The Crimean Tartars - divisions in Crimea

Russia Referendum Exacerbates Crimea Divisions (Video)

the Moscow Times,

6 March, 2014

BAKHCHYSARAI, Ukraine — Many activists in the turmoil-ridden Crimea believe that the peninsula is Russian land and has always been so.

But before Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, it was for centuries the center of Crimean Khanate, which for many years controlled what is now the south of Russia and much of modern Ukraine.

Its capital was Bakhchysarai, today a little town on the way from the seat of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol to the regional capital Simferopol, where the parliament on Thursday called for President Vladimir Putin to annex Crimea and moved up a referendum asking residents if they want to join Russia.

"This is an illegitimate referendum and an illegitimate government that has nothing to do with the Crimean people," said Geray, a heavily bearded Tatar man standing in front of one of numerous mosques whose minarets pierce the Bachchysarai sky.

"Russia did not do the right thing. It has forged this coup; it was guile," he said.

Geray, who learned about the decision of the Crimean parliament to shift the referendum to March 16 and ask Putin to accept Crimea as the 84th subject of the Russian Federation from The Moscow Times, turned a little paler after hearing the news. He asked what Muslim Tatars should do and also wondered how The Moscow Times has not yet been shut down, since, he says, there is no free speech in Russia.

"Ukraine is a much more democratic country than Russia, that is what we are afraid of," he said.

Geray was afraid to give his last name, citing fear of reprisal from Russians in his town. At the same time, Russians in Bakhchysarai claimed that "the Tatars said they will cut our throats."

It is this atmosphere of mutual animosity and distrust that made Muslim Tatars in the sixth district of Bakhchysarai form patrols to protect their neighborhoods.

A day before, red crosses appeared on some of the Tatar buildings — a sign that Tatars should leave the territory.

Tatars already experienced complete expulsion from Crimea when, under the pretext of alleged cooperation with Nazi forces during World War II, they were forcibly deported to Central Asia and Siberia. Thousands died of starvation there.

Only in 1991 were Tatars allowed to return, with many of them claiming some of the best land plots in the peninsula. Numerous makeshift booths are scattered around major Crimean towns today with the single aim of physically marking the territory.

"These Tatars are just afraid that Russia will seize these territories," said Nadezhda Andreyeva, a Russian citizen who moved to Crimea from Siberia to enjoy its better climate.

The humid Crimean air, already tense with with the weight of expected conflict, became tinged with shock, awe and uncertainty following news that its parliament had asked for Crimea to become part of Russia.

Russians in Bakhchysarai rejoiced.

"We do not want to feed these bandits from the West any longer," said Lyudmila, tour guide at a local museum.

Even some Tatars have followed suit: "We need one president and fifteen republics, just as it used to be," said Dinara Voroshilova, waving her hands and screaming, making reference to the divisions in the Soviet Union.

People in Bakhchysarai's Turkish cafes, some of which do not serve alcohol in accordance with Islamic law, had accepted the news and were already discussed how they will live under the Russian laws, how taxes will be paid and what kind of social benefits they will receive.

"Putin needs a new cheap resort for people, after Sochi has become so expensive," people joked.

"I hope Putin realizes what kind of problems we have and how much responsibility he has to assume," they said.

People at a pro-Russia rally in Simferopol compared their situation with other breakaway states, such as the former Georgian areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and said they were not afraid to enjoy little recognition by the outside world.

"Why was it allowed to Kosovo Albanians and not to us?" Yuri Dobrochikhin, 50, wondered while waving the Russian flag.

He said that as opposed to being part of an unrecognized entity like Abkhazia, "We will become Russian citizens and will be able to travel around the world if we want to," he said.

Most of the people at the rally were middle aged or older with a minority of younger people

"We vote for Russia, but there are diverse opinions among the young," said Liza, 17, and Anton, 22, who are not related but share the surname Kuznetsov.

"We do not want to see in Simferopol what has happened in Kiev," they said.

Overall, passions in Crimea are high. Expressions of feverish joy and gloomy despair provide thin cover for the only emotion that is shared by everyone here — anxiety.

"Russians have their own interests, Americans theirs and nobody thinks of the people," said Geroy, spitting on the ground.

Contact the author at i.nechepurenko@imedia.ru 


Crimea Moves to Join Russia

the Moscow Times,

6 March, 2014

The Crimean parliament voted in favor of joining Russia on Thursday and its pro-Russian government announced that a referendum would be held on the decision on March 16.

Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Askyonov said all state property would be nationalized, the Russian ruble adopted as the new currency, and all Ukrainian troops forced to either leave Crimea or surrender to the new government once the decision is finalized.

The news of Crimea's potential return to Russia has been well-received in Ukraine's pro-Russian organizations, but Kiev and the international community have begun questioning the referendum's legitimacy.

"Crimea wants to be part of Russia," said Alexander Svistunov, head of the Russian movement of Ukraine, at a press conference in Moscow. "We want to live with our people, and our people are in Russia."

The head of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, announced that Russia's position on Crimea's independence would depend on the results of the March 16 referendum.

