Identity and Language: Understanding the Mariupol Greeks’ Community

• In Event: Not Quite the Blond Savior: Greeks and the Russian / Soviet Empire

Abstract

The Mariupol Greeks’ history is marked by significant linguistic and cultural shifts. The Rumei and Urums, settled in Crimea and the Nadazov region, each adopted distinct ethnic identifiers, yet both shared a common Orthodox Christian religious affiliation, central to their collective Greek identity. In the Russian Empire, the Mariupol Greeks preserved their languages orally, without an established written system. The Soviet era brought substantial change with the 1925 Hellenization policy, which sought to create a written form for the dialects and transitioned to Demotic Greek, largely incomprehensible due to regional dialect differences. The 1937 “Greek operation” led to severe persecution, including deportations, executions, and a ban on the Greek language, eroding the community's cultural identity. By the late 1980s, the Mariupol Greeks were largely absent from official records. Following Ukraine's independence, the community regained the ability to organize cultural and educational activities, though ongoing occupation and displacement pose challenges for preserving their language, traditions, and cultural identity today.

Author

• Tatiana Liubchenko, Union of the Greeks of Ukraine in Greece (Greece)