IMPORTANT DIRECT SPEECH TRUE HISTORY

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1 IMPORTANT Illegal conscription into the army of the occupying country several thousand new conscripts are planned to be sent to military units and the fleet of the RF p. 3 DIRECT SPEECH Head of Representation, Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov, It is not always easy or politically appropriate to keep the issue of Crimea on the international agenda. But it is the right thing to do pp. 8-9 GUEST OF THE ISSUE TRUE HISTORY Catherine s Despotism. The first Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire The Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Fiona Frazer, WHEN PERPETRATORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CRIMEA ENJOY DE FACTO IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION THIS ONLY FEEDS IMPUNITY p. 14 pp. 4-5

2 NEWS I strongly reject the statements of those who speak of Crimea as a fait accompli (completed case). The PACE tribune was not made for calls for territories to be traded for money, oil or gas. This will never happen. It was made to safeguard our fundamentals, our values and our principles, and, most importantly, to protect them if necessary. Such a need has come today. President of Ukraine Petro POROSHENKO in response to the statement made by Czech President Milos Zeman at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, during which Zeman said that he considers Ukraine s loss of Crimea a completed case and offered to settle it with the help of monetary compensation. Zeman also said that, in his opinion, it was time to remove sanctions from Russia. Russian Threat to the World Discussed at a NATO PA Session Bucharest hosted the 63rd session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, whcih discussed the threats the Russian aggression poses to the civilized world. In particular, NATO stressed the need to contain the presence of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea, which has grown after the illegal annexation of Crimea. To this end, forces of the ten NATO member states already in the Black Sea region will be reinforced by the US troops. The session participants also adopted a draft resolution on countering the weaponization of information, which declares that the information threats from the RF and disinformation campaigns are aimed at weakening and destabilizing the Euro- Atlantic community and need an appropriate response. Thus, the document states that NATO countries should create special units for the purpose of continuous monitoring of the media space detection of fake news, hostile propaganda and adequate reaction to them. In addition, during the NATO PA session, the Ukrainian delegation raised the issue of the military sector development in the occupied Crimea as reported by the Head of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Iryna Friz. New Rounds of Arrests in the Occupied Crimea Discussions on the Observance of Human Rights in the Occupied Peninsula Were Held in Prague One of the panel discussions at the Forum 2000 held in the Czech capital discussed numerous human rights violations in Crimea. Ukraine was represented by the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, illegally sentenced Ilmi Umerov s lawyer, Edem Semedlyaev and Ihor Kotelyanets, brother of Yevhen Panov, who is illegally detained in Simferopol Detention Center on trumped-up charges of extremism. Refat Chubarov stressed the unprecedented pressure the occupation authorities put on dissenters, in particular, on the Crimean Tatars. This is a kind of revenge for the Crimean Tatars, who completely ignored the immitation of the referendum held on March 16, (2014 Ed.), he stressed. In his turn, Igor Kotelyanets noted that political prisoners in Crimea are not necessarily political figures, but ordinary people with an active civic position. He also noted that the Russian authorities in Crimea try to intimidate people. Illegal detention of Crimean Tatar activists continues in Crimea. On October 2, Russian security forces conducted massive searches in Molodizhne (Simferopol district) and Melnychne (Bilogorsk district), and detained four Crimean Tatars Arsen Kubedynov, Seyran Mustafayev, Renat Suleymanov, Talyat Abdurakhmanov. All detainees were taken to the FSB office, where they were accused of participating in the extremist activity of Tablighi Jamaat (an apolitical religious movement, organized in India in 1926), which is banned in Russia. On October 11, 2017, searches also took place in the houses of Tymur Ibrahimov, Suleyman Asanov, Memet Belyalov, Ismail Gzhirov, Seyran Saliyev and Server Zekeryaev. All of them, according to the lawyer Edem Smedlyayev, are active members of Crimean Solidarity, an organization supporting political prisoners and their families. Crimea Inform Magazine, No.5 (5). October 2017 Certificate of State Registration КВ Р of Founder: Ukrinform Ukrainian National News Agency. Publisher: Mega-Press Group Ltd. Address: 2d Les Kurbas Street, Kyiv, Tel.: (044) Editor-in-Chief: Y. Kazdobina Address of the editorial office: 8/16 B. Khmelnytskyi Street, Kyiv, Tel: (044) ; Fax: (044) , , office@ukrinform.ua. Reproduction is only permitted with prior written permission of the Editorial Board. The cover photo is provided by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Printed at: LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY PRIME-PRINT 9 Boryspilska St., Kyiv, Ukraine, (044) Order No. 3709/2. Circulation: 2800 copies. Distributed free of charge. Crimean Tatars were detained in the occupied 49 Crimea for participation in single-person pickets. 2

3 VIOLATION OF LAW Young men of military age are forced to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation reports that several thousand new conscripts are planned to join to its military units and the fleet in October. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued an official statement, demanding to stop conscription in the territory of the occupied peninsula Crimeans are to be conscripted by the Russian occupation authorities into the RF Black Sea Fleet, another 400 into the ranks of the army. (According to the Crimean Human Rights Group) Conscription is a Violation of the International Law The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that Russia has once again grossly violated its obligations as an occupying state. The UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/71/205 of December 19, 2016 confirmed the fact of the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and urged the Russian Federation to fulfill its obligations under the international humanitarian law, international human rights mechanisms, and other legal instruments, to which it is a party. We bring your attention to the fact that under the international humanitarian law the occupying state is prohibited from compelling protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces, as well as it is prohibited to exert pressure and use propaganda campaign to enlist voluntarily, the statement said. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands the Russian Federation to cancel the conscription for military service and to fully implement UN General Assembly resolutions A/RES/68/262 of March 27, 2014, Territorial integrity of Ukraine, and A/RES/71/205 of December 19, 2016, Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine). ILLEGAL CONSCRIPTION INTO THE ARMY OF THE OCCUPYING COUNTRY CONTINUES IN CRIMEA Criminal Prosecution for Dodging Conscription Despite numerous warnings from both Ukraine and the international community, Russia conducts illegal conscription into the armed forces in Crimea for four years in a row. Thus, in the thematic report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine), published on September 25, 2017, it is noted that by December 31, 2016, conscripts could do military service only in the territory of the peninsula. And from 2017, conscripts can be sent to the territory of the Russian Federation. On May 25, 2017, 30 conscripts from Sevastopol were sent to the Russian Federation, since they were reported to have expressed a desire to serve there, the report said. In addition, the document refers to the prosecution of the Crimeans who dodged the service. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke with the Crimean Tatars who left the peninsula to avoid service in the Russian Army. According to them, they cannot return to Crimea, as they will be prosecuted for dodging conscription. At the moment, the Crimean Human Rights Protection Group has appealed to the residents of Crimea urging them to provide information about the facts of conscription into the Russian army for the purpose of documenting such cases and seeking mechanisms to protect Ukrainian citizens from unlawful conscription. 3

