Jonathan Shuster

Honors Global Rome

August 8, 2015
Crimean Refugees
Ukraine sits on the bridge between east and west, between a
Russian powerhouse and a United Europe. In Slavic languages, the
word Ukraine literally means Borderland, as the country serves to
connect two different parts of the world.1 Throughout history Ukraine
has been a corridor between these two contrasting continents and
continues to be so today. Ukraine is Europes second largest country
with a population of 47.4 million inhabitants and while it maintains one
of the strongest economies in Eastern Europe, the country still
significantly trails Western Europe economically.2 Ukraine also lives a
difficult political life between western and eastern powers, which can
be exemplified in the recent annexation of Crimea by Russia. This take
over has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people
from the area, who have dispersed all around the country and into
neighboring powers such as the E.U. and Russia. While the long term
effects of Ukrainian displacement from Crimea are yet to be seen, the
short-term consequences will have little effect on the European Union
due to cultural similarities between Ukraine and receiving nations, a
lack of people with actual refugee status, and major movements of
Crimean people into the Russian Federation.
After both World Wars, Ukrainians spread themselves across the
globe in a multiple decade diaspora. A number of them moved to the
western hemisphere and into the United States and Canada, while the
majority migrated to other parts of Eastern Europe and were
subsequently forced into the Soviet Bloc.3 In 1991, after the
dissolution of the USSR, about 1 million Ukrainian people returned
home from former soviet states.4 Since the fall of the Soviet Union,
Ukrainian migration has been driven by the desire to achieve better
1 Dvell, Franck. "Ukraine - Europe's Mexico?" Compas Centre on Migration. 2008.
Accessed July 29, 2015.
2 Ibid.
3 Malynovska, Olena. "Caught Between East and West, Ukraine Struggles with Its
Migration Policy." Migration Policy Institute. 2006.
4 Ibid.

economic standing in fortress Europe, which is often viewed as

desirable and irresistible.5 In 2011 Ukraine had 6.5 million people
living abroad, with the E.U. placing second only to Russia in the
rankings of destinations (Russia receives about 50% of all Ukrainian
migrants).6 Most labor migrants from Ukraine work in either domestic
jobs (17%) or construction (54%) and are about 2/3 men. However
migration into the E.U. has a gender ratio much closer to fifty-fifty. 7
Traditional gender roles come to the forefront as the majority of women
work in home care, while most of the men work in construction,

5 Ibid.
6 "Migration in Ukraine: Facts and Figures." International Organization for Migration
(IOM). September 1, 2011.
7 Ibid.

agriculture, or industry.

When examining the crisis in Crimea it is crucial to realize that it

is often difficult to track exact numbers of migrants and that
historically the majority of Ukrainian migration has been with Russia,
Figure 1: Areas of Employment for Ukrainian Migrants
not the E.U. Besides the USA-Mexico border, Ukraine is the largest
migration corridor in the world but this corridor is not between Europe
and Ukraine, and instead between Russia and Ukraine.8 It is key to note
that historically migration between Russia and Ukraine is much larger
than any Ukrainian migration west towards Europe. However, it is
often challenging to pinpoint numbers on these migrants for multiple
reasons; first, many migrants will often say that they are simply going
to visit relatives for an extended period of time and therefore are not
counted. Second, shuttle trading and other irregular and illegal
migrants make up a fair part of Ukrainian migration and are incredibly
8 Leontiyeva, Yana. "Ukrainian Migration to Europe: Policies, Practices and
Perspectives." Central and Eastern European Migration Review 3, no. 2 (2014).

difficult to track. And finally, Ukraine has no state agency dedicated to

migrant affairs, so there is a lack of statistics from the source and
therefore any figures must be published by outside agencies.9 As a
result, determining exact numbers of migrant flows in Ukraine (refugee
or labor) and creating migration policy is incredibly difficult.
The illegal Russian annexation of Crimea originates with the political
unrest that began Kiev starting in late 2013. In December there were
constant protests in Independence Square against newly elected
leaders and the current socioeconomic

