Crimea’s future begins with knowledge, not just liberation

When we talk about liberating Crimea from Russian occupation, we tend to focus first on military, political, and diplomatic efforts. Yet there is another critically important area of work that cannot wait until the peninsula is de-occupied: building the knowledge, academic expertise, and institutions that Crimea will need for its future.

We must begin preparing today to answer the questions the Ukrainian state will face once it restores its sovereignty over the peninsula. What will Crimea's political and legal framework look like? How will the rights of the Indigenous Crimean Tatar people be guaranteed? How can we restore their language, culture, and historical memory? And how will we overcome the consequences of decades of Russian colonial policies and occupation?

These questions cannot be answered overnight. They require years of sustained, systematic work, research, debate, and the training of specialists.

This is why I see the development of Crimean Tatar studies not merely as an academic undertaking, but as an essential part of our strategic preparations for Crimea's liberation and reintegration, and for shaping its future within the Ukrainian state.

Last week, I had the honour of participating in the international symposium Recentring the Humanities: Ukraine and the World, marking the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta. The event offered an opportunity to reflect on the vital role academic institutions can play in preserving national identity and preparing societies for historic change.

Fifty years ago, when Ukraine was still under Soviet rule, the Ukrainian Canadian community invested in building its own academic expertise. Ukrainian scholars studied history, language, culture, and political developments. They preserved and expanded a body of knowledge that would later prove invaluable to an independent Ukraine.

That experience holds particular significance for Crimean Tatars today.

The exact date of Crimea's liberation will depend on many factors, but we must start preparing for that future now. Doing so will not only help bring the day of the peninsula's return closer and lay the groundwork for its successful reintegration, but also ensure the restoration of the rights of the Indigenous Crimean Tatar people.

Crimean Tatars must be full and equal participants in the research, projects, decisions, and initiatives that concern Crimea's past, present, and future.

This must encompass the full range of issues, from determining the peninsula's legal status and implementing the right to self-determination to developing solutions in the areas of security, environmental protection, and humanitarian affairs.

For us, it is a matter of principle that research on Crimea and the Crimean Tatar people be conducted with the direct participation of Crimean Tatar scholars.

The guiding principle must be simple: "Nothing about us without us."

This does not mean isolating ourselves from the international academic community. On the contrary, we want Crimean Tatar researchers to work in partnership with leading universities and research centres around the world.

We must develop our own understanding of our history, our present, and our future. We cannot allow others to define who we are, what our traditions of statehood have been, or what place the Crimean Tatar people should occupy and what role they should play in an independent Ukraine.

At the same time, this knowledge is essential for Ukrainian society as a whole.

Crimean Tatars must be represented across the full spectrum of Ukraine's social, cultural, and academic life, rather than appearing only in political discussions about occupation and repression. Whenever we discuss Ukraine's future, we must ask ourselves: Where does Crimea fit into that future, and what place and role will the Indigenous Crimean Tatar people have within it? After all, Crimea is their native land and their only historical homeland.

Equally important is integrating Crimean Tatar history into international scholarship.

The world must understand that the Crimean Tatar people did not suddenly emerge on the international agenda as a result of Russia's aggression in 2014. We have a centuries-long history, our own traditions of statehood, and rights and aspirations inseparably linked to Crimea.

From Academic Debate to Practical Solutions

The experience of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies demonstrates that investments in knowledge can precede political change by decades. Yet it is precisely these investments that leave societies better prepared when historic opportunities arise.

The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies does not treat support for the Crimean Tatar people as a separate issue, but rather as an integral part of a broader understanding of Ukraine, its history, and its future. Particularly valuable is the Institute's role as one of the driving forces behind the development of international cooperation in Crimean Tatar studies.

One important outcome of discussions facilitated by CIUS has been progress toward establishing an Association of Crimean Tatar Studies.

This initiative has been under discussion since 2024. We envision the future association as an international platform capable of bringing together researchers from different disciplines, supporting academic projects, helping secure resources, and building a comprehensive body of knowledge about Crimea.

This is not just about historians, linguists, or cultural scholars. Crimea will need research in law, economics, environmental protection, natural resource management, infrastructure reconstruction, and social relations.

For example, we should already be studying potential mechanisms for ensuring Crimea's future water supply. Another critical issue is developing the legal framework for implementing the Crimean Tatar people's right to self-determination within Ukraine.

Such questions require rigorous academic research. Without it, we risk facing complex challenges for which we will be unprepared.

At the same time, we continue to advocate for the establishment of an Institute of the Language, Culture, and History of the Crimean Tatar People in Ukraine.

This objective was included in the Strategy for the Development of the Crimean Tatar Language, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on February 23, 2022. The state must assume systematic responsibility for preserving and developing the language and culture of its Indigenous people.

Although the international Crimean Tatar studies network and a state institute would differ in their structure, operating mechanisms, and organization, together they could create a powerful intellectual and institutional foundation for Crimea's future.

During a one-day working retreat, Indigenous Collaboration in Crimean Tatar Studies: The Yollar Initiative, held recently as part of the international symposium Recentring the Humanities: Ukraine and the World, organized by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies and the University of Alberta, participants finalized the key elements of a proposal to establish the Crimean Tatar Studies Network, following months of discussions.

The retreat brought together Crimean Tatar scholars, artists, community leaders, and members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian Institute, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, the European Centre for Minority Issues, Bilkent University in Türkiye, the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and the Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars.

Scholars and partners from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies and the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre at MacEwan University also participated, among others.

I am confident that the clearly defined goals, objectives, and guiding principles of this initiative in Crimean Tatar studies will be presented to the public in the near future.

P.S. I would like to express my special gratitude to the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies and its remarkable director, Natalia Khanenko-Friesen, not only for inviting me to participate in the Institute's 50th anniversary celebrations, but also for their much broader support.

It was through the Institute's initiative that my visits to Ottawa and Toronto were organized, providing valuable opportunities for important meetings with Canadian parliamentarians, members of the academic community, and representatives of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities.