How much do you know about the Crimean Tatars?

An online course on the past and present of Crimea and Crimean Tatars— indigenous people of Ukraine

This is the indigenous people of Ukraine of Turkic origin. Crimean Tatars are the descendants of nomadic and other peoples who lived in Crimea before our era. It was they who created the first democratic Muslim state in history in 1917. Also, over the past 250 years, the Crimean Tatars have survived 3 occupations and brutal repressions by Russia. Despite this, they could preserve their language, rich culture and traditions.

Crimea is a famous landmark that has witnessed many well-known historical events such as the Crimean War (1853-56) and the Yalta Conference (1945). And Crimean landscapes have become an inspiration for writers and artists. However, the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea is much more than that.

We want to tell you as much as possible about this incredible people and help you see Crimea through their eyes thanks to the online course: "Crimea: History and People".

The online course “Crimea: History and People” has been developed by the Ukrainian Institute and online education studio EdEra with the financial support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

In this course, we suggest you discover a different side to Crimea and learn about its complex past by looking at Crimea from the perspective of its indigenous people — the Crimean Tatars. Awareness of Crimea and its history is essential for understanding historical developments in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, problems of indigenous peoples, and political, military, and ideological challenges of the modern world.

Scholars from Ukraine and Turkey will help you do that.

Dr. Olena Soboleva, ethnologist, anthropologist, senior researcher at the Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies (Kyiv), head of the Center for Applied Anthropology, and author of the book “Crimean Tatar Cuisine”

Dr. Martin-Oleksandr Kisly, a historian of Crimean Tatars and lecturer at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, whose Ph.D. thesis is entitled “Crimean Tatars’ Return to the Homeland in 1956-1989.”.

Dr. Maksym Sviezhentsev, a historian of Crimea, received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario with a dissertation entitled “Phantom Limb: Russian Settler Colonialism in the Post-Soviet Crimea (1990-1997).”

Alim Aliev, Deputy Director-General of the Ukrainian Institute, journalist, human rights defender, and curator of cultural and educational projects. PEN Ukraine member, co-founder of Crimea SOS. Rapporteur of advocacy missions to international organizations, EU, and US political institutions on the situation in Crimea.

Dr. Hakan Kirimli, Professor in the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University (Ankara), a member of the board of the General Center for Cultural and Mutual Assistance of Crimean Turkic Turks in Turkey, and author of the book “National Movements and National Identity Among the Crimean Tatars (1905-1916)” (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996).

Dr. Oleksandra Gaidai, a historian, the Head of Academic Programs at the Ukrainian Institute, a specialist in memory studies, an alumna of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and Harvard Ukraine Summer Institute. Author of the book “Stone Guest: Lenin Statues in Central Ukraine.”

The course is free!

The Ukrainian Institute is a public institution affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Our mission is to strengthen Ukraine's international standing through the means of cultural diplomacy. We facilitate international connections between people and institutions and create opportunities for Ukraine to interact and cooperate with the world.