GUEST OF THE ISSUE

pp. 4-5

The Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Fiona Frazer, “WHEN PERPETRATORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CRIMEA ENJOY DE FACTO IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION THIS ONLY FEEDS IMPUNITY”

Head of Representation, Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov, “It is not always easy or politically appropriate to keep the issue of Crimea on the international agenda. But it is the right thing to do”

pp. 8-9

DIRECT SPEECH

Illegal conscription into the army of the occupying country –several thousand new conscripts are planned to be sent to military units and the fleet of the RF

p. 3

IMPORTANT

Catherine’s Despotism. The first Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire

p. 14

TRUE HISTORY

#5 2017

Crimea Inform Magazine, No.5 (5). October 2017

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Distributed free of charge.2#5 2017

Discussions on the Observance

of Human Rights in the Occupied

Peninsula Were Held in Prague One of the panel discussions at the Forum 2000 held in the Czech capital discussed numerous human rights violations in Crimea. Ukraine was represented by the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, illegally sentenced Ilmi Umerov’s lawyer, Edem Semedlyaev and Ihor Kotelyanets, brother of Yevhen Panov, who is illegally de-tained in Simferopol Detention Center on trumped-up charg-es of extremism. Refat Chubarov stressed the unprecedented pressure the occupation authorities put on dissenters, in par-ticular, on the Crimean Tatars. “This is a kind of revenge for the Crimean Tatars, who completely ignored the immitation of the referendum held on March 16, (2014 — Ed.),” he stressed. In his turn, Igor Kotelyanets noted that political prisoners in Crimea are not necessarily political figures, but ordinary peo-ple with an active civic position. He also noted that the Rus-sian authorities in Crimea try to intimidate people.

Russian Threat to the World

Discussed at a NATO PA Session Bucharest hosted the 63rd session of the NATO Parliamenta-ry Assembly, whcih discussed the threats the Russian aggres-sion poses to the civilized world. In particular, NATO stressed the need to contain the presence of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea, which has grown after the illegal annexation of Crimea. To this end, forces of the ten NATO member states already in the Black Sea region will be reinforced by the US troops. The session participants also adopted a draft resolution on countering the weaponization of information, which declares that the information threats from the RF and disinformation campaigns are aimed at weakening and destabilizing the Euro-Atlantic community and need an appropriate response. Thus, the document states that NATO countries should create spe-cial units for the purpose of continuous monitoring of the me-dia space — detection of fake news, hostile propaganda — and adequate reaction to them. In addition, during the NATO PA session, the Ukrainian del-egation raised the issue of the military sector development in the occupied Crimea as reported by the Head of the Perma-nent Delegation of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary As-sembly Iryna Friz.

New Rounds of Arrests

in the Occupied Crimea

Illegal detention of Crimean Tatar activists continues in Crimea. On October 2, Russian security forces conducted massive searches in Molodizhne (Simferopol district) and Melnychne (Bilogorsk district), and detained four Crime-an Tatars — Arsen Kubedynov, Seyran Mustafayev, Renat Suleymanov, Talyat Abdurakhmanov. All detainees were tak-en to the FSB office, where they were accused of participat-ing in the extremist activity of Tablighi Jamaat (an apolitical religious movement, organized in India in 1926), which is banned in Russia. On October 11, 2017, searches also took place in the houses of Tymur Ibrahimov, Suleyman Asanov, Memet Belyalov, Ismail Gzhirov, Seyran Saliyev and Server Zekeryaev. All of them, according to the lawyer Edem Smedlyayev, are active mem-bers of Crimean Solidarity, an organization supporting politi-cal prisoners and their families.

I strongly reject the statements of those who speak of Crimea as a fait accompli (completed case). The PACE tribune was not made for calls for territories to be traded for money, oil or gas. This will never happen. It was made to safeguard our fundamentals, our values and our principles, and, most importantly, to protect them if necessary. Such a need has come today.

President of Ukraine Petro POROSHENKO — in response

to the statement made by Czech President Milos Zeman at

the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of

Europe, during which Zeman said that he considers Ukraine’s

loss of Crimea a “completed case” and offered to settle it with

the help of monetary compensation. Zeman also said that, in

his opinion, it was time to remove sanctions from Russia.

Crimean Tatars were detained in the occupied Crimea for participation in single-person pickets.49

NEWS

3

VIOLATION OF LAW

#5 2017

Young men of military age are forced to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation reports that several thousand new conscripts are planned to join to its military units and the fleet in October. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued an official statement, demanding to stop conscription in the territory of the occupied peninsula.

ILLEGAL CONSCRIPTION INTO THE ARMY OF THE OCCUPYING COUNTRY CONTINUES IN CRIMEA

Conscription is

a Violation of the

International Law

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that Russia has once again grossly violated its obligations as an occupying state. “The UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/71/205 of December 19, 2016 confirmed the fact of the illegal occu-pation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and urged the Russian Federation to fulfill its obligations under the international humanitarian law, international human rights mechanisms, and other legal instruments, to which it is a party. We bring your attention to the fact that under the international humanitarian law the occupying state is prohibited from compelling protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces, as well as it is prohibited to exert pressure and use propaganda campaign to enlist voluntar-ily,” the statement said. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands the Russian Federation to cancel the conscription for military service and to fully implement UN GeneralAssembly resolutions A/RES/68/262 of March 27, 2014, “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, and A/RES/71/205 of Decem-ber 19, 2016, “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)”.

Criminal Prosecution

for Dodging

Conscription Despite numerous warnings from both Ukraine and the international commu-nity, Russia conducts illegal conscription into the armed forces in Crimea for four years in a row. Thus, in the thematic report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Hu-

man Rights “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autono-mous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)”, published on Sep-tember 25, 2017, it is noted that by Decem-ber 31, 2016, conscripts could do military service only in the territory of the penin-sula. And from 2017, conscripts can be sent to the territory of the Russian Federation. “On May 25, 2017, 30 conscripts from Sevastopol were sent to the Russian Federation, since they were reported to have expressed a desire to serve there,” the report said. In addition, the document refers to the prosecution of the Crimeans who dodged

the service. “The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke with the Crimean Tatars who left the peninsula to avoid service in the Russian Army. According to them, they cannot re-turn to Crimea, as they will be prosecuted for dodging conscription.” At the moment, the Crimean Human Rights Protection Group has appealed to the residents of Crimea urging them to provide information about the facts of conscription into the Russian army for the purpose of documenting such cases and seeking mechanisms to protect Ukrainian citizens from unlawful con-scription.

2000Crimeans are to be conscripted by the Russian occupation authorities into the RF Black Sea Fleet, another 400 — into the ranks of the army.

