This day, May 18, marks the 80th anniversary of the tragic event - the beginning of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars from Crimea by the Soviet regime. This is the day that is commemorated in Ukraine as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People.
In 1944, the Soviet authorities forcibly evicted more than 200,000 Crimean Tatars from Crimea, sending them to the regions of Central Asia and the Urals. Deprived of their native land, these people suffered from violence, hunger, cold and disease, and about half of them died on the road or in places of forced resettlement.
In Ukraine, on May 18, the memory of those who suffered as a result of this tragedy is commemorated. However, due to the military invasion of Russia and the occupation of Crimea, the holding of mass events this year is complicated.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a resolution on the creation of an organizing committee to prepare and hold events for the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People, and the Verkhovna Rada called on the international community to recognize the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as genocide.
In response to this tragedy, Ukrainian society arranges various memorial events. For example, there are art exhibitions, public dialogues, as well as the search for a place to erect a monument to the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people.
In Crimea, annexed by Russia, commemorative actions are actually prohibited. Journalists and human rights defenders received a warning from the Russian authorities regarding the "inadmissibility of violating the law" during any mass events.