9 Ibid.
4

state of the country. By February 20th, the fighting had escalated into
the worst violence Kiev had seen since World War II, as 88 protesters
were killed within 48 hours.10 After the resignation and disappearance
of the Ukrainian president, Russian troops began to seize buildings in
Crimea on February 27th, in an apparent attempt to take advantage of
Ukrainian unrest. Ukraine responded slowly with troop deployments
and fighting ensued, driving people in the region from their homes in
an attempt to escape the violence. On March 16th, a referendum was
held in Crimea to determine whether or not the citizens wanted to join
the Russian Federation, which was approved with 97% of the vote.11
The referendum was deemed illegitimate by the west, but on March
18th Vladimir Putin signed a bill to absorb Crimea into Russia. On April
15th, Ukraine launched an anti-terrorist campaign against the Russian
forces that remained in the area, but the attack quickly stalled out.
10 "Ukraine Crisis Timeline." BBC, November 13, 2014.
11 Ibid.
5

Russia, the U.S., the E.U. and Ukraine met on April 17th in an attempt to
de-escalate fighting but failed, as Ukraine continued military
operations on April 22nd.12 Peppered fighting marked the majority of
the summer and recently the Human Rights Watch reported that
Ukrainian troops had been using cluster bombs, artillery banned by
modern warfare regulations.13
The stories from the front of the conflict are tragic. People on
both sides of were bombed out of their homes, and it was reported that
even refugee convoys were attacked.14 A refugee named Lyudmila
Denisenko had this to say about the condition of her hometown: "We
could no longer stay. The children's hospital was bombed, the train
station was bombed, the bus station was bombed. We hitchhiked all
the way here.15 Refugee camps in Russia that are meant to hold only
1,000 people have at time help up to 3,000, mostly while people wait
for their documentation to be processed.16 Flies swarm the stuffy
canvas interiors of tents, where the temperature some days soars to
nearly 90 degrees. Board walkways traverse the sand and dirt between
the shelters, but the stifling heat and frequent wind gusts make it
Figure 2: Map of Crimea
nearly impossible to stay clean here are no books, no television, no
Internet. Youngsters play in the dirt.17 Theres not a day when

12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Troianovski, Anton, and Andrey Ostroukh. "Ukraine Refugees Caught in Crossfire;
Report of Deadly Rebel Attack on Fleeing Non-Combatants Highlights Civilian Toll."
The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2014.
15 Bigg, Claire, and Levko Stek. "In Focus: Ukraine's Refugee Crisis." Radio Free
Europe /Radio Liberty. June 13, 2014.
16 Simmons, Ann. "Ukraine's Refugees on Edge as They Flood into Russia." The Los
Angeles Times, September 14, 2014, Main News sec.
17 Ibid,

Figure 3: A man surveys a bombed out

building in Crimea

Figure 4: A girl
stands in a
Crimean
refugee camp
in Russia

explosions arent heard from such camps, and humanitarian conditions

are dreadful: water, electricity, and supplies are extremely limited. 18
On September 24th, there was a significant withdrawal of Russian
troops who were ordered by Putin to return to their original stations.19
A cease-fire was signed in February of 2015, but families that return
18 Ibid.
19 BBC 2014
7

home are met with burnt out buildings and even continuing rocket fire.
U.N. figures put the death toll near 6,400 (both civilian and military) as
the conflict nears a close.20
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has
been struggling to put numbers on the amount of people internally
displaced by the conflict, but the organization has determined the
current count to be around 1.1 million.21 It is estimated that from the
beginning of 2014 until September of the same year (when most of the
fighting had ended), about 814,000 Ukrainians moved to Russia or
were absorbed into it.22 In all, only about 377,000 Ukrainians had
moved away from the peninsula, most making there way to mainland
Ukraine.23

kkkk

20 Mills, Laura. "Eastern Ukraine Refugees Worry They Came Home Too Soon; Some

Who Came Back to after Cease- Fire Now Live in Fear of Renewed Fighting." The Wall
Street Journal, July 7, 2015.
21 "UNHCR Delivers Aid amid Worsening Conditions in Eastern Ukraine." UNHCR
News. March 10, 2015.
22 Simmons 2014.
23 Cherevko,Anna."HowLifeChangedinOccupiedCrimeain15Numbers."EuroMaidenPress,
December3,2014.

