The announcement was made on the movement’s Telegram channel Zhovta Strichka activists have once again spread symbols of resistance across Simferopol Yalta and Armiansk,” the report says The activists reaffirmed their determination to demonstrate that "Crimea is Ukraine," and emphasized their tireless efforts in resistance the Zhovta Strichka movement has carried out more than a thousand resistance actions in temporarily occupied Crimea While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 Imagine having a home and being unable to return there and the same is true of inherited belongings---no return of them This is only a small part of what Lia's Crimean Tatar family endured under the Soviet Union before they all could come back home Lia's family comes from the cities of Saky Lia represents a generation that was finally born at home she is waiting again for the time she can come back frequently came together for holidays and celebrations Last time they had such a gathering was in 2014 and I became foreigners in Crimea and relocated to Kherson We visited there only until 2016 to see my maternal grandparents we stopped visiting due to the challenges we faced at the administrative border with Crimea The Russians questioned why my mother didn't obtain a Russian passport for herself and her children despite understanding perfectly well that we were from Crimea and identified as Crimeans Her ancestors have endured Russian repression multiple times throughout history There is scarcely a circle of hell known to their nation's history their family has not experienced Lia says her grandparents never shielded her from knowledge about those tragic events she grew up understanding what could happen if she did not fight for who she is This and her own experience led her to create a blog about her family and the history of Crimean Tatars in general "I continue to gather information about my roots piece by piece It is challenging right now as I'm not in Crimea terms like "Ukraine" are often masked or spoken in Crimean Tatar to avoid any consequences for them." leaving Crimea meant not simply letting go of their beloved homeland but also bidding farewell to a part of the family Lia experienced this firsthand when she had to leave behind her dear grandparents who are also her primary source of information regarding family connections "They told me the story about my great-great-grandmother Zayde She was pregnant with her fifth child when the 1944 deportation occurred Among her four children was my great-grandmother She was around 6 to 8 years old at the time battling against the Nazis while his family was forcibly relocated to the Urals." Witnessing Crimean Tatars being sent to mass graves and simultaneously working tirelessly for her children took a toll on Zayde it also was not she who had a chance to see Crimea again who was just a little girl during the deportation and she returned to Crimea as a teenager alongside her entire family Although Crimeans returned in various years it marked a significant mass movement overall." But what did it mean to come back to Crimea after years of rooted life far away having spent generations far from their homeland it meant leaving everything they built far away Lia says her family always felt like strangers elsewhere except for Crimea Having been stripped of all material possessions Crimean Tatars collectively held onto a dream of returning home as it was one of the few things they had at all "All Crimean Tatars cherished their heirlooms passed down through generations such as the intricate belts worn by brides on their wedding day and their beautiful jewelry lost these material links to their ancestry Ashime and Mustafa resided in our house in Bakhchysarai When the communists seized power in Crimea my great-grandmother Ashime was battling typhus In a desperate attempt to safeguard their most treasured jewels for future generations their efforts were in vain as the Russians thoroughly searched Ashime and confiscated everything our family owned we lost our house after the events of 1944." Lia was lucky to see almost all of the Crimean Peninsula collecting lots of cheerful childhood memories to enjoy as an adult Those have now been overshadowed by the somber cloud of war that looms over them Everyone knows about occupation as a political term and their houses once built and never enjoyed even for a single lifetime the Crimean Tatar people endure thanks to the resilience of those who survived genocide That is why it is so important that the words they say spread widely with the wind until they find the solace that is their home World Subscribers only 'A Pope in the tradition of Francis': From New York to Ghana Catholics hope for continuity at the Vatican World Subscribers only Chancellor Merz's diplomatic first week 2025."