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52. Topical problems in social relations in the AR of Crimea
- Author:
- Maryna Melnyk
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- National Security and Defence
- Institution:
- Razumkov Centre
- Abstract:
- The AR of Crimea is a special region of Ukraine, not only because of its autonomous status, but also thanks to its unique historic and cultural heritage, ethnic composition of the population, geopolitical situation. It may be said without exaggeration that the ability to integrate Crimea into the pan-Ukrainian political and socio-cultural space presents a key test of maturity and effectiveness of the Ukrainian state. This determines the extreme importance of Crimean segment in the Ukrainian policy. But unfortunately, there are no grounds to claim serious success in that domain; rather, things are developing in the opposite direction. It may be stated that the socio-political situation in the AR of Crimea, after the relative stability of late 1990s – early 2000s, has deteriorated lately. In the result of serious political contradictions, deregulation of the executive branch, lack of system and consistency in the Ukrainian state policy regarding Crimea, interaction between the republican and central authorities in some sectors is far from standards of constructive cooperation, which leads to continual nonexecution or even open obstruction of decisions of the central authorities dealing with Crimea. This brings to light drawbacks in the effective legislation describing the rights and powers of the AR of Crimea, regimenting the autonomy’s relations with Kyiv, presentation and defence of its interests in the supreme bodies of state power. Meanwhile, radical, first of all – pro-Russian public and political forces stepped up their activity in Crimea, manifested, in particular, in stronger opposition to actions of the state authorities aimed at rapprochement with Euro-Atlantic structures, and in moral support for Russia and its Black Sea Fleet during the armed conflict with Georgia in August 2008. The problems of amenities for and social rehabilitation of repatriates, first of all – representatives of Crimean Tatars, are far from final solution. Despite the deep study of those problems by the Ukrainian authorities and representative bodies of the Crimean Tatar people, full mutual understanding between its political leadership and the state authorities in the issues of restoration of economic, social, cultural and political rights of the Crimean Tatar people, definition of its place in Ukraine’s legal framework and its state system is still absent. Given the evident deficiency of means of protection of collective interests available to Crimean Tatars, this undermines trust in the authorities, both Ukrainian and Crimean, and deteriorates inter-ethnic relations in Crimea. The absence of strategic approaches of the Ukrainian authorities to comprehensive solution of Crimean problems, prevalence of the policy of situational response to separate problems or their neglect have an effect on the public consciousness of the Crimean residents in the form of growth of separatist and irredentist spirits, unpopularity of the prospects of further development of Crimea within the constitutional framework of Ukraine. External influences on the situation in the AR of Crimea in economic, political, religious and information sectors are growing. Not all of them may be termed negative, but many of them are designed to entirely cut Crimea from Ukrainian political and socio-cultural space or to make the latter a factor of political and cultural disintegration of the Ukrainian society and state. Against that background, Crimean society witnesses processes of transformation, in particular, consolidation of the main ethnic groups by socio-cultural features, growth of competition among them in the political, socioeconomic and symbolic domains. Evolution of relations among the most numerous Crimean socio-cultural communities towards aggravation of contradictions will threaten the socio-political stability of not only Crimea but Ukraine as a whole, give a pretext for interference of outside forces in its internal affairs, moreover, given the precedents of implementation of similar political scenarios. Study of the situation in the AR of Crimea, identification of factors influencing it and search of ways of the most optimal solution of the existing problems are all covered by the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Socio-political, inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations in Crimea –state, problems, ways of solution”, jointly implemented by Razumkov Centre and University of Basel’s Europainstitut.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Culture, Autonomy, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Crimea