Meskhetian Turks
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| 350,000-400,000 (2006 academic estimate)[1] Current estimates:500,000[2][3] to 600,000[4] |
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Predominantly Sunni Muslims[7] |
Meskhetian Turks also known as Meskheti Turks, Turkish Meskhetians, and Ahiska Turks (Turkish: Ahıska Türkleri; Georgian: თურქი მესხები, t'urk'i meskhebi) are the ethnic Turks formerly inhabiting the Meskheti region of Georgia, along the border with Turkey. The Turkish presence in Meskhetia began with the Ottoman invasion of 1578,[8] although Turkic tribes had settled in the region as early as the eleventh and twelfth centuries.[8] Today, the Meskhetian Turks are widely dispersed throughout the former Soviet Union (as well as in Turkey and the United States) due to forced deportations during World War II. At the time, the Soviet Union was preparing to launch a pressure campaign against Turkey and Joseph Stalin wanted to clear the strategic Turkish population in Meskheti who were likely to be hostile to Soviet intentions.[9] In 1944, the Meskhetian Turks were accused of smuggling, banditry and espionage in collaboration with their kin across the Turkish border;[10] nationalistic policies at the time encouraged the slogan: "Georgia for Georgians" and that the Meskhetian Turks should be sent to Turkey "where they belong".[11][12] Approximately 115,000 Meskhetian Turks were deported to Central Asia and only a few hundred have been able to return to Georgia ever since.[11]
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[edit] Origins and terms
Georgian historiography has traditionally argued that the Meskhetian Turks, who speak the Kars dialect of the Turkish language and belong to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, are simply Turkified Georgians converted to Islam in the period between the sixteenth century and 1829 when the region of Meskheti-Dzhavakheti was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.[13] However, Anatoly Michailovich Khazanov has argued that "it is quite possible that the adherents of this view oversimplified the ethnic history of the group, particularly if one compares it with another Muslim Georgian group, the Adzhar, who in spite of their conversion to Islam have retained, not only the Georgian language, but to some extent also the Georgian tradition culture and self-identification. Contrary to this, the traditional culture of Meshetian Turks, though it contained some Georgian elements, was similar to the Turkish one".[13] Kathryn Tomlinson has argued that in Soviet documents about the 1944 deportations of the Meskhetian Turks they were referred to simply as "Turks", and that it was after their second deportation from Uzbekistan that the term "Meskhetian Turks" was invented.[14] Furthermore, according to Ronald Wixman, the term "Meskhetian" only came into use in the late 1950s.[15]
[edit] History
[edit] Ottoman migration
In 1578, the Ottoman Empire conquered Meskheti, although it was not secure as part of the Ottoman Empire until 1639, when a treaty was signed and brought an end to Persian attempts to take the region.[16]
[edit] Soviet rule
[edit] 1944 deportation from Georgia to Central Asia
On 15 November 1944, the then President of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, ordered the deportation of over 115,000 Meskhetian Turks from their homeland,[17] and were secretly driven from their homes and herded onto rail cars.[18] As many as 30,000 to 50,000 deportees died of hunger, thirst and cold and as a direct result of the deportations and the deprivations suffered in exile.[19][18] The Soviet guards dumped the Meskhetian Turks at rail sidings across a vast region, oftern without food, water, or shelter; according to the 1989 Soviet Census, 106,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in Uzbekistan, 50,000 in Kazakhstan, and 21,000 in Kyrgyzstan.[17] As opposed to the other nationalities who had been deported during WWII, no reason was given for the deportation of the Meskhetian Turks, which remained secret until 1968.[9] In was only in 1968 that the Soviet government finally recognised that the Meskhetian Turks had been deported. The reason for the deportation of the Meskhetian Turks was because in 1944 the Soviet Union was preparing to launch a pressure campaign against Turkey.[9] In June 1945 Vyacheslav Molotov, who was then Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented a demand to the Turkish Ambassador in Moscow for the surrender of three Anatolia provinces (Kars, Ardahan and Artvin).[9] As Moscow was also preparing to support Armenian claims to several other Anatolian provinces, war against Turkey seemed possible, and Joseph Stalin wanted to clear the strategic Georgian-Turkish border where the Meskhetian Turks were settled and who were likely to be hostile to such Soviet intentions.[9] Unlike the other deported Muslim groups, the Meskhetians have not been rehabilitated nor permitted to return to their homeland. In April 1970, the leaders of the Meskhetian Turkish national movement applied to the Turkish Embassy in Moscow for permission to emigrate to Turkey as Turkish citizens if the Soviet government persisted its refusal to allow them to resettle in Meskhetia. However, the reason of the Soviet government was to arrest the Meskhetian leaders.[20]