However, a number of people (refugees and other Ukrainians)

saw the conflict as a reason to leave to the E.U., particularly to Poland.
The country has given out 331,000 short-term work permits to
Ukrainians this year, and there are somewhere between 300-400
thousands Ukrainians in Poland, about double the official number.24 For
Figure 5: Map of where internally displaced Ukrainians reside.
the most part, migrants have been welcomed by their eastern
European relatives, despite the fact that Poland has an extremely
homogenous society (only .2% non-polish).25 Most Ukrainians have
taken jobs left by Poles moving into Western Europe: cleaners,
construction workers, and drivers, which is the type of work that has
been typical for Ukrainians since the fall of the Soviet Union. 26
Organizations such as Ukraine world have been set up to aid the
fleeing
24 MacDowall, Andrew. "Ukraine's Refugees Find Solace in Poland, Europe's Most
Homogenous Society." The Guardian. May 13, 2015.
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.

Ukrainians adapt to life in Poland. Ukraine World is run out of a church

that helps arriving Ukrainians by passing out food and clothes, as well
as providing Polish lessons. Despite not speaking any Polish, most
Ukrainians have integrated well into Polish society because of cultural
similarities between the two nations.27
The West has been largely sympathetic verbally to the plight of
Ukrainian refugees and placed economic sanctions on Russia during
the height of the conflict, but has done little to grant asylum to people
coming out of the Crimea. Most countries have said that the situation
is concentrated in one portion of Ukraine and thus refugees can simply
move to other parts of the country to escape the conflict. They have
deemed the situation as non-life threatening because of the option for
Ukrainians to move elsewhere.28 According to the UNHCR only about
10,000 Ukrainians have applied for asylum in the E.U. as of December
27 Ibid.
28 IvashchenkoStadnik,Kateryna."UkraineOneYearOn:TheChallengeofPreventingaNew
MigrationCrisisinCentralEurope."MigrationPolicyCenter.March15,2015.

10

Figure 6: Children sit in a church waiting to begin a Polish lesson.

2014, the largest number applying to Poland, Germany, and France.29

Despite the large number of people displaced by the conflict in Crimea,
Europe is unwilling to recognize the situation as one where people
have to leave the country or be killed, as is the case in many African
countries or Syria. As of May 2015, 95% of Syrian asylum claims have
been accepted by the E.U., while only 5% of Ukrainians have been
granted full refugee status.30 Many Ukrainians apply for different forms
of legal stay because many countries are unwilling to recognize the
situation in Crimea as a refugee crisis. However, the economic crisis in
E.U. has hit domestic jobs hard and many Ukrainians who work
household jobs are no longer able to find work and therefore choose to
remain in Ukraine.31 It is also important to note that this conflict has
not started a civil war within Ukraine and thus mass migration from the
country is unlikely, and would only occur for economic reasons.
In some ways the European Union is correct: it is not necessary
for people displaced from Crimea to flee Ukraine for their safety. In
Kiev, thousands of refugees are invisible. They dont live in U.N. tents
or stand in line for subsidized meals, and legally are not considered
refugees because they are in their own country.32 The capital has
essentially returned to business as usual since the conflict despite
the large number of displaced persons now residing there.33 People
fleeing Crimea for Kiev cite fear of persecution because of ethnicity or
religious beliefs or, in the case of journalists, human rights activists
and among intellectuals, due to their activities or professions, said
UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards.34 Edwards quote is nearly the
29 "Ukraine Conflict Uproots Hundreds of Thousands." UNHCR News. December 5,
2014.
30 Lyman, Rick. "Ukrainian Migrants Fleeing Conflict Get a Cool Reception in Europe."
The New York Times, May 30, 2015.
31 Jaroszewicz, Marta. "Ukrainians' EU Migration Prospects." OSW. February 30, 2014.
32 Eristavi, Maxim. "The Invisible Refugee Crisis in Ukraine." New Republic. May 28,
2014.
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.

