Russia’s Colonial Infrastructures in Crimea: From Invasive to the Lack

• In Event: Regimes of Violence in Russian-occupied Crimea

Abstract

Land and infrastructure have long been used as tools of Russian imperialism to exclude the Indigenous Crimean Tatars from political, economic, and social life in Crimea. The practice of land and infrastructure deprivation did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Empire but continued by the pro-Russian or Russian local government in relation to the Crimean Tatars who were returning in massive numbers from their places of exile. Instead of the promised restitution for the Soviet crimes, the authorities continued to deny Crimean Tatars the land and basic social infrastructure, such as water pipes, gas, electricity, and paved roads, marginalizing and sidelining the ethnic minority.

Author

• Mariia Shynkarenko, Institute for Human Sciences (Austria)