Jim Patterson on the 75th Commemoration of Deportation of Crimean Tatars

Jim Patterson with bust of President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington D.C., October 2019

On the 75th Anniversary of the Deportation of Crimean Tatars, members of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) attended a lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, D. C. The lecture was co-sponsored with the International Committee for Crimea in Washington, D.C. and the American Association of Crimean Tatars, New York.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the forcible deportation of Crimean Tatars from Crimea by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in 1944. Crimean Tatars were not allowed to return to Crimea until the late 1980s. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 presented the community with new challenges. Panelists addressed the history of the deportation and the contemporary issues facing Crimean Tatars.

Speaker included Gulnara Bekirova, Historian and Editor, ATR, Kyiv, Ukraine; and Brian Williams, Professor, Islamic History, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Professor Williams gave background on the deportation and Bekirova spoke about Crimea's current occupation. She repeatedly declined to speak the name Vladimir Putin and described Crimea as "in a bad situation."

The Minsk Agreement, or Minsk I, was an arrangement between Russia, Ukraine, and "separatists," to stop violence over Russia's 2014 invasion. Ceasefire failed to hold and in February 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkle and French President Francoise Hollande, on behalf of the European Union (EU), resumed ceasefire negotiations and their outcome was Minsk II, which excluded Crimea.  Washington was not a party to the negotiation.

Background: In 2014, the EU and Ukraine began relations through the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. The EU wanted, to the consternation of Russia, gradual economic integration and political cooperation with Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine because it said "separatists" wanted to remain in the Russian Federation. In the process, Russia annexed Crimea. Although the Obama administration objected, annexation held. The Obama administration also objected to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but failed to provide any military or diplomatic assistance. 

The presentation was historical with little discussion on the current situation in Crimea or Ukraine. Based on Bekirova's comments and lack of criticism of Russia, I felt she was concerned Russian agents in the audience would report back to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, D.C. The lecture drew an audience of about 30.

Questioning grew intense at moments, especially over the 1943 Tehran Conference (codename Eureka) between President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin. In brief, questioners believed FDR and Churchill could have stopped Stalin's brutality against Crimea, but allowed it in order to accomplish other objectives. Interestingly, author Bret Baier's new book, "Three Days at the Brink," is about the Tehran Conference. Questioners saw similarity between Crimea's treatment in WWII and in 2014's annexation, especially US absence.

The Wilson Center, chartered by the U.S. Congress as the living memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, is the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum. In tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue, the Center informs actionable ideas for Congress, the administration, and the broader policy community.

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Jim Patterson is a foreign policy analyst, former U.S. diplomat, and a life member of the American Foreign Service Association. He is a member of the Nation Book Critics Circle and Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. His work has appeared in Foreign Service Journal, and others.