123-475: Sarukhan (1300/01–1345/46) was a Turkish Bey of Magnesia (present-day Manisa , Turkey ). Sarukhan was a Turkish Bey who is remembered for his conquests in the western Anatolian Peninsula. In 1313, he occupied Thyatira (present-day Akhisar , Manisa Province ), and then left his name "Saruhan" to the region he had occupied, becoming an independent ruler and transmitting the region to his descendants. At one point in 1336, Sarukhan formed an alliance with
246-468: A market economy from a command economy in 1990–1991 and made efforts to rebuild and restructure their economic systems, often following neoliberal shock therapy policies, with varying results. In all, the process triggered severe economic declines, with gross domestic product (GDP) dropping by more than 40% overall between 1990 and 1995. This decline in GDP was much more intense than the 27% decline that
369-781: A roadmap for future integration and established the Eurasian Economic Commission (modelled on the European Commission ). The Eurasian Economic Commission serves as the regulatory agency for the Eurasian Customs Union, the Single Economic Space and the Eurasian Economic Union. The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union of post-Soviet states. The treaty aiming for the establishment of
492-455: A Turkish population in many of these countries because the Turkish government wanted to preserve these communities so that the Turkish character of these neighbouring territories could be maintained. One of the last stages of ethnic Turks immigrating to Turkey was between 1940 and 1990 when about 700,000 Turks arrived from Bulgaria. Today, between a third and a quarter of Turkey's population are
615-516: A free trade area, but the agreements were never signed. On 19 October 2011, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine signed a free trade agreement. Uzbekistan joined the free trade area in 2013. The Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC), formerly the CIS Customs Union, was established by Russia , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan . Ukraine and Moldova have observer status in
738-1147: A number of multinational organizations such as: Regarding political freedom in the former Soviet republics, Freedom House 's 2021 report listed the following: Similarly, the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders in 2022 recorded the following as regards press freedom : It has been remarked that several post-Soviet states did not change leadership for decades since their independence, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan until his surprise resignation in 2019, and Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, until his death in September 2016. All of these had originally more limited terms but through decrees or referendums prolonged their stay in office (a practice also followed by Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan). Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan had likewise served as President since its independence until he
861-681: A pressure for democracy. This is one of the few social disasters that the church has survived, in which it was not the cause. But if successful politically, it faces economic challenges beyond its grasp." The Central Asian states ( Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ) plus Azerbaijan in the Southern Caucasus are Muslim , except for their dwindling Russian and other European minorities. The Baltic countries are historically Western Christian ( Protestant and Roman Catholic ), which adds another layer of pro-Western orientation to those countries, although
984-665: A report by CIA suggests that 200,000 of the residents of Cyprus are Turkish. Ethnic Turks continue to inhabit certain regions of Greece , North Macedonia , Kosovo , Romania , and Bulgaria since they first settled there during the Ottoman period. As of 2019, the Turkish population in the Balkans is over 1 million. Majority of Balkan Turks were killed or deported in the Muslim Persecution during Ottoman Contraction and arrived to Turkey as Muhacirs . The majority of
1107-475: A successful transition to capitalism and more democracy." Commenting on Milanović's report in 2021, Kristen Ghodsee says this view is "essentially correct" and perhaps underestimates "the negative impacts of transition by focusing only on GDP, inequality and democratic consolidation" whereas Mitchell A. Orenstein says this view is "overly pessimistic" and notes that "Poland had done spectacularly well and living standards had increased in many countries." Most of
1230-559: A wide range of both East Asian and West-Eurasian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring peoples such as Iranic , Mongolic , Tocharian , Uralic and Yeniseian peoples. In Central Asia, the earliest surviving Turkic language texts, found on the eighth-century Orkhon inscription monuments , were erected by the Göktürks in the sixth century CE, and include words not common to Turkic but found in unrelated Inner Asian languages. Although
1353-508: Is a closely related organization. Observer countries include Armenia , Bulgaria and Poland . Just like GUAM before it, this forum is largely seen as intending to counteract Russian influence in the area. This is the only international forum centered in the post-Soviet space in which the Baltic countries also participate. In addition, the other three post-Soviet states in it are all members of GUAM. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO),
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#17327732009841476-542: Is also mentioned, potentially referring to " Ashina -led Turks" or "Ashinas and Turks". There are several theories regarding the origin of the ethnonym Turk . There is a claim that it may be connected to Herodotus 's ( c. 484 – c. 425 BC ) reference to Targitaos , ( Ταργιτάος ), a king of the Scythians ; however, Manfred Mayrhofer (apud Lincoln) assigned Iranian etymology for Targitaos: from Old Iranian * darga-tavah , meaning "he whose strength
1599-463: Is composed of China and five post-Soviet states, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organization was founded in 2001, though its predecessor, the Shanghai Five grouping, has existed since 1996. Its aims revolve around security-related issues such as border demarcation, terrorism and energy. Apart from above, the former Soviet republics also hold membership in
