Refat Chubarov

Refat Chubarov is the Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and one of the most prominent figures in the Crimean Tatar modern political movement. In the 1990s, he served as a member and Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Parliament, and later he served four terms as a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (1998–2019). In parliament, his work focused primarily on human rights, national minorities, and Indigenous peoples of Ukraine.

Chubarov has headed the Mejlis since November 2013. In 2014, the Russian occupation authorities barred him from entering Crimea, and he has since become one of the leading advocates for the peninsula’s full de-occupation. His efforts led to the launch of the Crimea Platform in 2021—a key international mechanism for keeping Crimea on the global agenda, coordinating the policy of non-recognition of Russia’s occupation, and maintaining international pressure in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Besides the de-occupation of Crimea, Chubarov’s key priorities include the release of political prisoners, the protection of Crimean Tatars from Russian repression, the preservation of Crimean Tatar identity, and safeguarding the political agency of Ukraine’s Indigenous people.