(According to the Crimean Human Rights Group)

4

GUEST OF THE ISSUE

Fiona Frazer,“WHEN PERPETRATORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CRIMEA ENJOY DE FACTO IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION THIS ONLY FEEDS IMPUNITY”

#5 2017

— The question of gaining access to Crimea is a difficult one. Pursuant to an agreement between OHCHR and the Govern-ment of Ukraine of July 2014, the UN Human Rights Monitor-ing Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) should have established a presence in Simferopol in order to monitor human rights on the peninsula. Unfortunately this has not been possible. Three Notes Verbales were addressed to the Russian Federation be-tween 2014 and 2017 following consultations with Ukraine. They mentioned the intention to conduct human rights moni-toring in Crimea and the need to be granted access for that purpose. The Notes Verbales also contained references to UN GA Res. 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and UN GA Res. 71/205, recognizing the Russian Federation as the occupying power in Crimea, because they represent the position of the UN regarding the status of Crimea. No official response was received. Our organization has nevertheless re-ceived signals that discussions on access could take place if this issue was negotiated directly with the Russian Federation and without any references to the two UN resolutions, which are deemed by the authorities of the Russian Federation to be political. Given the circumstances, HRMMU has been monitoring and reporting about the human rights situation in Crimea from mainland Ukraine. We will continue to look for ways and means to access Crimea and stand by the position that the conditions and parameters of a possible future mis-sion should be acceptable to Ukraine, as the country having de jure jurisdiction over Crimea. — The report contains a rather large amount of data. What methods do you use to collect the information, considering, monitoring missions have no physical presence in Crimea? — It is true that HRMMU has no presence in Crimea, but we have a wide network of contacts, both inside Crimea and in mainland Ukraine. We regularly conduct interviews with a variety of interlocutors, including victims, their relatives and witnesses of human rights violations, human rights activists, members of the legal profession, journalists, entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, social workers, representatives of civil so-ciety, religious and politicalorganizations, and other catego-ries, including individuals with no specific affiliations. We regularly conduct monitoring missions to the administrative boundary line (ABL) with Crimea and interview people who travel to and from Crimea. All the information is collected and analyzed. We never rely on one sole source of informa-tion. Our reports describe allegations of international human rights and humanitarian law violations that could be verified

On September 25 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a comprehensive report «Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)». Based on the large amount of data presented in the document its authors come to a sad conclusion: the situation has significantly deteriorated over the years of occupation. Multiple cases of arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, ill-treatment and torture, imposition of the occupying country’s citizenship, imposing limits on freedom of movement, thought, religion, peaceful gathering and so on serve as evidence of this. The Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Fiona Frazer stresses the worrying tendency towards further limitations on the rights and freedoms of Crimea’s residents. She also points out that in the isolated conditions of the peninsula and in the absence of objective and independent media, non-governmental and human rights organizations, perpetrators bear no responsibility.

–The Russian Federation denies access to Crimea to monitoring missions. Is there any hope that the situation will change and moni-toring missions will get access to the penin-

sula? What is being done to make this happen?

5

and corroborated in accordance with OHCHR methodology. I would also like to stress that we are committed to the pro-tection of our sources and systematically assess the potential risks of harm and retaliation against them. — What difficulties did you face while collecting and process-ing the information?— The main difficulty stems from the fact that we are not present in situ. We have no direct access to victims and places of detention in Crimea. Unfortunately, we cannot monitor trials in court, follow up on police investigations or commu-nicate with local authorities. While this does not make our work impossible, we spend a considerable amount of time and energy to verify facts and get hold of documents, certificates, legal or administrative acts, court decisions, medical reports and other evidence, which are indispensable to properly ana-lyze facts, developments and trends, and issue appropriate recommendations. — Your office has drafted a series of reports on the human rights situation in Crimea. What tendencies do you see? Is the situation getting better or worse? Could you give some spe-cific examples?— The report we presented in September this year is the first of its kind and was mandated by the UN General Assembly resolution No. 71/205. However, in each public quarterly re-port we prepared on the human rights situation in Ukraine (as of October 2017, the UN Human Rights Office has pub-lished 19 such reports) we dedicated a special section to the human rights situation in Crimea. As for the tendencies we see, for many people, the situation has become significantly worse. One of the most widespread violations was related to the automatic imposition of Russian Federation citizenship to Crimean residents pursuant to the so-called treaty of ac-cession concluded between the ’Republic of Crimea’ and the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014. Ukrainian citizens liv-ing in Crimea who did not meet the legal condition to auto-matically become Russian Federation citizens – and this con-dition implied proving that one was permanently residing on the peninsula, as evidenced by a passport stamp – became for-eigners overnight. Tens of thousands of people were directly concerned. They could no longer legally remain in Crimea for more than 90 days within a period of 180 days, pursuant to the applicable immigration rules of the Russian Federation. Many people were deported from Crimea to mainland Ukraine for failure to comply with those strict requirements. In terms of other tendencies, we noted in 2014 dozens of cases of enforced disappearances, where people were kept by the so-called Crimean self-defense for hours or days without any contacts with the outside world, and often subjected to torture or ill-treatment. We see less of those cases today, although there have not been any serious attempts to bring perpetrators of violations to account. There were also more attacks against journalists and civic activists in 2014 than in the following years. This however does not indicate any improvement but rather that independent voices or critical media outlets have left or been closed. Another worrying trend concerns the ar-rests of Muslims, mostly Crimean Tatars, accused of extrem-ism and promoting a sectarian form of Islam. Detentions and prosecutions peaked in 2016 when 15 presumed members of Hizb ut-Tahrir were arrested and charged. Interestingly, the arrests did not start in 2014 but 2015. So far in 2017, four al-leged members of the Tablighi Jammat group, which is also

*«Hizb ut-Tahrir» – «Islamic Liberation Party») is an international

Islamic political party founded in 1953 in East Jerusalem by

a by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, an Islamic scholar and sharia

appeals court judge. The organization’s declared aim as the re-

establishment of the Islamic state (Caliphate). «Hizb ut-Tahrir» is

recognized a terrorist organization in Russia and Kazakhstan.

*«Tablighi Jamaat» – an Islamic religious movement. Outlawed in

Russia.

#5 2017

banned in the Russian Federation, were arrested. These cases are difficult to assess without a presence in Crimea, but they clearly raise questions related to the right to freedom of reli-gion or belief. Criminal law provisions concerning the offenses of separatism, terrorism or extremism are frequently applied by courts to sanction articles, social media posts or views challenging an official position. The ban of the Mejlis and the criminal convictions of Ilmi Umerov and Mykola Semena, among others, confirm this reality. In summary, the overall trend is that fundamental freedoms have declined and that criticism and dissenting views are no longer tolerated. This tendency is compounded by a lack of accountability for hu-man rights violations, which is particularly worrying because a situation when perpetrators enjoy de facto immunity from prosecution only feeds impunity. Among other things, the report contains a demand that the Russian Federation complies with its obligations as an occu-pying power under the international law. In your opinion, is Russia going to comply with the demands of the international organization? We hope it will. I would like to emphasize that the sole pur-pose of our reports is to improve human rights for all those who live in Crimea. — Many people in Ukraine believe that if a report does not deal any immediate damage to the aggressor, it is not worth the effort. What is the meaning of UN reports for restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity?— UN reports in themselves will not, of course, restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity. However, the information they contain may be used to guide or support policy initiatives. The value of a UN report is that it provides an impartial account of a situation, theme or development in a country or territory, which would otherwise often not be available. For that reason, one should not underestimate the impact on decision-making that a well-documented and informed report may have. — If Russia decided to ignore the report’s demands, what con-sequences are going to follow? The consequences would certainly be negative. However, they would not derive from our reports, but from the failure to tackle the human rights challenges they expose. Security can-not be achieved at the expense of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. With so many examples in the world of societies in chaos due to the absence of impartial institu-tions upholding the rule of law and public liberties, this is an axiom that does not need to be proven any longer. Sooner or later, the resentment linked to the perception that inequality and impunity prevail bursts to the surface. The consequences are unpredictable but they always end up undermining social cohesion, stability and progress.

