Crimea is discussed from the perspective of sanctions imposed by the West , while the people of the peninsula are often neglected . It is not quite often spoken about how the multi-ethnic population of Crimea coexists and how their lives have been affected since the 2014 events . The aim of this paper is to discuss the post-Soviet period of Crimea and understand what difficulties the Armenians of the peninsula have been facing . In order to conduct this research , two research questions have been developed , which are “ What key problems have the Crimean Armenians encountered during the post-Soviet transformational period ?” and “ How did the 2014 events impact the Armenians of Crimea ?”. In order to answer these questions , content analysis and interviews have been conducted . The 1998 constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the 2014 constitution of the Republic of Crimea have been analysed . Ten interviews have been conducted with Armenians living in Crimea who gave first-hand information about their lives in the peninsula . Apart from the latter , the existing academic literature has been reviewed , and the existing gaps have been identified and an attempt has been made to contribute to the already existing academic materials .
Brief History of Crimean Armenian communities
Crimean Armenians have been residing in the territory of the peninsula since the 11th century . Some even claim that Armenian communities in Crimea were established earlier , during the 8th century ( Porksheian 1968 ). Although there are sufficient number of works written about Crimean Armenians in the Middle Ages and up to the 19th century , there is not enough academic material written on them during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods . This literature review will discuss the following categories : Stalin ’ s nationalist policies , the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consolidation of the community , and the post-Soviet period . The first category will mainly concentrate on the period of the 1940s . Crimean Armenians were able to maintain good relations with the multi-ethnic population of Crimea , including with Ukrainians , Russians , Crimean Tatars and other ethnic groups residing in the peninsula ( Grigoryants 2004 ). According to Clement Harutyunyan , Crimean Armenians played a significant role in World War II . Regarding partisans who were fighting against Nazi Germany behind enemy lines and contributed greatly to the victory , he mentions that there were a number of Armenians : a total of around 500 Armenian partisans from Crimea and North Caucasus . Partisan detachment no . 10 was fighting in Crimea under the command of Aram Teryan ( Harutyunyan 2004 ). However , thisdid not play a significant role for Stalin . From May to June 1944 , around 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported from Crimea to
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