Rethinking the Crimean Tatar national movements through magical realism · Global Voices
book cover “Ak Bure. Crimean Tatar Saga”, publishing house Blitz. Author <PERSON>
Within the framework of the recent confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, the Crimean Tatars are often disregarded in the international media — as if the events of 8 years ago are entirely unrelated to today's realities.
Meanwhile, Crimean Tatars live not only inside the Crimean Peninsula but are also spread throughout Ukraine.
The national identity of Crimean Tatars within Ukraine is becoming stronger, especially in the film industry, as directors and actors like <PERSON> or <PERSON> become well-known outside of Ukraine. This national identity and national movement are increasingly being noticed by researchers around the world. Global Voices interviewed <PERSON>, an orientalist, writer, and researcher, author of fiction and documentary works, a Tatar by nationality, and last but not least, the author of “Hawa-la” and “Ak Bure. Crimean Tatar saga.” The book itself was published in 2021 on the 100th anniversary of the Crimean ASSR.
<PERSON> discussed the national movement of the Crimean Tatars, which he reflected through the prism of relations between the Kazan Tatars and Crimean Tatars in his book. <PERSON> rightly clarifies that “Tatars” and “Crimean Tatars” are two different peoples with their own history, destiny, and culture.
<PERSON> explains that since there is a lot of contradiction around this history, he has not only relied on historical sources like archives and memoirs, but also representatives of the Crimean Tatar nation, such as the veterans of the National Movement of Crimean Tatars: <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, and others. <PERSON> even recorded video interviews with some representatives of the Crimean Tatar nation about their national movement.
The novel “Ak Bure. The Crimean Tatar saga” explores the history of three generations of a Crimean Tatar family. 926
The main character of the novel, <PERSON> (Crimean Tatar), will have to figure out whether his father, in the past an active participant in the national movement of the Crimean Tatars, is a romantic hero or a traitor and a coward. The story is linked with important events in Russia and Crimea's history.
<PERSON> was drawn to research this story after discovering that in different geographical localities, people understand or perceive the history of the Crimean Tatars and the history of the National movement of the Crimean Tatars differently. While some in the Western region know of the political and historical figure <PERSON> and the Mejlis, East of the Ukrainian borders <PERSON> and the NDKT (Национальное Движение Крымских Татар – National Movement of Crimean Tatars) are more familiar.
Thus, in “Ak Bure” the author reflects on which path the Crimean Tatars should take during the Perestroika (the 1980s) — following the NKDT's more liberal path, which is longer and more restrained, or choosing a more radical decisive path as the West did through the Mejlis. The author emphasizes that only the Crimean Tatars themselves know what is useful for the people.
<PERSON>, explains that because he is not a Crimean Tatar, it was a rather bold decision to choose a Crimean Tartar as his main character.
<PERSON> (RA): Normally, writers apologize for taking, for example, an Indian for the protagonist, not being an Indian, or a Negro, not being a representative of one or another people. I did not want to apologize, but still I was worried about how the representatives of the nation that I put at the head of the plot would eventually react. But despite all my fears, the Crimean Tatars received my book very warmly. They were glad that the topic was covered by a person from the outside, but they regretted that none of them [Crimean Tatars] took it on.
<PERSON> notes that many Crimean Tatars often avoid digging into their still-fresh wounds. And yet, there is a completely different understanding between those who are in or from Ukraine in the West, and those in the East, in the countries of the former USSR.
“It is also surprising that the perception of the Mejlis in Crimea, is completely different than in the West,” said <PERSON>. Many people have developed a negative perception of the Mejlis, especially among older generations.
To understand these nuances, it must be noted that historically, Ukraine's national policy did not account for the Crimean Tatars’ own autonomy. 404