6

ENERGY SECURITY OF UKRAINE

Deposits

With Great Prospects Russia “nationalized” not only the property and deposits of the Company located in the Crimean peninsula itself but also illegally acquired Odeske, Bezimenne and Holitsynske gas fields (with all equipment and powerful drilling rigs) located in the territorial waters of Ukraine, at the distance of more than 100 kilometers from the Crimean coast.SJSC Chornomornaftogaz began to develop Odeske and Bezimenne gas fields several years before the occupation.“The development of these deposits contributed to an increase in gas production in 2013 to 1.64 billion cubic meters. It was assumed that in 2014, produc-tion would increase to 2.5 billion cubic meters, and in 2015 — to 3 billion. And this is only due to the commissioning of two fields. But even such figures are a drop in the ocean, because the resources of the Black Sea are enormous,” Roman Yaremiychuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, former Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the SJSC Chornomornaftogaz stated.Today, it is these deposits that enable the Rus-sian occupation authorities to meet the natural gas

RUSSIA HAS BEEN ILLEGALLY EXPLOITING UKRAINE’S GAS FIELDS IN THE BLACK SEA FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS Today, the losses of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine amount to billion dollars.

The occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation led to Ukraine’s loss of control over its government-owned enterprises located in its territory. One of the first illegally “nationalized” objects was the State Joint Stock Company Chornomornaftogaz. The enterprise is a daughter of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine and specializes in the exploration and extraction of oil and gas in waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Due to the occupation of the peninsula, the work on prospecting and commissioning extraction of promising deposits with the total resources of 260 billion cubic meters of gas and 160 million tons of oil was suspended. In addition, Ukraine was deprived of the opportunity to develop deposits that contain about 50 billion cubic meters of gas, 3.5 million tons of oil and 1 million tons of gas condensate.

IN SEPTEMBER, BORDER GUARDS JOINTLY WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF IN SEPTEMBER, BORDER GUARDS JOINTLY WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF

THE NJSC NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE, PJSC SJSC CHORNOMORNAFTOGAZ, THE NJSC NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE, PJSC SJSC CHORNOMORNAFTOGAZ,

THE MINISTRY FOR TEMPORARY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND THE THE MINISTRY FOR TEMPORARY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND THE

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE IN THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE IN THE

AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF CRIMEA DOCUMENTED THE OFFENSE OF THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF CRIMEA DOCUMENTED THE OFFENSE OF THE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE MARINE ECONOMIC ZONE OF UKRAINERUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE MARINE ECONOMIC ZONE OF UKRAINE.

On a ship of the maritime border guard, the team inspected all operating

deposits in the northwestern part of the Black Sea — Shtormove, Arkhanhelske,

Holitsynske, Odeske currently illegally exploited by the occupation authorities

of Crimea. As the inspection showed, the drilling platforms were defended by

gunmen, who, upon the approach of the ship, took up fighting positions and

aimed weapons at the ship. They confirmed their affiliation with Russia. The

Detected Offenses Record was submitted to the Military Prosecutor’s Office.

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7

needs of the peninsula’s population. Svitlana Niezh-nova, Chairman of the Board of the PJSC SJSC Chornomornaftogaz, emphasized this in a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and En-ergy Complex. She also noted that natural gas was extracted in the water area constituting the eco-nomic zone of Ukraine, and therefore the Russian Federation violated the United Nations Conven-tion on the Law of the Sea 1982.

Collection of Evidence Seaside District Court of Odessa arrested four self-elevating drilling rigs of Chornomornaftogaz,which are currently illegally exploited by the Russian Federation, namely: В-319 — Ukraine, В-312 — Petro Hodovanets, Syvash, Tavryda. The court ruling imposed the arrest “with a view to preventing the possibility of concealment, damage, spoiling, destruction, transformation, alienation of the above-mentioned state property”. Ukraine is working hard on collecting evidence and the necessary supporting documents for in-ternational courts to force Russia to return the illegally appropriated assets of the State Joint-Stock Company Chornomornaftogaz, as well as

Roman YAREMIYCHUK,

Doctor of Technical Sciences,

Professor, former Advisor to

the Chairman of the Board of

the SJSC Chornomornaftogaz,

In my opinion, when Putin decided to occupy Crimea, he not only wanted to transform the peninsula into a military base but also intended to prevent Ukraine from achieving energy security through its own production of oil and gas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Source: an interview

to the Information Agency Voice of

Crimea, February 2015

recover its losses caused by the occupation of Crimea. Back in February 2016, National Joint-Stock Com-pany Naftogaz of Ukraine, which includes SJSC Chornomornaftogaz, initiated a negotiation process regarding the loss of its assets in Crimea by send-ing the Russian Federation a notification on the in-vestment dispute under the bilateral agreement on mutual protection of investments between the two countries.After fruitless negotiations for half a year, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine and its six subsidiaries, includ-ing Chornomornaftogaz, began arbitration proceed-ings against the Russian Federation on October 17, 2016, demanding compensation for losses caused to the group by the illegal seizure of its assets in Crimea. Ukraine also filed a lawsuit with the arbitration tri-bunal against Russia because of its violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Inter alia, Ukraine asked to confirm its rights as a coastal state and oblige the Russian Federation to stop interna-tionally wrongful acts in the maritime areas, to give Ukraine assurances and guarantees of their non-repetition and to compensate for all losses caused by the Russian Federation.

Ukraine claimed the losses inflicted on the NJSC Ukraine claimed the losses inflicted on the NJSC

Naftogaz of Ukraine in the lawsuit of the Ministry of Naftogaz of Ukraine in the lawsuit of the Ministry of

Justice of Ukraine against the Russian Federation Justice of Ukraine against the Russian Federation

on recognizing the annexation of Crimea illegal on recognizing the annexation of Crimea illegal

and compensating Ukraine’s losses caused by the and compensating Ukraine’s losses caused by the

occupation of the peninsula.occupation of the peninsula.

USD 5 billionis the amount NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine claims from the Russian Federation.

