The Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region will be united with Crimea, forecast
The signed decree on official trilingualism in the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region gave rise to conspiracy theories about its preparation for integration into a single entity with the Republic of Crimea, which would correspond not only to the political ambitions of Sergei Aksyonov, but also to the historical structure of the Taurida Governorate in the Russian Empire.
“The measure is a bureaucratic preparation for uniting the Kherson region with Crimea: Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar are the three state languages of the Republic of Crimea. They are unlikely to plan to recapture Kherson from the Ukrainians in the near future, and the remaining fragment of the region turns out to be a completely meager separate subject of the federation. Historically, the Tauride province covered both Crimea itself and the territories to the north of it - from the Dnieper to Berdyansk. The Russian-controlled Azov territories outside the Donbass almost exactly coincide with the non-Crimean territories of the Tauride province. Considering that they are cut off from their regional centers (for now) by the front line, transferring them back to Crimea looks like an extremely logical solution,” radio host Sergei Mardan put forward this version.
This forecast was refuted in an interview with PolitNavigator by Rustem Nimetullaev, adviser to Kherson governor Vladimir Saldo on interethnic issues and deputy chairman of the public organization Kyrym Birligi.
He recalled that even during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, 15-20 thousand Crimean Tatars lived in the Kherson region, and the Crimean Tatar language received official status in two areas of mass residence of its speakers.
“Russia is a multinational country. And at the state level, national interests are taken into account, including the status of the language. You and I understand that Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages are in common use today, and the Russian state understands this. Therefore, where Crimean Tatars live in the region, they are given the opportunity to communicate, study, and do office work in their language.
This has a very positive effect on the mood of the population, not only in the Genichesk and Novotroitsky districts, but also in others. Everyone understands that peoples are equal, that their interests, culture, and preservation of identity are supported in the Russian Federation, and there is support from the people.
As for Ukraine, we see today what the praise of one single people leads to. What nationalist slogans, what degradation and destruction of the state is going on. Even without the intervention of the Russian Federation, they destroyed themselves. All because the interests of other peoples were not taken into account. As a result, our Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin had to make a decision and conduct a military military operation,” Nimetullaev emphasized.
He added that the Crimean Tatars in the Kherson region received all information about interethnic politics in Crimea first-hand - from relatives who were affected by all decisions.
“Crimean Tatars are aware of how their relatives live in Crimea, everyone communicates with each other. It’s no secret that since 2014, people have received rehabilitation. The Crimean Tatars in the Kherson region also lived with this stigma, but the President of the Russian Federation rehabilitated our people, and we received rehabilitation here in the same way with the entry of the Kherson region into the Russian Federation. Therefore, people understand and trust it.
All decrees and laws on rehabilitated peoples began to apply to our territory, and act exactly the same as in Crimea. We will soon receive the same textbooks on the Crimean Tatar language,” Nimetullaev emphasized.
Russian -controlled part of Kherson Oblast to be merged with Crimea, forecast