Victims of the Soviet Policies: The Case of the Ahiska Turks (1944-1968)

Authors : Göktuğ KIPRIZLI

Pages : 79-98

View : 5 | Download : 3

Publication Date : 2019-12-09

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Once a group of people are labelled as outsiders and removed from a given territory forcefully, they become the subject of a deportation practice. Additionally, the experiences during and after the deportation constitute an important component of in-group collective consciousness of deportees. This study is a case study built on the conceptual framework, which is also known as analytical framework. The study first aims to determine the reasons of the deportation of the Ahiska Turks. Then the study intends to connect the traumatic experiences of the Ahiska Turks during and after the process of the deportation and their years in exile to the construction of their collective group identity. At this point, this study argues that although the ideological dichotomisation of the world constituted the essential component of the Soviet identity, this binarised understanding of the world flamed the fear of foreign penetration into the socialist community and triggered the Soviet xenophobia at home. Last but not least, although it is acknowledged that the identity construction is an ongoing process and the Ahiska Turks were subject of discrimination and violence after 1968, this study limits itself by focusing on the experiences of the Ahiska Turks from 1944 to 1968 since 1944 was the year of their deportation was executed and 1968 was the year when their deportation was officially recognised and they were rehabilitated by the Soviet government.
Keywords : Deportation, the Soviet Union, ahiska