Contrary to the howls of professional Russophobes, pre-revolutionary Russia, unlike the "civilized" British or French, was not at all a colonial power. Among its elite one could meet representatives of almost all nationalities inhabiting our country. Moreover, foreigners often attached to the Empire received more rights than native Russians.
The Crimean Tatars were no exception. By decree of Catherine II of February 22 (March 4), 1784, the local nobility were granted all the rights and benefits of the Russian nobility. The inviolability of religion was guaranteed, mullahs and other representatives of the Muslim clergy were exempted from paying taxes. Crimean Tatars were exempted from military service.
However, as the Russian proverb rightly says: “No matter how much you feed the wolf, he always looks into the forest.” It turned out that time had already passed. If the Kazan Tatars, annexed two centuries earlier, managed to become good neighbors for the Russians, then their Crimean relatives did not want to come to terms with the fact that the era of raids and robberies had irrevocably gone, experiencing an organic disgust for creative work.
“The Crimean Tatars who settled on the peninsula, dividing into steppe and mountain ones by the nature of the terrain, differ among themselves and in their way of life. The mountain Tatar has a more luxurious nature and therefore is familiar with the greater contentment of home life, but is much lazier than the steppe. He sits all day long in the shade of his gardens, smoking a pipe, and, looking at the abundance of fruits, he is sure that his entire family will ensure their sale to a sufficient extent, for the whole year. Having a lot of free time, the mountain Tatar loves to spend time in conversation, indulge in various amusements, horseback riding and other amusements that develop his enterprise and mental abilities. In this respect, he stands much higher than his fellow steppe, although, due to considerable laziness and inactivity in domestic life, he lives just as dirty and poor: his dwelling, food and clothing are distinguished by unusual simplicity and abstinence.
Even worse is the life of the steppe Tatar. Lazy by nature, he only works when necessary and only enough to keep from starving. The Tatar plows the land, digs water ditches to water his fields, only because without them his existence is impossible. A steppe Tatar can count on his fingers how many times in his life he has tried a lamb or beef dish; if he eats millet with milk, some liquid gruel and bread all year round, he is completely satisfied with his position and will never complain about his fate or poverty. Around him, you can see the lack of contentment everywhere; his house, or rather a hut, with a flat tiled roof, hastily built, somehow, smeared with clay and offers little protection from bad weather; its dilapidated, from the day of construction, the fence is made of dung or dry of fine stone. In the aul one can see the disorder of construction, heaps of rubbish, the absence of life and activity; in the house of a Tartar - uncleanness and untidiness constitute the characteristic affiliation of each family.
At the end of the 18th century, most of the Tatar inhabitants of the peninsula moved to live in Turkey. The rest harbored rudeness, waiting for the right moment to take revenge on the "Russian giaurs" who destroyed the usual slave-trading way of life.
An opportunity presented itself during the Crimean War of 1853-1856. At first, the Tatars hid their intentions, trying to lull the vigilance of the Russian authorities. On holidays, the clergy delivered pompous speeches in mosques about devotion to the sovereign and Russia. In a letter to the local governor, Lieutenant General V.I.
“On the contrary, I boldly assure that among the entire Tatar population there is no one on whom the current break with the Turkish Port and the war with it would even suggest a friendly thought to fellow believers, known here, among the Tatars, for their insane, unbridled and masterful fanaticism disastrous for themselves and for every citizen.
Residents made donations in favor of the Russian troops, received them with ostentatious cordiality. For example, on April 8 (20), 1854 in Evpatoria, the Tatar society treated vodka to the 3rd battery of the 14th artillery brigade.
With such actions, the Crimean Tatars fully achieved their goal. In a report to the Governor-General of Novorossiysk, Prince M.S. Vorontsov dated November 17 (29), 1853, the Tauride Governor V.I. Pestel frivolously assured that all rumors about the unrest of the Tatar population were false. They say, having ruled the province for nine years, he fully studied all the shades of the Tatar character, none of the Tatars wants to return under the dominion of the Turks. In general, the situation is under control: he “will know everything that will be done and said not only among the Tatars, but also among Christians, among whom there are harmful talkers.”
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the governor's rotosity, the Tatars held gatherings and conferences in various places in the Crimea, carefully hiding them from the Christian population. Turkish emissaries sent from Constantinople called for an uprising against the Russians, promising paradise after "connecting with the faithful." It is not surprising that as soon as the British, French and Turkish troops began landing on September 1 (13), 1854 near Yevpatoria, a "significant change in favor of the enemy" took place in the mood of the Crimean Tatars.
To equip the occupied territory, the occupiers prudently brought emigrant rabble in their convoy: the Pole Wilhelm Tokarsky and the descendant of the Girey family, Seit-Ibraim Pasha. The first of them was appointed civil commandant of Evpatoria, the second was to become a "living banner" for the rebellious Tatars. However, in fact, the descendant of the Crimean khans, who peacefully whiled away his life in Bulgaria as a private person, was never a Pasha. This title was given to him conditionally, to raise his authority among the wild and ignorant Tatar population.
“From now on,” Tokarsky solemnly announced to the assembled Tatars, “Crimea will not belong to Russia, but, remaining under the protection of France, will be free and independent.
Accompanied by a huge crowd, Tokarsky, together with Seit-Ibraim, went to the mosque, where a solemn service was performed. The enthusiasm of the Tatars knew no bounds. In a kholuy impulse, they lifted and carried Ibraim Pasha, kissed the hands and clothes of the Turkish soldiers.
Seeing this development of events, the Christians who remained in Evpatoria were forced to seek salvation in flight, but on the road they were overtaken by riding Tatars, robbed, beaten, and often bound hand and foot delivered into the hands of the enemy. Many of the inhabitants of the city paid with mutilation, and some were killed in the most brutal way.
The new civilian governor of Evpatoria formed a divan or city government from local Tatars. Duma vowel Osman-Aga-Chardachi-Oglu, better known under the street name Sukur-Osman, was appointed vice-governor of the city, blacksmith Hussein - captain.
Agreeing with Ibraim Pasha, Tokarsky ordered the Tatars to rob all non-Muslim peasants. Making up for lost time during the time of Russian slavery, the "oppressed victims of the autocracy" happily took up their favorite craft. Unbridled robbery of the Russian population began. At the end of 1854, the marshal of the nobility of the Evpatoria district reported to the governor of the Taurida province V.I. » .
So, the estate of General Popova Karadzha (now the village of Olenevka) was completely plundered. The Tatars took away all the cattle, sheep and horses, took away all the grain harvested two years, threshed in barns and not threshed in stacks, ruined a vineyard and orchard, a fish factory, plundered property, furniture, silver, causing a loss of more than 17 thousand rubles . From the estate of M.S. Vorontsov Ak-Mechet (now the Black Sea), the thieving descendants of Genghis Khan stole 10 thousand sheep, the horses of the prince, did not disdain to take sugar, stearin candles, and generally dragged away everything that was badly lying. On September 4 (16), 1854, the Adzhi-Baychi estate was plundered, and its owner Vesinsky and his brother were taken to Evpatoria.
