The Crimean Tatar Resource Center and the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People have launched a new information campaign. Over the past three centuries, the Crimean Peninsula has undergone large-scale Russification and Sovietization, which is clearly reflected in the renaming of various geographical names.
At various times, the Russian invaders did this in order to destroy the culture, language and history of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine – Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks. In Crimea, thousands of historical names of settlements and geographical objects were renamed, for example, Akmesjit became Simferopol, Akyar became Sevastopol, and Ichki became “Sovietsky”.
As the initiators of the campaign say, today it is extremely important to work on restoring the historical toponymy of the Crimea, which is of great importance for establishing justice for the forcibly deported Crimean Tatar people. Moreover, the restoration of historical toponyms in the peninsula is an important step for the de-occupation of the Crimea by Ukraine and our victory.
