Any ignorance concerning this or that phenomenon gives rise, as it is well-known, to false interpretations and wrong ideas. Mass home-coming of the Crimean Tatars to Ukraine which started approximately twenty years ago raised a lot of different far from truth myths and opinions produced by talks and mass-media releases and transmitted by different politicians. We tried to debunk the most popular myths concerning the Crimean Tatars which appeared the last time. And not to fall victim to such myths we shall remind the words of the classical author, who advised not read Soviet papers.
Mikhail Kapustin
The most wide-spread are the following five myths concerning the Crimean Tatars
The Crimean Tatars are much better than others provided with land
Nowadays the number of the mass-media purposefully labels the Crimean Tatars as “self-usurpers”, for land self-usurpation in Crimea is, that, exclusively Crimean-Tatar phenomenon. At the same time is cultivated the myth that the Crimean Tatars are, that, provided with lands for individual building much better than the other Crimean citizens. In particular, about this usually speak representatives of authorities of the Autonomous Republic, trying to prove, that the problem of getting land in Crimea by ordinary citizens, and repatriates, too, is completely far-fetched.
Though, according to recently announced data of office of public prosecutor of the ARC, only 35% of usurped territories in the Autonomous Republic are occupied by the representatives of formerly departed citizens, and 65% of usurped territories are lands occupied by different business-structures. Moreover, it is not a secret that nowadays in Crimea appeared so-called Slavic self-usurpations in which participate Russians, Ukrainians and representatives of another nationalities. And not accidentally now the head of the State Committee of Ukraine on Affairs of Nationalities and Migrations Sergey Rudyk in his time stated, that in the land issue many take refuge in the name of the Tatars, “it means, we have to say, that the Crimean Tatars are labeled by something which does not concern them”. For the sake of justice we should correct this phrase, and it should be as follows, “the Crimean Tatars are labeled by something which not always concerns them”. Some months ago the Crimean prosecutor stated in his interview, that the quantity of self-usurpations made by Tatars and non-Tatars practically became equal.
The Crimean Tatars themselves do not agree with the “statistics”, according to which they are provided with the land since long time ago, and claim, that in official data the quantity of land territories, given to the repatriates in Crimea for individual building is often purposely raised too high. And according to the data of the head of Majlis of the Crimean Tatars, the deputy of Ukraine Mustafa Jemilev, at the present time one repatriate who indwells in the countryside possesses 40% less land than representatives of the other nationalities. “And if to account the quality of the land territories, given to the repatriates, the injustice would be much more acute”, he says. Here it is expedient to note, that Tatars do not want to dwell in the steppe Crimea and try to get the territories at the sea-shore or near Simferopol. And according to this it is hard to imagine, that the repatriates would get in these places land territories with the area of 20-30 hundredth parts.
The Crimean Tatars have never lived in the Southern Coast of Crimea
In the press one may often read that the Crimean Tatars lived exclusively in the steppe part of the peninsula. From this information, as a rule, one concludes that their claims on the lands of the Southern Crimea are not rightful. Though, the facts give evidence of the contrary. According to the reference book “Ethnical History of Crimea in Tables, Cards and Diagrams”, published in the last year, according to the data of the population census of the Crimean Ethnographical Museum with the financial support of the Supreme Commissar of OSCE before the deportation of 1944, the part of the Crimean Tatars in the population of, say, Alushta region amounted 63,1%, Sudak region - 70,3%, Balaklav region - 55%.
At the same time one should also understand that this area was much less populated in the first half of the XX century. And just at the beginning of the 50th of the last century, when at the higher level was made a decision about economical development of the SCC as All-Union sanatorium started sudden raising of the region’s economy. This, in its turn, required new human resources. That is why the SCC was widely populated at that period of time.
The Crimean Tatars are Wahhabites and Islamic extremists
One of the most popular terrifying stories connected with the Crimean Tatars nowadays concerns the religious sphere, in which, they say, takes part fast radicalization of Islam. For example, very often we can find in the press myth about the sway of Wahhabites in Crimea, the basis of whom is, they say, the representative body of the Crimean Tatars – Majlis. The most often these claims are heard from the leader of the Crimean communists Leonid Grach, who even claimed that on the Ay-Petri mount exists the camp which teaches Islamic fighters. The Security Service of Ukraine checked this information and found out that the “fighters” were… the followers of pseudo-Christian sect “Ay-faar”, most of the members of which being Russian citizens.
Followers of the Salaf movement in Islam (in press they are usually called Wahhabites, mistakenly associating this movement with “Islamic terrorism”, which is completely wrong) really exists in Crimea. Moreover, at the last time in the peninsula appeared representatives of pseudo-Islamic party “Khizb ut-Tahrir”. However, the quantity of Salafites and Khizbs is small, which does not let them to influence greatly on the Muslim community of Crimea.
