On August 21, experts from our Association Borys Babin and Anna Prykhodko took part in the Days of Karaite Culture, dedicated to the 780th Anniversary of Karaite History and Living Heritage, which were held by Karaite activists with the active support of the National Reserve “Ancient Halych”.
The purpose of the event was to understand the history of the Karaites in Ukraine, draw attention to the unique Karaite cultural heritage and its current state, update its preservation, research and popularization, support the living traditions of the Karaite language and culture and promote their further development and intercultural dialogue.
In their speeches, representatives of Karaite communities that moved from occupied Crimea and Melitopol and front-line Kherson, as well as European Karaite centers, shared their painful experiences regarding the consequences of Soviet assimilation and the struggle against faith, as well as the current challenges of large-scale Russian aggression.
In turn, the Director General of the National Reserve Volodymyr Oliynyk and employees of the Museum of Karaite History and Culture Roman Raryk and Alina Chirkova shared their experience in preserving the cultural and material heritage of the Karaites in Western Ukraine.
Professor Babin reported to the audience on the legal dimension of the processes of recognizing the Crimean Karaites as an indigenous people in Ukraine and on the organizational prospects for further legalization of Karaite representative institutions.
Particular attention was paid to the challenges associated with attempts by the occupiers to spread disinformation about the Crimean Karaites and the needs for systematic communication with international organizations and the world community of indigenous peoples.
The roundtable participants supported the need for organizational steps to re-format, taking into account the occupation of Crimea and Melitopol, Karaite non-governmental structures and to form a new composition of the Karaite representative body and its legalization in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine on indigenous peoples.