4 GUEST OF THE ISSUE Fiona Frazer, WHEN PERPETRATORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CRIMEA ENJOY DE FACTO IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION THIS ONLY FEEDS IMPUNITY On September 25 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a comprehensive report «Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)». Based on the large amount of data presented in the document its authors come to a sad conclusion: the situation has significantly deteriorated over the years of occupation. Multiple cases of arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, ill-treatment and torture, imposition of the occupying country s citizenship, imposing limits on freedom of movement, thought, religion, peaceful gathering and so on serve as evidence of this. The Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Fiona Frazer stresses the worrying tendency towards further limitations on the rights and freedoms of Crimea s residents. She also points out that in the isolated conditions of the peninsula and in the absence of objective and independent media, non-governmental and human rights organizations, perpetrators bear no responsibility. Russian Federation denies access to Crimea to monitoring missions. Is there any hope that the situation will change and monitoring missions will get access to the penin- The sula? What is being done to make this happen? The question of gaining access to Crimea is a difficult one. Pursuant to an agreement between OHCHR and the Government of Ukraine of July 2014, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) should have established a presence in Simferopol in order to monitor human rights on the peninsula. Unfortunately this has not been possible. Three Notes Verbales were addressed to the Russian Federation between 2014 and 2017 following consultations with Ukraine. They mentioned the intention to conduct human rights monitoring in Crimea and the need to be granted access for that purpose. The Notes Verbales also contained references to UN GA Res. 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and UN GA Res. 71/205, recognizing the Russian Federation as the occupying power in Crimea, because they represent the position of the UN regarding the status of Crimea. No official response was received. Our organization has nevertheless received signals that discussions on access could take place if this issue was negotiated directly with the Russian Federation and without any references to the two UN resolutions, which are deemed by the authorities of the Russian Federation to be political. Given the circumstances, HRMMU has been monitoring and reporting about the human rights situation in Crimea from mainland Ukraine. We will continue to look for ways and means to access Crimea and stand by the position that the conditions and parameters of a possible future mission should be acceptable to Ukraine, as the country having de jure jurisdiction over Crimea. The report contains a rather large amount of data. What methods do you use to collect the information, considering, monitoring missions have no physical presence in Crimea? It is true that HRMMU has no presence in Crimea, but we have a wide network of contacts, both inside Crimea and in mainland Ukraine. We regularly conduct interviews with a variety of interlocutors, including victims, their relatives and witnesses of human rights violations, human rights activists, members of the legal profession, journalists, entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, social workers, representatives of civil society, religious and politicalorganizations, and other categories, including individuals with no specific affiliations. We regularly conduct monitoring missions to the administrative boundary line (ABL) with Crimea and interview people who travel to and from Crimea. All the information is collected and analyzed. We never rely on one sole source of information. Our reports describe allegations of international human rights and humanitarian law violations that could be verified 4

5 and corroborated in accordance with OHCHR methodology. I would also like to stress that we are committed to the protection of our sources and systematically assess the potential risks of harm and retaliation against them. What difficulties did you face while collecting and processing the information? The main difficulty stems from the fact that we are not present in situ. We have no direct access to victims and places of detention in Crimea. Unfortunately, we cannot monitor trials in court, follow up on police investigations or communicate with local authorities. While this does not make our work impossible, we spend a considerable amount of time and energy to verify facts and get hold of documents, certificates, legal or administrative acts, court decisions, medical reports and other evidence, which are indispensable to properly analyze facts, developments and trends, and issue appropriate recommendations. Your office has drafted a series of reports on the human rights situation in Crimea. What tendencies do you see? Is the situation getting better or worse? Could you give some specific examples? The report we presented in September this year is the first of its kind and was mandated by the UN General Assembly resolution No. 71/205. However, in each public quarterly report we prepared on the human rights situation in Ukraine (as of October 2017, the UN Human Rights Office has published 19 such reports) we dedicated a special section to the human rights situation in Crimea. As for the tendencies we see, for many people, the situation has become significantly worse. One of the most widespread violations was related to the automatic imposition of Russian Federation citizenship to Crimean residents pursuant to the so-called treaty of accession concluded between the Republic of Crimea and the Russian Federation on 18 March Ukrainian citizens living in Crimea who did not meet the legal condition to automatically become Russian Federation citizens and this condition implied proving that one was permanently residing on the peninsula, as evidenced by a passport stamp became foreigners overnight. Tens of thousands of people were directly concerned. They could no longer legally remain in Crimea for more than 90 days within a period of 180 days, pursuant to the applicable immigration rules of the Russian Federation. Many people were deported from Crimea to mainland Ukraine for failure to comply with those strict requirements. In terms of other tendencies, we noted in 2014 dozens of cases of enforced disappearances, where people were kept by the so-called Crimean self-defense for hours or days without any contacts with the outside world, and often subjected to torture or illtreatment. We see less of those cases today, although there have not been any serious attempts to bring perpetrators of violations to account. There were also more attacks against journalists and civic activists in 2014 than in the following years. This however does not indicate any improvement but rather that independent voices or critical media outlets have left or been closed. Another worrying trend concerns the arrests of Muslims, mostly Crimean Tatars, accused of extremism and promoting a sectarian form of Islam. Detentions and prosecutions peaked in 2016 when 15 presumed members of Hizb ut-tahrir were arrested and charged. Interestingly, the arrests did not start in 2014 but So far in 2017, four alleged members of the Tablighi Jammat group, which is also banned in the Russian Federation, were arrested. These cases are difficult to assess without a presence in Crimea, but they clearly raise questions related to the right to freedom of religion or belief. Criminal law provisions concerning the offenses of separatism, terrorism or extremism are frequently applied by courts to sanction articles, social media posts or views challenging an official position. The ban of the Mejlis and the criminal convictions of Ilmi Umerov and Mykola Semena, among others, confirm this reality. In summary, the overall trend is that fundamental freedoms have declined and that criticism and dissenting views are no longer tolerated. This tendency is compounded by a lack of accountability for human rights violations, which is particularly worrying because a situation when perpetrators enjoy de facto immunity from prosecution only feeds impunity. Among other things, the report contains a demand that the Russian Federation complies with its obligations as an occupying power under the international law. In your opinion, is Russia going to comply with the demands of the international organization? We hope it will. I would like to emphasize that the sole purpose of our reports is to improve human rights for all those who live in Crimea. Many people in Ukraine believe that if a report does not deal any immediate damage to the aggressor, it is not worth the effort. What is the meaning of UN reports for restoring Ukraine s territorial integrity? UN reports in themselves will not, of course, restore Ukraine s territorial integrity. However, the information they contain may be used to guide or support policy initiatives. The value of a UN report is that it provides an impartial account of a situation, theme or development in a country or territory, which would otherwise often not be available. For that reason, one should not underestimate the impact on decision-making that a well-documented and informed report may have. If Russia decided to ignore the report s demands, what consequences are going to follow? The consequences would certainly be negative. However, they would not derive from our reports, but from the failure to tackle the human rights challenges they expose. Security cannot be achieved at the expense of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. With so many examples in the world of societies in chaos due to the absence of impartial institutions upholding the rule of law and public liberties, this is an axiom that does not need to be proven any longer. Sooner or later, the resentment linked to the perception that inequality and impunity prevail bursts to the surface. The consequences are unpredictable but they always end up undermining social cohesion, stability and progress. *«Hizb ut-tahrir» «Islamic Liberation Party») is an international Islamic political party founded in 1953 in East Jerusalem by a by Taqiuddin al-nabhani, an Islamic scholar and sharia appeals court judge. The organization s declared aim as the reestablishment of the Islamic state (Caliphate). «Hizb ut-tahrir» is recognized a terrorist organization in Russia and Kazakhstan. *«Tablighi Jamaat» an Islamic religious movement. Outlawed in Russia. 5