This is the market value of the company’s lost assets

DUE TO THE RUSSIAN OCCUPATION OF CRIMEA, NJSC NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE LOST CONTROL

OF THE FOLLOWING ASSETS:More than

3 000 000 000 м3 of gas were illegally extracted

from the Ukrainian deposits by the Russian Federation

The largest losses were incurred by the Odeske field, The largest losses were incurred by the Odeske field,

which was put into operation in 2011-2012. It is the field which was put into operation in 2011-2012. It is the field

Russia currently exploits to deliver the maximum volumes Russia currently exploits to deliver the maximum volumes

of gas to Crimea.of gas to Crimea.

Year м3 of gas extracted

2014 1 117 000 000

2015 980 000 000

2016 880 000 000

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15 oil and gas deposits

3 promising sections of oil and gas deposits, Hlibovske

underground gas storage

1200 км main gas pipelines

43 gas distribution stations

29 vessels

4 floating drilling rigs, including two modern high-tech

units — Petro Hodovanets and Nezalezhnist

and other industrial infrastructure objects

8#5 2017

DIRECT SPEECH

Russia violated the

fundamental principles

of international law

From the very beginning of Russia’s aggres-sion against Ukraine, NATO has been steadfast in its unequivocal support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognised borders. Allies have consistently con-demned Russia’s illegal and illegitimate “annexa-tion” of Crimea and the violence and insecurity in eastern Ukraine caused by Russia and Russian-backed militants.

Since the founding of NATO in 1949, the re-markable success of the Euro-Atlantic area – in

Russia’s military intervention in the East of Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea deepened the cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, forcing consolidation of efforts in the fight against Russian aggression. After all, this is not just about breaking the boundaries of a particular sovereign state, but about trying to destroy the international security system that has been built up for decades. Accordingly, the protection of the territorial integrity of Ukraine lies in the sphere of interests of all Allied countries. This is what Head of Representation, Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov stresses on, outlining the overall strategy of the Alliance on the Ukrainian issue.

Alexander Vinnikov,

“IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY OR POLITICALLY APPROPRIATE TO KEEP THE ISSUE OF CRIMEA ON THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA. BUT IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO”

Alexander Vinnikov

graduated from Oxford

University, the Institute for

Political Studies in Paris

and the London School of

Economics.

He began his career

at native Oxford

University, then worked

at the Geneva Center

for Security Policy and

the Kennedy School of

Government at Harvard

University. He served in

the OSCE, including as

Political Adviser to the

High Commissioner of

National Minorities in The

Hague. He was a NATO

Liaison Officer, Head of

the Central Asian Office.

Since 2015 — Director of

the NATO Liaison Office in

Ukraine.

Since 2016 — Head of the

NATO Representation in

Ukraine.

He fluently speaks six

languages, and now

studies Ukrainian.

Indeed, Russia is trying to turnback the clock to a time when the Soviet Union dominated countries within its sphere of influencethrough force and intimidation. This can never be our vision.

9 #5 2017

terms of both safeguarding freedom and democracy and spreading prosperity – has been based on re-spect for international law and for the principles laid down in the Helsinki Final Act. These princi-ples are: sovereignty, territorial integrity, sanctity of borders, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Russia undermined these fundamental principles the moment its forces entered Crimea.

With its attempt to annex Crimea, Russia has also attacked the very foundation of the rules-based international order which took decades, if not cen-turies, to build. Indeed, Russia is trying to turn back the clock to a time when the Soviet Union dominated countries within its sphere of influence through force and intimidation. This can never be our vision.

NATO’s response consists

in the strong political and

practical support of Ukraine

Тhroughout the crisis, NATO and Ukraine have made extensive use of the NATO-Ukraine Com-mission. Here, UKR and Allies held consultations in view of the direct threats faced by Ukraine to its territorial integrity, political independence and security. NATO’s response to the conflict has been based on two pillars: strong political and practical support to Ukraine.

Thus, following the annexation of Crimea, NATO Foreign Ministers met with their Ukrainiancounterpart on 1 April 2014. Allies condemned Russia’s illegal military intervention and its viola-tion of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integ-rity. NATO also agreed on measures to enhance Ukraine’s ability to provide for its own security, including through a strengthening of the NATO presence in Ukraine with expert advisers.

The Alliance further decided to suspend all prac-tical civilian and military cooperation with Russia, while leaving political channels of communication open. That decision still stands.

At NATO’s Summit in Wales in September 2014, Allied leaders met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the NATO-Ukraine Commission. In a joint statement, they re-iterated their con-demnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and of Russia’s continued and deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine, in violation of international law. They also decided to significantly enhance their practical support to Ukraine, establishing 5 Trust Funds established to provide assistance to Ukraine in areas like logistics and standardisation, C4, cyber defence, medical rehabilitation, military career transition.

Russia’s aggression has

serious implications for the

security of the entire

Euro-Atlantic area

Despite repeated calls by the Alliance and the in-ternational community on Russia to abide by inter-national law, Russia has continued its aggressive ac-tions. These developments have serious implications for the stability and security of the entire Euro-At-lantic area. This was underlined at the NATO Sum-mit in Warsaw just 6 months ago. In the Joint State-ment following the meeting of the NUC at HOSG level, Allies called on Russia to reverse its illegal “an-nexation” of the Crimean peninsula, which NATO member-states do not and will not recognize.

Allies also expressed special concern at the ha-rassment and discrimination against Crimean Tatars and other members of local communities, for which they held Russia fully responsible. They de-manded that the Russian de-facto authorities take the necessary measures to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Crimea and to ensure the safety, rights, and freedoms of everyone living on the peninsula. The Alliance emphasized that Inter-national monitoring structures must be allowed to carry out their essential work in view of the protec-tion of human rights.

NATO further condemned Russia’s ongoing and wide-ranging military build-up in Crimea, and ex-pressed concerns regarding Russia’s efforts and stated plans for further military build-up in the Black Sea region, which will potentially have fur-ther implications for the stability of the region.

The Warsaw Summit also resulted in a very im-portant practical deliverable for Ukraine, with the adoption of a Comprehensive Package of Assistance. This package consolidates and further enhances NATO’s support to Ukraine, to help Ukraine de-fend itself, and reform its SDS in accordance with NATO standards and practices.

We are committed to doing so because for NATO, an independent and prosperous Ukraine, committed to democracy and human rights, remains a key for stability in the Euro-Atlantic region, now and in the future. And Crimea shall remain its integral part.

From a personal perspective, having worked closely on Crimean issues in the past, including with the Crimean Tatar community, I strongly believe it is vital to keep Crimea on the interna-tional agenda. This is not always easy or politically expedient. But it is the right thing to do. Because Crimea is Ukraine.

