#8 (27) • 2019

The ‘Crimean consensus’ The ‘Crimean consensus’ is Dead in Russiais Dead in Russia

HUMAN RIGHTS

In the Meantime, New Political Prisoners Appear in Crimea

page 7

INTERNATIONAL LAW

Invisible Enemies on the Invisible Front: Russian Security Services vs Terrorists in Crimea

pages 10–11

CULTURE AND HISTORY

Rustem Skibin: ‘Tradition Forming Rules Have Changed’

pages 14-15

Crimea Inform Magazine, No. 8 (27). Certificate of State Registration КВ №22665-12565 Р of 04.05.2017.Founder: Ukrinform Ukrainian National News Agency.

Publisher: PE “Company ”Apollon“, 79054, Lviv, Yavornitskogo, 8/82, tel .: +38 (032) 290-15-80, +38 (067) 671-15-80, e-mail: imperial@mail.lviv.ua.Editor in Chief: Kazdobina Y.

Address of the editorial office: B. Khmelnytskoho, str. 8/16, Kiev, 01001, tel .: (044) 299-00-10; fax: (044) 279-86-65, e-mail: office@ukrinform.ua.Reprint only with written permission of the editorial office.

Published by: Imperial Group Company LLC. Address: 79056, Lviv, Haiduchka, str. 1, tel. +38 (032) 290-15-80, +38 (063) 122-26-25, e-mail: imperial@mail.lviv.uaOrder no. КА--00086-7 from 05.11.2019. Circulation: 2455 copies. Distributed free of charge.

RUSSIA HAS ONCE AGAIN INCREASED WAITING TIMES FOR UKRAINIAN VESSELS IN THE KERCH STRAIT

The situation re the deliberate delay of vessels heading to the Ukrainian ports in Mariupol and Ber-diansk has again re-turned to that observed in September/October 2018, stated Andriy Klymenko, Head of the Supervisory Board of the Maidan of Foreign Affairs think-tank.‘The artificial wait for “Mariupol” and “Berdiansk” vessels near the Kerch Strait has increased significantly: 2.4 times at the “entrance” to the Azov Sea, and 3.2 times at the “exit” from the Azov Sea,’ Kly-menko wrote on his Facebook page, with reference to the data pre-sented by the Monitoring Team of the Black Sea Strategic Studies Institute, Maidan of Foreign Affairs, and BlackSeaNews.He also emphasized that throughout the summer/early autumn of 2019, the ‘Mariupol’ and ‘Berdiansk’ vessels heading to/from the Azov ports of the Russian Federation were crossing the Kerch Strait in a separate convoy formed only once in every few days, instead of passing through in regular order.This practice was introduced by the Russian Federation following the completion of the Kerch Strait bridge construction. Resulting from these delays, vessel owners, Ukrainian ports and the Ukrain-ian economy in general, are suffering heavy losses, whilst the eco-nomic activity in this region is declining.

This year, 15 vessels were de-flagged for calling at the closed

ports in Crimea.

46 vessels have been de-flagged since August 2017.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, at least

868 vessels under foreign flags have called at the ports of an-

nexed Crimea since 2014.

THE UKRAINIAN OSCHADBANK (STATE SAVINGS BANK) HAS WON ANOTHER LAWSUIT AGAINST RUSSIAThe Paris Court of Appeal has turned down the Rus-sian Federation’s Appeal regarding the enforcement of the judgment on the compensation of 1.3 billion dollars to the Ukrainian Oschadbank over expro-priation of its assets in the unlawfully annexed Crimea. This decision was adopted on 22 Oc-tober.The Press Release distributed by the bank on 24 October states that Russia is seeking any possible means to evade the execution of the verdict of the International Court of Arbitration from 26 Novem-ber 2018. The Court ruled in favour of Oschadbank, and demanded that the losses incurred by the bank resulting from the annexation of Crimea, amounting to 1.3 billion dollars, are recovered from the Russian Federation. In its petition, the Russian Federation asked the Paris Court of Appeal to grant a stay of enforcement of the arbitra-tion award in order to be protected from any attempts to have it reinforced abroad.The judge dismissed the petition by the Russian Federation, stating that the requirements regarding the execution of the ruling must be assessed based on the factual background of the case, and the references to hypothetical grounds given by Russia are unaccept-able. The Court noted that the enforcement of the ruling would not undermine the financial standing of the Russian Federation, and that Oschadbank does not put at risk the possible return of funds in the event that the ruling is overturned.

UNESCO HAS EXTENDED THE MONITORING IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA FOR ANOTHER YEARA decision to continue the monitoring of the situation in annexed Crimea in 2020 was adopted on Wednesday 16 Octo-ber, at a session of the UNESCO Executive Board, Oleh Sham-shur, Permanent Represent-ative of Ukraine to UNESCO, reported on Twitter.‘In 2019, the monitoring team of this Organisation has already made two visits to Ukraine (with regard to information and freedom of the media). In 2020, this work will be continued. We thank our part-ners for their support,’ Shamshur wrote in his post.On 30 September, UNESCO published a follow-up report by the Di-rector General, concerning the situation in temporary occupied Crimea with regard to education, science, culture, dissemination of information, and operation of the media, reporting on the further worsening of the situation in the peninsula.

‘We are, without a doubt, viewing such a dec-

laration (declaration by Andrei Rudenko,

Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian

Federation, to the effect that the recogni-

tion by Kyiv of the annexation of Crimea

will be helpful in resolving the issue of the

maritime delimitation between Ukraine and

Russia) as a provocation aimed at increasing the

pressure on Ukraine and forcing it into certain agreements. That is,

we absolutely abstain from any discussions concerning any “rec-

ognitions” - this cannot be even taken seriously.’

Andriy Zahorodniuk, Minister of Defence of Ukraine

FACTS

Compared to a period of 9 months in 2018, the number of detentions has grown (126 vs 91), and the same with regard to interrogations/questionings (169 vs 11). Out of 282 arrests, 69 are new, and 213 are extended custody. This figure is almost twice as high as over the same period in 2018, with 138 arrests reported.

