Ukraine Showcases Crimean Tatar Culture in Uzbekistan Amid War Challenges

In Uzbekistan, during the Interparliamentary Assembly, Ukraine presented an exhibition of Crimean Tatar culture and held a discussion on the role of heritage and religion in times of war. The initiative united international partners around the topic of preserving identity and supporting Ukrainian political prisoners.

This was reported by Tamila Tasheva, founder of the NGO CrimeaSOS and MP.

At the Assembly of the Interparliamentary Union in Uzbekistan, the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation held an event "Ukrainian Cultural Heritage and Identity: Protection of Culture and Religious Freedoms". The event was held within the framework of the Geopolitical Group of 12+ and was dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage and religious freedoms in the context of war and occupation.

The exposition is centered on authentic artifacts of Crimean Tatar culture: household items, prayer rugs, ceramics, and rare Qurans that Crimean Tatars took with them during the deportation of 1944. These shrines have become symbols of spiritual resilience, continuity of generations and resistance to the destruction of national identity.

The event was attended by the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Tulia Akson, and representatives of parliaments from more than ten countries. The participants of the discussion - First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko, expert on Crimean Tatar heritage Elmira Ablyalimova and Mufti of Crimea Ayder Rustemov - emphasized that in the struggle for freedom, culture and faith remain the foundation of national dignity.

A separate part of the event was the Letters to a Free Crimea initiative, where participants had the opportunity to write words of support for Ukrainian political prisoners who are being held in occupied Crimea or taken to Russia. This is another way to show: Crimea is Ukraine, and culture is a bridge to freedom.

In April, a film about the love and struggle of the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev and his wife is expected to premiere. The film, titled The Oxygen Station, takes the viewer back to the summer of 1980, when Dzhemilev, a longtime political prisoner, was in exile in the village of Zyryanka in Soviet Yakutia, working at an oxygen station. The film has been in development for over five years.

Meanwhile, the Government of Ukraine officially approved a new spelling of the Crimean Tatar language based on Latin, completing its transition from the Cyrillic alphabet. The document defines the rules of spelling and use of the language in education, media, literature, and place names.

Анна Бальчінос