Abstract
The Crimean Tatars initiated a collective return movement shortly after their exile in Central Asia because of their return-oriented movement frames. Their struggle for return went through mainly three phases as a response to changes in the political and discursive opportunities in the regime and international arena: alignment with the communist master frame, alignment with the democracy and human rights master frame, the emergence of a fit between Crimean Tatar frame and democratizing regime frame. How movement activists increased movement resonance among the Crimean Tatar people, and how they sustained such widespread and active participation over fifty years is studied in detail. Eventually, the Crimean Tatars did not return because the Soviet Union collapsed, but because they consistently, assertively but not violently demanded a return. Taking it in their hands to organize their collective return to their homeland before the Soviet Union collapsed, the Crimean Tatars reached their movement goals.
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Notes
- 1.
The Soviet sources argued that it was 20%, but the Crimean Tatars conducted their own census and found their numbers had reduced by 46%.
- 2.
An amount close to $250 was given to each representative for expenses in Moscow.
- 3.
According to Dağcı, there were limits to what representatives could buy in Moscow, i.e. a box of candy for their children. One representative who bought a sofa when he was in Moscow was publicly shamed, and this action was never repeated. Timur Dağcı, Interview by author, 28 April 2006, Simferopol.
- 4.
3 were arrested (Bekirova, 2004, 110).
- 5.
17 were there for longer periods.18 Tatars received two-year sentences (Bekirova, 2004, 110).
- 6.
The women and children were in the front row. The authorities did not allow them to reach the Lenin statue and some were arrested after a fight. Those arrested received 6 months to three years (Bekirova, 2004, 110).
- 7.
Between 30 May and 2 June 1968, the court process of Refat İsmailov, Reşat Alimov, Sadi Abhairov—the Chirchik demonstrators—was held. They were given 3, 2, and a half, and 2 years respectively, and between 18–26 June, the rest of the demonstrators were prosecuted, being accused of organizing a demonstration in Chirchik on 24 March, 7 April, and finally 21 April. In the court, Moscow “human rights advocate” lawyers defended them, giving authorities small trouble (Bekirova, 2004, 126).
- 8.
Interestingly, the Uzbek authorities arrested all 130 of the representatives returning from Moscow for “organizing mass disorders and resisting authorities”, which demonstrated that the government’s attitude had not changed much, despite promises made to that effect (Fisher, 1978, 178).
- 9.
Other cultural measures refer to a Crimean Tatar dance assembly which was founded in 1957. Unlike other nationalities, the Crimean Tatars were deprived of the right to study in their language at the pre-university or university level. Crimean Tatar newspapers were not permitted to publish any national content and were heavily censored (Rıza Fazıl, Interview with author, 5 May 2006, Simferopol). Maintenance of national culture through these limited cultural rights was near impossible in the Soviet Union of the 1960s and 1970s in which the society is urbanized and with an increasingly dominant Russian language in all spheres of life.
- 10.
On 22 February 1974, and 1978, the regime issued further decrees named “additional measures for strengthening the passport regime in Crimea” to make the registration and resettlement of Crimean Tatars in Crimea almost impossible and to enable re-deportation of those who attempted to return by the police.
- 11.
The mention of language meant the language spoken and read by the Tatars in general in the Soviet Union, not only that of the Crimean Tatars (Fisher, 1978, 180).
- 12.
The court records were generally recorded by hand by Crimean Tatars who were family members and so permitted to attend the trials. Cemilev received Nansen Refugee prize (1998) and Lech Walesa Solidarity Prize (2014) for his non-violent struggle for the return of the Crimean Tatars. He was the Head of Crimean Tatar National Parliament (Mejlis) until 2013. See on Mustafa Cemilev: Bekirova, G. (2019). Mustafa. Put Lidera. Ukraine Information Politics Ministry; Musaeva, S., & Aliev, A. (2017). Mustafa Cemilev, Nezlamnıy. Harkiv; Tiefenböck, O. (2017). Mustafa Jemilev og Krims Forfulgte. Mr. East Forlag; Semena, M. (2010). Mustafa Cemilev: Lyudina, Yaka Peremogla Stalinizm…. ; Chervonnaya, S. (2003). Mustafa – Sın Krıma. Ocak; Mert, H. (2000). Mustafa Abdülcemil Kırımoğlu, Bir İnsan Hakları Savunucusu. Bilgi Yayınları; Alexeyeva, L. (1998). Mustafa Jemiloglu, His Character and Convictions. In E. A. Allworth (Ed.), The Tatars of Crimea: Return to the Homeland (pp. 206–225).Duke University Press; Seytmuratova, A. (1986). Mustafa Dzhemilev and the Crimean Tatars: Story of a Man and his People. Center for Democracy.
- 13.
The department established in 1970 was meant to educate teachers for Crimean Tatar classes in primary and secondary schools, but since there were no such schools, they were compelled to teach Russian to earn their living (Allworth, 1998, 199). Five or six schools instituted optional Crimean Tatar classes, but a lack of Crimean Tatar textbooks and other materials in their native language was a significant drawback (Allworth, 1998, 199).
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Aydın, F.T. (2021). Crimean Tatar Community in the Former Soviet Union (1944–1991): A Case in Exile Nationalism. In: Émigré, Exile, Diaspora, and Transnational Movements of the Crimean Tatars. Palgrave Studies in Citizenship Transitions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74124-2_3
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