Crimean Tatar diaspora
Encyclopedia
The Crimean Tatar diaspora dates back to the annexation of Crimea
by Russia
in 1783, after which Crimean Tatars
were forced to emigrate
in a series of waves spanning the period from 1783 to 1917. The diaspora
was largely the result of the destruction of their social and economic life as a consequence of Russian colonization policies.
The Soviet Union
brought about the final dispersal of Crimean Tatars in 1944, in the midst of the World War II
, when it deported all Tatars remaining in the Crimea to Central Asia. This population is considered an exiled community rather than a diaspora.
, due to close relations between the two states. There was a Giray vassal state in the Ottoman province of Bucak
(Bessarabia). It was centered on the towns of Bender
and Çatal Osman, and considered semi-independent (only controlled by Ottoman Pasha in Rusçuk
.) In the 14th and 15th centuries, Ottomans colonized Dobruja
with Crimean Tatars from Bucak. Between 1593 and 1595, Crimean Tatars were also settled to Dobruja. (Frederick de Jong) Some Crimean Tatars went to Greece
and Turkey
.
However, the first Crimean Tatar emigration took place after the Russian annexation of Crimea
. Crimean Tatar ruling class (mirzas) and mullahs sought asylum within the North Caucasian people, fearing persecution. Their number were around 8,000. Their relations to Crimea
continued from their Caucasian safe havens. Hopes that a Giray from the Caucasus would return to liberate Crimea continued until the very conquest of North Caucasus by the Russians in 1859. The Crimean Tatars in the North Caucasus were exiled to Anatolia in 1877-1878 together with Circassians and Chechens by the Russian Empire. The exiled Muslims from the North Caucasus were around one million.
After the annexation, 4,000 Tatars also escaped to westward direction to the Ottoman fortress of Ozu (Ochakov), and from there to the Ottoman province of Bucak (Bessarabia) where a vassal Giray dynasty existed. With the conquest of Bessarabia by the Russians
in 1812, all Tatars here migrated to southwards, to the Dobruja
province.
Crimean Tatars immigrated to the Ottoman Empire, where they were welcomed as fellow Muslims and as the populace of the formerly protected Crimean Khanate
. The Ottoman territory was called "aqtopraq" ("white soil" or more probably "soil of justice") by the Crimean Tatar immigrants, as they conceived of their migration as a "hijra
" similar to the prophet's temporary retreat to Medina
under the pressure from enemies of Islam
. The outflow of the Crimean Tatars turned into an exodus after the Crimean War
(1854–1856), as the Russian government began to treat the Crimean Tatars as internal threats to its security because of their historical relations with the Ottoman Empire.
The majority of the Crimean Tatar immigrants were settled in the Dobruja region of the Balkans
by the Ottoman authorities, but some were directed to various parts of Anatolia
, where significant numbers of Crimean Tatars perished due to changes in environmental and climate conditions.
Although there were Crimean Tatars who emigrated from the mountainous, coastal, and urban parts of the Crimea among them, the majority of the emigrants were from the steppes of Crimea and its surroundings, who lived largely in closed peasant communities. According to ancient Crimean Tatar traditions, marriage between relatives (e.g. cousins), even very distant ones, has always been strictly prohibited, unlike the local population of Anatolia. The ones who lived in a concentrated manner in adjacent villages, such as the ones around Eskişehir region, were able to maintain their ethnic identity and language
intact almost up until the 1970s. The Crimean Tatar diaspora identity emerged over this period in the form of predominantly oral cultural traditions in stories, songs, poems, myths, and legends about the loss of the "homeland" and the miseries of immigration.
An excerpt from Crimean Tatar Exile Literature is as follows:
Eskender Fazıl, from his poem Stand Up (Çatırdağ is a mountain in Crimea)
The Crimean Tatars participated in the building of the new Turkish Republic, as well as the formation of the core Turkish identity. People of Crimean Tatar descent in Turkey
number around 1 million.
A small number of Crimean Tatar refugees from the USSR joined the diaspora in Turkey after World War II, and a small number migrated from Romania
and Bulgaria
to Turkey after the decline of communism. The Crimean Tatar diaspora in Turkey established several ethnic associations.
and other parts of the former Soviet Union. This population is best considered as an exiled community rather than a diaspora, although they might develop into a diaspora if their exile is prolonged.