Human rights violations Human rights violations and persecution of Crimean and persecution of Crimean

Tatars in CrimeaTatars in Crimea

REPORTED IN REPORTED IN

OCCUPIED CRIMEA OCCUPIED CRIMEA

DURING THE DURING THE

FIRST 9 MONTHS FIRST 9 MONTHS

OF 2019 WEREOF 2019 WERE

8080 searches, includ-ing 6262 in the houses of Crimean Tatars

126126 detentions, including 113 113 of Crimean Tatars

169169 interroga-tions/ question-ings, including 115115 with regard

to Crimean Tatars

282282 arrests, including 156156

of Crimean Tatars

578578 instances of the Right to a Fair Trial infringe-

ment recorded, including 408408 instances with

regard to Crimean Tatars

9090 instances of the infringement of the right to enjoy the high-

est level of physical and mental health, including 4545 instances with regard to Crimean Tatars

6969 instances of transfers of

detainees under guard, includ-ing 6464 trans-

fers of Crimean Tatars

According to the data provided by the Crimean Resource Centre

3# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

HUMAN RIGHTS

EXPENSIVE TOYStarting in 2008, and until the attempt-ed unlawful takeover of Crimea, Putin’s approval ratings were showing a gradual decline, approaching 60%. In August 2013, slightly more than 60% of Russians indi-cated their approval of his actions, where-as a relative majority (42%) pointed out that they were placing their trust in him simply because they could not see anyone else on whom they could rely. The occu-pation of Crimea in February 2014 caused a huge surge of patriotic sentiment: more that 90% of Russians upheld the actions of their President, and his ratings soared to 80%. That is how the ‘Crimean consensus’ concept came into being.Although support of the unlawful annexa-tion of Crimea remains the same, concerns are increasingly being expressed that the upkeep of the occupied territory is much too expensive in the eyes of Russian cit-izens. Russia had to invest heavily into infrastructural projects. In March 2019, the Russian Forbes listed the ten largest projects using public funds. The total cost was 638 billion Russian roubles, or slight-ly more than 10 billion dollars. While this number seems insignificant compared to the Russian state budget (15.53 trillion RUB or over USD244 billion in 2019 alone) each project that is undertaken in Crimea requires money to be channelled to it, in-stead of being used for concrete projects that would satisfy the needs of the popu-lation in the Russian Federation.That is what the economist Sergei Alek-sashenko writes about the cost of the in-tegration of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation in his book, The Russian Economic Miracle: What Went Wrong?: ‘One and a half trillion roubles.

Very roughly, this means ten thousand roubles per each Russian citizen, helpless old people and babies included. Or a Feder-al Budget expenditure on education for two years. Or expenditure on public health for three years. Or an expenditure on culture for 15 years. Or the financing the Russian Academy of Sciences for 357 years.’Researchers have pointed out not only the high price paid by Russian taxpayers, but also the uneven distribution of costs. The economists at the Macroeconomic Anal-ysis Centre of Alfa-Bank noted a consid-erable depletion in the middle class. They estimated that the proportion of middle class citizens in Russia has declined from 37% to 30%, or 10 million people, between 2014 and 2018. Its income, contrary to that of the more or the less wealthy peo-ple, stagnated. The income growth for the richest and poorest strata made 11% and 4% accordingly.

DEATH OF CONSENSUSAlthough, cracks in the ‘Crimean consen-sus’ were noticed back in 2016, they were emphatically proclaimed following the ‘single voting day’ of 9 September 2018. It was the first time that Russians in several regions refused to vote for the United Rus-sia ruling party candidates. Two incum-bent governors, representing this party, lost the second ballot in the Khabarovsk Territory and Vladimir Region. Another one refused to take part in the election in Khakasia in the face of likely defeat. Also, elections were cancelled in the Primorye Territory, where the victory of the incum-bent governor was also extremely doubt-ful.On the eve of the elections, the Kremlin allowed the representatives of the rul-ing party to use the slogan ‘The United Russia is the President’s Party’ in those regions experiencing the most difficult

The ‘Crimean Consensus’ is Dead in RussiaThe occupation of Crimea in 2014 gave rise to a phenomenon known in Russia as the ‘Crimean consensus.’ Since then, Russian pollsters have documented the strong support of Putin’s policy in regard to the takeover of the Ukrainian peninsula. Until recently, nationals of the Russian Federation also reacted favourably to the picture of the world that had been offered to them, with the grandeur and power of Russia taking precedence over the welfare of its individual citizens. Today there is an increasing argument that the ‘sacred Crimea’ is losing its magic effect under the impact of economic factors. However, there is no clear answer as to the consequences of such changes in public opinion.

Auth

or: p

utni

k -

own

wor

k, C

C B

Y 4.

0,ht

tps:

//com

mon

s.w

ikim

edia

.org

/w/i

ndex

.php

?cur

id=8

1217

668

The rally ‘Let’s regain our right to vote’ in Moscow on August 10, 2019.

4 CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

situation election-wise. However, this trick, which was aimed at increasing the rating prior to the election day, failed to produce results. The United Russia par-ty won less than 50% of support in 10 re-gions, with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation leaving it behind in three of them. Against a background of unpopular pension reform and the de-clining income of the population, Putin’s name can no longer act as a magic wand able to conjure up miracles.In October 2018, sociologists at the Le-vada Centre recorded an abrupt rise in the levels of anxiety within the society. A survey showed that count of problems named had grown for almost every prob-lem, as compared to a similar period last year. The major concerns for Russians are price rises (72%), mounting unem-ployment (48%), poverty (52%), corrup-tion (33%), together with the economic slowdown (30%) and the stratification of society into the rich and the poor (30%). ‘This is not a concern expressed over one particular problem, but a rise in the lev-els of overall anxiety and dissatisfaction,’ explained Lev Gudkov, Director of the Levada Centre.These processes have also affected atti-tudes towards the ‘Crimean issue’. On the day of the fifth anniversary of the occu-pation, activists held an improvised poll in Nevsky Avenue in Saint-Petersburg, with the question: ‘Is Crimea yours?’. As a result, 103 ‘respondents’ said ‘yes’, and 96 said ‘no’, ‘Even this modest subsample of a totally random number of passers-by shows that the “Crimean consensus” is now out of the question. Society is split

approximately 50-50, with a hardly neg-ligible prevalence of Crimea-is-ours atti-tudes,’ Ukrinform cites the Russian activ-ist Vladimir Shipitsyn.