> World Trump's proposal to reopen Alcatraz deemed 'absurd' in San Francisco World Subscribers only Founder of Sant'Egidio community fears next pope could undo Francis's legacy Opinion Subscribers only 'Russian gas and Europe is an old story that ended badly Economy Subscribers only Europe's steel industry flattened by crisis World Subscribers only How European countries plan to fund defense efforts France Subscribers only Macron announces citizens' convention on school schedules France Subscribers only 21 charged over French prison attacks as investigation narrows in on drug traffickers France Subscribers only French mosque stabber was driven by 'morbid fascination,' prosecutor says France Subscribers only At the trial of Kim Kardashian's robbers Videos World expos: From Paris 1855 to Osaka 2025 Videos How the Trump administration is attacking scientific research in the US Videos Tesla cars set on fire in Las Vegas as calls to boycott Musk's company grow worldwide Videos Can France's nuclear deterrent protect Europe Opinion Subscribers only 'It is pointless to imagine a significant wave of American academics leaving' Opinion Subscribers only 'The American dream is dying' Opinion Subscribers only 'The trade war creates new opportunities for Europeans and France' Magazine Subscribers only Tracking down the pianos taken from French Jews during the Nazi Occupation Magazine Subscribers only Eve Rodsky the American helping couples balance the mental load Magazine Subscribers only Desecration or more glory Joan Didion's private diaries are revealed Magazine Subscribers only For Jewish cartoonist Joann Sfar 2025."> Pixels Subscribers only Golden Owl solution is revealed but leaves players of 31-year hunt disappointed Pixels Subscribers only Secrets of decades-long Golden Owl treasure hunt to be revealed Lifestyle Inside Chanel's French leather workshops Culture Subscribers only The marvelous bronzes of Angkor on display at the Musée Guimet in Paris FeatureA renewed sense of hope is being felt among this indigenous population which was forced to leave the Crimean peninsula after its annexation by Russia in 2014 In the Crimean House in Kyiv there is a model representing a sacred mountain covered with press clippings and magazine illustrations – a photo montage telling the story of the Crimean Tatars through the ages which can kill or create a world and beings," explained Akhtem Seitablayev the great film on Stalin's deportation of the Tatars in 1944 and director of the Crimean House and press officer of the 241st brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces On the walls are 10 portraits of men in uniform They look like the guardians of a now-inaccessible sacred mountain which is effectively what the Tatars' historic city of Bakhchysarai became after the Russians annexed Crimea in 2014 following a referendum not recognized by the international community Seitablayev – like the Jews of the diaspora who swore to each other "next year in Jerusalem." Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 it is causing enormous damage and countless victims It also gives us the chance to liberate Crimea," said Mustafa Djemilev the legendary leader of the Crimean Tatars You have 82.59% of this article left to read Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil à la fois Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil à la fois (ordinateur En cliquant sur « Continuer à lire ici » et en vous assurant que vous êtes la seule personne à consulter Le Monde avec ce compte Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez à lire ici Ce dernier restera connecté avec ce compte Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez mais en les utilisant à des moments différents Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article merci de contacter notre service commercial Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content This article first appeared on the Atlantic Council site. There are compelling grounds for fearing that Russia's restoration work on the world-renowned Khan's Palace in Bakhchysarai could forever destroy this vital monument of Crimean Tatar cultural heritage as are the construction company's and architectural firm's lack of experience in restoration work The Khan's Palace in Bakhchysarai was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List in 2003 but the follow-up work for establishing its international status remains unfinished According to Edem Dudakov, the former head of the Crimean Committee on Inter-Ethnic Relations and Deported Peoples, if the work now underway continues, the complex which includes the palace itself will lose any chance of gaining UNESCO recognition in the future The wanton destruction of the site should be considered a major attack by an occupying force on a monument of considerable historical and cultural importance for Crimean Tatars and Ukraine The complex was built as the main residence for the monarchs of the Crimean Khanate—the state of the Crimean Tatar people—and was the political and cultural center of the Crimean Tatar community until the collapse of the Khanate in 1783 Restoration work on any building of historical significance needs to be carried out by specialists who attempt to use the same materials and technology of the period as possible. Instead, the work has been passed to a construction firm called Kiramet, working for the Moscow-based Atta Group Architectural and Planning Holding We can only speculate on the motives behind the selection of these companies but relevant experience was certainly not a factor and there is no information as to whether a mandatory expert assessment was carried out What is clear is that the workers are in a big hurry Although the complex has been closed to the public people have managed to get through and take photos the original tiles are to be removed and replaced with old-style Spanish tiles Experts condemn this as deliberate destruction of the palace's authentic nature RFE/RL's news website Krym Realii has spoken with Elmira Ablyalimova the former head of the Bakhchysarai Historical who is appalled by what she sees in photographs of the construction site how parts of the sixteenth-century walls under the roof of a mosque have been broken off while stones from the period