10#5 2017

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CRIMEA

Principled Position FSB Investigators launched a criminal case against Ilmi Umerov on May 12, 2016. His words on the air of the ATR Channel were regarded as a public call for “actions aimed at challenging the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation”. In the interview, Umerov told the Channel that Russia should leave Crimea and Donbas. Umerov is confident that his principled position was the reason behind the unlawful criminal proceedings. “It (Russia — Ed.) is the state that committed an act of aggression against Ukraine, having occupied and annexed my Motherland, Crimea! I am convicted in a fabricated case. And, of course, not for my statements in a certain TV program, but for my political beliefs and views that I do not hide,” — Ilmi Umerov wrote.

“Humane” Court The prosecutor asked the court for a suspended sentence of three years and six months for Umerov. However, the de facto Simfer-opol Court passed a tougher sentence for the Crimean Tartar activist, namely two years in a colony-settlement. In addition, Umerov was prohibited from conducting any public activities and teaching for two years.The politician himself is sure, “If Umerov is silenced, there will ap-pear two other people speaking in place of him or after him. How-ever, it is not necessarily true that Umerov will remain silent.”

Fears of Defenders Public activists and Umerov’s lawyers are worried that staying in a colony-settlement will deal a catastrophic blow to his poor health. 60-year-old Ilmi Umerov suffers from diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and has a heart condition. According to Umerov’s lawyer Mark Feygin, his client will not be able to serve his sentence in a colony, because health does not allow him to be in a penitentiary institution. “Umerov is a disabled person. He will not be able to serve his sentence in any colony-settlement,” Feigin said.

Not the Last Word In his final speech, Ilmi Umerov condemned the blatant human rights violations in Crimea and the crimes committed by the occupation authorities against Crimea’s residents, in particular murders, abductions, persecutions, discriminations, harassments, intimidations, detentions, tortures and prison abuses. Umerov openly declared, “Today in Crimea, the people who betrayed Ukraine are judging those who did not!” Tears are coming down from his eyes he is reading out the lines from the anthem of the Crimean Tatar people, “I swore an oath, I gave my word to die for my people…” And concluded his speech with the words, “See you in The Hague.”

UMEROV’S CASEOn September 27, the Simferopol de facto Court illegally sentenced Ilmi Umerov, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, to two years in a colony-settlement and prohibited him to conduct any public activities. The occupation repressive machine surpassed itself in the Umerov’s case. The prosecutor asked for a suspended sentence for the Crimean Tatar activist but the court decided to deliver a more severe verdict to the seriously ill person.

FORCED EXAMINATIONFORCED EXAMINATION

On August 11, 2016, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol decided

to forcibly send Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean

Tatar people Ilmi Umerov to a psychiatric examination. During

the court session, Umerov felt sick and was taken to the 7th

City Hospital of Simferopol. A week later, the activist in the pre-

infarction state was sent to a psychiatric hospital accompanied

by an FSB officer. There he spent three weeks. According to the

examination results, the medical board recognized Ilmi Umerov

mentally healthy.

RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTRESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

On October 5, the European Parliament adopted a resolution On October 5, the European Parliament adopted a resolution

urging the EU to apply sanctions against all those involved in urging the EU to apply sanctions against all those involved in

human rights violations in Crimea, including those involved in human rights violations in Crimea, including those involved in

the conviction of Crimean Tatar leaders Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi the conviction of Crimean Tatar leaders Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi

Umerov, as well as the journalist Mykola SemenaUmerov, as well as the journalist Mykola Semena. .

The European Parliament condemned the harsh sentences

handed out to those who oppose Russian aggression in

Crimea, and urged the Russian Federation to immediately drop

all evidence-free charges and release Akhtem Chiygoz, Ilmi

Umerov, Mykola Semena, Teymur Abdullaev, Uzair Abdullayev,

Zevri Abseitov, Rustem Abilatarov, Muslim Aliyev, Refat Alimov, Ali

Asanov, Volodymyr Balukh, Enver Bekirov, Oleksiy Bessarabov,

Hlib Shabliy, Oleksiy Cherniy, Mustafa Degermenji, Emil

Dzhemadenov, Arsen Dzheparov, Volodymyr Dudka, Pavlo

Hryb, Rustam Ismailov, Mykola Karpyuk, Stanislav Klykh, Andriy

Kolomiyets, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Oleksandr Kostenko, Emir-

Usein Kuku, Serhiy Lytvynov, Enver Mamutov, Remzi Memetov,

Yevhen Panov, Yuriy Primov, Volodymyr Prysych, Ferat Sayfullayev,

Ayder Saledinov, Oleh Sentsov, Vadym Siruk, Oleksiy Stogniy,

Redvan Suleymanov, Roman Sushchenko, Mykola Shiptur,

Dmytro Shtyblikov, Viktor Shchur, Rustem Vaitov, Valentyn

Vygovskyi, Andriy Zakhtey and Ruslan Zeytullaev.

11 #5 2017

–Do you feel support from Ukraine and the international commu-nity?

— The support is considerable in fact. It shows in an active information campaign after the verdict — the reaction of the Western European states, the Ukrainian government and human rights organi-zations. The verdict was a surprise for everyone, for us, the family members, as well as the for the world community. The Prosecutor’s Office asked for a suspended sentence. And we cannot yet find an ex-planation for such a harsh sentence. We hope that the ruling will be reviewed. Let’s see what the results of our appeal will be.— Is there a hope that the sentence will be reversed?— There is always hope, and we must make every effort to achieve this. For the first two days we were in a state of shock. Now we are trying to somehow help our father. After all, sitting on our hands is probably the worst thing we can do.— On October 2, the Ukrainian Om-budsman Valeriya Lutkovska sent her Russian colleague Tetyana Moskalk-ova a letter asking her to protect Ilmi Rustemovich’s right to life and treat-ment... — Lutkovska’s statement seems to be a blasphemy! It does not ask for release or termination of a criminal case against my father, but only for the provision of medi-cal care. This is very strange. Nobody contacted family members. And when we read that they asked to provide medi-cal care, we were surprised. Where? In a colony-settlement?— What is the state of health of Ilmi Rustemovich now?

Ayshe Umerova, daughter of Ilmi Umerov, “SITTING ON OUR HANDS IS THE WORST THING WE CAN DO”

— My father consults doctors, and they regulate which medications he should take. — What do you think can be done to keep the issue of repressions in the pe-ninsula on the agenda, including in in-ternational institutions? — First of all, one should talk about it on the most diverse platforms, both at the in-ternational level and in Ukraine. After all, while staying in Crimea, you notice that this topic periodically vanishes from view taking a back seat. Lawyers, activists and public figures try as much as possible to inform the community about what is hap-pening in the peninsula. Now is the era of information warfare, so we need to fight with the information using all possible levers.— Being active in Crimea is quite dan-gerous. Aren’t you afraid?— We understand all the risks, but when it comes to your father, you think less about yourself. All fear retreats, as you have another goal.

LIMITS OF WAITINGA film by Stanislav Tsekhimstrenko about families who suffered from the Russian aggression in Crimea and Donbas was presented in Kyiv.