1722-987: Is long-lasting". During the first century A.D., Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the forests north of the Sea of Azov , and Pliny the Elder lists the Tyrcae among the people of the same area; yet English archaeologist Ellis Minns contended that Tyrcae is "a false correction" for Iurcae / Iurkai ( Ἱύρκαι ), a people who dwelt beyond the Thyssagetae , according to Herodotus ( Histories , IV. 22) There are references to certain groups in antiquity whose names might have been foreign transcriptions of Tür(ü)k such as Togarmah , Turukha / Turuška , Turukku and so on; but according to American historian Peter B. Golden , while any connection of some of these ancient peoples to Turks
1845-453: Is possible, it is rather unlikely. As a word in Turkic languages, Turk may mean "strong, strength, ripe" or "flourishing, in full strength". It may also mean ripe as for a fruit or "in the prime of life, young, and vigorous" for a person. In the 19th century, the word Türk referred to Anatolian peasants. The Ottoman ruling class identified themselves as Ottomans , not as Turks. In
1968-586: Is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet states other than Russia. Following the end of the Cold War , the international community de facto recognized Russia as the successor state to the Soviet Union as a whole, rather than to just the Russian SFSR. In contrast, the other post-Soviet states were recognized as successors only to their corresponding Union Republics. However, Russia's status as
2091-468: The Aegean coast, from north to south, stretched the beyliks of Karasi , Saruhan , Aydin , Menteşe , and Teke . Inland from Teke was Hamid and east of Karasi was the beylik of Germiyan . To the northwest of Anatolia, around Söğüt , was the small and, at this stage, insignificant, Ottoman beylik. It was hemmed into the east by other more substantial powers like Karaman on Iconium , which ruled from
2214-880: The Alevis and Bektashis emerged. Furthermore, intermarriage between the Turks and local inhabitants, as well as the conversion of many to Islam, also increased the Turkish-speaking Muslim population in Anatolia. By 1243, at the Battle of Köse Dağ , the Mongols defeated the Seljuk Turks and became the new rulers of Anatolia, and in 1256, the second Mongol invasion of Anatolia caused widespread destruction. Particularly after 1277, political stability within
2337-1321: The Armenian SSR , the Azerbaijan SSR , the Byelorussian SSR , the Estonian SSR , the Georgian SSR , the Kazakh SSR , the Kirghiz SSR , the Latvian SSR , the Lithuanian SSR , the Moldavian SSR , the Russian SFSR , the Tajik SSR , the Turkmen SSR , the Ukrainian SSR , and the Uzbek SSR . In Russia, the term " near abroad " ( Russian : ближнее зарубежье , romanized : bližneye zarubežye )
2460-910: The Armenians during the Armenian genocide and the Greeks during various campaigns of ethnic cleansing and expulsion . In 1918, the Ottoman Government agreed to the Mudros Armistice with the Allies . The Treaty of Sèvres —signed in 1920 by the government of Mehmet VI — dismantled the Ottoman Empire. The Turks, under Mustafa Kemal Pasha, rejected the treaty and fought the Turkish War of Independence , resulting in
2583-548: The Balkans , Caucasus , Crimea , and Mediterranean islands, shifting the center of the Ottoman Empire to Anatolia. In addition to a small number of Jews, the refugees were overwhelmingly Muslim; they were both Turkish and non-Turkish people, such as Circassians and Crimean Tatars . Paul Mojzes has called the Balkan Wars an "unrecognized genocide", where multiple sides were both victims and perpetrators. By 1913,
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#17327732009842706-516: The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) were the first to break away from the Soviet Union by proclaiming the restoration of their national independence in 1990; they cited legal continuity from the original Baltic states , asserting that Baltic sovereignty had continued on a de jure basis due to the belligerent nature of the 1940 Soviet annexation . Subsequently, the 12 remaining Union Republics seceded, with all of them jointly establishing
2829-701: The Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos , and supported him militarily in two sieges against the Genoese , in Mytilene and Phocaea . In 1341 however he attacked Constantinople with a fleet, but was repulsed around the Gallipoli peninsula by a Byzantine fleet in 1341. Turkish people Turkish people or Turks ( Turkish : Türkler ) are the largest Turkic people who speak various dialects of
2952-893: The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and most of them later joining the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the other hand, the three Baltic states pursued a policy of near-total disengagement with the Russian-dominated post-Soviet sphere, instead focusing on integrating themselves with the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They successfully attained NATO membership and were granted EU membership in 2004. Since
3075-554: The Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations which aims to forge closer integration. The Community of Democratic Choice (CDC) was formed in December 2005 at the primary instigation of Ukraine and Georgia, and composed of six post-Soviet states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and three other countries of Eastern and Central Europe ( Slovenia , Romania and North Macedonia ). The Black Sea Forum (BSF)
3198-655: The Fourth Crusade , established a Latin Empire (1204–1261), divided the former Byzantine territories in the Balkans and the Aegean among themselves, and forced the Byzantine Emperors into exile at Nicaea (present-day Iznik ). From 1261 onwards, the Byzantines were largely preoccupied with regaining their control in the Balkans. Toward the end of the 13th century, as Mongol power began to decline,
3321-529: The Great Seljuq Empire after Sultan Tuğrul Bey 's invasion in 1055. For the next 150 years, the Seljuk Turks placed large Turkmen communities along the most valuable routes of northern Iraq. Yet, the largest wave of Turkish migrations occurred under the four centuries of Ottoman rule (1535–1919). In 1534, Suleiman the Magnificent secured Mosul within the Ottoman Empire and it became
