-
Russian Duma demands that Eurovision ban performance of song by representative of Ukraine
The State Duma of the Russian Federation urges the leadership of Eurovision to prohibit Ukrainian singer Jamala from participating in their contest with a song about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, Russian media reported.
According to the Russian website Ekho Moskvii, the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Vadim Dengin, said that this song is being used to "offend Russia once again."
The Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov, …
-
Ukraine opens case against former Crimean Colonel who defected to Russia
In Ukraine, the Military Prosecutor of the Central Region has started criminal proceedings against the former Deputy Head of the Crimean Territorial Command of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Colonel Stephen Gaydarzhiyskyi. He is suspected of treason.
According to the Press Service of the Military Supervisory Authority, the criminal case was opened on the 18th of February. This was reported by the General Directorate of the Military Counterintelligence of the …
-
The documents of the National Security and Defense Council: Ukraine wasn’t able to protect even Kiev in spring 2014
On the 28th of February 2014, the leaders of Ukraine attended an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) in order to determine how the country should react to Russia’s actions. The participants of the meeting concluded that Russia was ready for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2014. During that time, Russia was carrying out the occupation of Crimea with the use of Special Forces.
Regarding the eastern border of Ukraine, 38,000 Russian servicemen with …
-
Crimean Tatars seek to save their mother tongue
Every year, on the 21st of February, International Mother Language Day is celebrated worldwide. About a half of the 6,000 world languages are threatened with extinction. The Crimean Tatar language is the third most spoken language in Ukraine. However, despite this fact, according to the official data of UNESCO, the language is quickly dying, as reported by Radio Svoboda.
Now, some media, universities and activists have taken on the challenge of bringing the language back to life. Newspapers …
-
Ukraine's 2016 Eurovision entry is dedicated to the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944
The representative of Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, Jamala, will perform her song entitled "1944" about the deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet regime during World War II. Viewers and judges voted for Jamala to perform the song.
The song is sung in English with a refrain in the Crimean Tatar language. According to Jamala, whose real name is Susana Jamaladinova, the song was inspired by her great-grandmother's experiences during the deportation.
"That terrible year changed …