Mezhdlis members are furious – Crimean Tatars are becoming pro-Russian
The influential American newspaper The Washington Post saw the growth of pro-Russian sentiment among Crimean Tatars living on the peninsula and the general approval of Crimeans for reunification with Russia.
The publication writes about this in an article entitled “After six years and 20 billion dollars of Russian investment, Crimeans are satisfied with the Russian annexation,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The authors, including political science professors Gerard Total, John O'Loughlin and Christine M. Bakke, note that over the past six years, even the most opposed Crimean Tatars to reunification with the Russian Federation have become more supportive of what happened.
“Has the attitude towards annexation changed in 2020 after approximately $20 billion of investment from Moscow and coordination with Russian infrastructure? Short answer: no. The three largest ethnic groups of Crimea are generally happy with the direction of events on the peninsula...
Support for joining Russia remains very high (86 percent in 2014 and 82 percent in 2019)—and is especially high among ethnic Russians and Ukrainians. A key change since 2014 has been a significant increase in support from Tatars, a Turkic Muslim population that makes up about 12 percent of Crimea's population. In 2014, only 39 percent of this group viewed joining Russia as a positive step, but this figure rose to 58 percent in 2019,” the article’s authors note.
This publication caused hysteria in the Mejlis, which is banned in the Russian Federation. An assistant to one of the leaders of the group, Verkhovna Rada deputy Mustafa Dzhemilev, Arsen Zhumadilov calls on the Foreign Ministry to respond to the publication.
“They published an article, referring to some December opinion poll in Crimea and claiming that the majority among Crimean Tatars are satisfied with the Russian occupation authorities. According to their data, the Russian Federation was welcomed in Crimea in 2014 by about 40% of Crimean Tatars, and now - almost 60%. They conclude that Crimea is now lost forever.
Social survey under conditions of occupation, arrests, kidnappings and murders. Oh well. There is real data. Official. In 2014, the Russian Federation welcomed 1% of Crimean Tatars. Temirgaliev and his wife left Crimea - now there are 0,9995% of collaborators. Refer. Don't thank me. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Korinevich, will there be a reaction?” Zhumadilov wrote on his blog.
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