SOCIAL CHANGES AND THEIR POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCESThe voting results are symptomatic of even deeper changes. In July 2019, the Liberal Mission Foundation published a report by Anastasia Nikolskaya, Mikhail Dmitriev, and Elena Cherepanova enti-tled ‘The Establishment of a New Public Consensus and Internal Contradictions Thereof’. This report appeared as a result of the third stage of a qualitative study which was begun following the Presiden-tial Election 2018 in the Russian Federa-tion. The main conclusion is that Russia is experiencing a shift in values.‘The principal symptoms of the ongoing

shift is the plummeting confidence in the authorities, a rising social irritation, and a growing pressure for change,’ says Mikhail Dmitriev, known in Russia as the ‘sociologist who predicted “swamp” pro-tests’ (allusions to massive protests in the Bolotnaya (Swamp) Square in Russia in 2012 – Translator’s note). Dmitriev also notes the rising confidence in local activists, a wish to resolve the problems arising at a local level, even de-spite the opposition with local authorities, a demand of democratic rights and free-doms, and a refusal from the paternalistic perception of the power.A demand for change is an issue of con-flict for Russia. Iryna Pavlenko, Head of the Political System Development Divi-sion at the Ukrainian National Strategic Studies Institute, stresses that Russia’s specific feature lies in the non-function-ing system of democratic elections in the Russian Federation, and the very limited tools of influencing the government. As a result, such tools are reduced to protests, with an example of their severe repression seen before the elections to the Moscow City Duma.On the previous occasion, when the lev-el of support for President Putin fell, and the stability of his regime was shattered, he chose to make a move considered to be somewhat risky, and occupied the Crime-an Peninsula. Before that, in 2008, his approval ratings skyrocketed against the backdrop of the war in Georgia. Today, the Ukrainian army leaders acknowledge that the Russian Federation is preparing itself for a full-scale intervention against Ukraine. Today, no one can predict which scenario will develop – a build-up of pro-tests and their suppression, or another at-tempt at intervention.

5# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, pointed out, during the presentation of the Report, that what is in-volved is a concerted effort by Moscow aimed at changing the population structure in the peninsula. ‘According to the Report, Russia encourages movements of its own population to the peninsula, which is a direct breach of the Geneva Conventions, and a clear indica-tion of attempts to change the demographic structure in Crimea,’ he stressed.Ukrainian human rights activists also register the fostering of resettlement to Crimea. They note: beginning from 2014, militarisation processes have been taking place in Crimea, together with the replace-ment of local officials, judges, and security forces with nationals of the Russian Fed-eration. Each of such new officers does not arrive alone, but together with his family. As a result, the actual number of resettlers from the Russian Federation is much larg-er and totals around 200,000, according to Eskender Bariev, Head of the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre.Human rights activists stress the fact that vacancy announcements for Crimea are

also placed in the Russian mainland. They very often contain an additional reward for moving: the promise of providing residen-tial accommodation.Hand in hand with this, a displacement pro-cess continues with regard to Ukrainian na-tionals ousted from Crimea. 33,500 persons have resettled to Ukraine since the begin-ning of the occupation of Crimea, according to the official data provided by the Ukrain-ian Ministry of Social Policy. However, this figure is limited to those who decided to of-ficially register as migrants. Those residing in Crimea must obtain a Russian passport, cannot realize their rights to education in their native language and to the freedom of speech and expression, together with many others. All these conditions are increasingly forcing more and more people into a contin-uous move to Ukraine. Furthermore, at least 109 individuals were forcibly deported from the peninsula in 2017/8, according to the Report by the UN Secretary-General. The Crimean Human Rights Group points out that this figure is still higher – its experts have recorded 369 court rulings relating to deportation.

Anton Korynevych, Representative of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea, says that by such actions Russia is violating the Fourth Geneva Convention relating to the protection of civilian persons in time of war. He stresses that a replacement of the population of an occupied territory is also a military crime, according to the provisions of Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the Inter-national Criminal Court. ‘We, therefore, can acknowledge the re-sponsibility of Russia as a State for these actions, and for the possible future criminal responsibility of the nationals of the Rus-sian Federation in taking such decisions,’ Korynevych says.Such a replacement also has one further aim – to reshape the structure of the pop-ulation so that it includes more advocates of the actions of the occupying authorities,’ he believes.Also, the existence of people who have moved from the Russian territory and who never held Ukrainian nationality will signif-icantly complicate the reintegration pro-cess in the peninsula following its de-occu-pation.

How Russia is Changing the Demographic Structure of the Crimean PopulationMore than 140,000 citizens of the Russian Federation have moved to the occupied Crimean Peninsula since 2014, when it was taken over by the Russian occupying power. This figure was given by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in his Report on the situation of human rights in Crimea, presented at the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee Meeting on 14 October. Such a practice is not only violating the standards of the Fourth Geneva Convention, but is also creating barriers for the eventual reintegration of Crimea into Ukraine after its de-occupation.

