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In pictures: Meeting the Tatars of Crimea

The minority group, largely distrustful of Russia, is feeling increasingly vulnerable on the troubled peninsula.

Children walk past houses in a poor area of Bakhchisaray, the historic capital of the Crimean Tatars in Crimea.

By George Henton

Published On 8 Mar 2014

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Bakhchisaray, Ukraine – As political tensions continue to rise on the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine, the region’s minority population, the ethnic Crimean Tatars, face an uncertain future.

Making up just 13 percent of the Crimean population, the Tatar minority is feeling increasing vulnerable following Russian military action across the peninsula.

The Tatar have a tumultuous history in Crimea, where they have lived for hundreds of years. Following World War II, tens of thousands were deported en masse by order of Joseph Stalin – accused of collaboration with the Nazis. The whole population was relocated to distant parts of the Soviet Union, with thousands languishing in the notorious gulags.

Following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, many returned to Crimea – and have enjoyed a largely peaceful co-existence with their ethnic Russian and Ukrainian neighbours.

Now however, with as many as 30,000 Russian troops taking control of Ukrainian military facilities on the peninsula, the Tatars are fearful for the future.

In the quiet town of Bakhchisaray, the historical capital of the Crimean Tatars, many are forming local patrols to ensure their security as the political turmoil divides the community along ethnic lines, and between those who want to remain a part of Ukraine, those who seek independence, and those who want to join the Russian federation.

A woman walks down a road in Bakhchisaray, where the Tatar population is feeling increasingly isolated as a result of the Russian invasion.
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A handful of people walk around inside the Bakhchisaray Palace, built in the 16th century and once home to the Tatar rulers. A popular tourist destination, locals fear that this year few people are going to come and visit.
A car passes a house adorned with a traditional Tatar symbol in the town of Bakhchisaray.
Crimean Tatars gather outside a mosque in Bakhchisaray, where tensions and uncertainty are on the rise.
Following the Russian incursion, the community here has set up patrols in an attempt to guarantee their own security.
A group of Tatars gather outside the town(***)s mosque, following a reported incident in the morning where armed men abducted a member of the community.
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In the old town, which is historically majority Tatar but is now populated by ethnic Russians, the streets are largely quiet.
Elmira Ablayeva stands inside her house in Bakhchisaray. The 65-year-old worries that her minority community will face discrimination as Russia tightens its grip on the region.
A woman walks down a narrow street in Bakhchisaray, where ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Tatars have co-existed peacefully for decades.