The problem of assessment of the crimes perpetrated by Stalin’s totalitarian regime, especially the deportation of Crimean Tatars and other ethnic groups that were a nuisance to the Kremlin rulers and their bloodthirsty plans (Aleksandr Tvardovsky wrote in 1969 that Stalin could bring down his sovereign wrath on the heads of whole nations) remains the topic of most heated political debates. Members of the “single front” in defense of the former Soviet empire are getting increasingly arrogant and cynical in their attempts to “explain” and at times openly justify the heinous crimes of Beria’s thugs and their boss, referring to the “supreme interests of the state.” We also hear insinuations that no one was deported unless guilty, and that the Crimean Tatars must have done some bad things considering that none other than Stalin approved their deportation.
Meanwhile, here is a bit of dry statistics. The Crimean Tatars lost at least 150,000 in the course of deportation. The 64th anniversary of the deportation was marked in 52 populated areas in the Crimea. According to the Crimean Tatar Majlis, some 30,000 persons took part in the sad ceremonies. Six columns were formed in Symferopol which after rallies and divine services marched to the center of the city through the railroad station and Salgyrka Park, the cites where trainloads of deportees were formed in 1944. A meeting took place in the city center in memory of the victims with 12-15 thousand in attendance.
That day President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine sent a message of condolences to the Crimea.
Other ethnic groups — among them Kalmyks, Chechens, Greeks, Soviet Germans — were subjected to ruthless repressions. Add here hundreds of thousands of so-called “henchmen of the nationalist movement” who were deported from Western Ukraine in 1944-53. Against this horrible background the word “crime” does not seem to convey the whole message. We Ukrainians shall never forget!