3444-555: The Kosovo War of 1998–99. Today, approximately 15–20 million Turks living in Turkey are the descendants of refugees from the Balkans; there are also 1.5 million descendants from Meskheti and over 600,000 descendants from Cyprus . The Republic of Turkey continues to be a land of migration for ethnic Turkish people fleeing persecution and wars. For example, there are approximately 1 million Syrian Turkmen living in Turkey due to
3567-653: The Kızılırmak River to the Mediterranean . Although the Ottomans was only a small principality among the numerous Turkish beyliks, and thus posed the smallest threat to the Byzantine authority, their location in north-western Anatolia, in the former Byzantine province of Bithynia , became a fortunate position for their future conquests. The Latins , who had conquered the city of Constantinople in 1204 during
3690-778: The Middle East (including Trans-Jordan and Yemen ) North African (such as Algeria and Libya ) and the Soviet Union (especially from Meskheti ). The Turks who remained in the former Ottoman territories continued to face discrimination and persecution thereafter leading many to seek refuge in Turkey, especially Turkish Meskhetians deported by Joseph Stalin in 1944; Turkish minorities in Yugoslavia (i.e., Turkish Bosnians , Turkish Croatians , Turkish Kosovars , Turkish Macedonians , Turkish Montenegrins and Turkish Serbians ) fleeing Josip Broz Tito 's regime in
3813-505: The Muslim conquests , the Turks entered the Muslim world proper as slaves , the booty of Arab raids and conquests. The Turks began converting to Islam after the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana through the efforts of missionaries , Sufis , and merchants. Although initiated by the Arabs , the conversion of the Turks to Islam was filtered through Persian and Central Asian culture. Under
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3936-781: The Northern Dobruja region. The only settlement which still has a Turkish majority population is in Dobromir located in the Constanța County . Historically, Turkish Romanians also formed a majority in other regions, such as the island of Ada Kaleh which was destroyed and flooded by the Romanian government for the construction of the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station . The Turkish Serbians have lived in Serbia since
4059-624: The Ottoman conquests in the region . They have traditionally lived in the urban areas of Serbia. In 1830, when the Principality of Serbia was granted autonomy, most Turks emigrated as " muhacirs " (refugees) to Ottoman Turkey , and by 1862 almost all of the remaining Turks left Central Serbia , including 3,000 from Belgrade . Today, the remaining community mostly live in Belgrade and Sandžak . The Turkish Azerbaijanis began to settle in
4182-438: The Partnership for Peace and Individual Partnership Action Plan program include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Four member states, namely Georgia , Ukraine , Azerbaijan and Moldova , established the GUAM group that was largely seen as intending to counter Russian dominance in the region. Notably, these four nations do not participate in any of
4305-470: The Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. As an ethnonym , the etymology of Turk is still unknown. In Chinese sources, Turk appears as Tujue ( Chinese : 突 厥 ; Wade–Giles : T’u-chüe ), which referred to the Göktürks . The earliest mention of Turk ( 𐱅𐰇𐰺𐰜 , türü̲k̲ ; or 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚 , türk/tẄrk ) in Turkic languages comes from the Second Turkic Khaganate . In Orkhon inscriptions , kök türü̲k̲ ( 𐰚𐰇𐰚 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜 )
4428-414: The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) followed by the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), and then after Georgia was incorporated into the Soviet Union . During this period, some members of the community also relocated to other Soviet borders, and those who remained in Georgia were targeted by the Sovietisation campaigns. Thereafter, during World War II , the Soviet administration initiated a mass deportation of
4551-407: The Targovishte Province (35.80%), and the Shumen Province (30.29%). They were ethnically cleansed during the Muslim Persecution during Ottoman Contraction and subsequently targeted during the Revival Process that aimed to assimilate them into a Bulgarian identity. The Turkish Croatians began to settle in the region during the various Croatian–Ottoman wars . Despite being a small minority,
4674-402: The Turkish Constitution defines a Turk as anyone who is "bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship ." Anatolia was first inhabited by hunter-gatherers during the Paleolithic era, and was inhabited by various civilizations such as Hattians and ancient Anatolian peoples . After Alexander the Great 's conquest in 334 BC, the area was culturally Hellenized , and by
4797-400: The Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus . In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still live across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire . Article 66 of the Constitution of Turkey defines a Turk as anyone who is a citizen of Turkey. While the legal use of the term Turkish as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from
4920-468: The Turkish nationalist ideology. Other Turkish groups include the Rumelian Turks (also referred to as Balkan Turks) historically located in the Balkans ; Turkish Cypriots on the island of Cyprus, Meskhetian Turks originally based in Meskheti , Georgia ; and ethnic Turkish people across the Middle East , where they are also called Turkmen or Turkoman in the Levant (e.g. Iraqi Turkmen , Syrian Turkmen , Lebanese Turkmen , etc.). Consequently,
5043-421: The Umayyads , most were domestic servants, whilst under the Abbasid Caliphate , increasing numbers were trained as soldiers. By the ninth century, Turkish commanders were leading the caliphs ’ Turkish troops into battle. As the Abbasid Caliphate declined, Turkish officers assumed more military and political power by taking over or establishing provincial dynasties with their own corps of Turkish troops. During
