putin, whose power was creaking at that point. For the Russian leader, the loss of Crimea can be politically fatal, so much so that he is committed to convincing Russians and Westerners of the “Russianness” of the peninsula. Sometimes succeed.
Its first annexation to Tsarist Russia dates back to 1783. Later, the Crimean Tatars were deported and removed from their lands. By the end of the empire they fell from 1 million to 200,000. Then, the deportation, started by Stalin in 1944, mainly to Uzbekistan, completed the work. The Crimean Tatars were only allowed to return to their countries after 1989, unlike other peoples who were expelled within the USSR and were allowed to be repatriated after the de-Stalinization initiated by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Deportations (and Crimea is no exception) also included ethnic displacements. If the Russian language predominates in Crimea today, it is precisely because of this politically manipulated substitution. This does not mean, however, that everyone in Crimea is happy that it has come under Moscow’s rule.
Statues against pain
At the Musafir restaurant, I met Leonora Yanko, an artist who was originally from Sevastopol but was actually born in Uzbekistan, where her family had to move during the deportation. Therefore, Leonora is Crimean and has been living in Kiev for many years. His artistic activity was influenced by the war that affected his home and family. Contrary to the ongoing tension since 2014, he sculpted a series of ‘UFOs’ made up of colorful and loving inhabitants of an imaginary planet. He then decided to open permanent exhibitions on the war in 2022. Ukrainian museums are Europeans, as in Berlin. He collected representative objects of the occupation and decided to show them to the foreign public to see the effects of the war up close.
Leonora Yanko has been working for several months at the President of Ukraine’s Crimean Mission, headed by activist Tamila Tasheva. “I wanted to commit to something useful and tangible for my land,” she says. We met with Tasheva together with a delegation of Italian Radicals hosted in Kiev on the occasion of April 25. Tasheva and her collaborators exemplified the Mission’s activities, which mainly focused on condemning human rights abuses during the Russian occupation of the peninsula. Beginning in 2014, the situation in Crimea fell silent, both due to the difficulty of finding and disseminating information and the presence of openly pro-Russian politicians all over the West. For example, many Italians still perceive Russia as “anti-fascist”, despite the fact that the Putin regime has similar elements to fascism. But Russia was also popular on the right, from Matteo Salvini to Silvio Berlusconi.
The study group led by Taseva then tries to pierce the darkness due to lack of knowledge. For example, few people know that Russia uses Crimea as a military base. It is estimated that from 2015 to 2022, Russia carried out 15 forced mobilizations, forcing at least 36,000 residents to enlist. And that’s not all: Russia, in an effort to Russify the newly occupied territories from Kherson to Zaporizhzhya, has sent at least 700 teachers to the Crimea to learn “Russian standards”, where the Russification of schools has already been underway since 2014. The detention of prisoners from the occupied cities, not to mention the Crimean people who tried to oppose the aggressive war and were therefore arrested. Most Tatars.
Restructuring is expected
The Russian occupation has effectively isolated Crimea, which has now become a depressed region with no connection to the rest of the world and no rule of law: individual entrepreneurs fell from 77,000 to 30,000 in the two years from 2013 to 2013. 2015, according to data collected by the Crimean Mission of the President of Ukraine. The ecosystem was also damaged: infrastructures were built, such as the Kerch bridge, which served to show Russian “glory” rather than to meet the needs of the population. And finally, from the radio to the schoolbooks in the Crimea, only one voice is heard: the voice of Moscow propaganda.
However, the Crimean Mission is not limited to revealing the current situation, it is already considering the future, what to do after the invasion. Starting with the incorporation of Simferopol into European transport corridors called “Ten-T”, with a high-speed rail link between Simferopol and Kiev that will integrate the peninsula into future corridors for Madrid, Lyon, Milan and Rome. And then the energy transition in a ‘green’ key, with the development of wind power from the Sea of Azov and the re-activation of the tourism industry with European markets in mind. In the background is the revival of the mosaic of different cultures that have always coexisted in Crimea, guaranteeing religious pluralism and preserving the culture and language of the Crimean Tatars.
At this time, the restaurant is empty. It’s almost ten in the evening, just in time for everyone to go home following the curfew. The war changed the city’s tariffs, Kiev residents are now used to having dinner earlier. And just before Leonora leaves, she says she’s sure the war will be over soon. And it will end well for his Ukraine. But also for Crimea.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
