A year after the Russian annexation of Crimea on Feb. 28, 2014, Crimean Tatars are still facing human rights abuses by Russian authorities. As the mistreatment of the defenseless minority has incessantly continued, the Crimean Turks Culture and Solidarity Association organized demonstrations on Saturday to protest Russian annexation of Crimea.Since the Russian occupation, various international organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) have stated that the humanitarian conditions have worsened for pro-Ukrainian Crimeans, especially Crimean Tatars. The situation of the ethnic Crimean Tatars – the region's biggest minority population – have been extremely vulnerable since Russia annexed the peninsula. After the introduction of Russian federal legislation in Crimea, many Crimean Tatars have been struggling with moral terror in everyday life such as intimidation and discrimination they have faced "particularly in the areas of education, employment and property rights." Crimean Tatars have become victims of political repression and humiliation and their mistreatment has continued. Crimean Tatars, composing 12 percent of Crimea's largely ethnic Russian population of about 2 million, have been highly critical of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula that was previously governed by Ukraine.The Russian annexation of Crimea and the Crimean status referendum signaled Russian military involvement in ex-Soviet countries and a violation of territorial unity. The disputed referendum on the status of Crimea, which was held on March 16, 2014, allowed the secession of Crimea from Ukraine, as more than 96 percent of Crimeans voted for the integration of the region into the Russian Federation. Following the referendum, Russia approved a draft bill that recognizes Ukraine's autonomous region of Crimea as an independent state. Yet, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 on Ukraine's territorial integrity condemned the referendum.Russian annexation opened wounds in the hearts of many Crimean Tatars. Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia, many Crimean Tatars have been feeling insecure due to the possible return to Stalinist repression despite official promises to respect their rights and freedoms. It was Stalin who accused Tatars of sympathizing with Nazi Germany and ordered the mass deportation of all Crimean-inhabited localities from Crimea as a collective punishment. It is estimated that many of the 200,000 deportees died on their way to exile in Central Asia and eastern Russia. Until the 1990s, Crimean Tatars were not allowed to return to their homeland under Soviet rule. Now that they have started to live under Russian control, there has been an increasing distrust of the new government authorities because of the sad history of their relations with the Russian government. Considering the historical background, the likelihood of the idea of Moscow mistreating the Crimean Tatars has led many people to flee the peninsula out of fear of political persecution.