Ukrainian Indigenous peoples

Olga Tsuprykova, co-founder and activist of the North Azovian Greek Community, represents one of Ukraine’s most overlooked cultural voices — the descendants of the autochthonous Crimean Christians who settled along the northern shores of the Sea of Azov nearly 250 years ago. In this conversation, she speaks about the struggle to preserve her community’s endangered Urum and Roumean languages, the devastating impact of Russia’s occupation of Mariupol, and the broader fight for recognition as an indigenous people of Ukraine. Her story is one of survival, revival, and the determination to keep a unique identity alive amid war.