Ekaterina Vinnik on Vesti.FM: The interethnic relations in Crimea were harmonized due to the competent policy

Over the past four years, the interethnic relations in Crimea have been harmonized due to the creation of a comfortable living environment for all ethnic groups, an analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza Ekaterina Vinnik said today in the National Question program on Vesti.FM.

"Four years is a serious period for the national policy, especially in such an ethnically multi-layered region as Crimea. In my opinion, the changes are so striking that they cannot be ignored. First of all, it should be mentioned that there are 175 nationalities living in Crimea and according to sociologists, almost 90% of Crimean respondents believe that there are no interethnic problems on the peninsula.This result was achieved due to the competent policy of the federal and local authorities, who take into account the importance of the region’s ethnic diversity, " she said.

The expert noted that to date, 14 active regional national cultural autonomies have been registered in Crimea, which has become an important component of the civil society and made a significant contribution to the strengthening of the interethnic and interconfessional harmony in Crimea. "In addition, 21 one public-national organizations operate on the peninsula, within the framework of which the national communities conduct various cultural events," the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza reported.

She also drew attention to the fact that the national editorial staff is working on the state television, and schools have created classes where education is conducted in the national languages of the most numerous ethnic groups - in Tatar and Ukrainian. "In addition, the project ‘My Neighbors’ with the support of the International Islamic Mission was successfully implemented in Crimea. The goal of the project is to strengthen the neighborly relations in the multiethnic environment of Crimea," Ekaterina Vinnik said.

"As for religious tolerance, it is worth mentioning that the Muslim holidays of Uraza-Bairam and Kurban-Bairam along with Easter and the Trinity have been announced in Crimea as days off. The process of transferring religious buildings and structures to the religious organizations continues, " the analyst said.

In addition, she recalled that in April 2014, the president signed a decree on the rehabilitation of the deported Crimean peoples, and in 2017 - on simplifying the residence permit for them. "Thanks to these measures, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Armenians, Greeks and representatives of other deported peoples received the opportunity for full rehabilitation and development," Ekaterina Vinnik said, adding that in order to prevent conflict situations, an electronic monitoring, forecast, and analysis system for interethnic and interconfessional situations was introduced to help the authorities make the right decisions to bypass acute situations.