Mission Statement

Our mission is to preserve and advance the heritage of the Crimean Tatars – Ukraine’s indigenous people of Crimea, through global advocacy, preservation of history and culture, and protection of our people’s rights through educational, research and political activities.

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We Need Your Testimony

Tell us your story now while you remember everything clearly – this will help punish the guilty in international court and preserve the truth forever, so no one can say it never happened..

LEARN MORE

We Need Your Testimony

Tell us your story now while you remember everything clearly – this will help punish the guilty in international court and preserve the truth forever, so no one can say it never happened..

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X-IX BCE

Crimean Tatars have roots tracing back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. Their ethnogenesis originated by 28 ethnic groups of the Crimean Peninsula and Northern Black Sea region, including Taurians, Cimmerians, Scythians, Hellenes, Sarmatians, Alans, Goths, Khazars, Pechenegs, and Cumans. (Y. Vozgrin, 2013)

1055

Historical records indicate that Crimean Tatars, with their capital city in Eski Qırım, have been present in Crimea since at least 1055 CE. (Adam Naruszewicz, 1788)

1441

The Crimean Khanate alone existed as an independent state for over 350 years, with approximately 90 rulers, each of whom was depicted on the coins of the Crimean Khanate Mint. (Donald Rayfield, 2024)

1783

The first occupation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire marked the beginning of the systematic and methodical destruction of Crimean Tatar Nation, their heritage, culture, and archival documents. (H.Kirimli, 2022)

1783

“Mass Drowning of 10,000 Crimean Tatars by Catherine II's Order” - this act that Raphael Lemkin, classify as genocide. Lemkin, R. (1953). Soviet Genocide in the Ukraine. New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The Raphael Lemkin Papers, Box 2, Folder 16.

1917

Establishment of the National-Territorial Republic of Crimean Tatars Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, November 3, 1917 (R.Lemkin, 1953; G.Bekirova, 2017)

1918

Second Illegal Occupation of The Crimean Nation's Republic (R.Lemkin,1956).

1921

October 8, 1921 - the Statehood of Crimean Tatars existed in the model of the ASSR (the principle of national integrity and equality of Crimean Tatar nation was proclaimed). The principles of land ownership were restored. (V. Lenin, 1921)

1921-1923

Genocide AçlikQirim 1921-1923 of Crimean Tatars through deliberate starvation committed by the RSFSR state authorities immediately after the occupation of the Crimean Nation's Republic.( Article II(c) of the 1948 UN Convention).(V.G.Zarubin & A.G.Zarubin)

1944

Forced expulsion of autochthonous nation of Crimea Crimean Tatars from land of ancestral. (Rome Statute of ICC (2002); UN Convention on Genocide (1948) The genocide of Crimean Tatar nation by the Soviet Union (Russia) resulted in the deaths of 46.2% of the nation, with 80% of those who died being children. (Z.Bekirova, 2013)

2014

The third occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation (H.Kirimly, Z.Bekirova 2025). (OSCE, 2023), (Grabovsky, 2022)

2014 - Present

From 2014 to the present day, a fourth distinct genocide of Crimean Tatarы is being committed in Crimea by the Russian Federation.

CRIMEAN TATAR BRIF EXHIBITION OF CRIMEAN TATARS

“The systematic destruction of Crimean Tatar people began with the mass drowning of 10,000 Crimean Tatars ordered by Catherine the Great” – marking the first documented case of genocide in the Russian Empire… “the annihilation of .. the Crimean Tatar Republics..” These historical findings, outlined in Lemkin’s 1953 work, establish a direct connection between ongoing attempts to destroy the statehood of the state-forming nation and genocide committed against the Crimean Tatars by Imperial Russian and Soviet regimes. This pattern remains evident today.

RAPHAEL LEMKIN

The founder of genocide studies and architect of the UN Genocide Convention

When we tell the story of our nation, we do more than shed light on history—we build a bridge between the past and the future. This is our contribution to the world.

ZERA QARASHAYSKAYA & ZAREMA MUSTAFAIEVA

Academic Scholars at Purdue University / CEO "Crimean Tatar Foundation USA, Inc."

In 1441, Haji Mehmed Giray, the descendant of Genghis Khan and the heir to the legacy of the Golden Horde, was elected as the first Khan of the Crimean Khanate, which encompassed the Crimean Peninsula, the Northern Black Sea region, and the Kuban. The Khan forged a military-political alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Rus. For 300 years, the Muscovite state paid tribute to the Crimean Khanate.

SERHIY GROMENKO

Ph.D. in History

Genocide AçlikQirim 1921-1923, perpetrated by the state authorities of the RSFSR through the deliberate creation of living conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of a protected national group under Article II(c) of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as evidenced by mathematical proof of special intent (dolus specialis): a mortality rate of 350‰ among Crimean Tatars compared to 40.5‰ among all other ethnic groups combined — a statistical ratio of 8.65:1 that excludes natural causes (p<0.0001) and irrefutably demonstrates a coordinated plan of systematic extermination of the indigenous nation as an instrument of territorial appropriation following the occupation of the sovereign Crimean People’s Republic.Zarubin, V.G. & Zarubin, A.G. (1995). Golod v Krymu (1921-1923) [The genocide in Crimea (1921-1923)]. Klio (Simferopol), 1(4), 34-38. Based on Central State Archive of Crimea (CSAC), F.P-1. Op.1. D.592.

ZARUBIN A.G. & ZARUBIN V.G.

Leading Historians of Crimea, Institute of Oriental Studies

“Don’t consider your issue to be solely domestic. Seek assistance from the global progressive community and international organizations. What was done to you in 1944 has a very specific term. It’s pure genocide – one of the gravest forms of crimes against humanity…”.

PETRO GRIGORENKO

Major General of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Human Rights Activist

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