For centuries, the Crimean peninsula remained a territory of intersection of complex political, ethnic and geopolitical interests. Even in the Middle Ages, uneasy relations were formed between the Crimean Khanate and its northern neighbors. At the end of the 18th century, the situation changed radically after the annexation of the peninsula by the Russian Empire in 1783, which marked the beginning of a long and dramatic period for the Crimean Tatar people. In the 19th century, the Crimean Tatars tried to survive under colonial policies, and in the first half of the 20th century, they again faced the question of self-determination. The culmination of these processes was the deportation of the mid-20th century by the Soviet authorities.
Every year on May 18, the world commemorates the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars - one of the largest tragedies in the history of Crimea.
This was reported by Ukrainian people.
The Crimean Question During the Ukrainian Revolution
The events of 1917–1918, related to the Ukrainian Revolution, brought the issue of the status of Crimea to the forefront. At that time, the leaders of the Ukrainian People's Republic considered the Crimean Peninsula as the land of the Crimean Tatars, so in the Third Universal, Crimea was not included in the UNR. At the same time, the difficult military-political situation, the aggressive offensive of the Bolsheviks, and the multi-ethnic composition of the population of the peninsula made it impossible for the Crimean Tatar leaders to implement their own vision of the development of the region. The uncertain actions of the Ukrainian authorities contributed to the fact that in December 1917, left-wing radical forces of a pro-Russian orientation seized power in Crimea.
The war with the Bolsheviks forced the UNR leadership to reconsider its position on Crimea. In January 1918, a law was adopted on the Ukrainian status of the Black Sea military and civil fleets, and in February, an intention was declared to include Crimea in the sphere of Ukrainian influence. During 1917 and early 1918, the Ukrainian political elite went from uncertainty to cooperation with the Crimean Tatar national movement and the desire to include the peninsula in the Ukrainian state with autonomy and guarantees of cultural rights.
The Crimean campaign of Colonel Bolbochan
In mid-April 1918, the Crimean group was formed from parts of the Zaporizhzhia Division under the command of Colonel Petro Bolbochan. The unit's task was to seize the Tavrian Peninsula. On April 18, the UNR troops captured Melitopol, on April 21 - Novooleksiivka, and at night they carried out a lightning-fast capture of the crossings across the Syvash. Already on April 22, the Crimean group broke the Bolshevik barrier near Dzhankoy and entered the city.
Crimean Tatar rebels began to join the Ukrainian troops. On April 24, Simferopol was occupied, and the next day, Bakhchisarai. At the end of the month, Ukrainian units approached Sevastopol, and on April 29, the Black Sea Fleet raised the Ukrainian flag and announced its subordination to the government in Kiev.
However, further developments were stopped by the intervention of German troops, who considered Crimea to be their own sphere of interest. On April 26, 1918, the German division issued an ultimatum to disarm the Ukrainian units. After negotiations, the Crimean group left the peninsula. Despite this, the Crimean campaign became a vivid example of a successful military operation of the UNR and demonstrated the high level of Ukrainian command.
Crimea in the plans of Ukrainian statehood
At the end of 1918, the UNR Directory considered Crimea as a component of the Ukrainian state. In January 1919, it was even authorized to create a Black Sea Federation as part of Ukraine with Crimea, Kuban, and the Caucasus. The implementation of these plans was hindered by the military actions of the Entente, the White Army, and the activation of the Bolsheviks. In the difficult conditions of 1917–1920, the thesis of the “originally Russian” Crimea was finally refuted - even then it was denied by the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar national movements.
eportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944
On May 18, 1944, the deportation of the Crimean Tatars began, planned by the Soviet leadership even before the liberation of the peninsula from German occupation. The decision was made at the level of the State Defense Committee. The operation was prepared in advance, involving tens of thousands of fighters of the NKVD internal troops.
After the Red Army offensive in April 1944, men of draft age were mobilized or arrested, and mostly women, children, and the elderly remained in the Crimean Tatar villages. Over the course of several days in May, they were forcibly taken to Central Asia. According to official NKVD data, more than 180 thousand people were deported from Crimea. Together with those mobilized, the total number of Crimean Tatars expelled from the peninsula exceeded 190 thousand. In the first years after the deportation, from a third to almost half of the population died.
Later, Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians were also deported. The Soviet authorities sought to permanently change the ethnic composition of Crimea and turn it into Russian territory.
Transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954
On January 25, 1954, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU approved a draft decree on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. The decision did not refer to a “gift” to Ukraine or symbolic dates - the motivation was purely administrative and economic. The final legal formalization of the transfer took place on April 26, 1954, with the adoption of the relevant law by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The transfer of Crimea to Ukraine was an attempt to overcome the consequences of Stalin's deportation policy. The peninsula was in a catastrophic state: new settlers could not manage their economy effectively, the economy was in decline, and there was a shortage of water. Ukraine took on the solution to these problems, in particular, it built the North Crimean Canal, which made it possible to develop agriculture and infrastructure.
The Return of the Crimean Tatars and the Memory of the Tragedy
In November 1989, the ban on the return of deported peoples was declared invalid. This opened the way for the mass return of Crimean Tatars to their homeland. By the mid-1990s, about 260 thousand people had returned to Crimea.
Modern researchers qualify the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as a crime against humanity, genocide or ethnocide. The Crimean Tatars themselves call these events “exile” (Sürgünlik). In Ukraine, on May 18, the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people is officially commemorated and the Day of the Struggle for the Rights of the Crimean Tatars is celebrated. The tragic events of 1944 are also reflected in modern culture, in particular in the song “1944” dedicated to the deportation.
Photo: Ukrainian people.
Author: Danylo Pievchev