6 ENERGY SECURITY OF UKRAINE RUSSIA HAS BEEN ILLEGALLY EXPLOITING UKRAINE S GAS FIELDS IN THE BLACK SEA FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS Today, the losses of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine amount to billion dollars. The occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation led to Ukraine s loss of control over its government-owned enterprises located in its territory. One of the first illegally nationalized objects was the State Joint Stock Company Chornomornaftogaz. The enterprise is a daughter of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine and specializes in the exploration and extraction of oil and gas in waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Due to the occupation of the peninsula, the work on prospecting and commissioning extraction of promising deposits with the total resources of 260 billion cubic meters of gas and 160 million tons of oil was suspended. In addition, Ukraine was deprived of the opportunity to develop deposits that contain about 50 billion cubic meters of gas, 3.5 million tons of oil and 1 million tons of gas condensate. IN SEPTEMBER, BORDER GUARDS JOINTLY WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NJSC NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE, PJSC SJSC CHORNOMORNAFTOGAZ, THE MINISTRY FOR TEMPORARY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE IN THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF CRIMEA DOCUMENTED THE OFFENSE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE MARINE ECONOMIC ZONE OF UKRAINE. On a ship of the maritime border guard, the team inspected all operating deposits in the northwestern part of the Black Sea Shtormove, Arkhanhelske, Holitsynske, Odeske currently illegally exploited by the occupation authorities of Crimea. As the inspection showed, the drilling platforms were defended by gunmen, who, upon the approach of the ship, took up fighting positions and aimed weapons at the ship. They confirmed their affiliation with Russia. The Detected Offenses Record was submitted to the Military Prosecutor s Office. Deposits With Great Prospects Russia nationalized not only the property and deposits of the Company located in the Crimean peninsula itself but also illegally acquired Odeske, Bezimenne and Holitsynske gas fields (with all equipment and powerful drilling rigs) located in the territorial waters of Ukraine, at the distance of more than 100 kilometers from the Crimean coast. SJSC Chornomornaftogaz began to develop Odeske and Bezimenne gas fields several years before the occupation. The development of these deposits contributed to an increase in gas production in 2013 to 1.64 billion cubic meters. It was assumed that in 2014, production would increase to 2.5 billion cubic meters, and in 2015 to 3 billion. And this is only due to the commissioning of two fields. But even such figures are a drop in the ocean, because the resources of the Black Sea are enormous, Roman Yaremiychuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, former Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the SJSC Chornomornaftogaz stated. Today, it is these deposits that enable the Russian occupation authorities to meet the natural gas 6

7 DUE TO THE RUSSIAN OCCUPATION OF CRIMEA, NJSC NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE LOST CONTROL OF THE FOLLOWING ASSETS: 15 oil and gas deposits 3 promising sections of oil and gas deposits, Hlibovske underground gas storage 1200 км main gas pipelines 43 gas distribution stations 29 vessels 4 floating drilling rigs, including two modern high-tech units Petro Hodovanets and Nezalezhnist and other industrial infrastructure objects Ukraine claimed the losses inflicted on the NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine in the lawsuit of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine against the Russian Federation on recognizing the annexation of Crimea illegal and compensating Ukraine s losses caused by the occupation of the peninsula. More than м 3 of gas were illegally extracted from the Ukrainian deposits by the Russian Federation The largest losses were incurred by the Odeske field, which was put into operation in It is the field Russia currently exploits to deliver the maximum volumes of gas to Crimea. USD 5 billion is the amount NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine claims from the Russian Federation. This is the market value of the company s lost assets Year м 3 of gas extracted needs of the peninsula s population. Svitlana Niezhnova, Chairman of the Board of the PJSC SJSC Chornomornaftogaz, emphasized this in a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex. She also noted that natural gas was extracted in the water area constituting the economic zone of Ukraine, and therefore the Russian Federation violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Collection of Evidence Seaside District Court of Odessa arrested four self-elevating drilling rigs of Chornomornaftogaz, which are currently illegally exploited by the Russian Federation, namely: В-319 Ukraine, В-312 Petro Hodovanets, Syvash, Tavryda. The court ruling imposed the arrest with a view to preventing the possibility of concealment, damage, spoiling, destruction, transformation, alienation of the above-mentioned state property. Ukraine is working hard on collecting evidence and the necessary supporting documents for international courts to force Russia to return the illegally appropriated assets of the State Joint- Stock Company Chornomornaftogaz, as well as recover its losses caused by the occupation of Crimea. Back in February 2016, National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine, which includes SJSC Chornomornaftogaz, initiated a negotiation process regarding the loss of its assets in Crimea by sending the Russian Federation a notification on the investment dispute under the bilateral agreement on mutual protection of investments between the two countries. After fruitless negotiations for half a year, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine and its six subsidiaries, including Chornomornaftogaz, began arbitration proceedings against the Russian Federation on October 17, 2016, demanding compensation for losses caused to the group by the illegal seizure of its assets in Crimea. Ukraine also filed a lawsuit with the arbitration tribunal against Russia because of its violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Inter alia, Ukraine asked to confirm its rights as a coastal state and oblige the Russian Federation to stop internationally wrongful acts in the maritime areas, to give Ukraine assurances and guarantees of their nonrepetition and to compensate for all losses caused by the Russian Federation. Roman YAREMIYCHUK, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, former Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the SJSC Chornomornaftogaz, In my opinion, when Putin decided to occupy Crimea, he not only wanted to transform the peninsula into a military base but also intended to prevent Ukraine from achieving energy security through its own production of oil and gas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Source: an interview to the Information Agency Voice of Crimea, February