The Crimean Tatar diaspora community in Bulgaria
number only in the thousands, but they also recently began to link themselves with their co-ethnics abroad, and especially with the repatriated Crimean Tatars. The Crimean Tatars in the USA are the highest number of the diaspora in the Western hemisphere, they are composed of refugees from Crimea, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
As in other diasporas, Crimean Tatars also suffered from problems stemming from the differentiation of their identities over time due to their acculturation into various host-societies. In the last decade, the various diaspora communities, as well as the homeland community, have been ardently negotiating what it means to be a "Crimean Tatar", seeking an agreement on a common sense of identity.
There are also differences among Crimean Tatars as to what the goals of the diaspora and the national movement should be and how to reach those goals, leading to a lively internal politics, as in other flourishing diasporas of the 1990s. However, the Crimean Tatar diaspora in general seems to be unified in recognizing the legitimacy of Crimean Tatar National Assembly (Mejlis) in Crimea, and recognizes its head, Mustafa Abdülcemil Qırımoğlu
as their leader in taking the major decisions concerning the fate of the nation. The diaspora is also in agreement with the leadership of Cemiloğlu with respect to non-violent political struggle for the restitution of the rights of the deported Tatars within the framework of respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine
. For the diaspora, the restitution of Crimean Tatar sovereignty seems to be replaced by a contemporary agenda related to how to mobilize political and economic resources for the return of the remaining Crimean Tatars from their places of deportation to homeland and for the recognition of Crimean Tatar political rights by the Ukrainian and Crimean authorities. The pressing concern for the diaspora as well as the Crimean Tatars in homeland is the restoration of historical justice in relation to the crime perpetrated against their ethnic community.
This is viewed by Crimean Tatar diaspora as the last link in the chain of historical injustices perpetrated by Russia since the illegitimate annexation of its homeland by the violation of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
(1774), and therefore entitled to return. However, the collective return of the Crimean Tatars from the diaspora does not seem to be likely for the near future, although it always remains as an option, especially within the more romantic circles of diaspora. As of today, however, the most plausible prospect for the diaspora seems be the establishment of certain political rights for the members of diaspora, such as political representation, property-owning, and dual citizenship.
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1783, after which Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
were forced to emigrate
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
in a series of waves spanning the period from 1783 to 1917. The diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
was largely the result of the destruction of their social and economic life as a consequence of Russian colonization policies.
The Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
brought about the final dispersal of Crimean Tatars in 1944, in the midst of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when it deported all Tatars remaining in the Crimea to Central Asia. This population is considered an exiled community rather than a diaspora.
Experiences in exile within the Ottoman Empire
There have been continuously members of Tatar nobility in the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, due to close relations between the two states. There was a Giray vassal state in the Ottoman province of Bucak
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
(Bessarabia). It was centered on the towns of Bender
Bender, Moldova
Bender or Bendery, also known as Tighina is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized Transnistria Republic since 1992...
and Çatal Osman, and considered semi-independent (only controlled by Ottoman Pasha in Rusçuk
Rousse
Ruse is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is situated in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, from the capital Sofia and from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast...
.) In the 14th and 15th centuries, Ottomans colonized Dobruja
Dobruja
Dobruja is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast...
with Crimean Tatars from Bucak. Between 1593 and 1595, Crimean Tatars were also settled to Dobruja. (Frederick de Jong) Some Crimean Tatars went to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
However, the first Crimean Tatar emigration took place after the Russian annexation of Crimea
Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774
The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a decisive conflict that brought Southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and Crimea within the orbit of the Russian Empire.-Background:...
. Crimean Tatar ruling class (mirzas) and mullahs sought asylum within the North Caucasian people, fearing persecution. Their number were around 8,000. Their relations to Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
continued from their Caucasian safe havens. Hopes that a Giray from the Caucasus would return to liberate Crimea continued until the very conquest of North Caucasus by the Russians in 1859. The Crimean Tatars in the North Caucasus were exiled to Anatolia in 1877-1878 together with Circassians and Chechens by the Russian Empire. The exiled Muslims from the North Caucasus were around one million.