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5166-463: The dissolution of the Soviet Union . Only organizations that are mainly (or completely) composed of post-Soviet states are listed in this section; organizations with wider memberships are not discussed. The 15 post-Soviet states are divided in their participation to the regional blocs: The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) consists of 10 former Soviet Republics that differ in their membership status. As of December 2010, 9 countries have ratified
5289-605: The former Soviet Union ( FSU ) or the former Soviet republics , are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they existed as Union Republics , which were the top-level constituents of the Soviet Union . There are 15 post-Soviet states in total: Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Estonia , Georgia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia , Lithuania , Moldova , Russia , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Ukraine , and Uzbekistan . Each of these countries succeeded their respective Union Republics:
5412-434: The 11th century, the Seljuk Turks , who were influenced by Persian civilization in many ways, grew in strength and succeeded in taking the eastern province of the Abbasid Empire . By 1055, the Seljuks captured Baghdad and began to make their first incursions into Anatolia . When they won the Battle of Manzikert against the Byzantine Empire in 1071, it opened the gates of Anatolia to them. Although ethnically Turkish,
5535-487: The 1920s and the 1930s, Turks, as well as other Muslims , from the Balkans , the Black Sea , the Aegean islands , the island of Cyprus , the Sanjak of Alexandretta ( Hatay ), the Middle East , and the Soviet Union continued to arrive in Turkey , most of whom settled in urban north-western Anatolia. The bulk of these immigrants, known as " Muhacirs ", were the Balkan Turks who faced harassment and discrimination in their homelands. However, there were still remnants of
5658-414: The 1950s; Turkish Cypriots fleeing the Cypriot intercommunal violence of 1955–74; Turkish Iraqis fleeing discrimination during the rise of Arab nationalism in the 1950s and 1970s followed by the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–88; Turkish Bulgarians fleeing the Bulgarisation policies of the so-called " Revival Process " under the communist ruler Todor Zivkov in the 1980s; and Turkish Kosovars fleeing
5781-431: The 19th century, the empire began to decline when ethno-nationalist uprisings occurred across the empire. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in estimated 5 million deaths, with more than 3 million in Balkans; the casualties included Turks. Five to seven or seven to nine million refugees migrated into modern-day Turkey from
5904-405: The 2000s, many EU officials have stressed the importance of establishing EU Association Agreements with the other post-Soviet states. Ukraine and Georgia have actively sought NATO membership due to increasingly hostile Russian interference in their internal affairs . Due to the post-Soviet conflicts , several disputed states with varying degrees of international recognition have emerged within
6027-452: The Balkans, Caucasus , and Crimea ; the immigrants were both Turkish and non-Turkish people, and overwhelmingly Muslim. The empire lasted until the end of the First World War, when it was defeated by the Allies and partitioned . Following the Turkish War of Independence that ended with the Turkish National Movement retaking much of the territory lost to the Allies, the Movement ended the Ottoman Empire on 1 November 1922 and proclaimed
6150-402: The Balkans. Once Albania came under Ottoman rule , Turkish colonization was scarce there; however, some Anatolian Turkish settlers did arrive in 1415–30 and were given timar estates. According to the 2011 census, the Turkish language was the sixth most spoken language in the country (after Albanian , Greek , Macedonian , Romani , and Aromanian ). The Turkish Bosnians have lived in
6273-410: The CIS charter and are full CIS members (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), one country (Turkmenistan) is an associate member and two countries (Georgia, Ukraine) left the organization in 2009 and in 2018. In 2014, Ukraine declined its CIS chairmanship and considered withdrawal from the organization. In 1994, the CIS countries agreed to create
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#17327732009846396-481: The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), this being an expansion of the previous Collective Security Treaty (CST). Uzbekistan which (alongside Georgia and Azerbaijan) withdrew from the CST in 1999, joined GUAM. Then in 2005, it withdrew from GUAM and joined the CSTO in 2006. On 28 June 2012, Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the CSTO. Three former Soviet states are members of NATO: Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania . Georgia, where both public opinion and
6519-680: The EAEU was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus , Kazakhstan and Russia , and came into force on 1 January 2015. Treaties aiming for Armenia 's and Kyrgyzstan 's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union were signed on 9 October 2014 and 23 December respectively. Armenia's accession treaty came into force on 2 January 2015. Kyrgyzstan ratified its accession's treaty in May 2015, and it came into force in August 2015. Moldova and Tajikistan are prospective members. Seven CIS member states, namely Russia , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Uzbekistan and Armenia , have enhanced their military cooperation, establishing
6642-400: The Georgian language. While the Soviet system placed severe restrictions on religious intellectual life, traditions continued to survive. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Islamic movements have emerged alongside ethnic and secular ones. Vitaly Naumkin gives the following assessment: "Throughout the time of change, Islam has served as a symbol of identity, a force for mobilization, and
6765-401: The Magnificent , further expanded the conquests after capturing Belgrade in 1521 and using its territorial base to conquer Hungary , and other Central European territories, after his victory in the Battle of Mohács as well as also pushing the frontiers of the empire to the east. Following Suleiman's death, Ottoman victories continued, albeit less frequently than before. The island of Cyprus
