Squatting in Crimea, also called the Samozakhvat (Russian and ) is the ongoing process of illegal occupation of land in Crimea. In the Ukrainian media, squatting is primarily discussed in regards to Crimean Tatar returnees, though most squatters are Slavs. The process, which began in the late 1980s following exiled Crimean Tatars being granted the right to return to the Crimean peninsula, has been caused by the inability of the Ukrainian and Russian governments to efficiently give land grants to Crimean Tatars. As a result of the slow process, many Crimean Tatars have turned to erecting impromptu structures on undeveloped land. Squatting is a controversial issue in Crimea. It has led to violence by Russian nationalists against Crimean Tatars and has been used as justification for anti-Crimean Tatar positions. Since the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the Russian government has claimed to have solved the issue, though squatting remains a significant issue. Background and early squatting In 1944, the entire Crimean Tatar population was deported from the Crimean Peninsula and sent into exile in Central Asia, primarily Uzbekistan. During their exile, the Crimean peninsula was colonised by Russian and Ukrainian settlers. When the return of the Crimean Tatars began in 1989, there was no real support for such an undertaking from the Soviet government. A proposed government programme to organise and facilitate the return of Crimean Tatars never came to fruition due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. There was no housing supplied nor available to the returnees. The problem of housing led to a split between two groups; on one hand was the NDKT, led by Yuri Osmanov, called for patience and support for Soviet measures. Running counter to the NDKT was the OKND, led by Dzhemilev, which criticised the slow pace of government repatriation and called for returnees to resettle land on their own initiative. Dzhemilev said of Soviet repatriation efforts, "The USSR was able to evict the entire people in one night, and is it going to return them in 20 years?" The development of a government repatriation programme seemed positive for the NDKT. However, this repatriation programme soon revealed itself to be hollow; the areas of the peninsula historically most inhabited by Crimean Tatars, including major cities and the Southern Coast, were declared off-limits to returnees. Government officials threatened those seeking to sell their homes to Crimean Tatars with deportation from Crimea. In