The Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu, on Wednesday officially recognized the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union in 1944 as an act of genocide.
The statement was passed with 83 votes in favor and eight abstentions. The decision comes at a time of renewed focus on Russia’s ongoing policies in Crimea, which the Riigikogu linked to Soviet-era atrocities. The statement reads:
strongly condemning the extermination and the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars from their homeland on the Crimean Peninsula to the territories of Central Asia, which was planned and carried out by the totalitarian Soviet regime in 1944 and which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars as well as the entire nation losing their homeland and being subjected to brutal Russification for decades
The recognition is significant in its timing. The Riigikogu drew parallels between the Soviet deportations and the current Russian occupation of Crimea, which began in 2014. It mentions how “the Russian Federation is continuing the policy of genocide pursued by the Soviet Union against the Crimean Tatars, with the aim of destroying the identity and erasing the historical and cultural heritage of the Crimean Tatars.”
Since Russia’s occupation of Crimea, many human rights groups have criticized its policies in the peninsula. Patrick Thompson, Amnesty International’s Ukraine Researcher, stated that “Russia has systematically sought to eradicate Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identities by disrupting, restricting or banning the use of Ukrainian and Crimean Tartar languages in education, media, national celebrations and other spheres of life, and oppressing religious and cultural practices that do not conform to those endorsed by Moscow.” These policies have suppressed the right to freedom of expression and of cultural events and religious practices. Estonia’s recognition therefore casts a broader spotlight on modern-day abuses in the region.
In 1944, approximately 200,000 Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported from their homeland by the Soviet regime under accusations of collaboration with Nazi forces during World War II. Tens of thousands died due to harsh conditions during the journey and subsequent resettlement in Central Asia. This event is considered a historical and cultural devastation for the Crimean Tatar people, who were not allowed to return to their homeland until 1989.
The vote by the Riigikogu follows similar moves by other countries. Ukraine was the first to recognize the deportation as genocide in 2015, followed by Latvia and Lithuania in 2019, Canada in 2022, and Poland earlier this year.
