A single picket, dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Deportation of Crimean Tatars, was held on May 18 In Syktyvkar. The action was held by a civil activist Marina Sedova.
According to Sedova, she came to the picket on her own initiative, since she believed that the Crimean Tatars were still being persecuted, and the Russian society was not well informed about this.
The picket lasted half an hour, passers-by filmed the girl, some approached and asked questions. Two young men asked Sedova what repressions were, and one of the women asked what the girl had to do with the Crimean Tatars.
'One interesting man asked: 'And what, Crimean Tatars are still being persecuted?'. 'Well, yes, there are,' I answered. And he said: 'But Crimea is ours!'. And I said: 'It all started with us.' He answered: 'I don't believe it!' and left,' the activist said.
Marina Sedova admitted that she did not expect such attention from the residents of the city, she thought that everything would be worse, because 'these problems do not bother people of Syktyvkar'.
The deportation of the Crimean Tatars began on May 18, 1944. About 200 thousand people were resettled in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other regions of the USSR. Many perished on the road, 16 thousand immigrants died of starvation in 1946-47.
After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, repressions were resumed: for example, the Mejlis* of the Crimean Tatar people was recognized as an extremist organization, and its activities цуre banned.
*Mejlis is an extremist organization banned in Russia.
Elena Solovyova, photo by Kirill Shane, «7x7»