"All factions of the State Duma support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but we understand why this issue is the cause of a referendum," Slutsky told reporters on Thursday, ITAR-TASS reported. "We will determine our position, the position of the State Duma, of the Russian Federation, on the basis of the results of the March 16 referendum."

Sergei Mironov, the Duma deputy who leads the A Just Russia party, said earlier this week that he had introduced a bill to simplify the procedure for Crimea to join the Russian Federation.

Crimea's eagerness to join Russia has raised questions about the legitimacy of the upcoming referendum both in Kiev and abroad.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, who was in Brussels on Thursday for talks with EU leaders, said that a referendum in Crimea was illegitimate and that the republic "is, was and will be an integral part of Ukraine."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Crimea's readiness to join Russia after a referendum "violates Ukraine's territorial integrity."

According to the Crimea's Vice-Prime Minister, Rustam Temirgaliev, more than 70 percent of Crimeans would be in favor of their republic becoming part of Russia.

Termigaliev said that Crimea has already begun preparing for its potential return to Russia and would be making its case for adopting the ruble. The Crimean Parliament also announced on Wednesday that the republic was creating its own prosecutors' office, Interior Ministry and security service.

Representatives of other Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine expect Crimea to serve as a model for seeking self-determination.

"We will form a temporary government and then we will call for a referendum on the status of the Donetsk region and the election of legitimate authorities," said Pavel Gubarev, Governor of the Donetsk Region, at a Moscow press conference. "We will not be under Kiev."

The coordinator of Kharkov's Russian Sector, Irina Shkoda, predicts that other regions of Ukraine will reject the new Ukrainian government.

"I think that the Crimea will leave Ukraine, and that other parts of the country — Donetsk, Kharkov and Lugansk — will want to be free as well," she said.

Crimean authorities said they were open to having international observers monitor the March 16 referendum. The Civic Chamber of Russia announced it would send observers to Crimea, while the OSCE said it would need an invitation from the Ukrainian government to send its own delegation.

The Crimean assembly's vote to join Russia on Thursday was coordinated with the two houses of Russian parliament, a Ukrainian foreign ministry official said on Thursday.

"All that is happening now — the decision by the Crimean Supreme Council and statements by the Federation Council and State Duma — are evidence that this is coordinated action," Interfax news agency quoted Yevhen Perebiynis as saying.

"Now the masks are off and we can see for what purpose it all began."

Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum for March 16.

EU Freezes Talks With Russia on Cooperation Agreement, Visas

RIA Novosti,

6 March, 2014

MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti) – EU leaders decided on Thursday to freeze negotiations with Russia on a visa-free regime and a new cooperation agreement, the European Council president said Thursday.

After six hours of talks, the leaders of the 28 EU member states who gathered for the extraordinary meeting in Brussels agreed on a three-step series of sanctions to punish Russia for a contested military incursion in Ukraine’s Crimea region.

The leaders agreed that the punishment should start with an immediate suspension of talks on a new comprehensive economic and political pact with Russia.

"The solution to the crisis should be found through negotiations between the governments of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, including through potential multilateral mechanisms," Herman Van Rompuy said. "Such negotiations need to start within the next few days and produce results within a limited time frame."

“If there is no de-escalation, the EU will decide on additional measures, such as visa restrictions, asset freezes and cancellation of the Russia-EU summit,” he said.

Russian officials have earlier played down the importance of sanctions, with President Vladimir Putin saying such measures would cause mutual damage.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said his country’s response to any type of sanctions “will not necessarily be a proportionate one.”

Russia’s envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said in an interview earlier this week that talks between Moscow and Brussels on a visa-free regime have already been “de-facto frozen by the EU.”

Although many European countries are in favor of imposing tough sanctions on Russia, there are also reservations because many of them rely heavily on Russian oil and gas.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the EU discussions on sanctions as “stormy,” but said that the leaders’ action was even more far-reaching than expected.

The current standoff between Russia and the West was sparked by disputes over the fate of Crimea, an autonomous Ukrainian region with a majority ethnic Russian population.

Crimean authorities have refused to recognize as legitimate the new central government in Kiev, which ousted President Viktor Yanukovych late last month, and on Thursday they announced a decision to become part of Russia. A referendum on the issue is slated for March 16.

Speaking on behalf of EU member states, Van Rompuy condemned the referendum, saying that it would be in breach of the Ukrainian constitution and thus illegal.

He said the EU will sign the political part of an association agreement with Ukraine before the May 25 presidential elections in the country. However he did not say when the economic section of the pact, including the free-trade zone agreement, will be signed.

EU leaders supported the European Commission’s initiative to provide Ukraine with 11 billion euros ($15.2 billion) in loans and grants. The aid matches Russian President Vladimir Putin's previous offer, which rewarded Yanukovich for his surprise decision to ditch the signing of the EU agreement.

The money will be allocated “over the next couple of years, from the EU budget and EU-based international financial institutions” and are intended “to assist a committed, inclusive and reforms-oriented Ukrainian government.”