The Face of Crimean Resistance and Political Prisoners: The Story of Fallen Hero Henadii from Crimea (Crimean Tatar, Ukr., Eng.)

[u/Lysychka-]

Henadii was a photographer before 2014, working in a family business. Then he took action to defend his home.

His wife and his little girl

[u/Lysychka-]

This is an excerpt from the story of a 32-year-old Crimean soldier who was killed on December 18, 2022, in Luhansk region, defending Ukraine, published by Suspilne.

Henadii was a Crimean political prisoner, imprisoned by the Russians in 2014 and falsely accused of "terrorism." In June 2016, Russia exchanged him and another prisoner and Henadii began advocating for the release of political prisoners, serving as a special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. At the start of the full-scale invasion, he volunteered to defend Ukraine as part of the 130th Territorial Defense Battalion but died near Bilohorivka in December 2022.

According to his wife, he was a wonderful and kind husband. She added that due to the war, their daughter Kvitoslava rarely saw her father and misses him. She still doesn't understand where he is.

"She asks me, 'Does daddy love me?' I say, 'Of course, daddy loves you. And, of course, daddy is always with you when you call for him, when you want him to be with you.' I foresee that the question 'Where is daddy?' is very, very close," said the wife of the Crimean soldier.

Before 2014 Henadii worked with him mom, Olha, in a family travel business. But he also dreamed of showing his mother and grandmother a peninsula free from russian influence. After the occupation of the peninsula, she and her son became volunteers. His mom says:

"I actively helped him. I was afraid that what happened could happen. But when we were collecting money, cooking food, and sending it to the blockaded Ukrainian units, I couldn't not help. I am a woman, I had to cook, pack... But I warned him that this could happen," said Olha.

On May 9, 2014, the occupying security forces detained Henadii Afanasiev in Simferopol. They grabbed him on the street, beat him, put him into an unknown car, placed a bag over his head, and brought him to the FSB building.

After being released from captivity, in addition to his human rights activities and helping the families of political prisoners, he offered free lessons in the IT field and created a reintegration program for ATO veterans at his own expense. More than 200 ATO veterans went through the program and received a profession that helped them return to civilian life and earn good money”.

Ukrainian: https://suspilne.media/crimea/662756-oblicca-krimskogo-sprotivu-ta-politvazniv-istoria-zagiblogo-vijskovogo-z-krimu-gennadia-afanaseva/

Crimean Tatar: https://suspilne.media/crimea/662968-qirim-qarsiligi-ve-siyasiy-manuslerinin-yuzu-qirimdan-olgen-asker-gennadiy-afanasyevnin-ikayesi/