are left lying around as if they're rubbish A heavy metallic shell is reportedly being built around the main body of the palace Experts warn that the ground may not withstand the weight of this construction and could sink They also point out that workers have not put up any proper protection for gravestones and the calligraphy painted on some walls three hundred-year-old beams appear to have been cut down and the wooden fortification simply covered in concrete Ukraine should raise the current status of the monument from one of local significance to one of national importance, so as to draw greater attention to this act of shocking vandalism, Dudakov believes is that Ukraine's voice will simply be ignored unless the international community gets involved Well-known Crimean Tatar rights lawyer Emil Kurbedinov announced that his team of lawyers were planning a legal battle to protect the Khan's Palace from an "unjustified attack on the historical heritage of the Crimean Tatars." He did not wish to reveal all the measures they are planning but said they would first seek official answers from the Russian Federation before turning to international bodies The lawyers will seek to ascertain where the dismantled materials are being taken and who initiated and agreed to the dismantling Kurbedinov noted the obvious hypocrisy if one compared this situation with the excuses given for expelling the Mejlis the representative assembly of the Crimean Tatars from the building they had always occupied in Simferopol Initially, several rather vague pretexts were given in 2014 for ordering the Mejlis to vacate the building within twenty-four hours; however the occupying Russian regime used the fact that air conditioners had been installed and some cosmetic repairs carried out to claim that the Mejlis violated standards for a historical monument Now work that is anything but cosmetic is being carried out by the Russian occupiers with no regard to historical preservation Halya Coynash is a member of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, which first published this article The story has been edited for clarity and published with permission Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all MOSCOW (AP) — Russia is a sending an unspecified number of troops from the country’s far east to Belarus for major war games a deployment that will further beef up Russian military assets near Ukraine amid Western fears of a planned invasion Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said the drills would involve practicing a joint response to external threats by Russia and Belarus Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia could launch an attack from various directions White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the situation as “extremely dangerous,” noting that “we’re now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine.” A series of talks last week between Russia and NATO failed to quell the tensions over Ukraine Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart in Geneva on Friday in another attempt to defuse the crisis Russia already has started moving troops for the war games in Belarus 9 to fully deploy weapons and personnel for the Allied Resolve 2022 drills As part of the exercises to “thwart and repel a foreign aggression,” Russia will deploy a dozen Su-35 fighter jets and several air defense units to Belarus He didn’t say how many troops and weapons were being redeployed for the exercises or give the number of troops that will participate in the war games The deployment would bolster an estimated 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and other heavy weapons amassed near Ukraine in what the West fears could be a prelude to an invasion Russia has denied an intention to attack its neighbor but demanded guarantees from the West that NATO will not expand to Ukraine or other ex-Soviet nations or place its troops and weapons there Washington and its allies firmly rejected Moscow’s demands during Russia-U.S negotiations in Geneva and a related NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels last week which involve moving an unspecified number of troops from Russia’s Eastern Military District that spreads across several time zones in Eastern Siberia and the Far East reflect the need to practice concentrating the country’s entire military potential in western Russia “A situation may arise when forces and means of the regional group of forces will be insufficient to ensure reliable security of the union state and we must be ready to strengthen it,” Fomin said at a meeting with foreign military attaches “We have reached an understanding with Belarus that it’s necessary to engage the entire military potential for joint defense.” said the joint maneuvers will be conducted on Belarus’ western border and also in the country’s south Lukashenko has increasingly relied on the Kremlin’s support amid Western sanctions over a brutal crackdown on domestic protests in Belarus READ MORE: Russian military escalation with Ukraine looms as diplomatic efforts make little progress Amid the tensions, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it was speeding up efforts to form reserve battalions that would allow for the rapid deployment of 130,000 recruits to expand the country’s 246,000-strong military. The battalions from the newly formed Territorial Defense Forces could include reservists between the ages of 18 and 60. The United States and its allies have urged Russia to deescalate the situation by calling back the troops