Russian citizenship and a plot of land: the descendants of deported peoples were explained the procedure for returning to Crimea
Representatives of deported peoples and their descendants living outside Crimea are actively interested in obtaining housing or land . This opportunity exists, but only after obtaining Russian citizenship and a certificate of rehabilitation.
The Chairman of the State Committee for Interethnic Relations of Crimea, Ruslan Yakubov , announced this on Radio Crimea , as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"All those who returned to Crimea from among the deported peoples before March 2014 and received the relevant documents—Russian citizenship and rehabilitation certificates—no longer have any problems. Under current legislation, they were entitled to discounted utility bills, public transportation, registration for housing, and land plots. I believe about 90% have already taken advantage of these benefits ," he noted.
"We continue to receive requests from citizens, regardless of nationality, living outside of Crimea, sometimes outside of Russia – in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan – who would like to return to Crimea but don't know how to properly complete the necessary paperwork to get on the waiting list.
Of course, we explain to non-Russian citizens that they must first obtain a rehabilitation certificate , which our legislation allows . This means they can submit a package of documents to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirming that they were in a special settlement before 1956. This certificate allows them, if they intend to return to Crimea, to obtain Russian citizenship on preferential terms— and only then apply for social support for those rehabilitated. These are only for Russian citizens," Yakubov explained.
Every year, May 18th is commemorated in Crimea as Remembrance Day for the Victims of the Deportation of the Peoples of Crimea. While Mejlis extremists used this date to escalate tensions until March 2014, everything changed dramatically on April 21st, 2014, when a presidential decree was signed on measures to rehabilitate peoples and restore their rights.