8 DIRECT SPEECH Alexander Vinnikov graduated from Oxford University, the Institute for Political Studies in Paris and the London School of Economics. He began his career at native Oxford University, then worked at the Geneva Center for Security Policy and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He served in the OSCE, including as Political Adviser to the High Commissioner of National Minorities in The Hague. He was a NATO Liaison Officer, Head of the Central Asian Office. Since 2015 Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine. Since 2016 Head of the NATO Representation in Ukraine. He fluently speaks six languages, and now studies Ukrainian. Alexander Vinnikov, IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY OR POLITICALLY APPROPRIATE TO KEEP THE ISSUE OF CRIMEA ON THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA. BUT IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO Russia s military intervention in the East of Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea deepened the cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, forcing consolidation of efforts in the fight against Russian aggression. After all, this is not just about breaking the boundaries of a particular sovereign state, but about trying to destroy the international security system that has been built up for decades. Accordingly, the protection of the territorial integrity of Ukraine lies in the sphere of interests of all Allied countries. This is what Head of Representation, Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov stresses on, outlining the overall strategy of the Alliance on the Ukrainian issue. Russia violated the fundamental principles of international law From the very beginning of Russia s aggression against Ukraine, NATO has been steadfast in its unequivocal support for Ukraine s sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognised borders. Allies have consistently condemned Russia s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and the violence and insecurity in eastern Ukraine caused by Russia and Russianbacked militants. Since the founding of NATO in 1949, the remarkable success of the Euro-Atlantic area in 8

9 terms of both safeguarding freedom and democracy and spreading prosperity has been based on respect for international law and for the principles laid down in the Helsinki Final Act. These principles are: sovereignty, territorial integrity, sanctity of borders, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Russia undermined these fundamental principles the moment its forces entered Crimea. With its attempt to annex Crimea, Russia has also attacked the very foundation of the rules-based international order which took decades, if not centuries, to build. Indeed, Russia is trying to turn back the clock to a time when the Soviet Union dominated countries within its sphere of influence through force and intimidation. This can never be our vision. NATO s response consists in the strong political and practical support of Ukraine Тhroughout the crisis, NATO and Ukraine have made extensive use of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. Here, UKR and Allies held consultations in view of the direct threats faced by Ukraine to its territorial integrity, political independence and security. NATO s response to the conflict has been based on two pillars: strong political and practical support to Ukraine. Thus, following the annexation of Crimea, NATO Foreign Ministers met with their Ukrainian counterpart on 1 April Allies condemned Russia s illegal military intervention and its violation of Ukraine s sovereignty and territorial integrity. NATO also agreed on measures to enhance Ukraine s ability to provide for its own security, including through a strengthening of the NATO presence in Ukraine with expert advisers. The Alliance further decided to suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia, while leaving political channels of communication open. That decision still stands. At NATO s Summit in Wales in September 2014, Allied leaders met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the NATO-Ukraine Commission. In a joint statement, they re-iterated their condemnation of Russia s annexation of Crimea and of Russia s continued and deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine, in violation of international law. They also decided to significantly enhance their practical support to Ukraine, establishing 5 Trust Funds established to provide assistance to Ukraine in areas like logistics and standardisation, C4, cyber defence, medical rehabilitation, military career transition. Russia s aggression has serious implications for the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area Despite repeated calls by the Alliance and the international community on Russia to abide by international law, Russia has continued its aggressive actions. These developments have serious implications for the stability and security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area. This was underlined at the NATO Summit in Warsaw just 6 months ago. In the Joint Statement following the meeting of the NUC at HOSG level, Allies called on Russia to reverse its illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which NATO member-states do not and will not recognize. Allies also expressed special concern at the harassment and discrimination against Crimean Tatars and other members of local communities, for which they held Russia fully responsible. They demanded that the Russian de-facto authorities take the necessary measures to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Crimea and to ensure the safety, rights, and freedoms of everyone living on the peninsula. The Alliance emphasized that International monitoring structures must be allowed to carry out their essential work in view of the protection of human rights. NATO further condemned Russia s ongoing and wide-ranging military build-up in Crimea, and expressed concerns regarding Russia s efforts and stated plans for further military build-up in the Black Sea region, which will potentially have further implications for the stability of the region. The Warsaw Summit also resulted in a very important practical deliverable for Ukraine, with the adoption of a Comprehensive Package of Assistance. This package consolidates and further enhances NATO s support to Ukraine, to help Ukraine defend itself, and reform its SDS in accordance with NATO standards and practices. We are committed to doing so because for NATO, an independent and prosperous Ukraine, committed to democracy and human rights, remains a key for stability in the Euro-Atlantic region, now and in the future. And Crimea shall remain its integral part. From a personal perspective, having worked closely on Crimean issues in the past, including with the Crimean Tatar community, I strongly believe it is vital to keep Crimea on the international agenda. This is not always easy or politically expedient. But it is the right thing to do. Because Crimea is Ukraine. Indeed, Russia is trying to turn back the clock to a time when the Soviet Union dominated countries within its sphere of influence through force and intimidation. This can never be our vision. 9

