Russia Under Fire: Accusations of Ethnic Cleansing in Crimea

Russia is suspected of committing genocide against ethnic minorities in Crimea.

Mustafa Dzhemilev, of Tatar descent, a Muslim minority, claimed in The Times UK on the 7th (local time) that “Russia is slaughtering the Tatars in Crimea” and “Russia has been carrying out ethnic cleansing on minorities since the forced annexation of Crimea.”

Dzhemilev has been a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. When Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014, he received a phone call from President Putin urging him to cooperate with Russia. However, he stood firm, stating, “While we support non-violence in our country, the invasion of foreign armies is a different matter.”

In response to Dzhemilev’s answer, the Putin administration included him and about 100 other Tatars on the ‘ethnic cleansing target’ list. According to human rights organizations, about 100 Tatars are serving up to 20 years in prison on charges of terrorism, with dozens missing. Tens of thousands have fled Crimea, their ancestral homeland, to escape Russian repression, and their lawyers have been arrested and stripped of their qualifications.

Dzhemilev was also forcibly expelled by the Russian government for continuing his resistance movement. He can only return to Crimea in 2034. Dzhemilev claimed, “Russia doesn’t want me buried in the soil of Crimea,” and “Putin’s methods are more brutal than those of Stalin in the Soviet era.”

The Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, were forcibly migrated to Central Asia under Soviet rule in 1944 and resettled in Crimea after the collapse of the Soviet Union. During Russia’s forced annexation in 2014, they played a central role in the anti-Russian forces.

Dzhemilev, who has served as the chairman of the Tatar National Assembly, is still seen as a symbol of the Tatar resistance movement and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. He said, “If I weren’t famous, I would have been killed or disappeared,” and “I want to return to Crimea and continue the resistance movement.”