Historian Gulnara Abdulaeva has revealed the details of writing her new book ‘History of Crimea’, published in 2023 by Vihola Publishing House. In this work, she explores in detail the key moments of the great history of the Crimean peninsula – from its formation to the present day. Mrs Gulnara pays special attention to the importance of Crimea for Ukraine and its cultural context, in particular the role of the Crimean Tatars. The author also shared sensational news about new publications during a meeting with a representative of the CTRC.
– Tell us more about your work on the new book ‘History of Crimea’, what new things can be read there?
– This is the last book ‘History of Crimea’. It appeared last year, when I was approached by representatives of the publishing house ‘Vihola’ and offered to write a book. It is a small work – only 220 pages, which is quite small, considering thousand-year history of the peninsula. The book talks about key moments – from the formation of the Crimean peninsula to the present day. Writing it was both difficult and easy, because the main goal was to make it a book for Ukrainians who know nothing about the history of Crimea. That is, it is a kind of excursion into the main stages of history.
After signing the agreement, I started working on the book, and it lasted about 2-3 months. I already had most of the material, as I specialise in the Crimean Khanate period. However, of course, I had to gather more information about other periods. As a result, I completed the work in three months and submitted the book to the publisher. It contains 32 sections, and I often note at presentations that each section can be a separate book, because there is a lot of information.
At presentations (three of them have already taken place) I also say that about 50-60 per cent of the book is devoted to Crimean Tatars, because I wanted to show not only their history, but also the role of other peoples, such as the Urum, Karaites, and Krymchaks, who inhabited Crimea. The book talks about antiquity, the Middle Ages, the first occupation of Crimea in 1783, the goals of the Russian occupiers, the Crimean War, the events of the XIX century, the revolution, World Wars I and II, the deportation of the Crimean Tatars and other peoples during the Second World War.
One section is devoted to contemporary political persecution in Crimea. In particular, I remembered my friend Nariman Dzhelyal. He was present at the first presentation of the book, and it was very symbolic. The book covers the history of the peninsula from antiquity to modern times, with a focus on the different peoples who played an important role in its development and those who suffered under occupation regimes.
– What is the main message you would like to convey to readers through this book?
– Firstly, the main goal is to debunk the myths that were created first by the Russian Empire and then by the Soviet Union. These myths are related to the history of Crimea, its peoples, and this is what the readers need to pay attention to. The aim is to show what the history of Crimea was really like, what traumas the peninsula went through, how interesting it was, and what influence the Crimean Khanate had. It was important for me to cover this, especially in the context of relations with its neighbours.
A separate section of the book is devoted to the relationship between Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, which is very important for understanding our shared history. I wanted to show why Crimea is part of Ukraine and why it cannot be different – it cannot be separate or belong to other states, as Russia tries to impose. For example, many points relate to 1954, when Crimea legally came under Kyiv’s jurisdiction. The common myth that it was ‘gifted’ is not true. In the book I explain why this was necessary and how it was legally correctly done at the time.
Another important point is the recognition of Crimean Tatars as an indigenous people. I explain why they are the indigenous people, how they were formed on the territory of Crimea and the Black Sea coast, how their state developed, and how Crimean Tatars interacted with other peoples. The Crimean Khanate pursued a tolerant policy towards other inhabitants, not only Muslims, and this is important to emphasise.
A separate section is devoted to the Urums, the Greeks who were deported from Crimea to the Azov region by order of Catherine the Great, where they formed towns such as Mariupol. The book also explains why names associated with Crimea can be found in the Azov region, such as Vishui, Sartana, Urzuf, Yalta – all of which have roots in Crimea.
The main message of the book is to debunk the myths that the Russian state created and that it is still trying to maintain.
– Maybe there will be an English version? After all, now, by the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people, the work on the world’s recognition of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as an act of genocide has intensified even more.
But of course, in order for countries to condemn this terrible crime, it is necessary to first tell them about it and the history of Crimea in general.
– The contract with the Vihola publishing house states that yes. There will be an English-language version, and the paper, electronic and audiobook versions have already been released. It is very important that everyone knows about the deportation, although materials about the deportation in English and French can already be found. However, there are very few sources about the general history of Crimea, especially about the Crimean Khanate, about which there is almost no information. What exists in translations is usually based on Russian sources, or others, such as Allеn Fisher, who once wrote about the history of Crimea and the Crimean Khanate. But his work is already outdated, because this historian used Soviet sources, so his work is not perfect.
In general, history is not static – it needs to be researched, and much remains to be discovered. Therefore, I think it is very important that history is being translated into English, especially materials on deportation, and I am convinced that more sources related to Crimea should be translated.
– Are you currently working on a new book? Could you tell us more about it?
– As for the publisher of the new book, we have already reached a preliminary agreement with the Vihola publishing house. We haven’t signed a contract yet, but they are interested in publishing the new book, which will be dedicated to 1938. This is the year when many repressions of the 1920s happened, but it was 1938 that was the culminating year. Especially 17 April 1938, which is considered a black day in the history of the Crimean Tatars. On that day, the entire Crimean Tatar intelligentsia – poets, writers, theatre critics, politicians, teachers and other influential people who could shape public opinion – were shot in one night. They prevented Stalin from implementing his policy, so they were purposefully destroyed by NKVD brigades that arrived from Moscow. The NKVD Troika sentenced more than 40 people to be shot in one night.