The documentary Limits of Wait-ing tells stories of two families whose lives were disrupted by the war in the East and the occupa-

tion of Crimea. One of the protagonists of the motion picture is a Ukrainian activist,the publisher of the only Ukrainian-language newspaper in Crimea, Andriy Shchekun, who was abducted and tortu-red by pro-Russian militants in 2014. Later he was released by exchange and taken to mainland Ukraine. Now Andriy Shchekun’s case is under consideration by the ECHR. The film was a part of a project imple-mented by public organization Internews Ukraine with the financial support of the US government. Wayne Sharpe, Direc-tor of Internews Representative Office in Ukraine, noted that hundreds of other Ukrainian fates broken by the Russian aggression were reflected in the stories of the two families in the film.“It’s no news to read about the violations of human rights in the occupied territories — but, unfortunately, we know little about these”, said Wayne Sharpe. “That’s why we believe it’s very important to break the silence and share the true stories, no mat-ter how painful they are. We very much hope that the film Limits of Waiting will not only show respect for those who lost their lives, but it will also help mobilize and seek solutions to save and protect many other people who are still alive.”

FAILURE OF THE PROPAGANDA FILMFAILURE OF THE PROPAGANDA FILM

A recently released Crimea

propaganda film telling a fake story

of the so-called accession of the

peninsula to Russia was a scandal in

the Russian box office. Owners of the

largest Russian cinema site Kinopisk said

that thousands of user accounts had been

broken to drive the rating of the movie up to

70,000. The rating dropped tenfold following

the scandal. In addition, Crimean bloggers

reported that the “premiere of the year” in the

occupied Simferopol was attended by twelve

spectators, instead of several thousand.

OCCUPATION OF

12#5 2017

THE INSIDE OUT WORLDMonitoring of the propagandistic Russian media in Crimea shows that the Russian Federation promotes certain stereotypes and ideas among residents of Crimea in order to form a negative attitude towards Ukraine. The occupying country exercises total control over the informational space in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, while blocking access to alternative sources of information — Ukrainian and world media resources. Such a policy of brainwashing is intended to create a certain parallel reality, in which “Ukraine is indifferent to the problems of the Crimeans”, “the peninsula has always belonged to Russia”, “people in Crimea live much better than in Ukraine”, and so on. Forming the image of Ukraine as an external enemy of Crimea and discrediting the indigenous people of the peninsula, the Crimean Tatars, occupy a special place among the media manipulation

POLITICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR OCCUPATION AND THE FORMATION OF A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS UKRAINE

THE TRANSFER OF THE PENINSULA TO UKRAINE IN 1954

WAS A POLITICAL MISTAKE, THE SOLE DECISION OF

KHRUSHCHEV Reality: Crimea was not a Khrushchev’s

gift. It was transferred by the decision of the Supreme Council of the Russian

Federation in compliance with all pro-cedures stipulated by the Soviet legis-lation. Ukraine subsequently built the North Crimean Canal, which brought water to Crimea. It also restored econ-omy and infrastructure of the peninsula ruined by war and abandoned by its pre-vious “masters”.

HISTORICALLY, CRIMEA HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN INSEPARABLE

PART OF RUSSIA Reality: For many centuries differ-

ent states existed in the territory of the peninsula: Greek city states, Bosporan Kingdom, Byzantium, Principality of Theodoro, Crimean Khanate and others. And only in 1783, the Russian Empire il-legally annexed Crimea, subsuming it by force. Russia has no exclusive “historical” rights to Crimea.

IF CRIMEA HAD REMAINED PART

OF UKRAINE, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A WAR IN THE

PENINSULA Reality: It is the occupation of the

Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation that poses a danger to the Crimeans, because the occupation au-thorities turned Crimea into a quasi-formation, isolated from the outside world, and resort to large-scale repres-sion against the local population, in par-ticular the Crimean Tatars. The unprece-dented militarization of the peninsula by Russia is also a dangerous factor; this is evidenced by the excessive concentra-tion of Russian regular troops in Crimea (up to 60 thousand people), the restora-tion of nuclear capabilities, the develop-ment of defense industry, etc.

FORMING A POSITIVE IMAGE OF RUSSIA THANKS TO THE RUSSIAN

FEDERATION, SALARIES AND PENSIONS HAVE GROWN

SIGNIFICANTLY IN CRIMEA

Reality: Following the illegal plebi-scite in the peninsula, Russia announced a massive increase in pensions and wages. However, the declared intentions did not yield the expected results, as the in-dexation “was eaten up” by the inflation. For example, in the three years of occu-pation, foodstuffs have risen in price by more than 215%. Currently, the economy of the peninsula is subsidized from the budget of the Russian Federation, caus-ing discontent among Russian citizens. During 2014–2016, the amount of subsi-dies from the Russian budget amounted

to about 80% of the budget revenue of the occupied Crimea. The remaining 20% were internal revenues. For comparison: the 2013 budget of the Autonomous Re-public of Crimea consisted of 70% local revenues, and 30% were allocated from the state budget of Ukraine.

REPRESENTATIVES OF ALL ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE

PENINSULA HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Reality: In fact, rights and freedoms of almost all ethnic groups are currently limited in various spheres of life. In par-ticular, Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are practically deprived of the opportu-nity to study in their native language. If

in 2013, 12,694 children received Ukrain-ian-language education in Crimea, in 2017 only 371 schoolchildren study in Ukrainian. In addition, the Crimean citi-zens who did not receive the citizenship of the occupying state have no access to high-quality medical and social services. Citizens of Ukraine are not allowed to work in Crimea. Freedoms of thought, conscience and religion are limited.

CRIMEAN TATARS ARE WIDELY REPRESENTED IN THE LOCAL

GOVERNMENT Reality: After the annexation of the

peninsula, the Crimean Tatar community was limited in its ability to display its po-litical and cultural symbols and publicly

CONSCIOUSNESS

13 #5 2017

THE WORLD COMMUNITY RECOGNIZES THE LEGITIMACY

MAKING THE PENINSULA A PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Reality: The illegitimate referendum of 2014 through which Russia tried to legalize the annexation of the Crimean peninsula is not recognized by any civilized country in the world. As early as March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that invalidated the illegal referendum in Crimea and confirmed the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. That same year, sanctions were imposed on Russia. Economic measures on the Russian Federation were imposed by the EU, the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway,Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand — the total of more than 40 countries.

THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED THE RIGHTS

OF THE RUSSIAN-SPEAKING POPULATION IN CRIMEA

Reality: The Russian language domi-nated in the peninsula even before the

TURNING PUBLICOPINION AGAINST CRIMEAN TATAR ACTIVISTS AND

THE MEJLIS

CRIMEAN TATARS ARE TRAITORS

Reality: In 1944, the Soviet authori-ties accused the Crimean Tatars of cooperation with the Nazis. The accu-sation served as the ground for the de-portation of the Crimean Tatar people from their native land to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. In fact, there was no evidence of mass collabo-ration among the Crimean Tatars. And only in 1989, the deportation was rec-ognized illegal and criminal.