10 HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CRIMEA UMEROV S CASE On September 27, the Simferopol de facto Court illegally sentenced Ilmi Umerov, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, to two years in a colony-settlement and prohibited him to conduct any public activities. The occupation repressive machine surpassed itself in the Umerov s case. The prosecutor asked for a suspended sentence for the Crimean Tatar activist but the court decided to deliver a more severe verdict to the seriously ill person. Principled Position FSB Investigators launched a criminal case against Ilmi Umerov on May 12, His words on the air of the ATR Channel were regarded as a public call for actions aimed at challenging the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. In the interview, Umerov told the Channel that Russia should leave Crimea and Donbas. Umerov is confident that his principled position was the reason behind the unlawful criminal proceedings. It (Russia Ed.) is the state that committed an act of aggression against Ukraine, having occupied and annexed my Motherland, Crimea! I am convicted in a fabricated case. And, of course, not for my statements in a certain TV program, but for my political beliefs and views that I do not hide, Ilmi Umerov wrote. FORCED EXAMINATION On August 11, 2016, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol decided to forcibly send Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ilmi Umerov to a psychiatric examination. During the court session, Umerov felt sick and was taken to the 7th City Hospital of Simferopol. A week later, the activist in the preinfarction state was sent to a psychiatric hospital accompanied by an FSB officer. There he spent three weeks. According to the examination results, the medical board recognized Ilmi Umerov mentally healthy. RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT On October 5, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the EU to apply sanctions against all those involved in human rights violations in Crimea, including those involved in the conviction of Crimean Tatar leaders Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov, as well as the journalist Mykola Semena. The European Parliament condemned the harsh sentences handed out to those who oppose Russian aggression in Crimea, and urged the Russian Federation to immediately drop all evidence-free charges and release Akhtem Chiygoz, Ilmi Umerov, Mykola Semena, Teymur Abdullaev, Uzair Abdullayev, Zevri Abseitov, Rustem Abilatarov, Muslim Aliyev, Refat Alimov, Ali Asanov, Volodymyr Balukh, Enver Bekirov, Oleksiy Bessarabov, Hlib Shabliy, Oleksiy Cherniy, Mustafa Degermenji, Emil Dzhemadenov, Arsen Dzheparov, Volodymyr Dudka, Pavlo Hryb, Rustam Ismailov, Mykola Karpyuk, Stanislav Klykh, Andriy Kolomiyets, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Oleksandr Kostenko, Emir- Usein Kuku, Serhiy Lytvynov, Enver Mamutov, Remzi Memetov, Yevhen Panov, Yuriy Primov, Volodymyr Prysych, Ferat Sayfullayev, Ayder Saledinov, Oleh Sentsov, Vadym Siruk, Oleksiy Stogniy, Redvan Suleymanov, Roman Sushchenko, Mykola Shiptur, Dmytro Shtyblikov, Viktor Shchur, Rustem Vaitov, Valentyn Vygovskyi, Andriy Zakhtey and Ruslan Zeytullaev. Humane Court The prosecutor asked the court for a suspended sentence of three years and six months for Umerov. However, the de facto Simferopol Court passed a tougher sentence for the Crimean Tartar activist, namely two years in a colony-settlement. In addition, Umerov was prohibited from conducting any public activities and teaching for two years. The politician himself is sure, If Umerov is silenced, there will appear two other people speaking in place of him or after him. However, it is not necessarily true that Umerov will remain silent. Fears of Defenders Public activists and Umerov s lawyers are worried that staying in a colony-settlement will deal a catastrophic blow to his poor health. 60-year-old Ilmi Umerov suffers from diabetes, Parkinson s disease and has a heart condition. According to Umerov s lawyer Mark Feygin, his client will not be able to serve his sentence in a colony, because health does not allow him to be in a penitentiary institution. Umerov is a disabled person. He will not be able to serve his sentence in any colony-settlement, Feigin said. Not the Last Word In his final speech, Ilmi Umerov condemned the blatant human rights violations in Crimea and the crimes committed by the occupation authorities against Crimea s residents, in particular murders, abductions, persecutions, discriminations, harassments, intimidations, detentions, tortures and prison abuses. Umerov openly declared, Today in Crimea, the people who betrayed Ukraine are judging those who did not! Tears are coming down from his eyes he is reading out the lines from the anthem of the Crimean Tatar people, I swore an oath, I gave my word to die for my people And concluded his speech with the words, See you in The Hague. 10

11 Ayshe Umerova, daughter of Ilmi Umerov, SITTING ON OUR HANDS IS THE WORST THING WE CAN DO Do you feel support from Ukraine and the international community? The support is considerable in fact. It shows in an active information campaign after the verdict the reaction of the Western European states, the Ukrainian government and human rights organizations. The verdict was a surprise for everyone, for us, the family members, as well as the for the world community. The Prosecutor s Office asked for a suspended sentence. And we cannot yet find an explanation for such a harsh sentence. We hope that the ruling will be reviewed. Let s see what the results of our appeal will be. Is there a hope that the sentence will be reversed? There is always hope, and we must make every effort to achieve this. For the first two days we were in a state of shock. Now we are trying to somehow help our father. After all, sitting on our hands is probably the worst thing we can do. On October 2, the Ukrainian Ombudsman Valeriya Lutkovska sent her Russian colleague Tetyana Moskalkova a letter asking her to protect Ilmi Rustemovich s right to life and treatment... Lutkovska s statement seems to be a blasphemy! It does not ask for release or termination of a criminal case against my father, but only for the provision of medical care. This is very strange. Nobody contacted family members. And when we read that they asked to provide medical care, we were surprised. Where? In a colony-settlement? What is the state of health of Ilmi Rustemovich now? My father consults doctors, and they regulate which medications he should take. What do you think can be done to keep the issue of repressions in the peninsula on the agenda, including in international institutions? First of all, one should talk about it on the most diverse platforms, both at the international level and in Ukraine. After all, while staying in Crimea, you notice that this topic periodically vanishes from view taking a back seat. Lawyers, activists and public figures try as much as possible to inform the community about what is happening in the peninsula. Now is the era of information warfare, so we need to fight with the information using all possible levers. Being active in Crimea is quite dangerous. Aren t you afraid? We understand all the risks, but when it comes to your father, you think less about yourself. All fear retreats, as you have another goal. LIMITS OF WAITING A film by Stanislav Tsekhimstrenko about families who suffered from the Russian aggression in Crimea and Donbas was presented in Kyiv. The documentary Limits of Waiting tells stories of two families whose lives were disrupted by the war in the East and the occupation of Crimea. One of the protagonists of the motion picture is a Ukrainian activist, the publisher of the only Ukrainianlanguage newspaper in Crimea, Andriy Shchekun, who was abducted and tortured by pro-russian militants in Later he was released by exchange and taken to mainland Ukraine. Now Andriy Shchekun s case is under consideration by the ECHR. The film was a part of a project implemented by public organization Internews Ukraine with the financial support of the US government. Wayne Sharpe, Director of Internews Representative Office in Ukraine, noted that hundreds of other Ukrainian fates broken by the Russian aggression were reflected in the stories of the two families in the film. It s no news to read about the violations of human rights in the occupied territories but, unfortunately, we know little about these, said Wayne Sharpe. That s why we believe it s very important to break the silence and share the true stories, no matter how painful they are. We very much hope that the film Limits of Waiting will not only show respect for those who lost their lives, but it will also help mobilize and seek solutions to save and protect many other people who are still alive. FAILURE OF THE PROPAGANDA FILM A recently released Crimea propaganda film telling a fake story of the so-called accession of the peninsula to Russia was a scandal in the Russian box office. Owners of the largest Russian cinema site Kinopisk said that thousands of user accounts had been broken to drive the rating of the movie up to 70,000. The rating dropped tenfold following the scandal. In addition, Crimean bloggers reported that the premiere of the year in the occupied Simferopol was attended by twelve spectators, instead of several thousand. 11

