Denys Chystikov, Deputy Permanent Representative, participated in a live library session titled “The Voice of Crimea: History, Culture, and Identity of the Crimean Tatars” with school students at the National Library of Ukraine for Children. The event was held to mark International Day for Tolerance. Also attending were Nariman Dzhelyal, First Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, and Erfan Kudusov, Head of the Center for Ethnological and Political Studies of Crimea.

As part of the event, students were shown the informational film Our Crimea, created with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. The film highlights the history and culture of the Crimean Tatars, as well as the challenges faced by residents of the occupied peninsula.

After watching the film, participants were divided into groups to discuss key topics with invited speakers. The youth actively engaged in the discussions, asked questions, shared their thoughts, and received expert answers and advice.

Denys Chystikov introduced participants to the main aspects of the Mission’s activities, highlighting the challenges faced by children and young people born and raised under occupation. He encouraged fostering connections with peers in Crimea. Chystikov also addressed the widespread human rights violations in Crimea, the cultural assimilation efforts, and Russian propaganda aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity.

The Deputy Permanent Representative explained that the Mission monitors human rights violations in Crimea, particularly those affecting Indigenous peoples of Ukraine. He emphasized that the Russian occupiers systematically pressure and persecute individuals based on religious and ethnic grounds. Of the 218 Ukrainian citizens unlawfully imprisoned in Crimea, 132 are representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.

Nariman Dzhelyal, First Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, spoke to the students about Crimea’s geography, nature, and culture. He also discussed the history of Crimea’s colonization and the origins and modern-day realities of Ukraine’s Indigenous peoples, including Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks. Erfan Kudusov, Head of the Center for Ethnological and Political Studies of Crimea, elaborated on the ethnogenesis of Ukraine’s Indigenous peoples, their historical and cultural ties with Ukrainians, and key events in the history of the Crimean Khanate.