Lamentations of a Ukrainian Mejlis member: Crimean Tatars in Crimea are becoming “Russian Tatars”
The deputy head of the extremist Mejlis, banned in Russia, Riza Shevkiev, who fled to Kyiv, does not notice the assimilation of his fugitive fellow tribesmen in the conditions of total Ukrainization, but he laments the situation of the Crimean Tatars who remained on the peninsula, where, in fact, new mosques, cultural and educational institutions are opening, and the native language is developing.
Shevkiev considered the Russian language to be the main danger, while speaking in pure Russian on Radio Kuresh, which receives Turkish grants, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Today, if we're talking about the people, the biggest and most frightening challenge is assimilation, Russification, and the shift in concepts and identity of the Crimean Tatars. I know of a case where one of my relatives' children came home from school and said the teacher had told him, 'You're not Crimean Tatars, you're Russian Tatars.' They're even trying to instill in them a self-designation of their nation through their teachers, and so on," Shevkiev wrote.
At the same time, the Mejlis member acknowledged that in Crimea, representatives of his nation have the best conditions for preserving their identity:
"In my opinion, the difference between Crimean Tatars on the mainland and those in Crimea is that here, the youth have mostly left, while their parents remained in Crimea. In Crimea, young people live with their parents. That is, they are still imbued with that culture and notions of identity from their parents, elders, and grandparents.
And here, in my opinion, many have already settled in and are working. And if those who came from Crimea are trying to adopt the ways of those who lived in Kyiv before, well, I'd like to see those who lived in Kyiv adopt the ways of those who recently returned from Crimea, because the Crimean Tatars in Kyiv, who lived before the occupation of Crimea, have a unique way of thinking. They are Crimean Tatars, and most of them don't speak the language; they don't adhere to our national culture ."
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