The extradition of Russian officials to the invaders was another manifestation of the treacherous activities of the Crimean Tatars. Tokarsky ordered them to catch the Cossacks and all officials, promising for this "the rank of general, a large medal and 1000 rubles. of money". “Under this pretext, the fanatics with the blacksmith Hussein constantly searched for the Cossacks in the chests of the peasants and rioted for two days.” In particular, the Evpatoria district judge Stoikovich became their victim, who was beaten and captured, his estate was plundered, buildings were destroyed, and the files of the district court located there were destroyed.
In order to save themselves from the Tatar atrocities, most of the surviving landowners were forced to buy a security sheet signed by Ibraim Pasha, paying a rather high sum for it.
The looted livestock was driven to Evpatoria, where it was bought by the troops of the anti-Russian coalition, generously paying with fake Turkish banknotes. According to the estimates of the famous Karaite merchant Simon Babovich, the Tatars managed to transfer to the enemy up to 50 thousand sheep and up to 15 thousand heads of cattle, mostly taken from the Christian population.
Soon after the landing of enemy troops in the Crimea, the Taurida provincial prosecutor informed the Minister of Justice, Count V.N. driving there for food herds of sheep and cattle, abducted forcibly in the landowners' economy, point out the enemy to the area, indulge in robbery and oppose our Cossacks with an armed hand. Weapons were found in some Tatars of Evpatoria Uyezd...” . However, in reality, one should not talk about "some Tatars", but about the almost universal subservience to the occupiers.
The mass betrayal also affected the Crimean Tatar elite, who instantly forgot about all the good deeds rendered to them by the Russian authorities. As a member of the committee for benefits to the inhabitants of the Novorossiysk Territory, who suffered from the war, the real State Councilor Grigoriev noted in the “Note on the War of 1853-1856” presented to the heir to the Tsarevich: some who lived near Evpatoria were handed over to the enemy.
The head of the Saki often visited the enemy camp with other Tatars, the head of the Dzhaminsky brought with him to Evpatoria up to 200 Tatars who expressed a desire to join the armed formations created by the invaders. The volost foreman of the Kerkulag volost took 1,800 rubles. of state money, kept in the volost government, went to Evpatoria, where he presented this money to Ibraim Pasha as a gift. The whole parish followed his example and surrendered to the enemy.
However, the foreman of Kerkulag was by no means alone in his zeal. As Major Gangardt reported on October 3 (15), 1854, to the new Governor-General of Novorossia N.N. Annenkov: “From almost all volosts, collectors brought him (Ibraim Pasha. - I.P.) state taxes up to 100,000 rubles. ser. He spoke very contemptuously about the Tatars and beat them severely. Brazenly and petty demanded gifts from everyone.
We have to admit that, unlike the tsarist administration, Ibrahim Pasha perfectly understood the psychology of the Crimean Tatars and knew how to treat them.
However, the violent activity of the descendant of Girey alarmed the British and French, because they still sent him to raise the Tatar population to fight against Russia, and not fill their own pockets. As a result, Ibrahim Pasha was placed under the strictest supervision of the English and French military governors.
Crimean Tatars have repeatedly acted as conductors of the anti-Russian coalition troops. For example, when on September 22 (October 4), 1854, an enemy landing landed in Yalta, "up to 1000 enemy people went home and mainly to government places, following the instructions of the Tatars, and began to rob state and private property" . The Russian authorities detained many Tatars from the villages of Uzenbashchik, Baga (Baydar Volost), Ai-Todor, Bakhchisaray and other places, who served the enemy as scouts and guides.
Under the leadership of British, French and Turkish officers in Evpatoria, the formation of special detachments of "askers" from Tatar volunteers began. Armed with lances, pistols, sabers and partly rifles and led by a Yevpatoriya mullah, they were used for garrison service and for traveling around the city. At the end of December 1854, there were up to 10,000 Turkish infantry, 300 cavalry, and about 5,000 Tatars able to bear arms in the Evpatoria garrison; English and French there were no more than 700 people.
In addition to Evpatoria, gangs of Tatars of 200-300 people wandered around the county, ravaged estates, robbed and robbed. In a short time, Tatar atrocities and robberies spread all the way to Perekop. In his order to the commander of the reserve battalion of the Volyn and Minsk regiments dated September 10 (22), 1854, Prince Menshikov pointed out the need to be especially careful when marching, "so as not to be accidentally attacked by both the enemy and the inhabitants" . The total number of Crimean Tatar formations in the service of the anti-Russian coalition exceeded 10 thousand people.
In addition, the invaders actively used their lackeys for fortification work. Through the efforts of the Crimean Tatars, Evpatoria was surrounded by fortifications, the streets were barricaded, and a moat was dug before quarantine.
Retribution for betrayal came pretty soon. On September 29 (October 11), 1954, the Uhlan division of Lieutenant General Korf approached the city. “The completely flat and smooth terrain in front of Evpatoria made it possible to establish a close blockade and stop communication between the city and the county. The chain of our outposts, located five versts from the city, formed a semicircle, one end of which adjoined the sea from the side of the quarantine, and the other near the stone bridge, on the arm of Rotten Lake. One battalion of lancers, sent to the Belu Spit, finally closed the exit from the city into the country.
Since food supplies in Evpatoria were insignificant, the British and French, as befits civilized Europeans, left their native servants to their fate, giving them a handful of crackers a day. Bread was sold at prices that were unaffordable to the Tatars. As a result, the latter suffered a terrible famine. As one of the Tatar defectors reported on November 29 (December 11), 1854, many of his fellow tribesmen were forced to eat rotten onions, bran and corn grains. They endured terrible hardships and died by the hundreds. According to the testimony of a Tatar who defected to our side:
“When the appeal of the commander-in-chief became public, promising forgiveness to all those who returned to their villages, then every day up to 200 women and girls stand near the police and ask commandant Tokarsky for a pass from the city. Tokarsky strictly forbids this.
Announcing that anyone who arbitrarily decided to leave the city would be shot, he said that the Russians tyrannized and hanged all the returning Tatars, and assured that so much food would soon be brought from Varna that it would be enough for all the inhabitants of the city.
However, knowing the traditional softness and condescension of the Russian authorities, the Tatars did not trust the commandant too much. Every day, several defectors came out to the Russian outposts.
The future "innocent victims of Stalinism" distinguished themselves at the opposite end of the Crimean peninsula, when on May 13 (25), 1855, enemy troops entered Kerch. Fleeing from robbery, the Christian population of the city and surrounding villages, leaving their property, fled under the protection of the Russian army:
“The road was covered in several rows by all kinds of carriages and pedestrians, among which were ladies, representatives of the best society in Kerch. Fleeing without preliminary preparations, they rushed out of the city in what they were. In one dress and in thin shoes, from the unusual fast walk along the rocky road, women fell exhausted, with swollen and bloody legs. But this is not enough: the traitors of the Tatars rushed to catch up, robbed, killed, and performed terrible atrocities on young girls. The violence of the Tatars forced the settlers to forget about fatigue and rush for the troops that provided them from danger.
As the real State Councilor Grigoriev reports in the already mentioned “Note on the War of 1853-1856”: “Threatened from the sea by the enemy, pursued by traitor Tatars on their steppe, the unfortunate Kerch, with all the exhaustion of strength, driven by a sense of fear, fled along the thorns and rocky road until they took refuge in a safe place. Out of a population of 12,000, no more than 2,000 people remained in the city.