12 OCCUPATION OF THE INSIDE OUT WORLD Monitoring of the propagandistic Russian media in Crimea shows that the Russian Federation promotes certain stereotypes and ideas among residents of Crimea in order to form a negative attitude towards Ukraine. The occupying country exercises total control over the informational space in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, while blocking access to alternative sources of information Ukrainian and world media resources. Such a policy of brainwashing is intended to create a certain parallel reality, in which Ukraine is indifferent to the problems of the Crimeans, the peninsula has always belonged to Russia, people in Crimea live much better than in Ukraine, and so on. Forming the image of Ukraine as an external enemy of Crimea and discrediting the indigenous people of the peninsula, the Crimean Tatars, occupy a special place among the media manipulation POLITICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR OCCUPATION AND THE FORMATION OF A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS UKRAINE THE TRANSFER OF THE PENINSULA TO UKRAINE IN 1954 WAS A POLITICAL MISTAKE, THE SOLE DECISION OF KHRUSHCHEV Reality: Crimea was not a Khrushchev s gift. It was transferred by the decision of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation in compliance with all procedures stipulated by the Soviet legislation. Ukraine subsequently built the North Crimean Canal, which brought water to Crimea. It also restored economy and infrastructure of the peninsula ruined by war and abandoned by its previous masters. HISTORICALLY, CRIMEA HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN INSEPARABLE PART OF RUSSIA Reality: For many centuries different states existed in the territory of the peninsula: Greek city states, Bosporan Kingdom, Byzantium, Principality of Theodoro, Crimean Khanate and others. And only in 1783, the Russian Empire illegally annexed Crimea, subsuming it by force. Russia has no exclusive historical rights to Crimea. IF CRIMEA HAD REMAINED PART OF UKRAINE, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A WAR IN THE PENINSULA Reality: It is the occupation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation that poses a danger to the Crimeans, because the occupation authorities turned Crimea into a quasiformation, isolated from the outside world, and resort to large-scale repression against the local population, in particular the Crimean Tatars. The unprecedented militarization of the peninsula by Russia is also a dangerous factor; this is evidenced by the excessive concentration of Russian regular troops in Crimea (up to 60 thousand people), the restoration of nuclear capabilities, the development of defense industry, etc. FORMING A POSITIVE IMAGE OF RUSSIA THANKS TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SALARIES AND PENSIONS HAVE GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY IN CRIMEA Reality: Following the illegal plebiscite in the peninsula, Russia announced a massive increase in pensions and wages. However, the declared intentions did not yield the expected results, as the indexation was eaten up by the inflation. For example, in the three years of occupation, foodstuffs have risen in price by more than 215%. Currently, the economy of the peninsula is subsidized from the budget of the Russian Federation, causing discontent among Russian citizens. During , the amount of subsidies from the Russian budget amounted to about 80% of the budget revenue of the occupied Crimea. The remaining 20% were internal revenues. For comparison: the 2013 budget of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea consisted of 70% local revenues, and 30% were allocated from the state budget of Ukraine. REPRESENTATIVES OF ALL ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE PENINSULA HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES Reality: In fact, rights and freedoms of almost all ethnic groups are currently limited in various spheres of life. In particular, Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are practically deprived of the opportunity to study in their native language. If in 2013, 12,694 children received Ukrainian-language education in Crimea, in 2017 only 371 schoolchildren study in Ukrainian. In addition, the Crimean citizens who did not receive the citizenship of the occupying state have no access to high-quality medical and social services. Citizens of Ukraine are not allowed to work in Crimea. Freedoms of thought, conscience and religion are limited. CRIMEAN TATARS ARE WIDELY REPRESENTED IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT Reality: After the annexation of the peninsula, the Crimean Tatar community was limited in its ability to display its political and cultural symbols and publicly 12