amassed near Ukraine. “In recent weeks, more than 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and guns have gathered near Ukraine without an understandable reason, and it’s hard not to understand that as a threat,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters Tuesday after talks in Moscow with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov responded by restating Moscow’s argument that it’s free to deploy its forces wherever it considers it necessary on its territory. “We can’t accept demands about our armed forces on our own territory,” Lavrov said, adding that “troops’ training is something that every country does.” “We aren’t threatening anyone, but we are hearing threats to us,” he added. “We will decide how to react depending on what specific steps our partners will take.” Baerbock emphasized that the West was ready “for a serious dialogue on mutual agreements and steps to bring everyone in Europe more security.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday. He said “the main task now is to make progress on the political way forward” to prevent a military attack against Ukraine. “NATO allies are ready to meet with Russia again, and today I have invited Russia and all the NATO allies to attend a series of meetings in the NATO-Russia Council in the near future to address our concerns but also listen to Russia’s concerns,” Stoltenberg said. He added that NATO “in the near future” will deliver its written proposals in response to Russian demands and “hopefully we can begin meeting after that.” “We need to see what Russia says, and that will be a kind of pivotal moment,” the NATO chief said. Lavrov, meanwhile, reaffirmed that Russia wants a quick Western answer to its demand for security guarantees that would preclude NATO’s expansion to Ukraine and limit its presence in Eastern Europe. He repeated that view in a phone conversation with Blinken, who will visit Ukraine on Wednesday and meet with Lavrov on Friday. Lavrov also urged Blinken “not to spread speculation about the alleged ‘Russian aggression’ being prepared,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in its readout of the call. Speaking on a visit to Ukraine Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly denounced the Russian troop buildup as unacceptable. She noted Canada’s efforts to help train Ukraine’s military, adding that it’s currently considering Ukraine’s demand to provide it with military equipment and will “take a decision in a timely manner.” Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 after the ouster of Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly leader and also threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have been killed in nearly eight years of fighting there. Aamer Madhani in Washington, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Lorne Cook in Brussels, and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins Guliver Altın beside an homage to the many ways he acquired his 1,500 artifacts from the Crimean Khanate (Boryana Katsarova/Pulitzer Center)April 15 He loves the crudely drawn outlines of continents and oceans the regions of bright green and red and yellow—shapes and colors moving across the ages maps represent the vagaries of political history Few places in the world have had more colorful and mutable maps than the Crimean peninsula where borders have shifted yet again after Russia annexed the region from Ukraine in mid-March As if living in a world of Zeno’s paradoxes Crimeans have suddenly found themselves in a new country and even a new time zone the Russian Empire annexed the Crimean Khanate the Muslim Tatar state that had ruled Crimea and part of the north littoral of the Black Sea for the three previous centuries Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred the peninsula from Soviet Russia to Soviet Ukraine only for Crimea to become part of independent Ukraine after the disintegration of the U.S.S.R Guliver Altın is primarily interested in the Khanate Relentlessly persecuted under the Russians their books burned and their architectural monuments razed to the ground the Crimean Tatars have lost much of their legacy What remains can largely be found in and around the town of Bakhchysarai where the old palace of the Khans still stands and serves as an official museum which largely consists of ethnographic objects and in 2011 Altın decided to open his own museum—Crimea’s first and only private museum of history In a place where the past had been forcibly impoverished he called it “La Richesse,” French for “wealth.” As Russia once again assumes control over Crimea the institution could be a crucial outpost in the battle for political and cultural memory two-story building originally constructed in 1909 as a madrassa and later converted by the Soviets into a lunatic asylum La Richesse sits at the bottom of an imposing canyon in Salaҫiq a neighborhood on the outskirts of Bakhchysarai Dizzying cliffs and steep rock faces rise toward a faraway sky where Crimean Khans set up their first capital in the mid-fifteenth century and a few monuments next to La Richesse still attest to its greatness: an old madrassa from the early sixteenth century; a mausoleum containing the remains of the Khanate’s first rulers; and the recently excavated ruins of a hammam “This was Moscow before Moscow,” Altın says with a mischievous smile “It is here that the affairs of Eastern Europe were decided before the Russian Empire took over.” A view of La Richesse (left) and the Tomb of the First Crimean Khans (center) The Crimean Khans established their first capital here in the mid-fifteenth century (Boryana Katsarova/Pulitzer Center)Altın’s museum is designed to preserve the memory of this once-potent European state and literature produced by the Khanate were systematically destroyed in prior centuries mostly European diplomats and artists who visited Crimea to reconstruct the story of his own ancestors Aside from original paintings and engravings of Tatar rulers the exhibition halls feature treaty documents and first-edition travelogues regarding the Crimean Khanate “The Tatars are now in a great body in Moldavia expecting the benefit of the frost to make incursions into Hungary or more probably into Poland where the provincial diets break up in great discontents,” reports a copy of The London Gazette a 1736 edition of the British journal Gentleman’s Magazine mentions the very first Russian invasion of the Crimean peninsula and the destruction of Bakhchysarai “Thank God that Europeans took care to preserve the memory of the Khanate,” Altın says Perhaps the most intriguing part of Altın’s museum is a wall in the lobby covered in mailing tubes and letter envelopes of various colors and sizes—along with a map of the world with tiny flags pinned over 35 countries including Australia The section is a testament to how Altın acquired his collection of more than 1,500 items: through online auctions He bought every historical object over the Internet An original 1772 copy of Voltaire's l'Histoire de l'empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand among other books in La Richesse. (Boryana Katsarova/Pulitzer Center)Altın’s biography may be as colorful as the history of Crimea. Born in 1979 in Uzbekistan, where his family, along with the majority of Crimean Tatars were deported decades earlier by Joseph Stalin he returned to his ancestral land in the late 1980s After finishing high school and earning a law degree at Taurida National University in Crimea’s capital Simferopol he moved to France to continue his studies and law practice what began as a collection of a few maps had swelled into a trove of Khanate artifacts It was around this time that he decided to transfer his collection from France to Crimea The local Crimean Tatar community provided the building La Richesse employs eight people to research and document the history of the Crimean Khanate The institution is chronically short of money but local businesses have started to contribute to the project and politicians of all persuasions are fond of it the most frequent visitors are not Tatars but Russian tourists from nearby Sevastopol “Russians seem to show greater curiosity toward our history,” Altın says putting it on par with Russian and Ukrainian and has promised additional cultural and political concessions Altın has made contact with museums in Moscow and Kazan He’s betting on cultural collaboration with Moscow the Ukrainian government did not do a thing for Crimean Tatars,” Altın says I can’t say yet we’ll suffer more under Russian rule The important thing is how the new government will treat Crimean Tatars and their cultural heritage In his moderate political views and emphasis on cultural and educational issues Altın has much in common with Ismail Gasprinski the celebrated 19th-century Crimean Tatar educator and social reformer who eschewed radical ideologies and advocated cultural and interfaith dialogue Gasprinski’s grave is right next to La Richesse But Guliver Altın bears a resemblance to another character as well—the shrewd discerning fictional hero whose name he shares Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver finds himself in the land of giants called Brobdingnag he astutely observes: “Undoubtedly philosophers are in the right when they tell us that nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison.” Reporting for this article was funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Ukrainian saboteurs alleged to have poisoned 46 Russian soldiers are on the run in annexed Crimea after a shoot-out with police Two young saboteurs who had poisoned members of the Russian military in Simferopol and Bakhchysarai fled when authorities attempted to detain them in Crimea the Telegram channel "Kremlin Snuffbox" said on Tuesday Police went to apprehend the two at a private house in Yalta but were surprised to find them "well armed" and "well prepared," the post said The two opened fire and fled the scene in a car and authorities do not know their whereabouts Three officers were killed and two were wounded in the shoot-out a source in Russia's Federal Security Service told the Telegram channel At the time, Kremlin Snuffbox quoted unnamed sources as saying that "two nice girls" tricked the unit in Simferopol saboteurs killed 18 and hospitalized 14 Russian personnel in Bakhchysarai by putting arsenic and rat poison in pies and beer Russian military personnel stationed in Crimea have been asked not to take any food or drinks from strangers and to detain any suspicious young women who approach them to prevent further incidents of poisoning Business Insider could not independently verify the report There were also reports of two mass poisonings of Russian troops in Mariupol on the pretext that the community had collaborated with the Nazi occupation of Crimea “The soldiers gave us five minutes to pack up,” she told me “We left everything behind.” Memetova still has vivid memories of her journey into exile: the stench of the overcrowded train carriage the wailing of a pregnant woman who sat