In the 13th century, after the Mongol army conquered the Rus' region of Eastern Europe, it gradually merged with some of the local ethnic groups to form the Tatars. After that, a series of Mongol khanates established by the Tatars gradually came into existence after the collapse of the Mongol Golden Horde.
At that time, the Eastern European continent, except for the Rus, was the world of the Tatars. The Tatar Khanate at that time included the Kazan Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate, the Crimean Khanate, etc.
So, since the 13th century, the Tatars have lived in the Crimean peninsula. Compared with the later Russians and Ukrainians, it seems that there is no problem at all in saying that they are the natives here.
At its peak, the Crimean Khanate, relying on the funding of Ottoman Turkey, once rampaged through the steppes of Eastern Europe, and even invaded Moscow, which can be called the small overlord of Eastern Europe. In order to guard against them, Tsarist Russia even built the Great Wall of Crimea.
In the late 18th century, with the successive victories of Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Turkish War, the Crimean Khanate also changed from a vassal state of Ottoman Turkey to a vassal state of Tsarist Russia, and then directly swallowed by Tsarist Russia. The Tatars on the Crimean peninsula followed Tsarist Russia at this time.
After World War II, the Tatars of Crimea left their homeland
The Tatars have lived on the Crimean peninsula since the 13th century, and even after the Russian conquest at the end of the 18th century, the local Tatars did not leave the peninsula.
To talk about the grievances between the two countries is actually a confused account that is difficult to calculate. When the Crimean Khanate was strong, a large number of Rus' were sold to Ottoman Turkey as slaves, so the contradictions between the two families were basically irreconcilable.
After Tsarist Russia became strong, the Crimean Khanate and their big brother Ottoman Turkey were beaten, and their hegemony in the steppes of Eastern Europe was completely established.
After the conquest, the Tatars were naturally disposed of if they were disobedient, and the few remaining people became obedient people under Tsarist Russia. Tsarist Russia did not exterminate them, but continued to let them stay in the Crimean Peninsula.
Although these people were conquered, the idea of restoring the country still exists. So in World War II, when the Soviet army and the German army were fighting, the Germans promised the local Tatars that they could return to the country, so these Tatars followed the Germans and the Soviet army against each other.
After World War II, this matter was liquidated by Stalin. Stalin defined these Tatars as betraying the Motherland. It was a serious crime, and it stands to reason that this part of the Tatars should be severely punished.
But Stalin found another way, he felt that it was better to solve the trouble here once and for all, so he simply sent all the Tatars in Crimea to Siberia and Central Asia for mining.
In the feudal era, I heard about Zhulian. Even if it is Zhu Lian, it is only Zhu Lian's relatives and friends who are related to sinners. But after World War II, it was rare to see anything that would punish the whole family, and this was not an exception in the Soviet Union.
As a result, more than 200,000 Crimean Tatars left their homeland and went to settle in Central Asia and Siberia.
Once in Central Asia, the Tatars were placed to settle in specific camp-like farms, located in remote barren mountains, surrounded by barbed wire and barricades, guarded by sentinels.
Even after settling down, the surviving Tatars did not live a good life, and their shelters consisted of dilapidated houses, sheds, cellars, harsh conditions, and lack of food and medicine, and in just one year, about 16,000 Tatars died.
Want to escape? The Soviet authorities gave the answer, but any Tatar who left without permission was directly considered a fugitive and would be severely punished. In order to prevent them from escaping, every Tatar household had to report and register every month. For the young Tatars, the Soviet Union adopted a policy of assimilation, requiring them to learn only Russian language and culture in school.
Therefore, it is understandable that the Tatars want to return to their homeland. After all, the golden nest and the silver nest are not as good as their own kennels, not to mention that Crimea is a treasure land?
When he returned, there was no place to live
After clearing the local Tatars, the Crimean peninsula can be considered to have truly fallen into Russian hands. For this reason, the Soviet authorities immediately relocated a large number of ethnic Russians to settle here. Since it is close to Ukraine, some Ukrainians have also settled here.
Both ethnic Russians and Ukrainians were the main ethnic groups under the Soviet flag at that time, and the Soviet authorities naturally did not have to worry about the possibility of secession from the Soviet Union again.
The Crimean peninsula was closely connected to the Ukrainian mainland, but at that time it was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. It is too inconvenient to do this, after all, Crimea depends on Ukraine for its supplies.