The Tatar inhabitants of Crimea did not disdain the robbery of Orthodox churches. So, they destroyed the Zechariah-Elizabeth Church in the already mentioned village of Ak-Mechet, which belonged to Prince M.S. Vorontsov. The robbers broke the church doors, stole valuable utensils, pierced the altarpiece in many places. After the landing of the enemy forces in Kerch, the Tatars, together with the marauders who joined them from the expeditionary corps, broke into the church of the Girls' Institute, took away the vestments, the silver censer, paten and even copper crosses, and defiled the altar.
However, not all Crimean Tatars turned out to be traitors. The privileged part of the Life Guards of the Crimean Tatar squadron, located in Sevastopol, took part in the defense of the city. On the night of September 24-25 (October 6-7), 1854, during a reconnaissance undertaken by the Russian cavalry, the Tatar guards took by surprise a convoy of four English dragoons. Two of the enemies were killed, the other two were taken prisoner. For this feat, non-commissioned officer Seitsha Balov and privates Selim Abulkhairov and Mollajan Ametov were awarded the insignia of the military order.
Rightly believing that unrest in Evpatoria district could have a harmful effect on military operations, Prince A.S. Menshikov ordered the Taurida governor, Lieutenant-General V.I. Pestel, to expel all Tatars living along the sea coast from Sevastopol to Perekop . “This measure,” Prince Menshikov wrote to the Minister of War, Lieutenant General Prince V.A. them, at the very time when the enemy army is still in the Crimea, and will show the rest of the Tatars that the government is not in the least embarrassed by the presence of enemies, for the exemplary punishment of those who change the duty of the oath, assisting the enemy in ways of acquiring allowances.
However, another opinion was also expressed. From the report of Major Gangardt dated October 6 (18), 1854:
“The Tatars of the Evpatoria district, no doubt, brought on themselves the disasters that they are now experiencing, but having impartially considered all the circumstances that accompanied the rapid subordination of the entire district to the power of the enemy, one cannot but admit that we ourselves are to blame for suddenly abandoning this tribe, which, according to religion and origin, cannot have sympathy for us - without any military and civil protection, from the influence of the formed gang of villains and fanatics, and one must be surprised that the innate propensity of the Tatars for robberies did not captivate the crowd into murders and further indignation in other places of the Crimea long left without troops. I am convinced that the investigation of a serious investigation will prove that the Tatar people are far from having that spirit of treason, which is supposed to be in them, and therefore decisive measures should be taken so that the miserable population of many villages in the Evpatoria district, who fled from fear that the Cossacks will cut them, and having lost all his property through that, did not die of hunger and cold with the approach of a harsh winter.
Nevertheless, the sovereign approved Menshikov's plan:
“I resolved your idea of the resettlement of the coastal Tatars, which they ordered to start when you find it convenient, but paying due attention so that this measure does not turn into death for the innocent, i.e. women and children, and would not be a pretext for abuse. I believe that you will limit the resettlement only to the Tatars of Evpatoria and Perekop counties, but not the southern ones; especially if they remain alien to the betrayal of others. In the mountains, it will hardly even be possible to carry out this measure without the greatest difficulties, and it would probably put the entire population against us.
Alas, this plan was never carried out. On February 18 (March 2), 1855, Nicholas I died, having managed to remove Menshikov from command on February 15 (27). Alexander II, who ascended the throne, was distinguished by liberalism and indulgence of foreigners. In addition, according to Article 5 of the Paris Peace Treaty signed on March 18 (30), 1856:
“Their Majesties the Emperor of All Russia, the Emperor of the French, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the King of Sardinia and the Sultan grant full forgiveness to those of their subjects who were found guilty of any complicity with the enemy during the continuation of hostilities.
At the same time, it is decided precisely that this general forgiveness will be extended to those subjects of each of the belligerent Powers who during the war remained in the service of another of the belligerent Powers.
Thus, the Crimean Tatars were spared from just retribution for their treacherous behavior. However, shortly after the end of the war, Turkish agents and Muslim clergy launched a wide campaign among them for resettlement in Turkey. Under the influence of this propaganda in 1859-1862, a new wave of mass voluntary emigration of the Crimean Tatars rises. According to the local statistical committee, by 1863 over 140 thousand people left for Turkey. Those who remained were ready to welcome any foreign invader.
Faithful to the principles of "proletarian internationalism", Soviet historians carefully hushed up the unseemly role played by the Crimean Tatars in the war of 1853-1856. So, in the two-volume book “The Crimean War” by Academician E.V. Tarle, published in 1943, not a single word was said about these events.
old.evpatoriya-history.info
Notes:
1. Crimea: past and present / Ed. ed. S.G. Agadzhanov, A.N. Sakharov. M., 1988. P.18.
2. Great Soviet encyclopedia. 3rd edition. T.13. M., 1973. S.517.
3. Crimea: past and present. M., 1988. P.21.
4. Nadinsky P.N. Essays on the history of Crimea. Part I. Simferopol, 1951. P.63.
5. The title of the heir to the Crimean Khan. - I.P.
6. Nadinsky P.N. Essays on the history of Crimea. Part I. Simferopol, 1951. P.63.
7. Ibid. P.65.
8. Crimea: past and present. M., 1988. P.24.
9. Andreev A.R. Unknown Borodino. Molodinsk battle of 1572. Documentary chronicle of the 16th century. M., 1997. P.46.
10. Crimea: past and present. S.24-25.
11. Ibid. P.28.
12. Shem A. Maria Rozanova and Alexander Pyatigorsky about the Crimean Tatars // Nezavisimaya Gazeta. June 19, 2002. No. 119 (2673). C.10.
13. Andreev A.R. Unknown Borodino... P.47.
14. Ibid. P.48.
15. Crimea: past and present. M., 1988. P.26.
16. Ibid. P.29.
17. Andreev A.R. History of the Crimea. M., 2002. P.215.
18. Ibid. P.220.
19. Ibid. pp.220-221.
20. Diplomatic dictionary in three volumes. T.II. M., 1985. S.128-129.
21. Andreev A.R. History of the Crimea. M., 2002. S.238.
22. Crimea: past and present. M., 1988. P.35.
23. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.32-33.
24. Andreev A.R. History of the Crimea. M., 2002. S.249-250.
25. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.282-283.
26. Masaev M.V. On the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War // Culture of the peoples of the Black Sea region. 2004. No. 52. T.1. P.48.
27. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.280.
28. Ibid. pp.280-281.
29. Tarle E.V. Collected works in 12 volumes. T.IX. M., 1959. S.38-39.
30. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... С.49.
31. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.285-286.
32. Ibid. P.286.
33. Ibid. P.287.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... С.54.
37. Ibid. P.50.
38. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.288.
39. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... С.50.
40. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.287.
41. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... P.49-50.
42. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.288.
43. Ibid. P.289.
44. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.II. SPb., 1900. S.20.
45. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... С.50.
46. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.286.
47. Ibid. P.290.
48. Ibid. P.289.
49. Ibid. P.288.
50. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... С.50.
51. Ibid. P.52.
52. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.289.
53. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.II. SPb., 1900. P. 402.
54. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.291.
55. Nadinsky P.N. Essays on the history of Crimea. Part I. Simferopol, 1951. P.140.
56. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.II. SPb., 1900. S.20.