6888-444: The Mongols occupied more lands in Asia Minor, the Turks moved further into western Anatolia and settled in the Seljuk-Byzantine frontier. By the last decades of the 13th century, the Ilkhans and their Seljuk vassals lost control over much of Anatolia to these Turkoman peoples . A number of Turkish lords managed to establish themselves as rulers of various principalities , known as " Beyliks " or emirates . Amongst these beyliks, along
7011-413: The Ottoman capital, that the Ottoman Empire developed considerably. In 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and established a foothold on the Gallipoli Peninsula while at the same time pushing east and taking Ankara . Many Turks from Anatolia began to settle in the region which had been abandoned by the inhabitants who had fled Thrace before the Ottoman invasion. However, the Byzantines were not
7134-420: The Ottoman conquest of Meskheti in Georgia, hundreds of thousands of Turkic invaders had settled in the region from the thirteenth century. At this time, the main town, Akhaltsikhe , was mentioned in sources by the Turkish name "Ak-sika", or "White Fortress". Thus, this accounts for the present day Turkish designation of the region as "Ahıska". Local leaders were given the Turkish title "Atabek" from which came
7257-410: The Rumelian/Balkan Turks are the descendants of Ottoman settlers. However, the first significant wave of Anatolian Turkish settlement to the Balkans dates back to the mass migration of sedentary and nomadic subjects of the Seljuk sultan Kaykaus II (b. 1237 – d. 1279/80) who had fled to the court of Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1262. The Turkish Albanians are one of the smallest Turkish communities in
7380-408: The Seljuk Turks appreciated and became carriers of Persian culture rather than Turkish culture . Nonetheless, the Turkish language and Islam were introduced and gradually spread over the region and the slow transition from a predominantly Christian and Greek -speaking Anatolia to a predominantly Muslim and Turkish-speaking one was underway. In dire straits, the Byzantine Empire turned to
7503-417: The Seljuk territories rapidly disintegrated, leading to the strengthening of Turkoman principalities in the western and southern parts of Anatolia called the " beyliks ". When the Mongols defeated the Seljuk Turks and conquered Anatolia , the Turks became the vassals of the Ilkhans who established their own empire in the vast area which stretched from present-day Afghanistan to present-day Turkey . As
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#17327732009847626-403: The Soviet Union occurred against a backdrop of economic stagnation and regression within the economy of the USSR . This period marked the breakdown of the Gosplan , the state planning agency responsible for economic planning and inter-republic economic connections, exacerbating the effects on the economies of the post-Soviet states. Most of the formerly Soviet states began the transition to
7749-450: The Turkish and Greek Cypriots , known as the " Cyprus conflict ", the Greek Cypriot government conducted a census in 1973, albeit without the Turkish Cypriot populace. A year later, in 1974, the Cypriot government's Department of Statistics and Research estimated the Turkish Cypriot population was 118,000 (or 18.4%). A coup d'état in Cyprus on 15 July 1974 by Greeks and Greek Cypriots favoring union with Greece (also known as " Enosis ")
7872-417: The Turkish homeland. The Turkish identity became the unifying force when, in 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed and the newly founded Republic of Turkey was formally established. Atatürk's presidency was marked by a series of radical political and social reforms that transformed Turkey into a secular , modern republic with civil and political equality for sectarian minorities and women. Throughout
7995-431: The Turkish minority's cultural, religious, educational, social, economic, and political freedoms. The Turks of Bulgaria form the largest Turkish community in the Balkans as well as the largest ethnic minority group in Bulgaria . According to the 2011 census, they form a majority in the Kardzhali Province (66.2%) and the Razgrad Province (50.02%), as well as substantial communities in the Silistra Province (36.09%),
8118-426: The Turkoman chiefs assumed greater independence. Under its founder, Osman I , the nomadic Ottoman beylik expanded along the Sakarya River and westward towards the Sea of Marmara . Thus, the population of western Asia Minor had largely become Turkish -speaking and Muslim in religion. It was under his son, Orhan I , who had attacked and conquered the important urban center of Bursa in 1326, proclaiming it as
8241-471: The Turks are among the 22 officially recognized national minorities in Croatia. The Turkish Kosovars are the third largest ethnic minority in Kosovo (after the Serbs and Bosniaks ). They form a majority in the town and municipality of Mamuša . The Turkish Montenegrins form the smallest Turkish minority group in the Balkans. They began to settle in the region following the Ottoman rule of Montenegro . A historical event took place in 1707 which involved
8364-490: The Turks form the largest minority group in Bulgaria , the second largest minority group in Iraq , Libya , North Macedonia , and Syria , and the third largest minority group in Kosovo . They also form substantial communities in the Western Thrace region of Greece , the Dobruja region of Romania , the Akkar region in Lebanon , as well as minority groups in other post-Ottoman Balkan and Middle Eastern countries. The mass immigration of Turks also led to them forming
8487-403: The United States suffered in the wake of the Great Depression between 1930 and 1934. The reconfiguration of public finance in compliance with capitalist principles resulted in dramatically reduced spending on health, education and other social programs, leading to a sharp increase in poverty and economic inequality . The economic shocks associated with wholesale privatization resulted in