[edit] 1989 deportation from Uzbekistan to other Soviet countries
The Meshetian Turks who had settled in Uzbekistan became the target of a pogrom in 1989.[17] The pogrom took place in the Fergana valley, which was the principal destination for Meskhetian Turkish deportees, after an uprising of nationalism in Uzbekistan. The riots had left hundreds of Meskhetian Turks dead or injured and nearly 1,000 properties were destroyed and thousands of Meskhetian Turks were forced into renewed exile.[17] The majority of Meskhetian Turks, about 70,000, went to Azerbaijan, whilst the remainder went to various regions of Russia (especially Krasnodar Krai), Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.[17][21]
[edit] Demographics
According to the 1989 Soviet Census, there were 207,502 Turks living in the Soviet Union.[1] However, Soviet authorities recorded many Meskhetian Turks as belonging to other nationalities such as "Azeri", "Kazakh", "Kyrgyz", and "Uzbek".[1] Hence, offical census's do not necessarily show a true reflection of the real population of the Meskhetian Turks; for example, according to the 2009 Azerbaijani census, there were 38,4000 Turks living in the country;[22] yet in 1999, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated that there were 100,000 Meskhetian Turks living in the country.[23] Furthermore, in 2001, the Baku Institute of Peace and Democracy suggested that there was between 90,000 to 110,000 Meskhetian Turks living in Azerbaijan.[24]
More recently, some Meskhetian Turks in Russia, especially those in Krasnodar, have faced hostility from the local population. The Krasnodar Meskhetian Turks have suffered significant human rights violations, including the deprivation of their citizenship. They are deprived of civil, political and social rights and are prohibited from owning property and employment.[25] Thus, since 2004, many Turks have left the Krasnodar region for the United States as refugees, which is now becoming their third deportation. They are still barred from full repatriation to Georgia.[26]
[edit] Culture
[edit] Religion
Meskhetian Turks are predominantly Sunni Muslims.[7]
[edit] Language
The Meskhetian Turks speak an Eastern Anatolian dialect of Turkish, which hails from the regions of Kars, Ardahan, and Artvin.[27] The Meskhetian Turkish dialect has also borrowed from other languages (including Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian, and Uzbek) which the Meskhetian Turks have been in contact with during the Russian and Soviet rule.[27]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Aydıngün et al. 2006, 1.
- ^ Todays Zaman (15 August 2011). "Historic Meskhetian Turk documents destroyed". Todays Zaman. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-253866-historic-meskhetian-turk-documents-destroyed.html. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ Kanbolat, Hasan (07 April 2009). "Return of Meskhetian Turks to Georgia delayed". Todays Zaman. http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-171664-return-of-meskhetian-turks-to-georgia-delayed.html. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ Assembly of Turkish American Associations (5 February 2008). "ATAA and ATA-SC Visit Ahiska Turks in Los Angeles". Todays Zaman. http://www.ataa.org/press/prl_020508.html. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d Aydıngün et al. 2006, 13.
- ^ a b c d e Aydıngün et al. 2006, 14.
- ^ a b Aydıngün et al. 2006, 15.
- ^ a b Aydıngün et al. 2006, 4.
- ^ a b c d e Bennigsen & Broxup 1983, 30.
- ^ Tomlinson 2005, 107.
- ^ a b Kurbanov & Kurbanov 1995, 237.
- ^ Cornell 2001, 183.
- ^ a b Khazanov 1995, 195.
- ^ Tomlinson 2005, 111.
- ^ Wixman 1984, 134.
- ^ Tomlinson 2005, 110.
- ^ a b c d e UNHCR 1999b, 20.
- ^ a b Minahan 2002, 1240.
- ^ Polian 2004, 155.
- ^ Bennigsen & Broxup 1983, 31.
- ^ UNHCR 1999b, 21.
- ^ The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. "Population by ethnic groups". http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/AP_/1_5.xls. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- ^ UNHCR 1999a, 14.
- ^ NATO Parliamentary Assembly. "Minorities in the South Caucasus: Factor of Instability?". http://www.nato-pa.int/default.asp?SHORTCUT=683. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- ^ Barton, Heffernan & Armstrong 2002, 9.
- ^ Coşkun 2009, 5.
- ^ a b Aydıngün et al. 2006, 23.