57. Ibid.
58. Ibid. pp.401-402.
59. Ibid.
60. Ibid. P.402.
61. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.III. SPb., 1900. P.176.
62. Ibid. P.177.
63. Ibid.
64. Masaev M.V. About the Crimean Tatar population during the Crimean War... С.49.
65. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.I. SPb., 1900. S.288.
66. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.III. SPb., 1900. P. 178.
67. The Crimean Tatar squadron was divided into three parts: two parts were constantly in the service in St. Petersburg, and the third, consisting of 3 officers, 8 non-commissioned officers and 64 privates, was in the Crimea; every three years, the preferential part went to serve in St. Petersburg. - I.P.
68. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.II. SPb., 1900. P.33.
69. Mufti-zade I.M. Essay on the military service of the Crimean Tatars (based on archival materials). Simferopol, 1899. P.17.
70. Dubrovin N.F. History of the Crimean War and the defense of Sevastopol. T.II. SPb., 1900. P.18.
71. Ibid. P.19.
72. Ibid. pp.37-38.
73. Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire. Meeting second. Volume XXXI. Division one. 1856. St. Petersburg, 1857. S.226-227.
74. Andreev A.R. History of the Crimea. M., 2002. S.255-256.
Just read these numbers and do not forget that the Crimean Tatars are also involved in the victory over Nazism, despite the fact that Victory Day in 1945 was celebrated in special settlements with the yoke of traitors.
- Crimean Tatars accounted for 15% of the total number of those called up from the Crimea. Of the 24 submissions of the Crimean Tatars to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, in 18 cases the highest award was replaced by an order. For comparison, among representatives of other ethnic groups of Crimea, who accounted for 85% of those mobilized, there were only 12 replacements of the title of Hero for an order (8 Russians, 3 Ukrainians, 1 Jew). In general, in other ethnic communities of Crimea (mainly Russians and Ukrainians), approximately 75% of the performances ended with the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, among the Crimean Tatars only 25% or only one in four were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
- The general list of Crimean Tatars presented for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union:
1. Amet-Khan Sultan, squadron commander, major at the end of the war, lieutenant colonel at the time of death (1971).
2. Abdul Teifuk, battalion commander, major.
3. Abduramanov Uzeir, squad leader, guards. Art. sergeant.
4. Abilov Anatoly (Fetislyam) Abilovich, regiment commander, lieutenant colonel by the end of the war, colonel (1990).
5. Azizov Fazyl Asanovich, commander of a tank platoon, guards. lieutenant.
6. Dermendzhi Dzhevdet, battalion commander, captain.
7. Jafer Osman Topchi, battalion commander, major (second time posthumously).
8. Dzhelilov Nuri, commander of a tank company, guards. captain.
9. Zakirya Usein Zakharovich, deputy commander of the rifle battalion for political affairs, art. lieutenant (posthumously).
10. Kerimov Ablyaz Khairovich, squadron commander, guards. Art. lieutenant.
11. Lumanov Emir Lumanovich, battalion commander, Art. lieutenant (posthumously).
12. Mesutov Veis Asanovich, battery commander, Art. lieutenant (posthumously).
13. Osmanov Refat, squad leader.
14. Reshidov Abdraim, squadron commander, lieutenant colonel by the end of the war.
15. Seitveliev Seitnafe, squad leader, Art. sergeant.
16. Timofey died, platoon commander, lieutenant.
17. Khairov Suleiman Abdulovich, platoon commander, Art. lieutenant.
18. Khaibulaev Idris, regiment commander, colonel by the end of the war.
19. Khaliev Asan Salidzhanovich (Salizhanovich), sniper, foreman of the 2nd article.
20. Chailak Ismail Umerovich, scout, sergeant
They were twice presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union:
- Amet-Khan Sultan (1943, 1945), awarded both times, twice Hero of the Soviet Union
- Abilov Anatoly (Fetislyam) Abilovich (1944, 1945), the only one of the unrewarded who was awarded in 1990
- Reshidov Abdraim (November 1941, June 1945), awarded once in June 1945
- Jafer Osman Topchi (Topchi Jafer Osman) (May 24, 1944, October 10, 1944 (posthumously presented)), not awarded both times.
3. The well-known Crimean scientist, doctor of historical sciences Vladimir Polyakov, based on the analysis of a whole set of documents, established the ethnic composition of the Crimean partisans: Russians 2185 - 58.2%; Crimean Tatars 598 - 15.9%; Ukrainians 313 - 8.3%; Georgians 145 - 3.9%; Greeks 106 - 2.8%; the remaining 403 - 10.9%. Total 3750 - 100%. The study of award lists also allowed the scientist to identify the ethnic composition of the Crimean partisans who were awarded orders and medals: Russians 423 - 61.1%; Ukrainians 119 - 17.2%; Crimean Tatars 36 - 5.9%; Jews 20 - 2.9%; the remaining 94 - 12.9%. Total 692 - 100%. At the final stage of the struggle, there were 598 Crimean Tatars among the Crimean partisans; after 1944 it was the second largest figure after the Russians.
4. Of the three partisan formations that existed in the Crimea, two commissars were Crimean Tatars. The Crimean Tatars were also commissars in two brigades out of seven and in ten detachments out of 28. Thus, Mustafa Selimov was the commissar of the largest Southern unit, and Refat Mustafaev was the commissar of the Eastern unit.
5. Crimean Tatar collaborators served in the so-called "volunteer battalions" commanded by German officers. In six such battalions, they are also called "Muslim", 900 people served, 150 in each. Ethnically, their composition was motley, the Crimean Tatars were a minority in them. Major Raimov, known to many historians, was not an officer in the Soviet army; he was a pre-war accountant who rose to the rank of major with the invaders. He was the most senior collaborator among the Crimean Tatars. For comparison, more than 2,300 officers of the Crimean Tatars fought in the units of the Soviet Army (Red Army) during the war years, some of them could have been captured by the Germans, but not one of them, nor from the junior officers, and even more so the senior officers, did not fight against the USSR .
6. During the war, as in all the occupied territories in the Crimea, councils were created in the cities. In rural areas, elders were appointed, depending on the ethnic composition of the population. Commandant's offices were created for several villages. The number of Crimean Tatars in Crimea was 19.4%, their "opportunities" were limited. This can be clearly demonstrated by the example of the occupational administrations-departments of the Crimean cities. At the head of the councils were mainly Russians: Professor Sevastyanov, Burtsov - in Simferopol; Supryagin, Korchminov - in Sevastopol; Tokarev, Pogorelov - in Kerch; Anzherevsky, Pushkarev in Feodosia; Maltsev (promoted to major general), Sereda - in Yalta; Epifanov, Salmin - in Evpatoria; Khrestoforov, Svishchev - in Bakhchisarai; Polsky, Radchenko - in Dzhankoy; Mustafaev, Timofeev - in Karasubazar; Ardyshevsky, Agaev - in the Old Crimea. Among them, only Mustafaev is a Crimean Tatar.
7. Crimean Tatar writers also fought on the fronts of World War II, having changed their feathers for machine guns. Of the 15 writers participating in the war, 12 died. Here are the names of some of them: Khalil Kadyrov (known under the pseudonym Yrgat Kadyr), Amdi Alim, Osman Amit, Maksud Suleiman, Mamut Dibag, Azam Amet, Mennan Reshitov (Jamanakly), Bekir Vaap, Tair Usein, Osman Batyrov, Ennan Alimov and others .
