Maysun Visual Journalist & Storyteller

Birds are seen flying in the sky near Perevalnoye ukranian military base where armed uniformed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, surrounded base in the village of Perevalnoye near the Crimean city of Simferopol March 20th, 2014. MAYSUN

Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, march outside an Ukrainian military base in the village of Perevalnoye near the Crimean city of Simferopol on the day of the referendum on joining Russia. March 16th, 2014. MAYSUN

Smail, a Tatar neighbour from Pionerska village, near the city of Simferopol, Crimea, and his father, points at the image of former president Yanukovych on their television at their home. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Pionerska, near Simferopol. Crimea, Ukraine. March 11th, 2014. MAYSUN

Arzy, a Tatar woman born in Russia, contemplates the view of the town of Bakhchisarai from one of her favourite places. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Bakhchisarai, Crimea. March 12th, 2014. MAYSUN

View of family pictures from Arzy, a Tatar woman born in Russia, some of them from her grandfather who fought in Soviet army as a parachute man. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Bakhchisarai, Crimea. March 16th 2014. MAYSUN

Smail, a Tatar neighbour from Pionerska village, near the city of Simferopol, Crimea, walks up the stairs of his house, which was built by his family, brick by brick. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Pionerska, near Simferopol. Crimea, Ukraine. March 11th 2014. MAYSUN

Elmira, a Tatar widow born in Uzbekistan and who lived in Spain for three years as she didn't have work in Crimea to feed her three children, plays with her dog in front of her house in the town of Bakhchisarai. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Bakhchisarai, Crimea. March 12th 2014. MAYSUN

Arzi, a Tatar woman born in Russia, poses with her family bron in Ukbekistan, at her home in Bakhchisarai, Crimea, where Tatars, the majority of the population in the town has boycotted the referendum on joining Russia. March 12th 2014. MAYSUN

A Crimean girl trains her horse outside an Ukrainian military base in the village of Perevalnoye near the Crimean city of Simferopol on the day of the referendum on joining Russia. March 16th 2014. MAYSUN

A Crimean Tatar boy plays accordion with another partner in the corridors of the Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University in the city of Simferopol, Crimea. March 21st 2014. MAYSUN

Two women sit on a bench in a park in a suburb in the city of Simferopol, Crimea, on March 14th 2014. MAYSUN

Bratislav, a serbian chetnik who cooperates alongside pro-russian self-defence units from Crimea, stands at a checkpoint 20 km from Sebastopol, Crimea. March 15th 2014. MAYSUN

A Crimean woman in a pizza restaurant in Simferopol, Crimea, on March 14th 2014. MAYSUN

Arzi, a Tatar woman born in Russia, shows the Crimean Tatar flag at her home in Bakhchisarai, Crimea, where Tatars, the majority of the population in the town has boycotted the referendum on joining Russia. March 16th 2014. MAYSUN

Crimean Tatars are seen in front of a mosque in the small village of Pionerska, near the city of Simferopol, Crimea. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Pionerska, near Simferopol. Crimea. March 11th 2014. MAYSUN

Arzy, a Tatar woman born in Russia, shows an old Quran from before the deportation, which belonged to her grandfather, who fought in Soviet army as a parachute man. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Bakhchisarai, Crimea, Ukraine. March 16th 2014. MAYSUN

Tatars pray at the mosque in the small village of Pionerska, near the city of Simferopol, Crimea. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Pionerska, near Simferopol. Crimea, Ukraine. March 11th 2014. MAYSUN

Tatars sit in a car during a night patrol. As pro-Russia soldiers occupy towns across Crimea, leaders of the region's Tatar minority are mobilizing unarmed field patrols on the town of Bakhchisarai, near the city of Simferopol, Crimea. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Bakhchisarai, Crimea, Ukraine. March 12th 2014. MAYSUN

Kosaks, members of the auto-defence voluntary forces protect the Parliament building in Simferopol, Crimea, on March 15th, 2014. MAYSUN.

Relatives at the funeral of the Reshat Ametov, participant of pro-Ukrianian meeting, father of 3, in Simferopol, Crimea. Last he was seen on March 3 on his way to enlist in the Ukrainian Army and was found dead with signs of torture on March 16. The Tatar community had decided to boycott the referendum for the accession of Crimea to Russia amid tensions and fear of reprisals.The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Simferopol, Crimea. March 18th, 2014. MAYSUN

A pro-russian self-defence soldier holds a weapon at a checkpoint 20 km from Sebastopol, Crimea. March 15th 2014. MAYSUN

View of the tomb of the Reshat Ametov, participant of pro-Ukrianian meeting, father of 3, in Simferopol, Crimea. Last he was seen on March 3 on his way to enlist in the Ukrainian Army and was found dead with signs of torture on March 16. The Tatar community had decided to boycott the referendum for the accession of Crimea to Russia amid tensions and fear of reprisals.The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine. March 18th 2014. MAYSUN

Elmira, a Tatar widow born in Uzbekistan and who lived in Spain for three years as she didn't have work in Crimea to feed her three children, remember the good times in Spain at her house in the town of Bakhchisarai. The ethnic Crimean Tatars, the region’s minority population face an uncertain future as political tensions continue to rise on disputed Crimean Peninsula. Originally of the Volga region of Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, they were once forcibly deported by Joseph Stalin to Siberia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, accused of collaboration with the Nazis, and then back to Crimea following Ukrainian independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Bakhchisarai, Crimea, Ukraine. March 12th 2014. MAYSUN

Reflection of mosque in a clock on sale at a kiosk Tatar, as Crimean Tatars attend the midday prayer at the mosque in Simferopol, Crimea. on March 14th 2014. MAYSUN

Refat Chubarov, the Tatar leader, attends a formal event near a monument of Ismail Gasprinskiy, a Crimean Tatar intellectual, educator, publisher and politician. He was one of the first Muslim intellectuals in the Russian Empire, who realized the need for education and cultural reform and modernization of the Turkic and Islamic communities. Simferopol, Crimea, on March 21st 2014. MAYSUN

A woman prays during a pro-ukranian demonstration that has taken place at Shevchenko Park, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of his birth, to protest for Crimea's accession to Russian. Simferopol, Crimea. March 09th 2014. MAYSUN

People voting at a polling station Bakhchisarai, Crimea, where Tatars, the majority of the population in the town has boycotted the referendum on joining Russia. March 16th 2014. MAYSUN

A crimean woman uses a russian flag as a layer in a bus in a street of Simferopol, Crimea. March 09th 2014. MAYSUN

View of fireworks as Crimean people celebrate the victory on the day of the referendum on joining Russia at Lenin Square, Simferopol, Crimea. March 22nd 2014. MAYSUN

Crimean people celebrating the victory on the day of the referendum on joining Russia, at Lenin Square, Simferopol, Crimea. March 17th 2014. MAYSUN