[edit] Bibliography
- Aydıngün, Ayşegül; Harding, Çiğdem Balım; Hoover, Matthew; Kuznetsov, Igor; Swerdlow, Steve (2006), Meskhetian Turks: An Introduction to their History, Culture, and Resettelment Experiences, Center for Applied Linguistics, http://www.cal.org/CO/pdffiles/mturks.pdf
- Barton, Frederick D.; Heffernan, John; Armstrong, Andrea (2002), Being Recognised as Citizens, http://www.humansecurity-chs.org/: Commission on Human Security, http://www.humansecurity-chs.org/activities/research/citizenship_Barton.pdf
- Bennigsen, Alexandre; Broxup, Marie (1983), The Islamic threat to the Soviet State, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0709906196.
- Blacklock, Denika (2005), Finding Durable Solutions for the Meskhetians, European Centre for Minority Issues, http://www.ecmi.de/download/Report_56.pdf
- Coşkun, Ufuk (2009), Ahiska/Meskhetian Turks in Tucson: An Examination of Ethnic Identity, University of Arizona, http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ufukc/UfukCoskun_2009%20Ahiska(Meskhetian)_Turks_in_Tucson-Edited.pdf
- Cornell, Svante E. (2001), Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus, Routledge, ISBN 0700711627.
- Council of Europe (2006), Documents: working papers, 2005 ordinary session (second part), 25–29 April 2005, Vol. 3: Documents 10407, 10449-10533, Council of Europe, ISBN 9287157545.
- Drobizheva, Leokadia; Gottemoeller, Rose; Kelleher, Catherine McArdle (1998), Ethnic Conflict in the Post-Soviet World: Case Studies and Analysis, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 1563247410.
- Elbaqidze, Marina (2005), "Multiculturalism in Georgia: Unclaimed Asset or Threat to the State?", in Czyzewski, Krzystof; Kulas, Joanna; Golubiewski, Mikolaj (eds.), A Handbook of Dialogue: Trust and Identity.
- Enwall, Joakim (2010), "Turkish texts in Georgian script: Sociolinguistic and ethno-linguistic aspects", in Boeschoten, Hendrik; Rentzsch, Julian (eds.), Turcology in Mainz, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 3447061138.
- Khazanov, Anatoly Michailovich (1995), "People with Nowhere To Go: The Plight of the Meskhetian Turks", After the USSR: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Politics in the Commonwealth of Independent States, University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0299148947.
- Kurbanov, Rafik Osman-Ogly; Kurbanov, Erjan Rafik-Ogly (1995), "Religion and Politics in the Caucasus", in Bourdeaux, Michael (ed), The Politics of Religion in Russia and the New States of Eurasia, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 1563243571.
- Minahan, James (2002), Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: L-R, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0313321116.
- Pepinov, Fuad (2008), "The Role of Political Caricature in the ultural Development of the Meskhetian (Ahiska) Turks", in Kellner-Heinkele, Barbara; Gierlichs, Joachim; Heuer, Brigitte (eds.), Islamic Art and Architecture in the European Periphery: Crimea, Caucasus, and the Volga-Ural Region, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 344705753X
- Polian, Pavel (2004), Against Their will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR, Central European University Press, ISBN 9639241687.
- Rasuly-Paleczek, Gabriele; Katschnig, Julia (2005), Central Asia on Display: Proceedings of the VIIth Conference of the European Society for Central Asian Studies, LIT Verlag Münster, ISBN 3825883094.
- Rywkin, Michael (1994), Moscow's Lost Empire, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 1563242370.
- Tomlinson, Kathryn (2005), "Living Yesterday in Today and Tomorrow: Meskhetian Turks in Southern Russia", in Crossley, James G.; Karner, Christian (eds.), Writing History, Constructing Religion, Ashgate Publishing, ISBN 0754651835.
- UNHCR (1999a), Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Azerbaijan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/3ae6a6504.pdf
- UNHCR (1999b), Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Georgia, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/3ae6a6590.pdf
- Wixman, Ronald (1984), The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 0873325060.
[edit] References
- Robert Conquest, The Nation Killers: The Soviet Deportation of Nationalities (London: MacMillan, 1970) (ISBN 0-333-10575-3)
- S. Enders Wimbush and Ronald Wixman, "The Meskhetian Turks: A New Voice in Central Asia," Canadian Slavonic Papers 27, Nos. 2 and 3 (Summer and Fall, 1975): 320-340
- Alexander Nekrich, The Punished Peoples: The Deportation and Fate of Soviet Minorities at the End of the Second World War (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978) (ISBN 0-393-00068-0).
- Emma Kh. Panesh and L.B. Ermolov (Translated by Kevin Tuite). Meskhetians. World Culture Encyclopedia. Accessed on September 1, 2007.
[edit] External links
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