Servur'a and Krym'a (Crimean Roma) as Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine

Abstract

The article presents an ethnographic and sociological description of two sub-ethnic groups of Ukrainian Roma: Sérvur’a and Krým’a (Crimean Roma). Based on the field research conducted in 2016–2022, we have concluded that the Krym’a and the Servur’a are (sub-) ethnic groups which meet most of the national and international criteria for being regarded as  indigenous people of Ukraine. Servur’a and Krýmʼa were both formed in the territory of Ukraine, are predominantly based in Ukraine, are bearers of distinctive languages and cultures, have traditional, social, cultural and/or representative bodies, identify as (indigenous) people of Ukraine, as is reflected in their self-names; each of them is an ethnic minority within the population of Ukraine, and neither has a state formation of its own outside of Ukraine. Therefore, they fully satisfy the requirements of the relevant Ukrainian legislation. Additional grounds for classifying Servur’a and Krym’a as indigenous peoples are their non-dominant position in society, their traumatic historical experience, which includes the Holocaust of the Roma, the 1944 deportation of the Crimean peoples, as well as their vulnerability to forced displacement from their historic lands and the fact that the Krym’a became refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In the authors’ opinion, the initiation of the discussion on granting indigenous status to the Servur’a and the Krym’a can draw attention to the urgent problems of all Romani ethnic groups in Ukraine and give impetus to the formation of the state’s policy towards the Roma.