next to her and the solemn faces of the men who had to lower the bodies of their children off of the moving train—the only way Four of her siblings were among the thousands of Crimean Tatars who never even made it to their final destination the Soviet Union began to allow survivors of the deportation to return Memetova and her family came back to Crimea almost three decades ago looked out the window and saw four young men The men were also carrying pieces of paper Ava told me—which she believes were lists of homes belonging to Crimean Tatars Seventy years after Memetova’s deportation “Just as we thought we finally had a future,” she said “How could anyone do this in the twenty-first century?” When I walked up Chiisty Istochniki Street from the Memetovas’ house Similar markings have been reported in other parts of Bakhchysarai “They told me Crimean Tatars are not a priority for them Of course not—they are punishing us because we do not want Putin here.” Kadyrov’s Russian neighbors have noticed the markings but dismissed his worries “Whoever did it was just joking,” one woman “We get along with our neighbors fine,” she continued “But it would be helpful if Crimean Tatars stopped supporting Kiev.” claims that his country has an obligation to protect the Crimean peninsula’s Russians from what he called an “orgy of nationalists and anti-Semites” rampaging through the streets of Kiev “What does that mean for us?” Kadyrov asked A previously scheduled referendum on more autonomy for Crimea within Ukraine was moved up from March 30th to March 16th and changed to a question about merging Crimea with Russia There are about three hundred thousand Crimean Tatars on the peninsula and although they constitute only fifteen per cent of its population they have great political significance If they do not back the upcoming referendum it will be far more difficult for the pro-Moscow government in Crimea to legitimize what is in effect a Russian annexation of the peninsula is precisely why pressure is growing for them to turn their back on Kiev Moscow has sent a series of delegations to meet with the leaders of the Crimean Tatar community met with members of the representative body of Crimean Tatars Ilshat Aminov—the head of Tatarstan’s state broadcaster—paid a visit on the same day to the journalists at a Crimean Tatar television channel which has been openly supportive of the new government in Kiev I happened to be at ATR when Aminov arrived His laughter echoed through the newsroom as he walked around praising the station’s modern equipment and avoiding any discussion of the news When I asked Aminov about the reason for his visit “I am here to support my brothers in a time of trouble.” Linur Yunusov told me that while no Russian official had ever bothered to visit Crimean Tatars before Moscow was now sending one delegation after another “This sudden brotherly love is overwhelming,” he joked a journalist inside the newsroom called Aminov’s attention to a television screen which showed masked Russian soldiers blocking the entrance to a military base outside Simferopol “This is our live position,” the journalist said “A perfect view of the Russian occupation.” Aminov didn’t take the bait “Which editing software do you use?” he replied The delegates visiting from Russia have made many promises to the Crimean Tatars to solicit their political support: seats in the new government particularly as the community feels that its plight has been largely ignored by the government in Kiev for the past quarter century Many Crimean Tatars remain bitterly disappointed that Kiev has not delivered on its many promises to pass laws that would recognize victims of Stalin’s deportation or establish Crimean Tatar-language schools like most of the Crimean Tatars I have interviewed he believes that the community will be safer if the peninsula remains part of Ukraine a European Ukraine is the only way of making sure that we survive as people,” he said “We need European laws to protect our identity “Many of us want to get wives and children out of here, to somewhere safe,” Kadyrov told me. The men, he said, will stay. Above: Crimean Tatars hold a rally near the parliament building in Simferopol. Photograph by Baz Ratner/Reuters. Ethnic Tatars have lived in region for more than 1,000 years and now report both entreaties and threats With a Qur’an on his bookshelf and a large portrait of Vladimir Putin hanging on the wall above him Zaur Smirnov is convinced that Russia’s annexation of Crimea is good news for his people – the Crimean Tatars His view is perhaps surprising when you consider that while the majority ethnic Russian population of Crimea was largely in support of Russia’s moves to take over a year ago the 13% of the population that is Tatar was seen as the most serious opposition to the Kremlin The Tatars largely boycotted the hastily organised “referendum” which led to Russian annexation and the long-time Tatar figurehead Mustafa Dzhemilev have both been banned from the peninsula by Russia The vocal Tatar critics of Moscow have been subjected to deportation But a year after Russia’s official declaration of the annexation which will be marked with celebrations in Moscow and Simferopol many Crimean Tatars feel they need to find a way to interact with the new authorities “In the incomplete year of 2014, Russia spent as much as Ukraine did in the previous seven years on issues of housing and support for Crimean Tatars,” said Smirnov who heads the region’s committee on inter-ethnic relations Smirnov said he had no