8610-485: The West for help, setting in motion the pleas that led to the First Crusade . Once the Crusaders took Iznik , the Seljuk Turks established the Sultanate of Rum from their new capital, Konya , in 1097. By the 12th century, Europeans had begun to call the Anatolian region Turchia or Turkey , the land of the Turks. The Turkish society in Anatolia was divided into urban, rural and nomadic populations; other Turkoman (Turkmen) tribes who had arrived into Anatolia at
8733-431: The abortion of that text, never ratified, and the abolition of the Sultanate . Thus, the 623-year-old Ottoman Empire ended. Once Mustafa Kemal led the Turkish War of Independence against the Allied forces that occupied the former Ottoman Empire , he united the Turkish Muslim majority and successfully led them from 1919 to 1922 in overthrowing the occupying forces out of what the Turkish National Movement considered
8856-493: The ancient Turks were nomadic , they traded wool, leather, carpets, and horses for grain, silk, wood, and vegetables, and also had large ironworking stations in the south of the Altai Mountains during the 600s CE. Most of the Turkic peoples were followers of Tengrism , sharing the cult of the sky god Tengri , although there were also adherents of Manichaeism , Nestorian Christianity , and Buddhism . However, during
8979-483: The anti-Akayev climate that led to his overthrow. Economic, political, national, military and social problems have all been factors in separatism in the post-Soviet space. In many cases, problems due to factors such as ethnic divisions existed before the fall of the Soviet Union, and upon the fall of the union were brought into the open. Such territories and resulting military conflicts have so far been: Civil wars unrelated to separatist movements have occurred twice in
9102-489: The broader Russian invasion of Ukraine . In the political language of Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the term near abroad ( Russian : ближнее зарубежье , romanized : blizhnee zarubezhe ) refers to the independent republics that emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Increasing usage of the term in English is connected to assertions of Russia's right to maintain significant influence in
9225-680: The capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1365, they opened their way into Bulgaria and Macedonia in 1371 at the Battle of Maritsa . With the conquests of Thrace , Macedonia, and Bulgaria, significant numbers of Turkish emigrants settled in these regions. This form of Ottoman-Turkish colonization became a very effective method to consolidate their position and power in the Balkans . The settlers consisted of soldiers, nomads, farmers, artisans and merchants , dervishes , preachers and other religious functionaries, and administrative personnel. In 1453, Ottoman armies, under Sultan Mehmed II , conquered Constantinople . Mehmed reconstructed and repopulated
9348-565: The chief province ( eyalet ) responsible for administrative districts in the region. The Ottomans encouraged migration from Anatolia and the settlement of Turks along northern Iraq. After 89 years of peace, the Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–1639) saw Murad IV recapturing Baghdad and taking permanent control over Iraq which resulted in the influx of continuous Turkish settlers until Ottoman rule came to an end in 1919. Post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states , also referred to as
9471-510: The city, and made it the new Ottoman capital. After the Fall of Constantinople , the Ottoman Empire entered a long period of conquest and expansion with its borders eventually going deep into Europe , the Middle East , and North Africa . Selim I dramatically expanded the empire's eastern and southern frontiers in the Battle of Chaldiran and gained recognition as the guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina . His successor, Suleiman
9594-653: The community; however, Ukraine has declared its desire not to become a full member state. Because having common borders with the rest of the community is a prerequisite for full membership, Moldova is barred from seeking it. Uzbekistan applied for membership in October 2005, when the process of merging Central Asian Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community began; it joined on 25 January 2006. Uzbekistan subsequently suspended its membership in 2008. On 10 October 2014 an agreement on
9717-730: The countries has been rising. The constitutional background for taxation is similar. Central banks are often independent state institutions, which possess the monopoly on managing and implementing a state's or federation's monetary policy. Besides monetary policy, some of them also perform the supervision of the financial intermediary system . Change in gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices, 1991–2015 *Economy of most Soviet republics started to decline in 1989–1990, thus indices for 1991 do not match pre-reform maximums. **The year when GDP decline switched to GDP growth ***World bank publishes GDP data for Estonia only from 1995 onwards. Figures for Estonia are relative to 1995 GDP. List of
9840-622: The current Syrian civil war . The Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks whose Ottoman Turkish forebears colonized the island of Cyprus in 1571. About 30,000 Turkish soldiers were given land once they settled in Cyprus, which bequeathed a significant Turkish community. In 1960, a census by the new Republic's government revealed that the Turkish Cypriots formed 18.2% of the island's population. However, once inter-communal fighting and ethnic tensions between 1963 and 1974 occurred between
9963-565: The descendants of these immigrants. The ethnic Turks are the largest ethnic group in Turkey and number approximately 60 million to 65 million. Due to differing historical Turkish migrations to the region, dating from the Seljuk conquests in the 11th century to the continuous Turkish migrations which have persisted to the present day (especially Turkish refugees from neighboring countries), there are various accents and customs which can distinguish
10086-650: The dominant Shia sect in the country). Since the Second World War , the Turkish Azerbaijani community has increased significantly due to the mass wave of Turkish Meskhetian refugees who arrived during the Soviet rule . The Turkish Abkhazians began to live in Abkhazia during the sixteenth century under Ottoman rule. Today, there are still Turks who continue to live in the region. Prior to