6 CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

INTERNATIONAL LAW

According to the lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov, his client was indicted on charges of making prepa-rations for a terrorist act, and the illegal manufacture of explosives. Prykhodko is charged with intent to blow up the City Admin-istration building in Saky. Sheikhmambetov considers the prosecution of Pryk-hodko politically motivat-ed, which is natural. It is not for the first time that Oleh found himself on the radar of the occupiers, at-tracting their attention by his pro-Ukrainian stance: a Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flag were both dis-played in his car, and a Ukrainian flag is flying from a gazebo near his house.Before the occupation of the peninsula, Oleh Prykhodko was a member of the Svo-boda Ukrainian political party, commit-ted to nationalism. Russian propaganda attempted to portray Svoboda members as fascists; and on 27 January 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea, exceeding its authority, banned Svoboda as a ‘threat to national accord, public security, and the rule of law.’ In reality, the party was ac-tively engaged in the protests against the corrupted power of pro-Russian Presi-dent Yanukovych taking place in Maidan in Kyiv.It was in June 2016 that Oleh Prykhod-ko was first detained by officers of the Russian security force – for displaying a Ukrainian licence plate on his car. As of 1 April 2016, the replacement of driv-ing licences and licence plates with the Russian equivalent became obligatory in occupied Crimea. Oleh and other Ukrain-ians in protest continued to use Ukraini-

an licence plates. Due to a conflict during his detainment, administrative penalties were imposed on him.On 8 February 2019, officers of the FSB Crimean Department conducted a search in Prykhodko’s house. The grounds for this was an alleged report on ‘vandalism in respect to the monument to Soviet pi-lots in Saky.’ It was damaged and painted with swastikas by unknown individuals. Ukrainian symbols, f lags of the Svoboda party, black-and-red flags, a portrait of Stepan Bandera, equipment, and home CDs were seized from Prykhodko by secu-rity force officers. Following this search, they took him to Simferopol for interro-gation, and questioned him about his ac-tivities and contacts in mainland Ukraine.On 20 June, Prykhodko was fined for al-legedly displaying Nazi symbols in public. These charges were based on a tattoo on the activist’s body. His wife confirmed that he does have such a tattoo, but the se-curity force officers only became aware of this from photos seized during the search

in February. They failed to produce any complaints. None of Prykhodko’s neigh-bours were willing to besmirch his repu-tation.On 18 October, Nazim Sheikhmambetov disclosed that the management of the de-tention facility had refused to hand over to Prykhodko the medicines his relatives had brought for him. The Ukrainian Om-budsman, Liudmyla Denisova, reacted to this almost immediately. On the same day she wrote on her Facebook that she had requested the Russian Ombudsman, Ta-tiana Moskalkova, ‘to take urgent steps to restore the rights of the Ukrainian na-tional, i.e. facilitate the receipt by him of the necessary medicines and also specta-cles.’To date, the ‘investigation’ in Crimea is continuing. Just like Volodymyr Balu-kh’s case, it has been fabricated, and the pro-Ukrainian stance taken by Prykhodko is clearly evident. The question remains …. is there any hope that he will not be im-prisoned for the same long period?

In the Meantime, New Political Prisoners Appear in CrimeaOn 9 October, Russian FSB officers detained Oleh Prykhodko, a pro-Ukrainian activist from Saky, in Russian-occupied Crimea; and on 10 October he was arrested and imprisoned for a term of 2 months. Ukrainian journalists at once named this new prisoner as ‘the second Balukh’, following the almost identical stories of the two Ukrainian patriots who chose to remain and live under occupation, whilst, however, openly refusing to recognize the illegal attempted annexation of the peninsula.

Phot

o by

cri

mea

hrg.

org

Phot

o by

cri

mea

hrg.

org

Oleg Prikhodko

7# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

HUMAN RIGHTS

BRAVE NEW WORLDThe so-called ‘reunification’ of the Crime-an Peninsula with the Russian Federation was accompanied by dramatic changes. The occupation resulted in the evacuation of all volunteers of the USA Peace Corps from Ukraine. Although in 2015 volunteers returned, none of them came to Crimea. This is one of those landmark events sym-bolizing a break of the occupied territories from the ‘big’ outer world. Instead, the Russians started arriving to the peninsu-la in huge numbers. According to a report by the UN Secretary-General António Gu-terres, around 140,000 Russian nationals have arrived for permanent residence in Crimea between 2014 and 2018. Russia has brought its own vision of the public space. For example, the offices of the United Russia Party now serve as a social club, and young Crimeans can join the Young Guard division of the United Russia. From a very young age, children are given a chance to try on a military uniform dating back to the times of WWII. A large number of events is dedicated to the ‘Great Patriotic War’ or the so-called ‘Crimean Spring’.

The Russian government holds events in the best traditions of the USSR, such as a ‘Friendship Among Peoples’ ‘Internation-al’ Festival, striving to present Crimea as part of a large tightly-knit family. Taking part in this festival were Crimean and Russian artistic groups, together with

participants from the so-called Donetsk Peoples’ Republic. Nowadays, Russia is the only accessible external world for Crimea.

RESTRICTED ACCESS Today, Crimea is a true terra incogni-ta for Ukrainians and the international community, as regards information. The major cause of this is the disappearance of the concept of independent journalism in the peninsula, with any resistance to the occupying authorities resulting in re-pressions, court trials, and actual prison sentences.Take, for example, Mykola Semena, a jour-nalist of Crimea Realities, sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for an article concerning the energy blockade and lack of accept-ance of the so-called ‘reunification’ pub-lished in 2015. The Russian authorities then charged him with undermining the integrity of the Russian Federation, and separatism.Any coverage of events in occupied Crimea in a non-official version is equated to ex-tremism, and a pro-Ukrainian stance to terrorism.The world has learned of the arrests of

Public life in Crimea: Split RealityFor more than five years now, Crimea has the status of a temporarily occupied territory and a ‘grey zone’. Throughout this time, the public sphere has seen drastic shifts.