11

exact U.N. definition of a refugee, yet the Ukrainian government will

not pass any bill providing help for people displaced from Crimea
because it would be taken as a sign that Kiev has lost control over the
region once and for all. And so internally displaced refugees turn to
strangers and neighbors for help. Churches provide beds and clothes
but one refugee says, I dont expect any help from the government.
The government is so weak they have to rely on us, regular activists, to
provide our army with food, bulletproof vests, or night vision devices. I
doubt it that they have additional resources for us refugees.35 Many
displaced persons staying in Kiev (particularly those that are proUkrainian) have no disillusions about returning home: they expect it to
take months before the Ukrainian army can regain control, if they can
mange it at all.36
Kievs lack of action and migrant unfriendly policies makes it
difficult for refugees in Crimea. Current Ukrainian migration policy
states that once foreign citizenship is acquired, Ukrainian citizenship is
often terminated.37 However, Ukraine is currently making an exception
from this policy for citizens of Crimea, but it is unclear how long the
exception will last.38 This creates a difficult situation for many
residents, who have received both humanitarian and political aid from
the Russian government, but still wish to remain Ukrainian citizens.
Russia is granting citizenship to anyone who remains in the region and
it is often difficult for Ukrainians who want to refuse Russian
citizenships to do so. Russian customs offices are few and far between,
and have limited capacity, servicing only about one hundred people
per day.39 Sending anything by mail is risky and often not delivered.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
37 Shevel, Oxana. "The Aftermath of Annexation: Russia and Ukraine Adopt
Conflicting Rules for Changing Citizenship of Crimean Residents (updated)." European
Union Democracy Observatory on Citizenship. April 11, 2014.
38 Ibid.
39 Ibid.

12

Failing to turn in rejection papers not only results in automatic Russian

citizenship, but also mandatory Russian military conscription, as well
as possible relocation far away from Crimea. As of April 2, 2014, only
16 people had officially rejected Russian Citizenships while Russia
issued 80,000 passports to Crimean residents in the same month.40
There are mixed reports about people who choose to remain in Crimea
but not become Russian citizens. The more fortunate residents pay an
expensive residency fee, while the less lucky are subject to multiple
relocations, time outside of Crimea, and heavy fines.41
These legal webs make it incredibly difficult for Ukrainians who
do not wish to be part of Russia, however these people do not make up
the majority of Crimean residents. Russias strongest claim to the
region is that the majority of the population is ethnically Russian.
According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, ethnic Russians made up 58%
of the population of Crimea, while Ukrainians made up only 24%.42
Over half the population speaks Russian as a native language and in all
practicality Crimea is culturally and ethnically Russian.43 The next
largest minority group is Crimean Tatars (12%), Sunni Muslims who
trace their ancestry back to Turkish and Mongol tribes. 44 In 1944,
Stalin exiled over 200,000 Tatars from Crimea and the group was
oppressed by Russian imperialism both when Catherine the Great took
over the region in 1783 and post World War II.45 Most Tatars boycotted
the referendum for Crimea to join Russia, but have found it easier to
stay as Russian citizens than oppose the Russian government. Many
Tatars have faced discrimination in other parts of Ukraine, particularly
in Kiev, where it is reported that Tatar women in headscarves have
40 Ibid.
41 Ibid.
42 "Why Crimea Is so Dangerous?" BBC News. March 11, 2014.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid.
45 Kozloff, Nikolas. "More Than a Year After Annexation, Crimean Tatars Need Allies."
The Huffington Post, July 1, 2015.