To this end, in 1954, Khrushchev annexed Crimea from the Russian Federation to Ukraine on the pretext of celebrating the 300th anniversary of the merger of Russia and Ukraine.
This is a very normal thing, and there is nothing wrong with the adjustment of administrative planning within the Soviet Union. At that time, the Russian Federation and Ukraine were fraternal units, and in order to save manpower and material resources, it was normal to do so.
After Stalin's death, the Tatars of Crimea did not have the opportunity to return home. Because at that time Crimea was already under the control of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians. Especially after 1954, ethnic Russians were the largest ethnic group in the region, followed by Ukrainians.
In 1967, after repeated complaints from the Tatars, the Soviet authorities did withdraw their charges of treason, but nevertheless ordered that the Tatars be forbidden to return to Crimea.
By 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and it stands to reason that there was no one to stop the Tatars from returning home. But here's the problem, Crimea has been transferred from the Russian Federation to Ukraine, and the Russian Federation and Ukraine are two separate and different countries, and the Russian Federation recognizes this.
So how did the Tatars jump from one country to another? In addition to the Tatars who intend to settle in Ukraine from Russia, there are also quite a few Tatars in Central Asia who also want to return to the Crimea, but it seems that it is no longer possible.
The question of the ownership of Crimea made it difficult for the Tatars to return home
In fact, as early as 1989, the Soviet authorities issued decrees restoring the Tatar people's reputation and promising that all Tatars in Crimea had the right to return to their homeland.
This was a great victory for the Tatars, who had held out for 45 years before finally having the opportunity to return to their homeland.
But then there was the collapse of the Soviet Union and the separation of Russia and Ukraine. Crimea followed Ukraine, and it became even more difficult for the Tatars to return to Crimea.
Some Tatars simply gave up on this, thinking that after living in Central Asia for so many years, why bother? But some of the Tatars did not give up, and they insisted on returning to their homeland.
The Russians and Ukrainians of the Crimean Peninsula have become the main ethnic group, and they occupy the land and houses of the indigenous people of Crimea, and it is basically impossible for the Tatars to get back these real estates.
For this reason, these Tatars were not reconciled, and insisted on building simple houses next to these land houses, and from time to time they gathered together to demand rights and express protests.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian authorities did not restrict the return of Tatars to Crimea, but they did not grant them sufficient rights. Tatars are treated unfairly in areas such as land, education, and work. When the aborigines returned, they were already marginalized.
Even so, the Tatars refused to give up, they fought for their rights, and the Tatars from the diaspora continued to return to Crimea. As of 2001, more than 60,000 Tatars had been granted Ukrainian citizenship and were treated equally, which is the result of many years of hard work.
In order to gradually solve the Tatar problem, the Ukrainian authorities have indeed done something, such as setting up a special fund to help the Tatars in the areas of housing, education, work, etc.
However, this matter has not been completely resolved, and new contradictions have emerged, and in 2014, Russia forcibly took Crimea. The Tatars are stunned, they finally persevered for so many years and obtained Ukrainian citizenship, is it so wasted? Are you going to live a life away from home again? Everything is not yet conclusive, so leave this matter to the future.
Such situations were not uncommon in the Soviet Union
After World War II, in addition to the Tatars in Crimea, the indigenous people of the North Caucasus, such as Chechnya, Ingushetia, Balkaria and Dagestan, actually suffered similar treatment. Almost the entire population migrated to Siberia and Central Asia to mine.
However, they were lucky, and soon after Stalin's death, they were given the opportunity to return home. After returning, the Chechens and Dagestans regained a foothold in their own territory. In particular, the Chechens, because of their style of conduct, forced the Russians who originally migrated here to settle down to leave one after another, and now there are basically no Russians in Chechnya, all of whom are Chechens themselves.
Why didn't the Tatars in Crimea have such good luck? Because the geographical location of their hometown is too important. The Crimean Peninsula is an important base for Russia to enter the Black Sea, and Russia's Black Sea Fleet is located in the port of Sevastopol on the peninsula.
Therefore, it is impossible for the Soviet Union to easily hand over the Crimean peninsula to the Tatars, and this place is at stake in the national fortunes of the entire Soviet Union. Even after the separation of Russia and Ukraine, no matter which side Crimea follows, in fact, the Tatars can only be a minority here.