06 June 2024

The impact of deportation on the cuisine traditions of the Crimean Tatar people

Food and the way it is prepared are one of the means of national identification. Traditional dishes represent a combination of factors: geographical conditions of the region, religion, traditions, taste preferences, and political and cultural revolutions that have shaped us into who we are today.

The twentieth century was turbulent and tragic for the Crimean Tatar people. The way of life of the people was negatively affected by wars and revolutions, the Holodomor of 1922-1923, collectivization, and repression. The greatest destruction was caused by the deportation of 1944, which led the Crimean Tatars to forget many dishes for decades, or even forever, because most of the older generation, who were the bearers of verbal recipes, died in exile. However, some elders were still able to pass on some cooking techniques to their descendants.

The total collapse of the usual economic system — change of residence, new landscape and climate, loss of the usual way of life, and lack of kitchen utensils, which the deportees could not take with them as they had only minutes to pack — all these factors led to changes in the eating habits of the people in exile. The inhumane, miserable conditions of living far from home, in a foreign culture, deprived Crimean Tatar cuisine of the opportunity to develop in the usual way. Some dishes became archaic, while others were transformed under the influence of the cultures of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, where the Crimean Tatars were deported.

The food habits and traditions of the peoples of Central Asia are closely intertwined with the diet of the Crimean Tatar people to such an extent that today, when visiting traditional restaurants, we often perceive pilaf, samsa, and lagman as quintessential Crimean Tatar cuisine, but this is not the case: they are borrowed. Sarma, lakhsha siuzmesi, chibereks, burma, yantyks, bekmez, kobiete, and many other festive and everyday dishes are truly authentic Crimean Tatar heritage.

SSeveral dishes were adapted to the new conditions and opportunities. In particular, yantyks with mushrooms, cheese, or tomatoes reflected both modernized cooking techniques and easier accessibility for the deported population compared to meat. Individual gardening and growing vegetables for sale became widely popular among deported Crimean Tatars, as these practices saved families from hunger and impoverishment. Salting and fermenting home-grown vegetables were also helpful during the exiguous 1990s.

One of the adopted dishes is samsa, fragrant triangular or round pies with meat, peas, or other vegetable fillings, originally from Central Asia and the Middle East. The ingredients available and familiar to the Crimean Tatars and their good taste contributed to the adoption of the tradition of Uzbek pilaf, which is usually served on special occasions.

The deportation had extremely destructive consequences, reflected in the culture, including the way of life, cooking, and consumption of food. The heritage of the Crimean Tatar people was targeted for erasure by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and today Russia continues this practice. To destroy people not only physically but also spiritually — by taking away traditions, customs, and cultural heritage — is the timeless colonialist goal of Russia, which continuously exerts systematic pressure on the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, exterminating their traces in occupied Crimea.Only the de-occupation of the peninsula can end the destruction of the cultural heritage and identity of Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, and other indigenous peoples of Ukraine.