Crimea’s Tatars — who amount to 12 percent of the peninsula’s 2.2 million residents — overwhelmingly boycotted the March 16th referendum for Crimea to become part of Russia. The Tartar’s bad history with Russia was a major factor of their decision, as Stalin persecuted and deported them en masse from the Crimean Peninsula in 1944. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Tartars trickled back into Crimea, but their status there was always temporary. With Crimea’s much-disputed status as part of Russia following the referendum, the future of the Tartars is a big question mark. VICE News’ Simon Ostrovsky spent some time with Tatars in Simferopol in the week leading up to the referendum to get their side of the story.
Categories: Currents
BONGORAMA.COM 
Crimea operates as a semi-independent ctunory within Ukraine, supported by Russia. Crimea was only made part of Ukraine in the 1950’s by native son Khrushchev, and there are few historical ties except wars. If there was a civil war, Crimea, along with most of eastern Ukraine, would quickly go to Russia. The other area that is very pro Russian is in the Odessa vicinity, and it would link up with Transdneister as an isolated pocket.I don’t like to contemplate these kind of things, but they are very possible if Ukraine gets politically Balkanized, which I believe many Poles would like to see (they would get W Ukraine in that case). Fortunately neither Russia or the larger western powers (like Germany) have allowed this scenario to come to be, and I certainly would never want it to happen. We don’t need another Balkanized state in EE.