The Turkish president, who has always condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has an additional reason to condemn the Russian occupation of Crimea. The ties between Turkey and the peninsula are strong because of the Tatars still living there. They have had bad experiences with the Russian occupiers and would much rather have the autonomy they had under Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion in 2014, they have been oppressed and feel strongly restricted in their freedom. Tatar human rights activists are being detained by Russia in Crimea on charges of terrorism and schools and education in their mother tongue, which is very similar to Turkish, have been banned.
Sunni Muslims
The Tatars, largely Sunni Muslims, are descendants of Turkic populations that settled over Eurasia many centuries ago.e have spread. There they formed the empire of the Golden Horde, which was founded in 1236 and later disintegrated into smaller parts, including the so-called Crimean Khanate. In 1783, the peninsula was annexed by Russia, but the population remained mainly Crimean Tatars. However, during the reign of terror of the communist dictator Stalin, mass deportations took place because, according to Stalin, the Crimean Tatars had collaborated with the Nazis. About 100,000 Crimean Tatars were killed. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many Tatars returned to Crimea.
Diaspora
There are currently more than 250,000 Tatars living on the peninsula. This makes them at least 10% of the population. They want to join Ukraineïdon’t keep hearing. The Crimean Tatars in the diaspora are everywhere demonstrating against the Russian occupation, such as the approximately five million of Crimean Tatar origin living in Turkey and the many Crimean Tatars who are now fleeing to Turkey. Because of the Turkish kinship they are more easily eligible for a long-term residence permit.
Erdogan argues that the Crimean Tatars have experienced many horrors throughout history and want to live without the oppression of the Russian occupier.