8. A lot of Crimean Tatars also fought on the fronts of World War II. Only on mobilization, 1820 women were called up, in the partisans their number was 1797 people, in the underground - 1774 Crimean Tatars. As a rule, these were doctors, nurses, signalmen, intelligence officers, underground workers. Here are the names of only a few of them: intelligence officer of the Separate Primorsky Army Alime Abdennanova, underground fighters Naime Velieva, Hatice Chapchakchi, Abibe Asanova, Gulzade Sofu and others.
9. For connection with the partisans, the Nazis burned 127 villages on the peninsula, of which 105 were Crimean Tatar. The Crimean Tatar villages of Ulu-Sala, Tav-Badrak were burned with the entire population, Baksan partially.
10. During the war years, 20,200 Crimean Tatars were deported from Crimea for forced labor in Germany, Austria and other occupied countries. The vast majority were young men of non-conscription age.
Avdet cited about Crimean Tatar collaborationism is a lie, collected by the writer Aydin Shemyi-Zade.
In preparing the material, the research of Associate Professor, Candidate of Sociological Sciences Refik Kurtseitov and Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Polyakov was used.
Detachment of the defense of the Crimean Tatars under the command of a German non-commissioned officer
So, in the Sudak region in 1942, a group of self-defense Tatars eliminated the reconnaissance landing of the Red Army, while the self-defenders caught and burned alive 12 Soviet paratroopers.
On February 4, 1943, Crimean Tatar volunteers from the villages of Beshui and Koush captured four partisans from the detachment of S.A. Mukovnin. Partisans L.S.Chernov, V.F.Gordienko, G.K.Sannikov and Kh.K.Kiyamov were brutally killed: stabbed with bayonets, laid on fires and burned. The corpse of the Kazan Tatar Kh.K.
The Crimean Tatar detachments dealt with the civilian population just as brutally. As noted in the special message of L.P. Beria in the GKO addressed to I.V. Stalin, V.M. Molotov and G.M. Malenkov No. 366 / b dated April 25, 1944: "Local residents say that they were persecuted more by the Tatars than by the Romanian occupiers."
It got to the point that, fleeing from reprisals, the Russian-speaking population turned to the German authorities for help - and received protection from them! Here is what, for example, Alexander Chudakov writes:
“My grandmother in forty-three was almost shot by Crimean Tatar punishers in front of my mother, a seven-year-old girl at that time, only because she had the misfortune of being a Ukrainian, and her husband, my grandfather, worked before the war as the chairman of the village council and in At that time he fought in the ranks of the Red Army. Grandmother was saved from a bullet then, by the way ... by the Germans, who were amazed at the degree of bestiality of their lackeys. All this happened a few kilometers from the Crimea, in the village of Novodmitrovka, Kherson region of Ukraine.
- City of Trebujeni
Letter from People's Commissar of Internal Affairs I.V. Stalin on the advisability of deporting Crimean Tatars to Uzbekistan
10.05.1944
Copy
№424/b
Comrade STALIN I.V.
The organs of the NKVD and the NKGB are carrying out work in the Crimea to evict and seize enemy agents, traitors to the Motherland, accomplices of the Nazi invaders and other anti-Soviet elements.
As of May 7 this year. 5381 such persons were arrested.
5395 rifles, 337 machine guns, 250 machine guns, 31 mortars and a large number of grenades and rifle cartridges were confiscated illegally stored by the population
Over 20,000 Tatars deserted from the Red Army units in 1944. They betrayed their motherland, went over to the service of the Germans and fought against the Red Army with arms in their hands.
Taking into account the treacherous actions of the Crimean Tatars against the Soviet people and proceeding from the undesirability of the further residence of the Crimean Tatars on the border outskirts of the Soviet Union, the NKVD of the USSR submits for your consideration a draft decision of the State Defense Committee on the eviction of all Tatars from the territory of Crimea.
We consider it expedient to resettle the Crimean Tatars as special settlers in the regions of the Uzbek SSR for use in work both in agriculture - collective farms, state farms, and in industry and construction.
The question of the resettlement of the Tatars in the Uzbek SSR was agreed with the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Uzbekistan, so I ask for your decision.
People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR L. BERIA
- City of Trebujeni
Document No. 3.148
Resolution of the GOKO No. 5859ss “On the Crimean Tatars”
11.05.1944
State Defense Committee
About the Crimean Tatars
During the Patriotic War, many Crimean Tatars betrayed their homeland, deserted from the Red Army units defending the Crimea, and went over to the side of the enemy, joined the volunteer Tatar military units formed by the Germans that fought against the Red Army; during the occupation of the Crimea by the Nazi troops, participating in the German punitive detachments, the Crimean Tatars were especially distinguished by their brutal reprisals against Soviet partisans, and also helped the German invaders in organizing the forcible deportation of Soviet citizens into German slavery and the mass extermination of Soviet people.
The Crimean Tatars actively cooperated with the German occupation authorities, participating in the so-called “Tatar national committees” organized by German intelligence and were widely used by the Germans to send spies and saboteurs to the rear of the Red Army. The “Tatar National Committees”, in which the White Guard-Tatar emigrants played the main role, with the support of the Crimean Tatars, directed their activities to the persecution and oppression of the non-Tatar population of Crimea and carried out work to prepare for the forcible secession of Crimea from the Soviet Union with the help of the German armed forces.
In view of the foregoing, the State Defense Committee
DECIDES:
1. All Tatars must be evicted from the territory of Crimea and settled permanently as special settlers in the regions of the Uzbek SSR. The eviction is to be assigned to the NKVD of the USSR. Oblige the NKVD of the USSR (comrade 1.
Property remaining in place, buildings, outbuildings, furniture and household land are taken over by local authorities; all productive and dairy cattle, as well as poultry, are accepted by the People's Commissariat of Meat and Dairy Industry, all agricultural products - by the USSR People's Commissariat of Education, horses and other draft animals - by the USSR People's Commissariat of Agriculture, pedigree cattle - by the USSR People's Commissariat of State Farms.
Acceptance of livestock, grain, vegetables and other types of agricultural products is carried out with the issuance of exchange receipts for each settlement and each farm.
To instruct the NKVD of the USSR, the People's Commissariat of Agriculture, the People's Commissariat for Meat and Milk Industry, the People's Commissariat of State Farms and the People's Commissariat of Education of the USSR by July 1 of this year. to submit to the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR proposals on the procedure for the return of livestock, poultry and agricultural products received from them by exchange receipts to special settlers;
b) to organize the reception from the special settlers of property, livestock, grain and agricultural products left by them in the places of eviction, send to the place a commission of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR consisting of: chairman of the commission comrade KRESTYANINOV (member of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the USSR), comrade PUSTOVALOV (member of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Education of the USSR), comrade GUSEV (member of the collegium of the USSR NKFin).