8 CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

HUMAN RIGHTS

Oleh Sentsov, Olexander Kolchenko, Vo-lodymyr Balukh, Emir Bekirov, and many others.However, the main task of the occupants was to purge the information space, and they have partially succeeded in this, since independent journalists have either left Crimea under the pressure of the Rus-sian security services, or chosen to give up their profession for good.Olena Yurchenko, the editor of Crimea Realities, left Crimea, together with her family, to become an IDP. She was active-ly covering the actions of occupants at the end of February/early March 2014. Olena realized that the Russian government does not recognize the independent media. She talked about this in an interview with the Patriot Defence website:‘Our life was completely devastated, they deprived us of it. What was left was so disgusting, so disfigured, that my wish was not only to refuse to have anything in common with it, but to brush it off as a cobweb that had suddenly landed on me. I filed a refusal from Russian citizenship and burst into tears, realizing that I had to escape from Kerch. This was very diffi-cult - this was our home, our motherland.’

FIFTH POWER?The appearance of civic journalism in Crimea is a phenomenon directly connected to the events of 2014. ‘Journalists of the peo-ple’ – bloggers – are today playing the role of guides through the world of information darkness in the peninsula.

‘In a situation when we are in an information

vacuum, where repressions are continuing,

but have no-one to speak to about this, or-

dinary people, and Crimean Tatar activists

in particular, arm themselves with mobile

phones. When mass arrests, searches, de-

tentions, and politically motivated trials

take place, they come and stream these

events on social networks. In this way, the

world and Ukraine learn what is happen-

ing in occupied Crimea. That is why such a

phenomenon as civic journalism started up

there. There is no journalism in this place,

therefore the ordinary people are striving to

break through the wall of silence. They are

quite ordinary, but at the same time behave

in a way that it is quite unusual since they

are forced to act under such extreme con-

ditions. However, the problem is that they

have become new targets for prosecution.’

Tetiana Pechonchyk, President of the

Human Rights Information Centre public

association for Public Radio

However, civic journalists themselves are running the risk of being jailed. On 2 October, the Russian Military Court sentenced Nariman Memedeminov, a blogger, to 2.5 years in prison. The ac-tivist was charged with public calls for terrorism.Memedemionov, one of the most notable activists resisting the occupying author-ities, was the first to start recording the criminal actions of Russia: he reported live from the court sittings, took photo-graphs, and wrote texts.

‘The National Ukrainian Journalists

Union considers the blogger Nariman

Memedeminov to be unlawfully pros-

ecuted by the Russian court for his in-

formation activities related to the cov-

erage of events in annexed Crimea after

2014, and the court judgment to be a

violation of the freedom of the right

of expression and the right to free-

ly receive and distribute information,

amongst other ways via the Internet

network.’

Information Service of the National

Ukrainian Journalists Union

Today, the cause initiated by Nariman Memedeminov is being continued by the Crimean Solidarity NGO. New informa-tion relating to the detentions and trials of Crimean Tatars is posted on its Face-book page almost every day.The Russian authorities do not give up on their attempts to turn Crimea into a full-f ledged entity of the Russian Feder-ation. Therefore, they make every effort possible to destroy civic journalism in Crimea: Crimean Solidarity activists are subject to pressure by security services. Their houses are searched, and they are charged with terrorist activities.

The arrest of the Crimean Solidarity

coordinator, Server Mustafaiev, on 21

May 2018, is one of such flagrant cases.

The activist has already spent 1.5 years

in the detention centre. He is charged

with holding membership of the Hizb

ut-Tahrir group. Court trials are contin-

uing.

P.S. The events with Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar journalists, described in this text are simply an attempt to show how the situation has changed in Crimea throughout the past five and a half years. The struggle is ongoing……

Journalist Olena Yurchenko

9# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

HUMAN RIGHTS

FEAR AND HATRED IN KERCHOn 17 October, one year had elapsed since the act of terrorism in Kerch Polytech-nic College. 21 people were killed, and 67 wounded, from an explosion and shootings. The death was recently reported of a lady college lecturer, who had been undergoing treatment for a long period, following a se-vere injury. Shortly before the tragic events, the indictee, Vladislav Rosliakov, an 18-year old student of the said college, went out and bought a rifle and related ammunition in the city centre. On 17 October, he entered the college building through the back door and installed a self-made explosive device in the canteen, that detonated during the lunch break. After this, the ‘Kerch shooter’ began firing at everyone he saw in the corridors. After this he then killed himself. However, this matter-of-fact account does not convey the emotions that unravelled during those days in Kerch. People should look somewhat at the cynicism of the occupying power and the Russian propaganda spin merchants! During the broadcast of a ‘60 minutes’ pro-

gramme, Olga Skabeyeva, a journalist of the Russia-1 TV channel, phoned Alina Kero-va, a ‘witness’ of the shooting. As it turned out later however, the girl at that time had

already been on the deceased list, and her mother was called to the morgue for the second time. Also, they turned a sombre funeral procession into a spectacle, with a huge number of officials present, giving them another opportunity to be caught on camera. The atmosphere of grief and fear is still very much present in Kerch today. At the same time, Russian power has used this tragic event in its own interests.

A THREAT OF TERRORISM?The terrorist act in the college presented a solid basis for the strengthening of se-curity measures. For example, a Russian Guard base appeared in Kerch, and the Rus-sian power declared its intent to place the guard services in all Crimean educational establishments under its control. These are still not effective measures in the strug-gle against potential terrorists. Crimeans are outraged by the wire mesh barriers. According to the Krymavtotrans Crimean

Invisible Enemies on the Invisible Front: Russian Security Services vs Terrorists in CrimeaThe notorious ‘counter-terrorism’ is among new ideas brought into Crimea with it occupation. Russia allocated huge amounts of money for the remuneration of security force officers and security personnel, and also makes various provisions to prevent terrorist acts. However, is this ‘struggle’ efficient?

