Who are the Crimean Tatars?

The Crimean Tatars are a little known, but very important ethnic group native to the Crimean Peninsula and parts of Ukraine and Russia. The formation of this group can be traced back to the 13th century, when the people of the Crimean Peninsula joined the Mongolian Golden Horde as the Crimean Khanate. Islam was introduced and became the dominant religion in the 14th century, following the conversion of Golden Horde ruler Ozbeg Khan. In the 16th century, the Crimean Khanate existed as a vassal state to the Ottoman Empire, but it was still one of the most powerful in Europe. In fact, its capital, Bakhchysarai was renowned as the cleanest and greenest on the continent.

The Crimean Tatars were also infamous for their involvement in slavery. They supported slave raids into Russian and Polish-Lithuanian lands, and it was estimated that approximately two million people were enslaved during the Crimean Khanate. It should also be noted that these slave raids were not one sided, as Zaporozhian Cossacks from Ukraine raided into Crimean lands, taking thousands of slaves as well.

The Crimean Tatars have faced centuries of persecution since the late 18th century. In 1783, the Russian Empire annexed the Crimean Peninsula, subsequently adopting a policy of expelling the Tatars. From the annexation to the beginning of the 20th century, approximately 800,000 Crimean Tatars were forced to migrate to locations within the Ottoman Empire. The rise of the Soviet Union in Russia did not help the plight of the Tatars, as around 150,000 (half of the Tatar population of Crimea) were forced to flee or perish in the Russian famine and collectivization. Then, in 1944, Stalin falsely accused the entire remaining Tatar population of collaborating with the Axis powers. As a form of collective punishment, they were expelled to Uzbekistan under oppressive policies.

After the collapse of the USSR and the independence of Ukraine, a quarter of a million Tatars have returned to Crimea, gaining representation in the Ukrainian government. However, since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, many Crimean Tatars are still subject to terrible persecution.