13 CONSCIOUSNESS THE WORLD COMMUNITY RECOGNIZES THE LEGITIMACY MAKING THE PENINSULA A PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Reality: The illegitimate referendum of 2014 through which Russia tried to legalize the annexation of the Crimean peninsula is not recognized by any civilized country in the world. As early as March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that invalidated the illegal referendum in Crimea and confirmed the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. That same year, sanctions were imposed on Russia. Economic measures on the Russian Federation were imposed by the EU, the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand the total of more than 40 countries. THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED THE RIGHTS OF THE RUSSIAN-SPEAKING POPULATION IN CRIMEA Reality: The Russian language dominated in the peninsula even before the celebrate important dates. Holding group rallies was allowed only if they supported the position of the Russian Federation regarding the status of Crimea. On April 26, 2016, the so-called Supreme Court of Crimea recognized the Crimean Tatar Mejlis an extremist organization and prohibited it from conducting any political activity. Instead, a fake Crimean Tatar organization completely controlled by the occupation authorities is integrated into the Crimean government process. AFTER CRIMEA S ANNEXATION BY RUSSIA ITS TOURIST ATTRACTION HAS GROWN occupation, it was freely used by the vast majority of the local population. For example: 80% of printed media were completely Russian-speaking, the rest were partly in Russian. There was only one newspaper published completely in Ukrainian, namely Krymska Svitlytsya (Crimean Parlor). 83% of students in higher educational institutions studied in Russian. The indicator reached 94.5% in vocational schools and colleges. Among the 586 schools, only in 14 institutions there was instruction in the Crimean Tatar language and only in 7 schools children obtained education in Ukrainian. UKRAINE IS INDIFFERENT TO CRIMEA AND CRIMEANS Reality: Today, the territory of the peninsula is not controlled by Ukraine, so it is not able to ensure proper protection of human rights and the rule of law in Crimea. However, Ukraine does not relinquish responsibility for the fate of its citizens and does its utmost to bring Russia to international legal responsibility as an occupying state and return the peninsula to Ukraine. In particular, there are 5 cases on the lawsuits of Ukraine against Russia only in the European Court of Human Rights and 3000 individual claims filed by Ukrainian citizens after the beginning of the Russian aggression. The Prosecutor s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea moved to Kyiv also painstakingly records all violations of national and international legislation in the territory of Crimea. Reality: Before 2014, million holidaymakers visited the peninsula during the sunny season. During the three years of occupation, the flow of holidaymakers declined almost 4 times. The lion s share of tourists in Crimea is Russian government employees, who are actually forced to spend their vacation there. This year, Russians have completely lost interest in Crimea because of abnormally high prices in the peninsula and transportation difficulties. TURNING PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST CRIMEAN TATAR ACTIVISTS AND THE MEJLIS CRIMEAN TATARS ARE TRAITORS Reality: In 1944, the Soviet authorities accused the Crimean Tatars of cooperation with the Nazis. The accusation served as the ground for the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people from their native land to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. In fact, there was no evidence of mass collaboration among the Crimean Tatars. And only in 1989, the deportation was recognized illegal and criminal. MEJLIS OF THE CRIMEAN TATAR PEOPLE IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IS SPREADING IN CRIMEA WITH SUPPORT AND FINANCING FROM UKRAINE CRIMEAN TATAR ACTIVISTS PREPARE LARGE-SCALE TERRORIST ACTS IN THE PENINSULA RADICALLY-MINDED CRIMEAN TATARS ARRANGE PROVOCATIONS AGAINST THE RUSSIAN-SPEAKING POPULATION Reality: Crimean Tatars actively opposed the occupation of the peninsula by Russia and ignored the referendum on accession. In the absence of loyalty from the Crimean Tatars, the occupation authorities conduct a policy of displacement against them, using both explicit persecution (arrests, abductions, torture), and information manipulation to turn other residents of Crimea against the Crimean Tatar people. In fact, radicalism and extremism which the Crimean Tatars are branded with have never been characteristic of them. On the contrary, one of their fundamental principles is the tradition of non-violent resistance. 13

14 TRUE HISTORY CATHERINE S DESPOTISM. The first Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire In June 1771, at the height of the Russian-Turkish War, Russian troops invaded the territory of Crimea. Within two weeks, the invaders took all the strategic points, removed Selim III Girai Khan from power and put their protégé on the throne. After gaining control over the peninsula, the Russian authorities began large-scale preparations for its annexation. Independence on Paper As a result of the war with the Ottoman Empire, Russia formally recognized Crimea an independent state. But that decision was fictitious, because de facto Crimea was run by the Russian military. For example, they subjugated the mighty fortresses of Yeni-Kale, Kerch and Kinburn. Within a short time, Russians angered the local population so much that the Crimean Tatars raised a revolt but the Russian Empress Catherine II quickly suppressed it. Bloody Massacre The last ruler of the Crimean Khanate was a pro-russian Shahin Girai. He tried to implement reforms; in particular, he gave equal economic rights to Muslims and Christians, strengthened the power of the Khan and began to form a regular army. But the Russia s protégé was, to put it mildly, unpopular in the country, and when in 1777 the people rebelled against him, Shahin Girai was forced to rely on the help of the Russian soldiers. With incredible cruelty, they suppressed the revolt which cost the lives of 12,000 Crimean Tatars. Great Relocation of Peoples To prevent the Crimeans from recovering, the tsarist government planned and carried out a large-scale relocation campaign that undermined the economy of the peninsula. In March 1778, Catherine II instructed Pyotr Rumyantsev and Grigoriy Potyomkin to relocate all Christians (Greeks, Armenians, Georgians, Vlachs) from Crimea to the Southern Ukraine. All this was accompanied by active propaganda, disinformation and brainwashing. The Christian population was intimidated by the Crimean Tatars, who supposedly can kill them all (although previously all ethnic groups coexisted peacefully in the peninsula), and promised golden mountains in the new lands. As a result, many people volunteered to leave Crimea, the rest were evicted by force. More than 31 thousand Christians left the Crimean Khanate. Not all of their expectations came true: in the new homeland they met poverty, hunger and deprivation. Imperial Gratitude for Devotion Subsequent events developed according to the Russian scenario. The impoverished population of Crimea constantly raised revolts against Shahin Girai. After another revolt, Russia had to bring troops to Crimea for the second time. But that time Prince Grigoriy Potyomkin received an instruction on appropriation of the peninsula from the tsarina. Shahin Girai was offered to abdicate and promised the throne of Persia in return. He agreed realizing that he could not stay in power due to the intense hatred of the people. In February 1783, Shahin Girai announced his abdication and left for Russia. But instead of the Persian throne, he ended up with no power or support in Voronezh and Kaluga, then emigrated to the Ottoman Empire and was executed by the Turks on the island of Rhodes. Annexation of the Peninsula In April 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto On the acceptance of the Crimean peninsula, the island of Taman, and Kuban lands into the Russian nation. Contrary to international agreements, the tsarina proclaimed annexation of the peninsula under the pretext of welfare of the Crimean Tatars, promising to respect traditions and beliefs of the indigenous people. In July, at the top of Ak-Kaya Mountain near Karasubazar, Potyomkin personally read out the text of the document in a meeting of the Crimean Tatar nobility. Pinned down to facts, the Ottoman Empire was forced to admit the annexation of Crimea, and France was the only European state to express its protest. Forced Emigration However, not all Crimean Tatars believed in Russia s good intentions. Immediately after the annexation, the first wave of emigration to Turkey began. Subsequently, there were several more waves, and new settlers from the mainland of the Russian Empire replaced the indigenous people. Over the next hundred years the proportion of Crimean Tatars in the population of the peninsula decreased from 88% to 36%. The occupants re-distributed the land at the peninsula giving the best Crimean plots of land to the Russian royal dignitaries and local collaborationists devoted to Russia. Soon the peninsula itself, the lands adjacent to it in the north, and Taman became part of the newly formed Taurida region, which was turned into a Russian province in the 90 years of the XVIII century. The Crimean Khanate received the last chance for a revival in 1787 when the Russian-Turkish War started again. First, the Sultan gave the title of Khan to Shahbaz to Girai, and later to Bakht Girai. They both fought for Crimea at the head of the squad of Budjak Tatars, but the defeat of the Turks committed the peninsula to centuries of occupation. 14