MEJLIS OF THE CRIMEAN TATAR PEOPLE IS A TERRORIST

ORGANIZATION

ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IS SPREADING IN CRIMEA WITH

SUPPORT AND FINANCING FROM UKRAINE

CRIMEAN TATAR ACTIVISTS PREPARE LARGE-SCALE TERRORIST ACTS IN THE

PENINSULA

RADICALLY-MINDED CRIMEAN TATARS ARRANGE

PROVOCATIONS AGAINST THE RUSSIAN-SPEAKING

POPULATION

Reality: Crimean Tatars actively opposed the occupation of the penin-sula by Russia and ignored the “refer-endum on accession”. In the absence of loyalty from the Crimean Tatars, the occupation authorities conduct a pol-icy of displacement against them, usingboth explicit persecution (arrests, ab-ductions, torture), and information manipulation to turn other residents of Crimea against the Crimean Tatar people. In fact, “radicalism” and “ex-tremism” which the Crimean Tatars are branded with have never been charac-teristic of them. On the contrary, one of their fundamental principles is the tradition of non-violent resistance.

celebrate important dates. Holding group rallies was allowed only if they supported the position of the Russian Federation re-garding the status of Crimea.On April 26, 2016, the so-called Supreme Court of Crimea recognized the Crimean Tatar Mejlis an extremist organization and prohibited it from conducting any political activity. Instead, a fake Crimean Tatar organization completely controlled by the occupation authorities is integrat-ed into the Crimean government process.

AFTER CRIMEA’S ANNEXATION BY RUSSIA ITS TOURIST

ATTRACTION HAS GROWN

Reality: Before 2014, 6–6.5 million holidaymakers visited the peninsula dur-ing the sunny season. During the three years of occupation, the flow of holiday-

makers declined almost 4 times. The li-on’s share of tourists in Crimea is Russian government employees, who are actually forced to spend their vacation there. This year, Russians have completely lost inter-est in Crimea because of abnormally high prices in the peninsula and transportation difficulties.

occupation, it was freely used by the vast majority of the local population. For example: 80% of printed media were completely Russian-speaking, the rest were partly in Russian. There was only one newspaper published completely in Ukrainian, namely Krymska Svitlytsya (Crimean Parlor). 83% of students in higher educational institutions studied in Russian. The indicator reached 94.5% in vocational schools and colleges. Among the 586 schools, only in 14 institutions there was instruction in the Crimean Tatar language and only in 7 schools child-ren obtained education in Ukrainian.

UKRAINE IS INDIFFERENT TO CRIMEA AND CRIMEANS

Reality: Today, the territory of the peninsula is not controlled by Ukraine, so it is not able to ensure proper protec-tion of human rights and the rule of law in Crimea. However, Ukraine does not relin-quish responsibility for the fate of its citi-zens and does its utmost to bring Russiato international legal responsibility as an occupying state and return the penin-sula to Ukraine. In particular, there are 5 cases on the lawsuits of Ukraine against Russia only in the European Court of Hu-man Rights and 3000 individual claims filed by Ukrainian citizens after the be-ginning of the Russian aggression. The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea moved to Kyiv also painstakingly records all violations of na-tional and international legislation in the territory of Crimea.

14#5 2017

TRUE HISTORY

CATHERINE’S DESPOTISM.The first Annexation of Crimea by the Russian EmpireIn June 1771, at the height of the Russian-Turkish War, Russian troops invaded the territory of Crimea. Within two weeks, the invaders took all the strategic points, removed Selim III Girai Khan from power and put their protégé on the throne. After gaining control over the peninsula, the Russian authorities began large-scale preparations for its annexation.

Independence on Paper As a result of the war with the Ottoman Empire, Russia formally recognized Crimea an independent state. But that decision was fic-titious, because de facto Crimea was run by the Russian military. For example, they subjugated the mighty fortresses of Yeni-Kale,Kerch and Kinburn. Within a short time, Russians angered the local population so much that the Crimean Tatars raised a revolt but the Russian Empress Catherine II quickly suppressed it.

Bloody Massacre The last ruler of the Crimean Khanate was a pro-Russian ShahinGirai. He tried to implement reforms; in particular, he gave equal economic rights to Muslims and Christians, strength-ened the power of the Khan and began to form a regular army. But the Russia’s protégé was, to put it mildly, unpopular in the country, and when in 1777 the people rebelled against him, Sha-hin Girai was forced to rely on the help of the Russian soldiers. With incredible cruelty, they suppressed the revolt which cost the lives of 12,000 Crimean Tatars.

Great Relocation of Peoples To prevent the Crimeans from recovering, the tsarist government planned and carried out a large-scale relocation campaign that un-dermined the economy of the peninsula. In March 1778, Catherine II instructed Pyotr Rumyantsev and Grigoriy Potyomkin to relocate all Christians (Greeks, Armenians, Georgians, Vlachs) from Crimea to the Southern Ukraine. All this was accompanied by active propa-ganda, disinformation and brainwashing. The Christian population was intimidated by the Crimean Tatars, “who supposedly can kill them all” (although previously all ethnic groups coexisted peace-fully in the peninsula), and promised golden mountains in the new lands. As a result, many people volunteered to leave Crimea, the rest were evicted by force. More than 31 thousand Christians left the Crimean Khanate. Not all of their expectations came true: in the new homeland they met poverty, hunger and deprivation.

Imperial “Gratitude” for Devotion Subsequent events developed according to the Russian scenario. The impoverished population of Crimea constantly raised re-volts against Shahin Girai. After another revolt, Russia had to bring troops to Crimea for the second time. But that time Prince Grigoriy Potyomkin received an instruction on “appropriation of the peninsula” from the tsarina.Shahin Girai was offered to abdicate and promised the throne of Persia in return. He agreed realizing that he could not stay in power due to the intense hatred of the people.

In February 1783, Shahin Girai announced his abdication and left for Russia. But instead of the Persian throne, he ended up with no power or support in Voronezh and Kaluga, then emigrat-ed to the Ottoman Empire and was executed by the Turks on the island of Rhodes.

Annexation of the Peninsula In April 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto “On the accep-tance of the Crimean peninsula, the island of Taman, and Kuban lands into the Russian nation”. Contrary to international agree-ments, the tsarina proclaimed annexation of the peninsula under the pretext of welfare of the Crimean Tatars, promising to respect traditions and beliefs of the indigenous people. In July, at the top of Ak-Kaya Mountain near Karasubazar, Potyomkin personally read out the text of the document in a meeting of the Crimean Tatar nobility. Pinned down to facts, the Ottoman Empire was forced to admit the annexation of Crimea, and France was the only European state to express its protest.

