Faces of Resistance: Leniie Umerova
Today we’ll share the story of a Crimean Tatar woman, marketing professional Leniie Umerova, who was illegally detained by Russia in December 2022 when she tried to visit her sick father in occupied Crimea. The Russians accused her of allegedly “violating the rules of staying in the territory near the state border” and detained her. However, a few months later, a new case was fabricated against her — a charge of espionage, announced by the Lefortovo Court in Moscow.
The main reason for these political persecutions by the Russian Federation is the fact that Leniie has a Ukrainian passport: in 2014, she refused to receive Russian documents and moved to mainland Ukraine. On December 18, 2023, a Russian court once again remanded Leniie in custody, this time until March 4, 2024. The Crimean Tatar woman faces up to 20 years in prison, and her case has been classified.
Life before being detained
Immediately after the occupation of Crimea in 2014, Leniia Umerova made a difficult decision to move to Kyiv. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in entered the Department of Chemical Technology at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, but later she forged her life path in marketing. She was passionate about her work and managed social media for the famous Ukrainian clothing brand VOVK. Leniie had outstanding ambitions and planned to develop in the fashion industry in the future.
What did the occupiers come up with?
In early December 2022, Leniie Umerova was detained while crossing the Georgian-Russian border at the Verkhnii Lars checkpoint. Her way to the temporarily occupied peninsula was through Bulgaria, Romania, and Georgia’s border with Russia, as this option is almost the only one after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Crimean Tatar woman was the only passenger on the bus who did not have a Russian passport. This fact caused concern among the Russian border guards — the girl was born in Crimea, is a citizen of Ukraine and did not receive an occupation passport. The security forces immediately detained Leniie, trying to come up with at least some real grounds for her detention, and promptly confiscated her bank cards and phone. The occupiers came up with an ingenious operation: they put the girl in a taxi in the middle of the night and sent her to a hotel near the Russian city of Vladikavkaz. The vehicle was moving along the state border, where foreign citizens are not allowed to stay under Russian law. On the way, they were already awaited by traffic police officers, who issued a “protocol,” and that same night a Russian “court” was held, which determined the sanction in the form of “detention in an isolation center for stateless persons and foreign citizens.” She stayed in the Center for the Temporary Detention of Foreign Citizens near Vladikavkaz until March 2023.
After that, the occupiers unreasonably initiated new cases against the girl, resulting in a series of administrative arrests. She was kept in detention centers in Vladikavkaz and Beslan for a long time, and then transported to Moscow. On May 5, 2023, she was arrested by the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow on charges of espionage. The case was promptly classified, making it difficult for the family to receive information about Umerova. On December 18, 2023, a Russian court once again extended the girl’s detention, this time until March 4, 2024.
Why was Leniia Umerova really detained?
The main real reason for the detention of the Crimean Tatar woman is her pro-Ukrainian position and refusal to receive occupation documents. The Russians see the unwillingness to artificially “passportize” as an act of disobedience, and thus such residents and/or natives of the temporarily occupied territories are always subjected to illegal persecution, imprisonment and torture. The fabricated cases of alleged “illegal presence of foreigners along the state border”, “espionage” specifically, are just regime’s attempts to find grounds for the girl’s detention. Leniie had legal documents for crossing the border, which means that she was held in captivity for 5 months without any legitimate grounds. The entire case of Leniie Umerova is nothing more than political persecution for her allegiance to Ukraine. Now the girl faces up to 20 years in prison for refusing to obtain a Russian passport in 2014 and accept the occupation.
Leniie’s case is an important tool for Russian propaganda — by accusing a Crimean Tatar woman of espionage, the occupiers emphasize the “danger” of this indigenous people. This justifies the importance of fighting Crimean Tatar activists who support Ukraine and the de-occupation of the peninsula.
Where is Leniie Umerova now?
The illegally convicted Crimean Tatar woman has been held in the Lefortovo Detention Center in Moscow since May 2023. Lefortovo is the most severe prison in the Russian Federation, primarily in terms of detention conditions, harsh treatment, and restrictions on communication with the outside world. Several times, the term of detention has been extended due to the alleged “inability to complete the preliminary investigation in time.” The girl’s lawyer has not been informed of the reasons for this delay.
According to Leniie’s family, it is quite difficult to keep in touch with the girl: letters undergo a long censorship check, and the occupiers “recommend writing in Russian”. Despite the pressure from the Russians, Leniie continues to send letters in Ukrainian, demonstrating her steadfastness and resistance to the Russian regime.
Leniie Umerova about Ukraine
Even in captivity, Leniie continues to resist the occupiers, not allowing them to break her psychologically. In August 2023, Leniie wrote a letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where she shared her thoughts on Ukrainian society.
“Now our society is going through difficult times and is fighting for ourrights to development and life. And all of us, citizens of Ukraine, are courageously defending the most valuable thing we have — our dignity and freedom. The foundation is laid by previous generations and consolidated by our own experiences. The words that have become at the level of the basic needs for each of us, words that we defend!” she wrote.
The Crimean Tatar woman of the Kremlin ended her letter with a quote by Taras Shevchenko: “And there will be a son, and there will be a mother, and there will be people on earth.”
Prior to that, in her letters to her brother Aziz Umerov, Leniie expressed gratitude to Ukrainians for their support and wrote that she continued to believe in justice and the end of Russian lawlessness.
“The occupiers can take away our freedom, put us in a cage, but they cannot deprive us of our values and principles. These are difficult times for all of us — Ukrainians! Let’s proudly overcome the challenges and return everything we hold dear! Thank you for believing in me and my liberation!” emphasized the indomitable Leniie in her recent letter.
Leniie’s words inspire, strengthen, instill faith in a brighter future and prove that Crimea is Ukraine, a place of strong and unbreakable people for whom Ukraine will fight and do everything to make the occupiers leave our land.
“Everything will be great, Glory to Ukraine!”