doubts about going over to work for the Russians but today they have been reborn as a nation.” While critics say Kadyrov is responsible for a regime of fear and appalling rights abuses he has rebuilt Grozny from ruins with Moscow’s money and the Kremlin is clearly attempting to woo the Crimean Tatars in a similar fashion The Tatar people are now scattered over a vast land mass that runs from Mongolia to Finland with the largest group being the Volga Tatars who live semi-autonomously within a “federal subject” territory of Russia Their Crimean brethren remain wary of Moscow after Joseph Stalin had the entire population deported in 1944 for alleged collaboration with the Nazis Tatars were only allowed to return to Crimea in 1988 But while the advent of Russian rule has rejuvenated many Crimean Tatars as Ukrainian patriots some point out that their people did not benefit much from Kiev’s rule either and it is only now that the government has started pushing the Tatar cause Moscow clearly hopes a combination of this ambivalence to Kiev not to be political,” said one Tatar business owner in Simferopol “They told me to remember I had something to lose and to keep my head down but what can you do when everyone else around you has gone mad from the television It’s like we’re living in a rainstorm and people keep telling us how sunny it is.” a Tatar who was head of the regional government in the city of Bakhchysarai until August said: “[Moscow-backed Crimean prime minister Sergei] Aksyonov told me that under Russia everything will be brilliant and that there’s no way back so we have to find a way to cooperate.” He resigned despite the entreaties refusing to serve the “occupying government” Umerov’s daughter lost her job as a PR manager at Khan’s Palace the breathtaking complex of buildings that served as the residence for Crimean Tatar rulers before Catherine the Great annexed the territory for Russia the first time around Umerov said only 5% of Crimean Tatars are in favour of working with the Russian authorities The reality is probably somewhere between the two figures It is clear that many Crimean Tatars have decided that it is better to find a modus vivendi with Russia rather than be in permanent opposition of three Ukrainian activists who were sentenced to 40 hours of manual labour for waving the national flag in public two of the police officers giving testimony against them were Tatars And Smirnov is not the only Tatar in government was questioned on charges of separatism when Ukraine controlled Crimea for saying that Crimea would one day belong to the Tatars He underwent a year-long court case in the same Simferopol courthouse “Those same guys from the Ukrainian security services who were threatening me and accusing me of separatism are now wearing Russian uniforms Us Crimean Tatars have just kept the same position – that this is our homeland and it always will be.” Crimean Mountains are the perfect hiding place for military warehouses and perfect location for radar stations. They are scattered around Bakhchysarai raion and territories of Alushta and Yalta city councils, to the south of Simferopol highlighted in our previous material We address our series of materials about Russian military objects in Crimea to our citizens in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in order to stay away from these objects and secure their personal safety Bakhchysarai raion is the storeroom of an engineering equipment of the Russian Black Sea Plateau Subvlu-Kaia rises above the Old City of Bakhchysarai Warehouse of an engineering equipment of the 758th center of material and technical supply of the Black Sea of the Russian Federation The plateau hosts an engineering warehouse (coordinates 44.754853 33.867905) of the military unit 63876 \ the 758th center of material and technical supply of the Black Sea of the Russian Federation (Lisova street 3) and warehouse of the 133rd brigade of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea (Lisova street Two warehouses with different addresses look like one unified storage complex An engineering warehouse of the 758th center of material and technical supply and warehouse of the 133rd brigade of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea The 133rd brigade of material and technical supply of the Black Sea of the Russian Federation has its permanent location in Bakhchysarai Taking an oath in the 133rd brigade of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea military equipment and vehicles are located in this place It should be noted that the 133rd brigade secures supplies and logistics for the 22nd army corps of the Black Sea of the Russian Federation This army corps participates in the Russian aggression against Ukraine Engineering warehouse of the 758th center of material and technical supply in Mashyne and Bashtanivka villages Two large engineering warehouses of the 758th center of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea are located in the foothills of Bakhchysarai raion These places were well known before the advent of Google maps and satellite pictures as they were popular among tourists who took numerous pictures of warehouses and military equipment “hiding” in the foothills Buildings of an engineering warehouse of the 758th center of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea in Mashyne village 33.926804) near Mashyne village (Tatarköy) on the right side of Kachyn Canyon is well observed from popular tourist “Tepe Kerman cave city” and from Kyz Kerman cliffs from the other side