The article examines the development of political participation of the Crimean Tatars, an indigenous people of Ukraine, and the peculiarities of its functioning in 1989‑‑ 2022. The author divides this process into three conditional stages: the revival of the Crimean Tatar movement (late 1989‑ 1991); Crimean Tatars in the political landscape of independent Ukraine (1991‑2014); political participation of Crimean Tatars in the context of the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Russian‑ Ukrainian war (2014‑ 2022).
The author describes in detail the revival of the Crimean Tatar movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Crimean Tatars massively advocated for repatriation and created their own representative body, the Mejlis. Next, the process of formation of relations between the Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian authorities in 1991‑ 2014 is highlighted. The emphasis is also placed on the main features of the political participation of the Crimean Tatars in 2014‑ 2022, in the context of the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and before the full‑ scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. It is noted that during this period, the indigenous people faced a new threat to their existence – the repressive policy of the occupation authorities.
In conclusion, the author concludes that the process of development of political participation of the Crimean Tatar indigenous people of Ukraine in 1989‑2022 was quite complex and ambiguous, characterized by stages of growth and decline. In particular, the author emphasizes that the most important victory for the indigenous people was the adoption of the Law of Ukraine „On Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine” in 2021. However, as the author notes, the adoption of this law is only one of the steps in building further political and legal relations between Ukraine and indigenous peoples.
