Many of them died

According to data from 1944 to 1948, mortality among the Crimean Tatars was 6.3 times higher than the birth rate. At the same time, numerous escapes from the places of resettlement were reported. Therefore, on November 26th, 1948, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR issued a decree on criminal responsibility for escaping from the places of forced settlement. Fugitives were threatened with 20 years of heavy work and those helping them were threatened with 5 years in prison (the data comes from the magazine "Krymskotatarske Pytannja", 1998, no. 3). Apart from the Tatars representatives of other nations were also displaced in 1944: the Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Gypsies. It is reported that the total number of deportees amounted to about 230,000. As a result of the deportation to Crimea, 1,500 libraries and 860 schools were closed down. Secondary and tertiary crime education was completely abolished.

Crimea with a bridge and repressions

President Vladimir Putin was driving one of the lorries that officially tested the so-called Crimean bridge on May 15th. The construction connects the annexed Crimea with continental Russia. The event took place three days before the tragic anniversary of the Crimean Tatars – on May 18th, 1944 more than 180,000 Tatars were deported from the […]