6 December 2025 our beloved friend and colleague Ayder Seiytosmanov passed away. Like many of his compatriots born in exile, he was a member of the Mejlis, an outstanding civil society leader, a dedicated trainer of a new generation of leaders, a devoted husband and father. Throughout his life, he served his nation and Ukraine. He combined strength in action with extraordinary tenderness toward his loved ones. Always responsible, always ready to take on challenges, he never hesitated to help anyone in need, taking on tasks that others considered too difficult.
For Ayder, his work was above all a form of service to Crimea — the land he carried in his heart throughout his life. He lived with the quiet habits of a statesman: for people like him, time is measured in duties fulfilled and service given. Even in his last days, he thought about the work still ahead and the people he had promised to support. He lived with dignity and responsibility — and he departed in the same way.
Ayder Seiytosmanov (1964–2025) was a distinguished Crimean Tatar public leader, member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and a steadfast advocate for Ukraine’s freedom and dignity. Trained as an IT engineer and later as a public administration professional, he combined deep technical knowledge with an unwavering commitment to community development and human dignity.
He worked for many years with international partners, managing large-scale development programmes in Crimea with exemplary professionalism and integrity. Within Ukraine’s decentralisation reform, he worked with many municipalities and helped strengthen the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Governments that became an important voice for hromadas. These efforts laid the groundwork for how the reform was implemented nationwide.
Ayder was widely respected for his ability to build trust in diverse, multicultural communities and for his consistent commitment to the principles of democracy and good governance. As a trainer, mentor and author of many works on democratic governance, he helped shape a new generation of local leaders. His dedication, moral clarity, and quiet strength made him a person whose influence extended far beyond any official role. His legacy lives on in the institutions he strengthened and in the many people he inspired.
Ayder leaves behind his family, his wife and four children, whom he deeply loved and was very proud of. Our thoughts are with them.
Ayder will remain with us — in our memory, through his family, in his deeds, and in the dreams he did not have time to complete. We will try our best not to let him down.
Photo: courtesy of Zarema Seiytosmanova’s personal archive; Facebook post by Refat Chubarov.