Forced Emigration However, not all Crimean Tatars believed in Russia’s good inten-tions. Immediately after the annexation, the first wave of emi-gration to Turkey began. Subsequently, there were several more waves, and new settlers from the mainland of the Russian Empire replaced the indigenous people. Over the next hundred years the proportion of Crimean Tatars in the population of the peninsula decreased from 88% to 36%.The occupants re-distributed the land at the peninsula giving the best Crimean plots of land to the Russian royal dignitaries and local collaborationists devoted to Russia. Soon the peninsula itself, the lands adjacent to it in the north, and Taman became part of the newly formed Taurida region, which was turned into a Russian province in the 90 years of the XVIII century.The Crimean Khanate received the last chance for a revival in 1787 when the Russian-Turkish War started again. First, the Sultan gave the title of Khan to Shahbaz to Girai, and later to Bakht Girai. They both fought for Crimea at the head of the squad of Budjak Tatars, but the defeat of the Turks committed the peninsula to centuries of occupation.

15 #5 2017

CULTURAL METAMORPHOSES

“LITTLE GREEN MEN”, LENIN AND TSARS. MONUMENTAL ECLECTICISM IN THE OCCUPIED CRIMEA On September 5, in the village Simeiz, another monument to Vladimir Lenin was solemnly opened, and next to it as it had once been a tradition in the Soviet Union local schoolchildren became pioneers. The leader’s bust was erected to implement “the program of the revival of Soviet monuments”. However, during the last three years, not only the monuments to the figures of the totalitarian era have been actively restored in the peninsula. Historical figures of the Russian Empire, “green men” (Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms that participated in the occupation of Crimea) are also popular and saints.

Monuments

to “Unknown”

Soldiers

Two monuments in honor of “polite people” appeared in Crimea. So the Kremlin propa-gandists called the soldiers of

the Russian Special Forces, who patrolled streets and highways in late winter and early spring of 2014. Their faces masked and uniforms unmarked, they seized buildings of the self-government bodies and infrastructure facilities in Crimea, and Crimeans named them “the little green men”. One monument was erected in Simferopol, near the building of the State Council of the Re-public of Crimea, and an identical one, in Bakhchysarai, by the entrance to the park of miniatures.

A Place

for the Saint

In June 2014 in Simferopol, a monument to the Collector of Russian Lands, St. Sergius of Radonezh was solemnly opened. In addition, a new square was named after him.

To the Invaders of All Time Not far from the building of the Council of Ministers in Simfer-opol, a monument to the People’s Militia of All Time was placed (in memory of the Russian-French War of 1812, the Crimean War of 1853–1856 and the Crimean Spring of 2014). It has also

immortalized members of the so-called “Crimean self-de-fense”. This illegal armed for-mation arose during the sei-zure of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia in 2014. Its members guarded checkpoints on the Crimean border with mainland Ukraine, blocked and stormed Ukrainian military units, ex-erted physical pressure on

journalists and pro-Ukrainian activists, illegally detained and abducted people.

To the Authors

of the First

Annexation It was also decided to honor the Russian Empress Catherine II, who unlawfully annexed the peninsula in 1783 as a result of the Russian-Turkish War. The monument was erected in Simferopol. In addition to the tsarina, the monument includes sculptures of Prince Grigoriy Potyomkin of Taurida and Vasiliy Dolgorukov, as well as the Commander Aleksandr Suvorov and the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Yakov Bulgakov. Construction of the monument cost about 31 million rubles (more than half a million dollars). Separately, the bust of the Russian Prince Grigoriy Potyomkin was placed in the center of Simferopol on March 16, 2016, the second anniversary of the illegal referendum on the accession of Crimea to Russia. In the 1780s it was he who played a decisive role in the violent annexation of the peninsula by the Russian Empire.

To Russian Emperors In September 2016, a bust of Tsar Nicholas II shot by the Bol-sheviks was placed next to the chapel built near the de facto Prosecutor’s Office. The illegal Prosecutor of Crimea Natalia Poklonskaya endowed the monument with the properties of a sacred relic, saying that it allegedly had started to weep, and local residents began to bring sick children to it so that they could be healed. The Simferopol and Crimean Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate even conducted a special inspection, which concluded that miracles do not occur. There are also several monuments to the Russian monarchs in Crimea: a bust of King Peter I near the Kerch Maritime Trading Port and a bust of Emperor Alexander III in the Mas-sandra Palace.

LETTERS FROM CAPTIVITY

“I was abruptly taken from Yakutia and sent to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. And there is the only place to serve the sen-tence there — the legendary Kharp (a settlement where the colonies known for their harsh conditions are located — Ed.). I do not expect anything good from this trip. Especially, having passed Irkutsk and Omsk central penitentiaries, I have an idea of how bad it can be, and not only from the stories. Of course, nobody touches me physi-cally, but I know perfectly well how the system can perversely pun-ish and torture without using brutal force.… By the way, as for good deeds that do not always lead to good re-sults. Klimkin (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine — Ed.) tried to call me on my birthday in July. And Pussy Riot (a Russian music band whose members are known for their shocking performances against Putin — Ed.) came to support me. That was great! But in-stead of a call, I was sent to a punitive isolation ward (for the fourth or fifth time)… This doesn’t mean that one should not do anything. You, free people, can do whatever you think you need to do in sup-port of me and other political prisoners. Just keep in mind that local officers have a logic of their own and they often react that way.…After all, they will not take me to the North Pole to serve my time, will they? In general, everything is fine with me. And I hope I’ll en-dure this trip and stay at the final destination on the remnants of my health. I hope you won’t make a fuss about all this, because I’m not alone, there are many of us, and I’m far from being in the worst

Oleh SENTSOV

(Ukrainian filmmaker, sentenced by the

occupation authorities of Crimea to 20 years

in a high security penal colony on trumped-up

charges of plotting acts of terror),

conditions. And so I do what I have always done: I read, in English as well, edit and correct the written scripts — this work can be done almost forever, but I think that I can make another two collections. I exercise, if possible, and do other little things. I have followed the events in Russia and Ukraine, whenever possible, of course. I can-not say anything good — but perhaps I cannot see well from here. Ukraine is struggling but making its way in the right direction. Russia is stuck in a dead-end for good. And no one knows what to do next. I still have no doubt in either success or victory, or that every-thing is going to be fine, absolutely fine!”

September 17, Tyumen Detention Center, Russia

Yevhen PANOV

(Ukrainian activist, volunteer,

illegally detained for more than

a year in the Simferopol Detention Center

on trumped-up charges

of plotting acts of terror),

“Hello Ukraine and my beloved city Energodar! Hello Ukrainians and all those in the world who wrote me letters when the letters had reached me! I am very grateful to all of you for your support. When sadness comes over me, I re-read the letters I’ve received and feel energized by them. This is particularly the case when I am “success-fully” isolated from any information, from radio or newspapers, not to mention television. I don’t know when all this will end, but if you don’t have faith, there’s no sense living. I wish I could write beauti-ful letters, but I write as it is, I just put on paper what I feel.…Thank you for your support! Glory to Ukraine! Goodbye.”

October 2, Simferopol Detention Center, Ukraine

KREMLIN ’S PRISONERS