Oblige the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the USSR (comrade SUBBOTINA), the People's Commissariat of Ministers of the USSR (comrade LOBANOVA) to ensure the reception of livestock, grain and agricultural products from special settlers, to send, in agreement with Comrade GRITSENKO, the necessary number of workers to the Crimea;
c) oblige the NKPS (comrade MITEREVA) to allocate for each echelon with special settlers, within the time limits agreed with the NKVD of the USSR, one doctor and two nurses with an appropriate supply of medicines and provide medical and sanitary care for special settlers on the way; People's Commissariat of the USSR (vol. 2 .
3. To oblige the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Uzbekistan, comrade ABDURAKHMANOV and the people's commissar of internal affairs of the Uzbek SSR, comrade KRAVTSOV) to issue special settlers sent to the Uzbek SSR, in their places of settlement, a loan for the construction of houses and for household equipment up to 5,000 rubles per family , with installments up to 7 years.
5. To oblige the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the USSR (comrade SUBBOTINA) to allocate flour, cereals and vegetables to the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek SSR for distribution to special settlers during June-August of this year. monthly in equal amounts, according to Appendix No. 2.
Issuance of flour, cereals and vegetables to special settlers during June-August this year. to produce free of charge, in payment for the agricultural products and livestock accepted from them in the places of eviction.
6. To oblige NCOs (comrade SHIROKOVA) to allocate and ship before May 20, 1944 to the points at the direction of the NKVD of the USSR 400 tons of motor gasoline at the disposal of the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek SSR - 200 tons.
The supply of motor gasoline is to be carried out at the expense of a uniform reduction in supplies to all other consumers.
8. To oblige Glavsnabless under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (comrade ZVEREVA) to release the NKVD of the USSR in May of this year. 30 million rubles from the reserve fund of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR for special events.
Chairman of the State Defense CommitteeI. STALIN
- City of Trebujeni
Document No. 3.154
Ex. No. 1
Description of the Chekist-military eviction operation
Special contingent (Crimean Tatars) in the Sudak region of the Crimean ASSR,
I. Operation preparation
In the period from May 1 to May 6, 1944, the regiment carried out preparatory work with personnel for the operation. From May 6 to May 10, the regiment was on the move to the place of the operation, and on May 12, 1944, the regiment's units occupied the garrisons of the Sudak region.
For the operation, the regiment arrived in full strength, with the exception of the 3rd battalion and a chemical protection platoon, left at the place of deployment in the city of Rostov n/a to carry out garrison service, guard the premises and warehouses of the regiment.
In the period from May 12 to 17 this year, the units of the regiment were engaged in direct preparation for the operation - they studied the terrain of the mountainous area of the upcoming actions, the presence of hidden approaches to settlements, places for the location of fire weapons and observation, studied the composition of the local population, prepared movement routes, determined the places of landing sites and points of concentration of vehicles. They calculated the personnel and placed them in certain apartments, the rest of the time they were engaged in combat and political training and carrying out party-mass work among the population.
II. Conditions for upcoming actions
1) The Sudak region is located in the highlands of the southern coast of Crimea - heavily rugged, mostly covered with dense thickets of shrubs - which provide favorable conditions for sheltering a k / r element and leaving the population to the mountains.
2) During the occupation of the Crimea by the German-Romanian invaders, under the leadership of the latter, K / R organizations were created - the Muslim Committee and others directed against the Soviet party workers and the partisan movement. From the Tatar population, the Germans organized volunteer units to fight partisan detachments and Soviet party activists, landings of the Red Army and the Russian population - inflicting brutal reprisals against them, especially in the villages of Ayserez, Voron, Kozy, Sudak. In the village of Voron, 12 Red Navy paratroopers were burned in the house.
After the liberation of the Crimea from the German-Romanian invaders in the Sudak region in the first half of May, there were separate manifestations of bandit attacks on the Red Army and the civilian population, as well as the robbery of food and livestock from the population.
The presence of the remaining German-Romanian agents and their accomplices from the Tatar population, who knew the area and all the mountain roads and paths between the villages, created favorable conditions for the Tatars and disadvantageous for the garrisons of the regiment.
3) The season and weather conditions created favorable conditions for the operation, and the availability of good roads ensured the uninterrupted delivery of products to personnel at all points and the concentration of Tatars to the place of loading.
III. Operation progress
According to the records of the NKVD authorities in the Sudak region, it was supposed to evict 14,407 people, but in fact 14,380 people were evicted, of which:
Crimean Tatars - 14,378 people.
Romanian - 1 person
Germans - 1 person.
This discrepancy between the actually evicted special contingent and the credentials of the NKVD is explained by the fact that before the start of the operation after the liberation of the Crimea from the German-Romanian invaders - 123 people. arrested and are under investigation, one family of 8 people. not evicted, whose mother gave birth to a child on the night of the operation, and the remaining 195 people. joined the ranks of the Red Army.
Carrying out huge preparatory work in the units of the regiment, bringing to the attention of the entire personnel of the specific task of the upcoming operation, made it possible to successfully carry it out in a short time without a single case of any resistance or hiding from eviction.
The success of the operation was achieved thanks to:
1) The suddenness of the operation with the strict preservation of military secrecy by all personnel of the regiment. Upon the arrival of the regiment in the Sudak region, a legend was spread: “After the battles near Sevastopol, the regiment arrived to rest in the city of Sudak, the regiment’s units were deployed in the villages of the region for rest. This is where we need to get replenished. We will carry out maneuvers in the mountains: after that we will go to the Carpathians to beat the Germans.
2) Excellent knowledge of the assigned task by personnel from an officer to a private.
3) A clear organization, the correct alignment of forces and the ability to act in difficult conditions.
4) Maintaining a high political and moral state throughout the operation.
All this made it possible to carry out such a major government event without armed resistance to the c / r element and prevent the population from leaving for the mountains before the start of the operation, quickly and without losses on our part to complete it ahead of schedule.
IV. Distinguished in the operation
The entire personnel of the units of the regiment was deeply imbued with the seriousness and responsibility of the duty to the Motherland in the fulfillment of the assigned task - the desire to accurately and exemplarily carry out the operation on time and thereby fulfill the order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the NKVD of the USSR Comrade. BEZHANOVA - the regiment coped with the task - "excellent".
Crimean Tatars easily made contact with the Germans, and already in October-November 1941, the Germans formed the first detachments of collaborators from the Crimean Tatars. And these were not only Tatars - Khivs from prisoners of war in the army, of which there were 9 thousand people. These were the so-called. police squads self-defense╗ (Selbst-Schutz╗ under the jurisdiction of the military administration) to protect villages from partisans, carry out German policy and maintain order on the ground. Such detachments numbered 50-170 fighters, were armed with captured Soviet small arms and mortars, and were led by German officers. The personnel were from Tatar deserters from the Red Army and from peasants. The fact that the Tatars enjoyed a special disposition is evidenced by the fact that 1/3 of the self-defense police wore German military uniforms (though without insignia) and even helmets. At the same time, the Belarusian police self-defense units╗ (the status of the Slavs was the lowest) went in rags - civilian clothes of various colors or Soviet uniforms that had passed the camps. It is characteristic that the recruitment to these battalions was engaged in Eisatzgroup D, i.e. unit whose task was the extermination of Jews, communists and disloyal╗. During the summer-autumn of 1941, Eisatzgruppe D itself in Ukraine and the Crimea destroyed about 40 thousand people.
