The Road That Runs From Aqmescit

For Crimean Tatars, the use of the name Aqmescit affirms a cultural and historical continuity that predates imperial and Soviet rule. Since the Russian occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014, the city has also become emblematic of a renewed struggle over memory, identity, and sovereignty. As Ukraine continues its efforts to restore control over Crimea, the peninsula remains a contested territory, and for many Crimean Tatars, the question of homeland is once again inseparable from questions of displacement, political violence, and the right to self-determination. The Road That Runs from Aqmescit reflects on memory as a form of resistance. The project considers how communities preserve a sense of belonging despite repeated ruptures, and how the idea of home can endure across generations of displacement. In the shadow of both historical deportation and contemporary occupation, the road that runs from Aqmescit is not only a route of exile. It is also a path of remembrance, cultural persistence, and the continuing aspiration for return.