10 CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

INTERNATIONAL LAW

road transport enterprise, ‘such barriers are being installed at 15 large bus stations in Crimea, to comply with the transport se-curity and anti-terrorist facility protection requirements. Also, these steps are taken in line with the decisions adopted by the Antiterrorist Committee of the Republic of Crimea.’ These enclosures, as conceived by the occupying power, have to protect Crimeans during a terrorist act. However, according to observations of the residents themselves, they only interfere with traffic, and in the event of actual danger, may cause many casualties. In addition, these meshed barriers conjure up a prison or enclosures for animals.They recently began installing such fences near to railways stations, because the Rus-sian power has announced the launch of passenger trains via the ‘Crimean Bridge’ in December 2019.

Yana Dubynianska, a Ukrainian author,

shared her photos with the ‘antiterrorist’

fence on her Facebook page on 12 Octo-

ber, adding the following text: ‘Feodosia,

sea view through a crossing. The sea be-

hind the crossing – this was the miracle

of my childhood, linked to pure joy and

freedom ahead. And that is what we have

now. A frame detector installed at Feodo-

sia railway station. There are no trains, and

yet there is a frame detector.’

At some railway stations in Crimea, door frame metal detectors were already in use several years ago. Again for the same rea-son: protection from terrorists. Howev-

er, these detectors actually serve a totally different purpose, as trains do not go to Kherson, Dnipro, Kharkiv, or Kyiv, and the Crimean railway is not carrying out its di-rect function. Just looking at them, they seem to be telling the peninsula residents: ‘You have something to fear.’

‘FIELD’ MANOEUVRESAnother topic brought up in Crimea, in ad-dition to that of fences, metal detectors, and numerous members of the Russian Guard, is ‘anti-terrorist exercises’ which are conducted in various parts of the pen-insula on a regular basis. For example, in February 2015, the personnel of the Interior Ministry, Ministry of Emergency situation, and FSB, together with public authorities, spent four days mastering the ‘methods and algorithms for the interoperability of law enforcement and security forces at the emergence of a terrorist threat, including interoperability at large gatherings of peo-ple.’In April 2016, anti-terrorist exercises were also conducted in Kerch, but they appeared to be very strange. Journalists from the lo-cal media were prohibited from videoing the training of security force officers, which was taking place right in the middle of a residential area. No exercise plan seemed to exist, since passers-by were acting as ‘terrorists’. According to the Kerch.FM web-based resource, security force officers, holding assault rifles, were grabbing people of various ages, including old ladies, men, children, and all those who happened to ap-pear within the exercise zone, pinning their

arms behind their backs, and unceremoni-ously pushing them onto the ground face down. They were also handcuffing some of them. One of their victims happened to be a woman who had only recently had the cast on her broken arm removed. The wom-an warned the men carrying assault rifles about this, but they would not listen to her and pushed her also down onto the asphalt.The staff members of the Kerch TV were also among those selected as ‘terrorists’, as they attempted to film the ‘detention’ process.

***This continuous demonstration of the need for anti-terrorist measures suggests the in-stilling of fear in the society. On the other hand, the propagation of violence, militari-zation, setting up of patriotic associations aimed at getting the younger generation prepared for a struggle against the imagi-nary enemy - all these allow for the main-tenance of a high level of aggression among the residents of Crimean cities.The events in the Polytechnic College that happened a year ago are a strong indication of Crimea now being embodied in the Rus-sian context of anger, hatred, horror, and pain.Photo from FB page of Yana DubyanyanskaPhoto from FB page of Yana Dubyanyanska

11# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

INTERNATIONAL LAW

‘CONSTRUCTION PROJECT OF THE CENTURY’Very much has been written about the ‘Crimean Bridge’. Russian propagandists have even named the bridge construction process ‘a construction project of the cen-tury’ and made a film dedicated to one of the principal symbols of the occupiers. However, lying behind the significance of this structure - expressing a promise for a better future for Crimeans - are numerous violations of the building regulations, de-struction of archaeological landmarks, al-teration of the landscape and a negative en-vironmental impact on the Kerch Peninsula.In June 2015, whilst still in the preparatory stages, the Press Service of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation reported on the creation of an expert team for the environmental support of the ‘Vehicle Passage Across the Kerch Strait’ project. Rinat Gizatulin, Depu-ty Minister of the abovementioned Ministry was appointed the Head of this expert team. He described the expert team’s task as being the provision of maximum environmental safety of the bridge construction across the Kerch Strait, and the exclusion or minimi-sation of environmental risks: ‘The bridge

will not only be a unique engineering struc-ture, but also an example of an environmen-tally conscious, “green” construction.’The construction of the ‘Crimean Bridge’ began in February 2016. The Kerch residents were no longer able to enjoy any peace due to the noise generated during the pile-driv-ing process.Trucks delivering construction materials created another major problem – they liter-ally divided the city into two parts: the cen-tre and the Arshyntsevo district. For a long period, car and route taxi drivers were sub-jected to long hours of waiting in traffic jams near to the railway crossing. Large amounts of construction materials and idling vehicles caused a great deal of air pollution.An independent page in the ‘Crimean Bridge’ saga can be said to be exposed by the construction of the notorious ‘Taurida’ highway, entailing the annihilation of an-cient settlements, and the bulldozing of the mounds. As a result, the Kerch Peninsula landscapes have completely changed be-yond all recognition.

