BSANNA NEWS
2009-07-03

UKRINFORM

President orders PGO, SBU to open case on forced deportation of
Crimea’s nations in 1944

KYIV, July 3 /UKRINFORM/. President Viktor Yushchenko has instructed
the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and the Security Service of
Ukraine (SBU) to institute proceedings on the fact of illegal eviction
of the Crimean Tartar people and other nations in 1944, who lived in
Crimea those times (South Ukraine).
`The Head of State believes that the fact of the illegal forced
large-scale eviction of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944 is
unquestionable. A fact of deportation of other nations lived in Crimea
was also established, these are mainly Armenians, Greeks, Bulgarians
and others,’ presidential press secretary Iryna Vannykova said.
According to her, the President is confident that there are signs of
genocide in the actions of then-leadership of the Communist regime led
by Joseph Stalin and officials of the USSR punitive agencies.
The deportation of the Crimean Tatars started on May 18, 1944 to last
till May 20. A major part of people were evicted to Uzbekistan
(151,136 persons) and adjacent districts of Kazakhstan (4,286) and
Tajikistan. The largest groups were sent to the Soviet Mari El
Republic (8,597), Ural and Kostroma region.
A major part of the resettlers died of starvation and illnesses in the
places of deportation in 1944-45. The number of the deceased strongly
varies: from 15-25% according to various Soviet official bodies to 46%
according to the estimates of the Crimean Tatar activists. Unlike
other deported nations that had returned home in late 1950s, the
Crimean Tatars were deprived of this right formally until 1974, and
actually – until 1989. A large-scale return started only in late
Perestroika in 1989.