15 CULTURAL METAMORPHOSES LITTLE GREEN MEN, LENIN AND TSARS. MONUMENTAL ECLECTICISM IN THE OCCUPIED CRIMEA On September 5, in the village Simeiz, another monument to Vladimir Lenin was solemnly opened, and next to it as it had once been a tradition in the Soviet Union local schoolchildren became pioneers. The leader s bust was erected to implement the program of the revival of Soviet monuments. However, during the last three years, not only the monuments to the figures of the totalitarian era have been actively restored in the peninsula. Historical figures of the Russian Empire, green men (Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms that participated in the occupation of Crimea) are also popular and saints. Monuments to Unknown Soldiers Two monuments in honor of polite people appeared in Crimea. So the Kremlin propagandists called the soldiers of the Russian Special Forces, who patrolled streets and highways in late winter and early spring of Their faces masked and uniforms unmarked, they seized buildings of the self-government bodies and infrastructure facilities in Crimea, and Crimeans named them the little green men. One monument was erected in Simferopol, near the building of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, and an identical one, in Bakhchysarai, by the entrance to the park of miniatures. A Place for the Saint To the Invaders of All Time In June 2014 in Simferopol, a monument to the Collector of Russian Lands, St. Sergius of Radonezh was solemnly opened. In addition, a new square was named after him. Not far from the building of the Council of Ministers in Simferopol, a monument to the People s Militia of All Time was placed (in memory of the Russian-French War of 1812, the Crimean War of and the Crimean Spring of 2014). It has also immortalized members of the so-called Crimean self-defense. This illegal armed formation arose during the seizure of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia in Its members guarded checkpoints on the Crimean border with mainland Ukraine, blocked and stormed Ukrainian military units, exerted physical pressure on journalists and pro-ukrainian activists, illegally detained and abducted people. To the Authors of the First Annexation It was also decided to honor the Russian Empress Catherine II, who unlawfully annexed the peninsula in 1783 as a result of the Russian-Turkish War. The monument was erected in Simferopol. In addition to the tsarina, the monument includes sculptures of Prince Grigoriy Potyomkin of Taurida and Vasiliy Dolgorukov, as well as the Commander Aleksandr Suvorov and the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Yakov Bulgakov. Construction of the monument cost about 31 million rubles (more than half a million dollars). Separately, the bust of the Russian Prince Grigoriy Potyomkin was placed in the center of Simferopol on March 16, 2016, the second anniversary of the illegal referendum on the accession of Crimea to Russia. In the 1780s it was he who played a decisive role in the violent annexation of the peninsula by the Russian Empire. To Russian Emperors In September 2016, a bust of Tsar Nicholas II shot by the Bolsheviks was placed next to the chapel built near the de facto Prosecutor s Office. The illegal Prosecutor of Crimea Natalia Poklonskaya endowed the monument with the properties of a sacred relic, saying that it allegedly had started to weep, and local residents began to bring sick children to it so that they could be healed. The Simferopol and Crimean Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate even conducted a special inspection, which concluded that miracles do not occur. There are also several monuments to the Russian monarchs in Crimea: a bust of King Peter I near the Kerch Maritime Trading Port and a bust of Emperor Alexander III in the Massandra Palace. 15

16 KREMLIN S PRISONERS LETTERS FROM CAPTIVITY Oleh SENTSOV (Ukrainian filmmaker, sentenced by the occupation authorities of Crimea to 20 years in a high security penal colony on trumped-up charges of plotting acts of terror), I was abruptly taken from Yakutia and sent to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. And there is the only place to serve the sentence there the legendary Kharp (a settlement where the colonies known for their harsh conditions are located Ed.). I do not expect anything good from this trip. Especially, having passed Irkutsk and Omsk central penitentiaries, I have an idea of how bad it can be, and not only from the stories. Of course, nobody touches me physically, but I know perfectly well how the system can perversely punish and torture without using brutal force. By the way, as for good deeds that do not always lead to good results. Klimkin (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Ed.) tried to call me on my birthday in July. And Pussy Riot (a Russian music band whose members are known for their shocking performances against Putin Ed.) came to support me. That was great! But instead of a call, I was sent to a punitive isolation ward (for the fourth or fifth time) This doesn t mean that one should not do anything. You, free people, can do whatever you think you need to do in support of me and other political prisoners. Just keep in mind that local officers have a logic of their own and they often react that way. After all, they will not take me to the North Pole to serve my time, will they? In general, everything is fine with me. And I hope I ll endure this trip and stay at the final destination on the remnants of my health. I hope you won t make a fuss about all this, because I m not alone, there are many of us, and I m far from being in the worst conditions. And so I do what I have always done: I read, in English as well, edit and correct the written scripts this work can be done almost forever, but I think that I can make another two collections. I exercise, if possible, and do other little things. I have followed the events in Russia and Ukraine, whenever possible, of course. I cannot say anything good but perhaps I cannot see well from here. Ukraine is struggling but making its way in the right direction. Russia is stuck in a dead-end for good. And no one knows what to do next. I still have no doubt in either success or victory, or that everything is going to be fine, absolutely fine! September 17, Tyumen Detention Center, Russia Yevhen PANOV (Ukrainian activist, volunteer, illegally detained for more than a year in the Simferopol Detention Center on trumped-up charges of plotting acts of terror), Hello Ukraine and my beloved city Energodar! Hello Ukrainians and all those in the world who wrote me letters when the letters had reached me! I am very grateful to all of you for your support. When sadness comes over me, I re-read the letters I ve received and feel energized by them. This is particularly the case when I am successfully isolated from any information, from radio or newspapers, not to mention television. I don t know when all this will end, but if you don t have faith, there s no sense living. I wish I could write beautiful letters, but I write as it is, I just put on paper what I feel. Thank you for your support! Glory to Ukraine! Goodbye. October 2, Simferopol Detention Center, Ukraine