10209-644: The emergence of Russian-backed states in Ukraine in 2014: the Republic of Crimea in southern Ukraine briefly proclaimed independence before being annexed by Russia in 2014 ; and the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic , both located in Ukraine's Donbas , were occupied and subsequently declared independence in 2014 before being formally annexed by Russia in 2022 , amidst
10332-580: The ethnic Turks by geographic sub-groups. For example, the most significant are the Anatolian Turks in the central core of Asiatic Turkey whose culture was influential in underlining the roots of the Turkish nationalist ideology. There are also nomadic Turkic tribes who descend directly from Central Asia , such as the Yörüks ; the Black Sea Turks in the north whose "speech largely lacks
10455-478: The excess deaths of roughly 1 million working age individuals throughout the former Soviet bloc in the 1990s. A study by economist Steven Rosefielde asserts that 3.4 million Russians died premature deaths from 1990 to 1998, partly as the result of the shock therapy policies imposed by the Washington Consensus . The initial transition decline was eventually arrested, and after 1995 the economy in
10578-693: The fifteenth century name of one of the four kingdoms of what had been Georgia, Samtskhe-Saatabago , "the land of the Atabek called Samtskhe [Meskhetia]". In 1555 the Ottomans gained the western part of Meskheti after the Peace of Amasya treaty, whilst the Safavids took the eastern part. Then in 1578 the Ottomans attacked the Safavid controlled area which initiated the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590) . Meskheti
10701-777: The first century BC it is generally thought that the native Anatolian languages , themselves earlier newcomers to the area, following the Indo-European migrations , became extinct. According to historians and linguists, the Proto-Turkic language originated in Central-East Asia, potentially in Altai-Sayan region , Mongolia or Tuva . Initially, Proto-Turkic speakers were potentially both hunter-gatherers and farmers; they later became nomadic pastoralists . Early and medieval Turkic groups exhibited
10824-666: The government of the Committee of Union and Progress started a program of forcible Turkification of non-Turkish minorities. By 1914, the World War I broke out, and the Turks scored some success in Gallipoli during the Battle of the Dardanelles in 1915. During World War I, the government of the Committee of Union and Progress continued to implement its Turkification policies, which affected non-Turkish minorities, such as
10947-513: The killing of the Turks in Montenegro as well as the murder of all Muslims. This early example of ethnic cleaning features in the epic poem The Mountain Wreath (1846). After the Ottoman withdrawal, the majority of the remaining Turks emigrated to Istanbul and İzmir . Today, the remaining Turkish Montenegrins predominantly live in the coastal town of Bar . The Turkish Macedonians form
11070-520: The language lost its status in other post-Soviet states after the end of the Soviet Union. It maintains semi-official status in all CIS member states, because it is the organisation's official working language, but in the three Baltic states, the Russian language is not recognized in any official capacity. Georgia, since its departure from the CIS in 2009, has begun operating its government almost exclusively in
11193-761: The largest ethnic minority group in Austria , Denmark , Germany , and the Netherlands . There are also Turkish communities in other parts of Europe as well as in North America , Australia and the Post-Soviet states . Turks are the 13th largest ethnic group in the world. Turks from Central Asia settled in Anatolia in the 11th century, through the conquests of the Seljuk Turks . This began
11316-520: The largest waves of ethnic Turkish migration came from the Balkans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the Balkan Wars led to most of the region becoming independent from Ottoman control. The largest waves of muhacirs came from the Balkans (especially Bulgaria , Greece , Romania and Yugoslavia ); however, substantial numbers also came from Cyprus, the Sanjak of Alexandretta ,
11439-464: The late 19th century, as the Ottoman upper classes adopted European ideas of nationalism , the term Türk took on a more positive connotation. During Ottoman times, the millet system defined communities on a religious basis. In the early 20th century, the Young Turks abandoned Ottoman nationalism in favor of Turkish nationalism , while adopting the name Turks , which was finally used in
11562-472: The name of the new Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk defined the Turkish nation as the "people ( halk ) who established the Turkish republic". Further, "the natural and historical facts which effected the establishment ( teessüs ) of the Turkish nation" were "(a) unity in political existence, (b) unity in language, (c) unity in homeland, (d) unity in race and origin ( menşe ), (e) to be historically related and (f) to be morally related". Article 66 of
11685-409: The new states' constitutions define directly or indirectly the economic system of the countries parallel to the democratic transition of the 1990s, emphasising the free market economy . The average government debt in these countries is nearly 44%, but the deviation is great, because the lowest figure is close to 10% but the highest is 97%. The trend shows that the sovereign debt-to-GDP ratio in most of
11808-557: The northwest to the east at the middle of Iraq with Kirkuk placed as their cultural capital. Historically, Turkic migrations to Iraq date back to the 7th century when Turks were recruited in the Umayyad armies of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad followed by thousands more Turkmen warriors arriving under the Abbasid rule. However, most of these Turks became assimilated into the local Arab population. The next large scale migration occurred under
11931-551: The only ones to suffer from the Ottoman advance for, in the mid-1330s, Orhan annexed the Turkish beylik of Karasi . This advancement was maintained by Murad I who more than tripled the territories under his direct rule, reaching some 100,000 square miles (260,000 km ), evenly distributed in Europe and Asia Minor . Gains in Anatolia were matched by those in Europe; once the Ottoman forces took Edirne ( Adrianople ), which became