The majority of the Crimean Tatars are Sunni Muslims and belong to the traditional Hanafi school of Sharia law (madhab), which is distinguished by its moderation and susceptibility to secular way of life. Officially accepted religious center of the Crimean Muslims is Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea (SAMC) or Muftiyat, in which subordination are 350 religious communities. Leaders of SAMC and Majlis actively protest against introducing to Islamic community of Crimea sects, alien to it, including Salafi, and against spread on the peninsula of ideas of “Khizb ut-Tahrir”. However, this conflict is, rather, intra-religious and does not overstep the limits of the Crimean-Tatar sphere.
However, we shall note that informational splashes on the topic of Wahhabism and Khizbism happen only the day before important political battles. At the same time, notwithstanding declarations of authorities and Tatars about the necessity of prohibition of these groups, nothing is done.
Moreover, it is even convenient for them. For the former to scare their electorate by horror-stories about radicals, and for the latter – to scare their fellow tribesmen by the ideas of dissent. At the same time, both authorities and Majlis consider, that they can keep the radicals within the bounds of the political ghetto, assigned to them. But it will go on to the time, when these groups will have strong leaders. Needless to say, that at some moment foreign financing will appear in time.
The Crimean Tatars are separatists
After acknowledging of independence of Kosovo in Russian and Ukrainian media actualized the myth that the Crimean Tatars and their representative body, Majlis, prepare the ground for separation of Crimea from Ukraine with its next annexation to Turkey. However, the Crimean Tatars less than the others can be suspected in separatism. Their leaders in contrast to, say, pro-Russian political forces have never declared separation of Crimea from Ukraine. On the contrary, they always occupied pro-Ukrainian position. And not accidentally in its time appeared a common phrase that “Real Ukrainians in Crimea are the Crimean Tatars”. The head of Majlis, the deputy of Ukraine Mustafa Jemilev recently one more time confirmed this point of view, claiming, that the Crimean Tatars “will not follow the way of the Albanians in Kosovo”. “In strategic perspective we see the future of the nation in the structure of independent democratic Ukrainian state”, he stressed. At the same time, the leaders of the Crimean Tatars do not hide the fact, that they want to re-form the present Autonomous Republic of Crimea to the Crimean-Tatar Nationally-Territorial Autonomy, which, in fact, existed on the territory of the peninsula before the deportation of 1944.
Claim that the Crimean Tatars would like to live in the structure of Turkey does not stand up to criticism. “What concerns annexation to Turkey, there can be no worse situation for the Crimean Tatars, at least because in five years they would be assimilated because of closeness of the language and culture”, says vice-chairman of Majlis, the deputy of several meetings Refat Chubarov. Moreover, due to some historical reasons the Crimean Tatars do not possess especially reverential attitude towards Turkey, which, as it is well-known, at the times of the Ottoman Empire was suzerain of their national state – the Crimean Khanate.
However, the idea of the national autonomy today is utopian, since the part of the Crimean Tatars constitutes just 12% of the whole population of the ARC. But the leaders of the Majlis for the sake of the Tatars’ unification are obliged to declare this thesis every time and every where, which actually is a red rag for the most citizens of the peninsula.
The Crimean Tatars have high birth rates
One more myth which was actualized after the events in Kosovo is connected with the claims that the Crimean Tatars, that, have incredibly high birth rates. For instance, the deputy of the Party of Regions Vadim Kolesnichenko shortly stated that “after 20-30 years the Crimean Tatars will constitute half of the population because their birth rates are higher than that of the Slavs, and than they would possibly demand for them state independence”. At the same time one may often read in the press that Turkey, say, actively supports the campaign of changing of demographical situation in the region, providing the Crimean-Tatar families with children with big funds. That is why birth rates in the families of the Crimean Tatars are very high – five-seven children.
Birth rates in the families of the Crimean Tatars are really much better than that of the representatives of the Slavic population of the peninsula. But it is exaggeration to say that they are higher in several times. According to the data of All-Ukrainian Population Census of 2001, according to national structure out of 100 children aged under 15, 58 were Russians, 20 – Ukrainians, 17 – Crimean Tatars and five of the other nationalities. According to Majlis data, from the beginning of the XXI century natural increase of the Crimean Tatars constitutes just 3%, in the average one family consists of 3,78 persons, and very often the members of the family are also grandmothers and grandfathers. The republican committee on nationalities and departed citizens of the ARC stated, that nowadays the Crimean Tatars constitute about 12% of population of Crimea, and to say that after 20-30 years they will form the majority on the peninsula is groundless. Though if everything will go on the way it is now, according to the prognosis of the demographers, in 2040 the population of the Crimean Tatars will constitute 27-30% of population of the peninsula.
On the materials of the newspaper “Commentaries” (Kiev), №14, 18.04.2008
