Remembrance Day for the Victims of Crimean Tatar Deportation, 1944

Olena Liashenko
May 18, 2023

Remembrance Day for the Victims of Crimean Tatar Deportation, 1944

Today, on May 18th, we remember the victims of the Crimean Tatar Deportation in 1944. This tragic event saw the forced relocation of over 200,000 Crimean Tatars from their homeland to various regions of the Soviet Union. Many lost their lives during the deportation, and those who survived faced years of hardship and discrimination.

On this day, we honor the memory of those who suffered and lost their lives during this dark period of history. We also recognize the resilience and strength of the Crimean Tatar people, who have continued to fight for their rights and their homeland. Let us never forget the atrocities of the past and work towards a future where such injustices are never repeated.

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#CrimeanTatarDeportation #RemembranceDay #NeverForget

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The deportation of the Crimean Tatars or the Sürgünlik was the ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide of at least 191,044 Crimean Tatars carried out by the Soviet authorities from 18 to 20 May 1944
The deportation lasted only three days, 18–20 May 1944, during which NKVD agents went house to house collecting Crimean Tatars at gunpoint
NKVD forced Crimean Tatars to enter sealed-off cattle trains that would transfer them almost 2,000 mi to remote locations in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.
In total
151,136 Crimean Tatars were deported to the Uzbek SSR; 8,597 to the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; 4,286 to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic;  
29,846 were sent to various remote regions of the Russian SFSR.
Number of Crimean Tatars in Crimea
Year        Number           Percentage
1783         500,000           98%
1897        186,212           34.1%
1939        218,879           19.4%
1959         —                     —
1979        5,422               0.3%
1989        38,365             1.6%