Monument to the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Deportation unveiled in the Crimea

The unveiling ceremony in the settlement of Mizhvodne was timed to coincide with the 63rd anniversary of the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars which began on 18 May 1944. On the orders of the Soviet authorities nearly 190 thousand people were taken to Central Asia. Many did not survive the journey.

The money for the monument was raised by local residents. The relief which is 3 metres high depicts the Crimea in flames. This symbolizes the liberation and return of the Crimean Tatars to their home land.

Emil Ametov, author of the memorial complex says: “Until the national question of the Crimean Tatars is resolved, the struggle will not stop. For statehood, for the restoration of our culture, for all our human values that we should have on an equal basis with all nations in Ukraine”