PANDORA’S BOXHowever, the most hazardous effect for the Crimean environment is, perhaps, the

illegal extraction of sand from the Upper Churbash and Lower Churbash dump dams. Toxic sand, buried in the 1990s, has, starting from 2016, been delivered to various construction sites, including the Bridge construction site. A license for the extraction of this toxic material was is-sued to the Geotekhnika-Kerch Research and Production Company by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resourc-es of Crimea in the summer of 2015. What was happening at the tailing dump only later came to light. A video that appeared on the Taurida Gate YouTube channel showed the work in full swing from a bird’s eye view.Since then, civic society activists have many times raised the issue of the illegal extrac-tion of the hazardous material. Journalists from Kerch.FM, for example, published photos capturing the greed of poachers: ‘Whilst, as they say, global issues are re-solved concerning assistance during the road construction in Syria, here, we can say, our own road is being washed away in front of our very eyes.’Back in 2016, they published the results of the assay of sand samples from the dump. According to ГН 2.1.7.2041-06, Maximum

The Quicksands of the Kerch Peninsula, or how the illegal excavation of toxic sand affects the Crimean environment

12 CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

ECONOMY

Permissible Concentrations (MPC) of Chemical Substances in Soil. Health Regu-lations, the level of arsenic in the soil can-not exceed 2 mg/kg, and that of chrome 0.05 mg/kg. Phosphorous and iron are not per-mitted in any concentration. The assay pro-vided the following results: arsenic = 81 mg/kg, chrome = 6.1 mg/kg, phosphorous = 542 mg/kg, and iron = 33 mg/kg.

INFORMATION

A tailing dump is an array of special struc-

tures and facilities intended for the stor-

age and burial of radioactive, toxic, or

other mineral deposit enrichment rejects

called tailings. Dams are created to en-

close a tailing dump. These are hydraulic

structures whose dismantling may result

in man-triggered and environmental dis-

asters, such as the pollution of the Black

Sea water around the Kerch city beach.

The extraction of toxic sand has already taken its toll: according to the Kerch me-dia, physicians have registered a growth in the incidence of bronchial and lung dis-eases among the residents of the Pryozerne settlement located nearby. The dump sand chemistry can cause a number of illness-es: allergic diseases, chronic bronchial and lung diseases, chronic skin diseases, ma-lignant tumours of the male/female sex or-gans.As at February 2019, a portion of the protec-tion dam was destroyed, the result of which is that all toxic wastes directly reach the main city beach of Kerch.

ALL IS LEGAL (?)More than three years have already passed since the first report about the sand extrac-tion from the dump. Ukrainian media have many times raised this issue during this period, the Prosecutor’s Office of the AR of

Crimea is still conducting an investigation, and the Ministry of the Temporarily Occu-pied Territories is monitoring the situation in the Kerch Peninsula.

The sand extraction territory can be ten-

tatively divided into the zone A (Upper

Churbash tailing dump) and zone B (Low-

er Churbash tailing dump).

In zone A, the area under extraction has

increased 18 times (from 0.4ha to 7.2ha).

The satellite images show the extraction

equipment and trucks. In zone B, the

extraction area has increased 3.2 times

(from 5.8ha to 18.35ha), with the total

area of sand storages showing a two-fold

growth: from 2.3ha to 4.5ha. The extrac-

tion equipment, trucks and three suction

dredgers were revealed within this zone.

(According to the Ministry of the Temporar-

ily Occupied Territories)

Nevertheless, despite numerous letters, chemical assays, videos and photos record-ing this crime, Crimean ‘authorities’ have sought to deny any danger. At the beginning of February of 2019, the First Deputy of the Crimean State Coun-cil, Yefim Fiks, commented on a Statement by the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories as follows: ‘None of this is true. Samples are constantly being taken. There are Crimean authorities, Russian author-ities, supervisory and law-enforcement agencies, and community members. The situation was, is, and will be under control.’Also, already on 17 June 2019, the Arbitration Tribunal of the Republic of Crimea, subor-dinate to the occupying power, approved a conciliation agreement under which the Anticorruption Agency does not have to pay out 100,000 Russian roubles for injuring the business reputation, and it admits to the fact of publishing untrue and incorrect information concerning the Kamysh-Burun Iron Ore Plant. They have thus legalized the extraction of hazardous sand in Crimea, seeking to prove that the ‘Crimean Bridge’, towards whose construction tons of this toxic material have been delivered, is an example of an environmentally conscious, ‘green’ construction.The facts speak for themselves: the dam has been destroyed, wastes are flowing into the sea, and the number of sick persons is growing drastically. We can predict what will be the consequences of the legalization of criminal actions by the occupants, and the outcomes of the ‘construction project of the century’ which the people will experi-ence in 100, 200, and 300 years’ time.

13# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

ECONOMY

You have created a dis-tinctive and very recog-nisable style. Not every-one at once realizes that it is of your own making. It is often believed to be the traditional Crimean Tatar pottery.We observe an interest-ing phenomenon. A huge demand by society is one of its causes.Another cause is its mass character. A large move-ment must be occurring when a new trend is cre-ated. You must present yourself on many plat-forms, so that finally people will remember you. Recognition will then follow.We have created this style together with my teacher Mamut. I got to know him in the later part of 1999, and he introduced me to the ornament. Then we began using this ornament in pot-tery, attempting to make it fit organically, and achieving it accurately and delicately. He believed that this work required a very responsible approach. Mamut-bey is a mas-ter of this craft: he was advising and super-vising – and so we succeeded in our task.We were able to achieve this thanks to our schools – my school near Simferopol, and another one in Bakhchysarai, and those who came here took up this style and began using it in their work. We named this style quruisar, where ‘quru’ stands for ‘dry’, and ‘isar’ stands for ‘wall’ or ‘barrier’. This tech-nology has much in common with those ex-isting earlier, but for instance it differs from the Spanish cuerda seca, where a line is drawn with wax and dyed with manganese. At the same time, quruisar is very similar

to sgraffito – this is the ‘Golden Horde peri-od’, when pottery was at first scratched, and then covered with glaze and tinted with ox-ides. Today, all types of materials are avail-able, and therefore a unique characteristic can be conveyed to each piece fashioned.The shaping of a tradition is governed by certain rules. However, in today’s environ-ment, with new technologies and fast infor-mation communication speeds, these rules have changed. To be more precise, speed is most important here. If earlier, a time pe-riod of 60 years was required for a style to come into existence and become traditional i.e. three generations with a 20-year period of work experience each, today this process has been greatly accelerated.We have analysed this phenomenon and have realized that it is connected with the Internet and data transfer. Previously, we

had to transport our works and display them in the market – whereas today there is no longer any need to do this. We as mod-ern artists are aware of these trends, and are putting them into play. Also, a large website I created has played a key role. On this website, I showed and explained the technology used, and I started blogging, which provided a huge impetus for the popularization.