German archives tell how the Germans, together with the Crimean Tatars, fought together against the Red Army and partisans. When, after the Red Army liberated the Crimea from the German invaders, the Tatar population was evicted from the Crimea for aiding the invaders, no one protested. Everyone saw the reprisals of the nationalists against the Russian partisans and the desertion of the Crimean Tatars, who shot the Red Army soldiers in the back. And their zeal in the fight against the partisans, both then and now people understood that along with the families of traitors, innocent people were also evicted, and they pitied them. But during the bloody war there was neither time nor opportunity to establish the personal guilt of each. The law of war was in effect: the whole nation is responsible for the betrayal of a part of the people. It acted both in the USSR and in the USA, where, after the Japanese aggression, all the Japanese without exception were evicted from the Pacific coast.
Decades later, the nationalist organizations of the Crimean Tatars are doing everything to consign to oblivion the crimes of their fellow tribesmen, assuring that tens of thousands suffered because of a few traitors. Documents from the German archives state the opposite: all combat-ready Crimean Tatars who were under occupation served on the side of our enemy, as the published section from the certificate of the High Command of the German Ground Forces convincingly testifies.*
INFORMATION OF THE HIGH COMMAND OF THE GERMAN GROUND FORCES ON THE FORMATION OF AUXILIARY TROOPS FROM PERSONS OF TATAR AND CAUCASIAN ORIGIN. Crimean Tatars.
The Crimean Tatars belong to the group of Turkic peoples, their closest related peoples are, on the one hand, in Turkey, on the other hand, these are the Tatars of Transcaucasia and the Volga region, as well as various Turkic peoples of Central Asia. They have their own language, but every Tatar speaks Russian to a sufficient degree to be able to speak it relatively fluently.
The Soviet system is resolutely rejected by most of the Tatars. By religion, the Tatars are Mohammedans, they take religion seriously, but without fanaticism. The younger generation, with whom we will have to deal first of all, has partly cooled off towards religion and is limited to the observance of common customs and laws of honor.
The Tatar's way of thinking is generally average, but he is distinguished by honesty and truthfulness. This is especially true for Tatars from mountain villages. Their pride is easily hurt. But the Tatar soldier cannot be denied good qualities. From childhood, he is brought up in respect for the elders. Given that the Tatars are the descendants of a people who spent most of their lives in the saddle and who loves to indulge in memories of a warlike past, we can assume that they will be good soldiers and will do their duty.
Crimean Tatars make up 20-25% of the total population of Crimea. The data of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR for 1930 were used to compile an ethnographic picture of Crimea. Even if the situation on this issue has changed significantly over the past 10 years, these data are still of great interest, as they show how kaleidoscopic the population of Crimea is:
Russians - 301 398.
Ukrainians - 77,405.
Belarusians - 3,000.
Poles - 4,514.
Bulgarians - 11,317.
Czechs - 700.
Slovaks - 719.
Germans - 43,631.
Greeks - 16,036.
Gypsies - 649.
Armenians - 10,713.
Jews - 45,926.
Estonians - 2084.
Tatars - 79094.
Karaites - 4213.
Turks - 292.
Others - 2471.
Foreigners - 7066.
In total - about 710,000.
Before the outbreak of the war, the total number of Tatars, according to their own calculation, was about 200,000 people. The Germans moved to the interior of the Union - to Siberia and Central Asia. The Jews mostly fled. With the rest, measures were taken in accordance with the general instructions on this issue.
According to the order of the GKV (gen. pcs.) Det. Kants. Ex. On January 18, 1942, the Fuhrer gave the opportunity for the unlimited formation of Tatar military units. On January 2, 1942, the GKSV handed over to the chief of the security police and security services (SD), SS Obergruppenführer Ohlendorf, a record of Tatar volunteers for the formation of Tatar companies.
On January 3, 1942, under his chairmanship, the first official solemn meeting of the Tatar Committee took place in Simferopol on the occasion of the start of recruitment. He welcomed the committee and said that the Fuhrer had accepted the offer of the Tatars to take up arms to defend their homeland from the Bolsheviks. Tatars who are ready to take up arms will be enrolled in the German Wehrmacht, will be provided with everything and receive a salary on a par with German soldiers.
In a response speech, the chairman of the Tatar committee said the following: “I speak on behalf of the committee and on behalf of all Tatars, being sure that I express their thoughts. One call of the German army is enough, and the Tatars, one and all, will come out to fight against the common enemy. It is a great honor for us to have the opportunity to fight under the leadership of the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler - the greatest son of the German people. The faith embedded in us gives us the strength to put our trust in the leadership of the German army without hesitation. Our names will later be honored along with the names of those who stood up for the liberation of the oppressed peoples.”
After the approval of the general events, the Tatars asked permission to end this first solemn meeting - the beginning of the struggle against the atheists - according to their custom, with a prayer, and repeated the following three prayers after their mullah:
1st prayer: for the achievement of an early victory and a common goal, as well as for the health and long life of the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler.
2nd prayer: for the German people and their valiant army.
3rd prayer: for the soldiers of the German Wehrmacht who fell in battle.
With this the meeting ended. The recruitment of volunteers was carried out as follows:
The entire territory of Crimea was divided into districts and sub-districts. For each district, one or more commissions were formed from representatives of task forces D and suitable Tatar recruiters. Enlisted volunteers were subjected to on-site verification. In the stage camps, recruitment was carried out in the same way.
in settlements - about 6,000 volunteers;
in the camps - about 4,000 volunteers;
In total - about 10,000 volunteers.
According to the Tatar committee, the village elders organized about 4,000 more people to fight the partisans. In addition, about 5,000 volunteers are at the ready to replenish the formed military units.
Thus, with a population of about 200,000 people, the Tatars allocated about 20,000 people to our army. If we take into account that about 10,000 people were drafted into the Red Army, then we can say that all combat-ready Tatars are fully accounted for.
Operational Group D took over, respectively, the mobilization, concentration at assembly points and the dispatch of volunteers to military units.
The operational group formed 14 Tatar companies for self-defense with a total number of 1632 volunteers. The remainder was used in various ways: most were divided into small groups of 3-10 people and distributed among companies, batteries and other military units; an insignificant part - in closed military units - is attached to detachments, for example, one company, together with a Caucasian company, is attached to the 24th engineer battalion.
With regard to the testing of Tatars in battles with partisans, information about the Tatar self-defense companies can serve, in general, this information can be considered quite positive. Such an assessment can be given to all military actions in which the Tatars took part. Good information was obtained in carrying out various reconnaissance measures.
With regard to discipline and pace of movement on the march, the companies showed themselves on the good side. In clashes with partisans and in small battles, military units fought confidently, completely or partially destroyed the partisans or put them to flight, as, for example, in the area of Bakhchisaray, Karabogaz and Sudak. In the latter case, a battle was fought with regular Russian troops. Losses - 400 killed and wounded - can testify to the fighting spirit. It should be noted that out of a total of 1,600 people, only one defected to the partisans and one did not return from vacation.
In the military units, the Tatars also showed themselves on the good side. In a very short time, they learned command German and show decent progress. Physical data is not entirely satisfactory, so individual exercises are performed very hard. There is a lack of regular sports activities. In simple sports games, they prove to be awkward.
