Ukraine Commemorates 86 Years Since Mass Execution of Crimean Tatar Leaders

In 1938, the Soviet authorities shot 36 representatives of the Crimean Tatar intelligentsia in an attempt to destroy the national culture and identity of the people.

This was reported by the press service of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Today, on April 17, Ukraine commemorates a tragic page in history - the mass shooting of Crimean Tatar intellectuals in 1938 by order of Stalin. On this day 86 years ago, 36 prominent figures of culture, science and public life were executed. This was part of a large-scale repression aimed at destroying the national identity of the Crimean Tatars.

The so-called Stalin's List was signed on March 5, 1938. It included people who played a key role in the preservation and development of Crimean Tatar culture. Among them were artist, scholar and founder of the Bakhchisaray Palace Museum Usain Bodaninsky, cultural researcher Osman Akçokrakly, poet Abdullah Latif-Zade and many others.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center emphasized that the memory of the victims of repression should become a warning to future generations so that such crimes against humanity will never happen again. Their contribution to the national heritage is invaluable. Today, it is important not only to remember these names, but also to realize the price paid by the people for their desire to preserve their culture, language and identity.

Recently, the international community was handed documents demanding to recognize the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people as genocide. Work is underway to expand the list of countries that have already recognized this crime - activists are also seeking international condemnation of Russia for its consequences.

Norway is also preparing a report on the persecution of Crimean Tatars in the temporarily occupied Crimea and is considering recognizing the 1944 deportation as genocide. Earlier, the Czech Republic and Estonia made similar decisions, and Ukraine calls on other states to join this initiative.

In the first quarter of 2025, at least 13 searches took place in the occupied Crimea, including 7 searches of Crimean Tatars. Most often, Russians detain locals, including Crimean Tatars, on charges of "discrediting the Russian army."

Анна Літман