24 June 2024

Russia destroys and russifies Crimea, exterminates and mentally affects indigenous population: without preparation reintegration will take years

Crimea is unique in many ways. It was on this peninsula that three indigenous peoples formed all at once. The Russian occupation of Crimea has endangered the lives and freedom of these peoples, because the occupier is doing its best to destroy the peoples’ right to self-determination.

The occupation of Crimea is a continuation of the deportation process that began in 1944. So far, Russia has opened 317 criminal cases.

“Currently, Russia is prosecuting 317 people in criminal cases, 217 of them against Crimean Tatars. There are currently 204 people in detention, of whom 133 are representatives of the Crimean Tatar people,” said Eskender Bariiev, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre, during the panel entitled “Russian Armed Aggression Against Ukraine and the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in the Peacebuilding Process” at the 3rd International Forum of the International Crimea Platform Expert Network.

Occupiers are discriminating against indigenous peoples on the occupied peninsula based on religion and language grounds. They are also destroying cultural heritage by destroying or removing authentic materials.

Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, said that the Crimean Tatar people had returned from deportation to live as a minority in their land. During the Russian occupation they are particularly vulnerable. Therefore, the events in Crimea can be summarized in only two words – russification and destruction.

“Russification and destruction are two words that can be used to describe the processes currently taking place in Crimea. In every sphere, the Russians are destroying everything they touch. In the field of education, Ukrainian schools were immediately closed, Crimean Tatar schools are also being closed via deceptive methods. The occupiers are artificially altering the demographics of the population – they are displacing and exterminating the native inhabitants. But the worst thing is the mental changes in the minds of the young generation,” he said.

According to Refat Chubarov, the time to make an antidote to what is happening in Crimea is now, otherwise the reintegration of the occupied peninsula will take years.

Experts note that the occupation processes, which have taken 10 years in Crimea, are proceeding faster in the rest of the occupied territories of Ukraine, and Russia is trying to expedite the integration of the local population as much as possible.