of canyon An engineering warehouse of the 758th center of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea near Bashtanivka village The second warehouse of the 758th center of material and technical supply of the Russian Black Sea (coordinates 44.684285 33.923855) is located between Mashyne and Bashtanivka (Pıçqı) villages Satellite pictures clearly show the quadrant in canyon as well as buildings of warehouses and parking spaces for vehicles “Radio field” of military unit # 80162 of the Black Sea of the Russian Federation There is also a radio technical object in Bakhchysarai raion Five tall radio masts can be seen along routes Bakhchysarai-Pischane or Simferopol-Mykolaivka It is so-called “radio field” (coordinates 44.888857 33.873428) of military unit # 80162 of the Black Sea of the Russian Federation near Gorka \ Plodove villages Radio masts of military unit # 80162 of the Russian Black Sea White domes near Ai-Petri Mountain are the most famous military object of Great Yalta Radars covered by radio transparent domes at Bedene Kyr Pique (coordinates 44.481491 34.033617)  стали однією з візитівок гірського Криму Radio location complex at Ai-Petri Mountain the Ukrainian radio radar battalion was located there Russians put the 3rd radio regiment of the Russian Air Forces there It is unknown whether they placed the modern equipment there Soviet complexes were able to survey and control the sky above Crimea and surrounding Black Sea Object of the 3rd radio regiment of the Air Forces of the Russian Federation Another unit of the 3rd radio regiment of the Air Forces of the Russian Federation (coordinates 44.395437 33.955649) is located in Ponyzivka village (AşağıKikineiz) Next radio unit of the same regiment (coordinates 44.639964 Russian occupants built radio transparent dome between 2018 and 2019 there Peaceful inhabitants of Bakhchysarai and Ponyzivka should look for other residential places Families of Russian troops at Ai-Petri Mountain should leave Crimea OSINT-investigator Irakli Komakhidze published “Full list of fire hazard objects of Crimea” with all Russian military objects in Crimea They are all legitimate targets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine We will try to describe them and show their locations still influences the Turkic world on the 105th anniversary of his death He guided Turkic communities with his words "unity in language He is one of the pioneers of the unity of Turkic world and left a mark with his works in print media and education 1851 in Avcikoy village near Bakhchysarai town in central Crimea and took his surname from his father's birthplace He went to a local Muslim school for primary education and later joined the Simferopol Men's Gymnasium He enrolled in a military school in Voronezh to realize his dream of becoming a soldier he went to another military school in Moscow His life as a military student ended due to his efforts to join the Ottoman army which was fighting against the Greek rebels in Crete rebellion Gaspirali returned to Bakhchysarai in 1868 when he was 17 years old and started teaching Russian language he went to Paris where he worked as an assistant to famous Russian literary writer Ivan Turgenev he moved to Istanbul and returned to Crimea the year after He served as Bakhchysarai mayor from 1878-1884 and started publishing in order to propagate the voice of Turkish speaking nations to the world and create a national awakening and made great efforts to carry out educational reforms in the Turkish and Muslim communities Turkish education should be provided in schools and a common Turkish literary language should be created a national press was needed as a platform for communication between Turkish speaking communities Gaspirali got permission from Russian authorities after intense efforts and started newspaper Tercuman The newspaper was written in Ottoman Turkish and it also included words from Tatar and other Turkic languages but then went on to become a biweekly in 1903 and a daily in 1912 Tercuman was the first Turkish newspaper issued in Crimea and the third one among the Russian Muslims Tercuman preserved its place as the only Turkish and Muslim newspaper in the Czarist Russia for a long time It achieved a great effect in the Turkic world it became one of the newspapers that was frequently read by intellectuals in the Ottoman lands Gaspirali opened a school which used improvised teaching methods in Bakhchysarai’s Kaytaz Aga neighborhood in 1884 writing and other courses were taught with an easy and practical approach at the school This method was a revolution for Muslim schools in Czarist Russia the education system should primarily teach the mother tongue and balance worldly knowledge with religious education became widespread later on and the number of these schools rose to over a hundred in the Russian Empire in 1895 He was also a pioneer for the education of Turkish Muslim girls He encouraged his sister Pembe Bolatukova to open the first Usul-i Jadid girl’s school in Bakhchysarai in 1893 of Russian Turks started publications in 1905 under the auspices of Gaspirali and management of his daughter Sefika Gaspirali The first children’s journal among the Turks in Russia was also published during that time in Bakhchysarai The Alem-i Sibyan (World of Children) was published in March 1906 1914 in Bakhchysarai due to worsening health condition He was buried near the mausoleum of Haci Giray Khan opinion” still continue to enlighten the path of the Turkic world *Writing by Havva Kara Aydin and Sena Guler