Guard duty is treated diligently and performs the task with knowledge of duty. After an appropriate explanation about general discipline and about their attitude towards superiors, they have a noticeable desire to obey.
Missing items of clothing and equipment were obtained from the salvage warehouse in Simferopol. Successes in shooting training were not entirely satisfactory. The view that existed until now that bad shooters should be trained immediately when shooting was not justified. Regular sessions with targeted exercises have significantly improved the results in shooting. In general, combat training was perceived by them with great interest, but the Tatars, from a physical point of view, cannot fully meet the requirements of this training due to their small stature.
Tatars are in a good mood. They treat the German authorities with obedience and are proud if they are recognized in the service or outside it. The greatest pride for them is to have the right to wear the German uniform.
Many times they expressed the desire to have a Russian-German dictionary. You can see how happy they feel if they are able to answer a German in German.
In general, the Tatars can be characterized as obedient, diligent soldiers. But their role in the suppression of the partisan movement cannot be overestimated. In order to correctly understand the situation on the partisan front, it would be interesting to give here some data on the partisan movement.
The partisan detachments consist of old partisans who fought back in 1918-1920, of communists, party leaders, heads of collective farms, employees of state institutions, stragglers of the Red Army and sailors. Their armament: rifles, automatic rifles with silencers, mortars, machine guns, hand grenades, explosives, Molotov cocktails, guns with mortars 760 mm, 100 mm, 170 mm; anti-aircraft guns. All this is complemented by radio sets, large warehouses with food and ammunition, barracks, wood-and-earth defensive structures, and caves. In general, these are highly combat-ready units.
The head of all partisan groups is a certain Mokrousov.
The number of partisans by the beginning of this year was estimated at 5000-6000. Thanks to recent actions, this number has decreased by about 2,000 killed and taken prisoner.
The services that the Tatars rendered to the German Wehrmacht are not only that they gave 14 companies (about 1600 people). They provided invaluable assistance as scouts, guides and experts on the country.
Of great importance is their spiritual education and explanation of the meaning and purpose of their service in the German army. In conclusion, the following can be added to the above: the movement of the Crimean Tatars should be considered not only on the small scale of Crimea, this movement should be regarded as the first impetus to the general movement of the Turkic peoples living in the USSR, whose number is approximately 20,000,000 people.
The potential strength of these peoples cannot be overestimated. At the end of this report, it must be emphasized that the Tatar Committee, at its meeting on January 14 of this year, expanded its previous program, namely: “The valiant German army, after the further liberation of Russia from Jewish-Communist domination, will begin to liberate the remaining territories. The Crimean Committee considers it its sacred duty to take part in the liberation of the Muslims of the Soviet Union together with the German army.
**
By order of the State Defense Committee, a little over 180 thousand people were moved to the Uzbek SSR (Special folder. Message No. 495 / B of May 20, 1944).
The document specifically notes that during the operation "mortars - 49, machine guns - 622, machine guns - 724, rifles - 9.888, cartridges - 326.887" were confiscated.
**
It was allowed to take "personal belongings, clothes, household equipment, dishes and food" up to 500 kg per family. Each echelon had a doctor and two nurses with medicines.
The People's Commissariat of Trade was instructed to "provide all echelons with special settlers daily with hot meals and boiling water." At the same time, food was allocated based on the daily norm per person: bread - 500 grams, meat and fish - 70 grams, cereals - 60 grams, fats - 10 grams.
**
Also, during June-August, special settlers were supplied with food (on account of the property they left in Crimea) at the rate of 1 person per month: 8 kg of flour, 8 kg of vegetables and 2 kg of cereals.
** It was instructed to "ensure that the arriving special settlers are provided with household plots and assist in the construction of houses with local building materials." The Agricultural Bank was obliged to issue to the special settlers "a loan for the construction of houses and for household equipment up to 5,000 rubles per family, with an installment plan of up to 7 years."
**
For dessert":
“The entire Tatar people pray every minute and ask Allah to grant the Germans victory over the whole world. Oh, great leader, we tell you with all our hearts, with all our being, believe us! We, the Tatars, give our word to fight the herd of Jews and Bolsheviks, together with the German soldiers in the same ranks!
The newspaper "Azat Krym" ("Liberated Crimea") of March 10, 1942
We will say the following about the cooperation of the Crimean Tatars with the German fascists:
The Crimean Tatars drafted into the Red Army deserted en masse. “20 thousand Crimean Tatars (almost the entire conscription since the beginning of the war.) Deserted in 1941 from the 51st army during its retreat from the Crimea,” noted in a memorandum of the Deputy People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Serov addressed to the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs, a member of the State Defense Committee (GKO ) Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria.
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein: “... the majority of the Tatar population of Crimea was very friendly towards us ... The Tatars immediately sided with us ... A Tatar deputation arrived to me, bringing fruits and beautiful handmade fabrics for the liberator of the Tatars "Adolf Efendi".
According to the information of the High Command of the German Ground Forces dated March 20, 1942, about 10 thousand volunteers were recruited to serve in the Wehrmacht. In addition: “According to the Tatar committee, village elders organized another 4,000 people. to fight the partisans. In addition, about 5,000 volunteers are ready to replenish the formed military units ... we can assume that all combat-ready Tatars are taken into account.
According to other information, since October 1941, the creation of volunteer formations from representatives of the Crimean Tatars - self-defense companies, whose main task was to fight partisans, began. Until January 1942, this process went on spontaneously, but after the recruitment of volunteers from among the Crimean Tatars was officially sanctioned by Hitler, the solution to this problem passed to the leadership of the Einsatzgruppe "D". During January 1942, more than 8,600 volunteers were recruited, of which 1,632 people were selected for service in self-defense companies (14 companies were formed). In March 1942, 4 thousand people were already serving in self-defense companies, and another 5 thousand people were in the reserve.
But this did not stop the influx of Tatar volunteers. In November 1942, the Germans began an additional recruitment of volunteers in the ranks of the German army. By spring, a security battalion was formed - "Shum" (Schutzmannschaft Bataillon) and several more battalions were in a state of formation. Thus, everyone who deserted from the Red Army ended up in the ranks of the Wehrmacht and active accomplices of the Nazis. More than 20,000 servicemen out of a population of 200,000 are considered the norm for general mobilization.
There was no Tatar family whose man of military age did not serve the cause of Adolf Effendi. Moreover, he served with the blessing of his older relatives. And it could not be otherwise in the patriarchal families of the Tatars. In the Tatar newspaper "Azat Krym" ("Free Crimea"), published during the years of occupation, it was boastfully stated that not 10%, but 15% of the Crimean Tatars are active assistants to the new authorities.
The words of representatives of the Crimean Tatars in our time.
"Let us recall that on December 10, 2012, at a rally in Simferopol dedicated to Human Rights Day, Zair Smedlyaev said that he did not see anything wrong with the fact that the Crimean Tatars fought under the flag of Nazi Germany."
Findings:
1. Crimean Tatars massively collaborated with the German fascists in various forms, from verbal support or participation in executions to the proposal to "destroy all Russians in Crimea."
2. The deportation of the Crimean Tatars was a forced response measure of the Soviet government to ensure order in the Crimea during the war and preserve the Tatar people.
Any practice of de-Sovietization or de-Stalinization leads to the justification of fascism, the worship of fascism, and hence to the revival of fascism.