13

been attacked.46 These events and a lack of assistance from the

Ukrainian government have prompted the Tatars to remain in the
eastern Ukraine or simply become Russian citizens.
As the conflict closes and the dust starts to settle on Crimea, the future
of the regions refugees remains unclear. Many people displaced by
the conflict wish to return home but are unsure they will be able to live
with what has changed during
their absence. Ukrainian has
vanished from most schools
curriculums and two-headed
Russian eagles have been bolted
to the doors of government
buildings.47 The Ukrainian
Orthodox Church is being forced
out and Ukrainian newspapers are
being shut down as the peninsula
Russifies.48 Ukrainian banks and
wireless companies are also
Figure 7: Russian Language
distribution in Ukraine

pulling out, giving way to Russian

companies as the economy

changes hands. However, many Crimean citizens are excited to

become part of a country with a stronger currency and a higher
standard of living. The new Russian region is experiencing an influx of
people from around Russia, because it is now easier to move into the
region.49 Many Russians always used to be interested in Crimea. Now
[that] there's are no customs procedures or border crossing, they can
46 Ibid.
47 Birnbaum, Michael. "Eight Months after Russia Annexed Crimea from Ukraine, a
Complicated Transition." The Washington Post, November 27, 2014.
48 Ibid.
49 Simmons, Anna. "In Russia-held Crimea, Some Prosper, Others Fear for Their
Future." LA Times, September 27, 2014.

14

come, says a retired Russian Army officer.50 And with them comes
money and a revival of small businesses such as taxi services and boat
excursions. This being said, many migrants from Crimea wish to return
home but most dont know when or how they will do so. A woman
named Tetiana [last name left out] says, when the situation improves
we will return-but we dont actually have a place to return to as our
house was destroyed.51
With the rebuilding of Crimea already underway, it is likely that
the E.U. will maintain its stance on asylum for refugees from the
region. Ukrainians displaced by the conflict will continue to integrate
into the rest of country or find legal forms of stay in neighboring
countries. The dust is settling throughout eastern Ukraine as people in
the region make an effort to re-establish their daily lives. It is likely
that Poland will continues to see the brunt of Ukrainian labor migrants
to the E.U. and as the European economy fluctuates so will the flow of
migrants into the country. The influx of migrants from around Russia
allows Crimea to be rebuilt in a way that many places ravaged by
conflict have not. Here we see the nature of creative destruction and a
chance for the region to be rebuilt as something greater than it was
previously. Crimea is only the latest scenario in a trend of destruction
to clear space for the new; a continuous drive to build what is modern
and original must result in the disposal of old moving chaos.

50 Ibid.
51 MacDowall 2015
15

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16

Lyman, Rick. "Ukrainian Migrants Fleeing Conflict Get a Cool Reception

in Europe." The New York Times, May 30, 2015.
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Figures

17

Figure 1: IOM, Main Employment Areas of Ukrainian Labour Migrants,

Facts and Figures. September 2011.
Figure 2: BBC, Map of Crimea, Putin Signs Crimea Annexation. March
21, 2014.
Figure 3: Matt Lutton, Bombed Out, Boreal Collective. 2015.
Figure 4: Mikhail Mordasov, Canvas Option, Ukraine crisis: frightened
families flee hell of war for new lives as refugees. September 1, 2014.
Figure 5: The New York Times, Refugees in Ukraine, Ukraine Crisis in
Maps. February 6, 2015.
Figure 6: Matt Lutton, A class for children following Sunday mass in the
church of the Basilian Fathers, serving the Ukrainian community in
Warsaw, Boreal Collective. May 13, 2015.
Figure 7: BBC, Russian as a Native Language, Ukraines Divide. March
11, 2014.

18