Your pottery is rich in tradi-tional symbols. What about col-ouristics?There are several factors in-volved here. The availability of materials is the first one. Let us compare the period between present day and the past. Be-fore, three pigments were used in shaping the relevant style. Today, many various materi-als are available. I am trying to

preserve an intimacy and restraint, but at the same time I understand that the percep-tion of today’s spectators, their reflections and stimulants, are much stronger than before. Therefore, I am using colour combi-nations that can compete with the Internet, advertisements, and TV. Also, my pieces are becoming somewhat brighter than before. Still, I preserve a balance, so as not to de-scend into kitsch – which can be too colour-ful and gaudy. Still this does not prevent me from the creation of some modern pieces in this colour spectrum. Semantics is an individual topic: it is very flexible and today is still being studied and shaped. Semantics has always been keeping up with the times. What has stayed in our memory nevertheless still requires a very long period of study. The language of sym-bols dates back to ancient times, and even

Rustem Skibin: ‘Tradition Forming Rules Have Changed’Why do new folk styles keep on emerging in the era of the Internet and technology? Of what importance is the basis of tradition? What is the role of the historical memory in restoring and developing Crimean Tatar pottery? We have discussed all these points in the second part of our interview with Rustem Skybin, a notable pottery master, artist, researcher, and collector.

14 CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

CULTURE AND HISTORY

today any image bears some information. It is not only about the aesthetics. That is why some decipherable symbols are interpreted and explicated, and we artists are trying to add new meanings to them. Some new tech-niques are required for an artistic solution, and everything gains a utilitarian and ap-plied nature. Everything that we are doing must correspond to the present day. Anoth-er aspect is museumfication. The items that we are finding are put together and recon-structed. Therefore, this is our point of de-parture for further progress.

***When speaking about the creation of a new tradition, I cannot help but mention Abdul Ametov. To my mind he is the finest mas-ter. He was the first to start making glazed pottery. The shape is a distinctive feature of his works. Abdul is very adept in creating shapes. He is a true artist with a capital A. He started off initially as a calligrapher. For me, this is the highest level of the artistic pro-fession. However, he left calligraphy behind, and became captivated by pottery, where he displayed his calligrapher’s skills: a great fi-nesse and taste. In our Bakhchysarai work-shop, I have, together with him, mastered a graphic monochromic engraving method, which has been adopted by Iryna Teslenko and Eldar Gusenov. I can tell you that this method is also becoming a tradition in our pottery. It marks a new phase as the pottery is gaining a more aesthetic appearance. Pre-viously, décor aesthetics only prevailed in clothes, textiles, and metal.

Once, Abdul produced a vessel on a potter’s wheel. After some time, we found an arte-fact - surail, a Crimean Tatar vessel with its architecture identical to that of Abdul’s vessel. Naturally, I asked him: ‘Abdul have you seen this vessel before?’ ‘No I am seeing it for the first time.’ This means that this internal memory has revealed itself. Peo-ple carry a cultural code that is displayed in artistic works. I observed this even with students. When an artist is a gifted refined Crimean Tatar, his pottery, ornamenta-tion, and drawing – all possess a Crimean Tatar soul, and this can be felt and seen. Or when an artist, not belonging to the Crimean Tatar people, produces Crime-an Tatar pottery, this also can be felt. The same with a Ukrainian ornament. I like working in different styles and techniques. Also, I realize, that to create a Ukrainian ornament I will have to become a Ukrain-ian – literally, physically, and mentally. I do not know what time I will need for this – 5, 6, 10…. years. After this period I will succeed. Otherwise, I will create nothing other than replicas. I have my own formu-la as regards to people’s self-identification and shaping. It consists of five segments that are also required to shape any object. These are: the outer environment (land, water, landscape), the inner world (spirit-uality, religion) the physical component (health, medicine, hygiene), the language (folklore), and art (as images, ar-chitecture, danc-

es, etc). Where all these components are present there is absolute holistic integrity. However, should any one of these be miss-ing, then you will start to deteriorate.

y -n

(health, medicine, hygiene), the language (folklore), and art (as images, ar-chitecture, danc-

15# 8 (27) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

CULTURE AND HISTORY

The approach taken by the occupying power is ambiguous. On the one hand, the Crimean de-facto power, through Igor Vail, Head of the Water Management and Melioration State Committee, declares that the problem with providing Crimea with fresh water has been resolved. On the other hand, Georgiy Muradov, the Permanent Repre-sentative of the annexed Crimea to Russia’s Presi-dent, declares his intention to address the Russian leaders with a request to initiate negotiations with Ukraine concerning the supplies of Dnipro water to the peninsula.The Ukrainian party reiterates its position: Ukraine is ready to resume the water supply in exchange for freedom of the peninsula from the Russian occupation. Ukraine also emphasizes the responsibility of the occupier to support the life of residents in the occupied territory. ‘It is the occu-pying State that must take responsibility for the provision of all necessary resources in the occu-pied territory. Therefore, all claims by the occu-pying State in relation to the Dnipro water have no legal grounds whatsoever,’ Anton Korynevich, the President’s Representative in the AR of Crimea, stated.

The North-Crimean Canal TodayThis is how the bed of the North-Crimean Canal, in the vicinity of the Nyzhniohirskyi urban settlement, in the north of Crimea, now looks. Before 2014, this canal was providing 85% of the Crimean Peninsula’s demand for fresh water. In 2014, as a result of the takeover of the peninsula, and unpaid and unauthorized withdrawal of water from the canal by the illegal local authorities, Ukraine cut the water supply to Crimea.

CRIMEA INFORM / # 8 (27) • 2019

PHOTOFACT