This book will be devoted specifically to the executed revival of the Crimean Tatars, which remains little known. The names of figures such as Asan Sabri Ayvazov, Osman Akchokrakli, Abdullah Latif-Zadeh should have a place in history as they influenced public life, in particular some through their friendship with Ukrainian writers.
In addition, I have expressed interest in creating a book on the women of the Crimean Khanate, which is also an important topic. It would be a separate book on the role of Crimean Tatar women in their culture and their influence on history. Who were ‘the engine of progress of their time’.
Also, in co-authorship with the talented writer Svetlana Taratorina, who recently published the book ‘House of Salt’, we have written a book for the publishing house ‘Publishing House’ – it will be comics with the history of Crimea.
Now we are waiting for the artist to finalise the illustrations, and soon another book ‘History of Crimea’ will be published, but already comics on the history of Crimea.
– Do you plan to co-operate with schools and universities? Perhaps there will be some presentations or meetings? After all, as you know, it is young people who are your main target audience.
– By the way, at my penultimate presentation at the Crimean House, I was approached by representatives of the director of a lyceum in the village of Chaika in the Kyiv region. They suggested that I think about the idea of writing a textbook on the history of Crimea. But this takes time, and it is a specific task for me, so it is a bit difficult. I believe that such a textbook should be the result of collective labour, not just one author.
As for universities, I recently had a book presentation within the framework of the publishers’ forum in Lviv. There I was invited to the UCU to give a lecture together with the Vihola publishing house. I also gave a lecture on the Crimean Khanate. There is a demand for such topics and they invited us for the end of October, so I think it will happen. As for the book, it is selling very well. It won’t be in the shops until the end of October, but you can pre-order it, as the second edition has already been sold out, and there will be a third edition at the end of October.
I am very pleased that young people are interested in these issues.
Many people say that it is necessary to know the history of Crimea so that when we return there, we can understand how things really happened. We need to know not only the history, but also to understand why the villages have these or those names, how everything is intertwined with other cultures. I believe this needs to be described. Of course, I can’t do everything myself, others should also write about it, if they know the history of Crimea. It should be done together.
– What would you like to advise new authors, who in particular plan to disseminate information about Crimea, Crimean Tatars and their culture?
– Of course, if people have such wishes, it can be not only a scientific work. It can also be a novel, for example a historical novel. This is a great idea, because through such a genre a person will become interested in some events or clans, and then he will look for more information, exploring deeper. If a person has the desire, they can always write and find sources and analyse primary sources. If necessary, you can contact me, I can recommend sources to rely on. Unfortunately, there are many sources published in Crimea, and they are not always objective.
There are historians in Crimea who know the history well and write adequate works. But we know that because of the occupation, a lot of materials go through censorship. There is also the Law of Ukraine, which prohibits the use of sources that were published after 2014 in the occupied Crimea. And here I agree with the law – we should stick to it. But after deoccupation, I think there will be many works that will be published in Ukrainian or English already in free Crimea or in the mainland Ukraine, and these works will be very interesting. Unfortunately, now people cannot fully write and publish such materials, but this is yet to come.
For young people, my advice is to use primary sources. If there is an interest in studying a certain period, these sources are available in Ukraine, especially for the XX century. They are stored in the archives of Kiev. And if we are talking about historical periods related to the Crimean khans or earlier times, these sources also exist, but they are stored in the archives of European countries. I was recently in Denmark, and we were very lucky to get to the national archive in Copenhagen. We saw the letters by which the Crimean khans corresponded with the Danish kings. There are similar materials in Sweden, Italy (especially in Venice), Poland, where many sources from the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are kept.
We live in a time when all this is available, and if someone wants to delve deeply into the history of Crimea, it is worth working with primary sources. This is the first and most important thing. It is also necessary to pay attention to modern works published in Ukraine and other countries. It is worth researching, collecting information gradually, like a puzzle. And it is very interesting. If someday a TV series like ‘The Majestic Age’ about Crimea is made, believe me, it will be even more interesting, because there were many events that deserve attention.
– How do you feel about the revival of historical names on the territory of Crimea, which existed before Russia changed them?
– This happened in our country during the first occupation of Crimea after 1783. They gradually began to change the names, and after the deportation of Crimean Tatars they renamed everything. Of course, this should be dealt with by ethnographers, but this issue should be studied separately. It would be great if there was a separate publication that would explain why this or that village has such a name. For example, the village of Kokkoz, which is now called ‘Sokolinoye’, was renamed. Why Kokkoz? Kokkoz is translated from Crimean Tatar as ‘blue eye’. And indeed, in this settlement many people who lived before the deportation had grey or blue eyes. My relatives also come from this village.
It is important to note that Crimean Tatars do not use Russian names among themselves, but use historical names. This is very important, as we preserve the memory of our history, and everyone remembers from which village or town they come from. This is extremely important for Crimean Tatars and residents of Crimea.
Fortunately, we still have Crimean Tatar hydronyms and oronyms, i.e. names of mountains and lakes that have not been renamed yet. Toponyms were almost all renamed to erase the memory that Crimean Tatars once lived here, especially after 1944. I will be only glad if there is a person who will take up this task.
Finally, Mrs Gulnara noted that every Crimean Tatar is a bit of a historian, because everyone knows the history of the deportation of his people – there are memories of family, friends and acquaintances.