After the annexation, 4,000 Tatars also escaped to westward direction to the Ottoman fortress of Ozu (Ochakov), and from there to the Ottoman province of Bucak (Bessarabia) where a vassal Giray dynasty existed. With the conquest of Bessarabia by the Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
in 1812, all Tatars here migrated to southwards, to the Dobruja
Dobruja
Dobruja is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast...
province.
Crimean Tatars immigrated to the Ottoman Empire, where they were welcomed as fellow Muslims and as the populace of the formerly protected Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
. The Ottoman territory was called "aqtopraq" ("white soil" or more probably "soil of justice") by the Crimean Tatar immigrants, as they conceived of their migration as a "hijra
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
" similar to the prophet's temporary retreat to Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
under the pressure from enemies of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The outflow of the Crimean Tatars turned into an exodus after the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
(1854–1856), as the Russian government began to treat the Crimean Tatars as internal threats to its security because of their historical relations with the Ottoman Empire.
The majority of the Crimean Tatar immigrants were settled in the Dobruja region of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
by the Ottoman authorities, but some were directed to various parts of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, where significant numbers of Crimean Tatars perished due to changes in environmental and climate conditions.
Although there were Crimean Tatars who emigrated from the mountainous, coastal, and urban parts of the Crimea among them, the majority of the emigrants were from the steppes of Crimea and its surroundings, who lived largely in closed peasant communities. According to ancient Crimean Tatar traditions, marriage between relatives (e.g. cousins), even very distant ones, has always been strictly prohibited, unlike the local population of Anatolia. The ones who lived in a concentrated manner in adjacent villages, such as the ones around Eskişehir region, were able to maintain their ethnic identity and language
Crimean Tatar language
The Crimean Tatar language is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria...
intact almost up until the 1970s. The Crimean Tatar diaspora identity emerged over this period in the form of predominantly oral cultural traditions in stories, songs, poems, myths, and legends about the loss of the "homeland" and the miseries of immigration.
An excerpt from Crimean Tatar Exile Literature is as follows:
- The angry and wild Black Sea roared,
- Rushed to extinguish my burning motherland.
- The old Çatırdağ, distressed and worried,
- "Where are the Tatars going?" she cried.
Eskender Fazıl, from his poem Stand Up (Çatırdağ is a mountain in Crimea)
The end of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of modern Turkey
With the shrinking of the Ottoman Empire in the last quarter of the 19th century, once again the majority of the Crimean Tatars in Dobrudja migrated to Anatolia, and sometimes re-migrated several times more within Anatolia. This pattern of immigration contributed to the severing of kinship ties, and hence ties to the homeland, amalgamating the previously more segregated sub-groups of Crimean Tatars.The Crimean Tatars participated in the building of the new Turkish Republic, as well as the formation of the core Turkish identity. People of Crimean Tatar descent in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
number around 1 million.
A small number of Crimean Tatar refugees from the USSR joined the diaspora in Turkey after World War II, and a small number migrated from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
to Turkey after the decline of communism. The Crimean Tatar diaspora in Turkey established several ethnic associations.
Exile within the Soviet Union
On May 18, 1944, the Soviet government deported the Crimean Tatars who were left in Crimea to Central Asia. After 1989, nearly 300,000 Tatars were able to return to Crimea from their places of deportation. Their return was met the strong opposition of the rest population of Crimea. Another roughly 270,000 Crimean Tatars remain in UzbekistanUzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
and other parts of the former Soviet Union. This population is best considered as an exiled community rather than a diaspora, although they might develop into a diaspora if their exile is prolonged.
Diaspora within the Eastern Bloc and elsewhere
The Crimean Tatar diaspora community in Romania, today numbering 24,000 (Romanian Census, 2002) had been a very vibrant one until the beginning of the communist era in Romania. It has also recently experienced an ethnic revival and renewal of links with the homeland, as well as with other diaspora communities, particularly the one in Turkey.The Crimean Tatar diaspora community in Bulgaria
Crimean Tatars in Bulgaria
After 1241 , the year of the earliest recorded Tatar invasion of Bulgaria, the Second Bulgarian Empire maintained constant political contacts with the Tatars. In this early period , "Tatar" was not an ethnonym but a general term for the armies of Genghis Khan’s successors...
number only in the thousands, but they also recently began to link themselves with their co-ethnics abroad, and especially with the repatriated Crimean Tatars. The Crimean Tatars in the USA are the highest number of the diaspora in the Western hemisphere, they are composed of refugees from Crimea, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
Recent challenges
The main challenges to the Crimean Tatar diaspora in the 1990s were the erosion of ethnic identity as a result of swift modernization of communities and the consequent difficulties in mobilization of resources among the apathetic diaspora members (especially in Turkey) in order to support the repatriation of co-ethnics. As in other diasporas, diaspora political activity is mostly conducted by elites and ethnic organizations.As in other diasporas, Crimean Tatars also suffered from problems stemming from the differentiation of their identities over time due to their acculturation into various host-societies. In the last decade, the various diaspora communities, as well as the homeland community, have been ardently negotiating what it means to be a "Crimean Tatar", seeking an agreement on a common sense of identity.
There are also differences among Crimean Tatars as to what the goals of the diaspora and the national movement should be and how to reach those goals, leading to a lively internal politics, as in other flourishing diasporas of the 1990s. However, the Crimean Tatar diaspora in general seems to be unified in recognizing the legitimacy of Crimean Tatar National Assembly (Mejlis) in Crimea, and recognizes its head, Mustafa Abdülcemil Qırımoğlu
Mustafa Abdülcemil Qirimoglu
Mustafa Abdülcemil Qırımoğlu , also known as Mustafa Jemilev , is Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament since 1998...
as their leader in taking the major decisions concerning the fate of the nation. The diaspora is also in agreement with the leadership of Cemiloğlu with respect to non-violent political struggle for the restitution of the rights of the deported Tatars within the framework of respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. For the diaspora, the restitution of Crimean Tatar sovereignty seems to be replaced by a contemporary agenda related to how to mobilize political and economic resources for the return of the remaining Crimean Tatars from their places of deportation to homeland and for the recognition of Crimean Tatar political rights by the Ukrainian and Crimean authorities. The pressing concern for the diaspora as well as the Crimean Tatars in homeland is the restoration of historical justice in relation to the crime perpetrated against their ethnic community.
This is viewed by Crimean Tatar diaspora as the last link in the chain of historical injustices perpetrated by Russia since the illegitimate annexation of its homeland by the violation of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca , Dobruja between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the...
(1774), and therefore entitled to return. However, the collective return of the Crimean Tatars from the diaspora does not seem to be likely for the near future, although it always remains as an option, especially within the more romantic circles of diaspora. As of today, however, the most plausible prospect for the diaspora seems be the establishment of certain political rights for the members of diaspora, such as political representation, property-owning, and dual citizenship.
See also
- Lipka TatarsLipka TatarsThe Lipka Tatars are a group of Tatars who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of 14th century. The first settlers tried to preserve their shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst the non-Christian Lithuanians...
- Crimean Tatars in RomaniaCrimean Tatars in RomaniaThe roots of the Crimean Tatar diaspora community in Romania began with the Cuman migration in the 10th century. Even before the Cumans arrived other Turkic people like the Huns and the Bulgars settled in this region. A distinct Tatar ethnic identity first emerged following the Golden Horde's...
- Crimean Tatars in BulgariaCrimean Tatars in BulgariaAfter 1241 , the year of the earliest recorded Tatar invasion of Bulgaria, the Second Bulgarian Empire maintained constant political contacts with the Tatars. In this early period , "Tatar" was not an ethnonym but a general term for the armies of Genghis Khan’s successors...
- Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsCrimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
- Crimean KhanateCrimean KhanateCrimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
- List of Crimean Tatars
- List of Crimean khans
- Giray DynastyGiray dynastyGiray , alternative spellings Guirey, Ghirai, Ghiray, Geray, is the Genghisid dynasty, which reigned in the Khanate of Crimea from its formation in 1427 until its downfall in 1783. The dynasty also supplied several khans of Kazan and Astrakhan between 1521 and 1550...