Staunton, August 1 – Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Commons Defense and Security Committee, says that the difference between Crimea and Chechnya is that “Crimea wanted to be part of Russia and Chechnya did not” and that Russia “instantly” recognized the right of the first and used military force to deny that right to […]
Tag: referendum
Scholars Demand Moscow be Held Accountable for Occupation of Crimea and Violation of Crimean Tatar Rights
Staunton, 3 June – A group of scholars from around the world who study nationality issues in Eurasia are circulating an online petition calling on “all states, agencies, organizations and individuals” to speak out in defense of the rights of the Crimean Tatars and hold “the Russian authorities in illegal occupation of Crimea accountable for […]
Is Stalin’s First Major Act of Ethnic Engineering About to be Reversed or Exacerbated?
Staunton, May 21 – As Harvard historian Richard Pipes documented a half century ago, Stalin’s first great act of ethno-political engineering was the division of the Tatars and Bashkirs of the Middle Volga as part of a broader effort to weaken Kazan’s influence and that of the Muslim national communists led by Sultan-Galiyev. Now, that […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 85: The Siege of Slavyansk Continues
Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast. Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs. An interactive map of the situation: View Ukraine: April, 2014 in a larger map For links to individual […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 83: Referendum Day
Polling stations have opened in south-eastern Ukraine for the referendum on declaring independence for the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. The vote has been declared illegal by the Ukrainian, European and US leaders. Despite a public statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the vote should be delayed, separatists have gone ahead and begun the process. […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 82: Mariupol Remains in Chaos the Day Before the Referendum
Following yesterday’s violence, there have been carnivalesque scenes in Mariupol today as looting has broken out, a military base has been ransacked and an abandoned armoured vehicle set ablaze in the street. Meanwhile, preparations are under way for tomorrow’s referendum. Separatist leaders appear determined to go ahead with the poll, despite a public statement from […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 81: Fighting Breaks Out in Mariupol on Victory Day
Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast. Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs. An interactive map of the situation: View Ukraine: April, 2014 in a larger map A live stream from […]
FSB Says Crimean Tatars Must Submit to Russian Rule, Face Prison, or Risk ‘Disappearance,’ Cemilev Says
Staunton, April 29 – Mustafa Cemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement whom Russian authorities have banned from entering his homeland until 2019, says that the Russian security service has told him and by extension his nation that its members must submit to Russian rule, face prison, or, even more ominously, “disappearance.” Despite […]
Volga Tatars Nominate Crimea’s Mustafa Cemilev for Nobel Peace Prize
Staunton, April 26 – Tatar organizations in the Middle Volga have nominated Mustafa Cemilev, the longtime leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement, for the Nobel Peace Prize, a step that calls attention to Cemilev’s efforts to defend his land against Russian aggression and growing ties between the Tatars of Crimea and the Tatars of […]
Crimean Tatars Under Russian Threat Even as Putin ‘Rehabilitates’ Them
Staunton, April 22 – In what is becoming a defining feature of the Putin regime, the Russian authorities are saying things that many people want to hear at exactly the same moment that they are doing things that directly contradict what they say. Today, the victims of that are the Crimean Tatars, a Moscow commentator […]