12054-556: The other regional organizations that sprang up in the region since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (other than the CIS). The Union State of Russia and Belarus was originally formed on 2 April 1996 under the name Commonwealth of Russia and Belarus , before being tightened further on 8 December 1999. It was initiated by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko . On paper, the Union of Russia and Belarus intends further integration, beyond
12177-657: The politics of some post-Soviet States. Heydar Aliyev , after constructing an extensive and ongoing cult of personality , handed the Presidency of Azerbaijan to his son, Ilham Aliyev . Theories about the children of other leaders in Central Asia being groomed for succession abound. The participation of Akayev's son and daughter in the 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary elections boosted fears of dynastic succession being used in Kyrgyzstan as well, and may have contributed to
12300-546: The post-Soviet states began to recover, with GDP switching from negative to positive growth rates. By 2007, 10 of the 15 post-Soviet states had recovered their 1991 GDP levels. According to economist Branko Milanović , in 2015 many former Soviet republics and other former communist countries still have not caught up to their 1991 levels of output, including Bosnia-Herzegovina , Georgia , Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Serbia , Tajikistan and Ukraine . He concluded that "only 1 out of 10 people living in 'transition' countries have seen
12423-452: The present gross domestic product (GDP) (figures are given in 2023 United States dollars for the year 2023 according to the IMF ) The post-Soviet states listed according to their Human Development Index scores in 2021: Very High Human Development: High Human Development: Medium Human Development: A number of regional organizations and cooperating blocs have sprung up since
12546-489: The region during the Ottoman rule, which lasted between 1578 and 1603. By 1615, the Safavid ruler, Shah Abbas I , solidified control of the region and then deported thousands of people from Azerbaijan. In 1998, there was still approximately 19,000 Turks living in Azerbaijan who descended from the original Ottoman settlers; they are distinguishable from the rest of Azeri society because they practice Sunni Islam (rather than
12669-586: The region since the Ottoman rule of Bosnia and Herzegovina . Thus, the Turks form the oldest ethnic minority in the country. The Turkish Bosnian community decreased dramatically due to mass emigration to Turkey when Bosnia and Herzegovina came under Austro-Hungarian rule. In 2003 the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the "Law on the Protection of Rights of Members of National Minorities" which officially protected
12792-555: The region. The concept has been compared to the Monroe Doctrine , central to American grand strategy in the 20th century. The AP Styleguide recommends avoiding use of the shorthand "former Soviet republic(s)" unless relevant to the story. The 15 states may be divided into four subregions . Not included in these categories are the several de facto independent states presently lacking international recognition (read below: Separatist conflicts ). The dissolution of
12915-487: The region: Since 2003, a number of (largely) peaceful " colour revolutions " have happened in some post-Soviet states after disputed elections, with popular protests bringing into power the former opposition. There is a significant Russophone population in most of the post-Soviet states, whose political position as an ethnic minority varies from country to country. While Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, in addition to Russia, have kept Russian as an official language,
13038-832: The remaining 115,000 Turkish Meskhetians in 1944, forcing them to resettle in the Caucasus and the Central Asian Soviet republics. Thus, today hundreds of thousands of Turkish Meskhetians are scattered throughout the Post Soviet states (especially in Kazakhstan , Azerbaijan , Russia , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan and Ukraine ). Moreover, many have settled in Turkey and the United States . Attempts to repatriate them back to Georgia saw Georgian authorities receive applications covering 9,350 individuals within
13161-601: The ruling government favor NATO membership, is in the Intensified Dialogue program with NATO. Ukraine also declared joining NATO as its geopolitical goal once again in 2017 (the first time being right after the Orange Revolution and in the beginning of presidency of Viktor Yushchenko ), after the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych , during which the government officially declared non-alignment status and ceased to seek NATO membership. Other states in
13284-455: The same time as the Seljuks kept their nomadic ways. These tribes were more numerous than the Seljuks, and rejecting the sedentary lifestyle, adhered to an Islam impregnated with animism and shamanism from their Central Asian steppeland origins, which then mixed with new Christian influences. From this popular and syncretist Islam, with its mystical and revolutionary aspects, sects such as
13407-515: The scope of mere cooperation, including the introduction of the rouble as a common currency. The Economic Cooperation Organization was originally formed in 1985 by Turkey , Iran and Pakistan but in 1992 the organization was expanded to include Afghanistan and the six primarily Muslim former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan . The post-Soviet disputed states of Abkhazia , South Ossetia and Transnistria are all members of
13530-977: The second largest Turkish community in the Balkans as well as the second largest minority ethnic group in North Macedonia . They form a majority in the Centar Župa Municipality and the Plasnica Municipality as well as substantial communities in the Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality , the Studeničani Municipality , the Dolneni Municipality , the Karbinci Municipality , and the Vasilevo Municipality . The Turkish Romanians are centered in
13653-489: The sole legitimate successor in this capacity has been disputed by Ukraine, which has proclaimed by law that it is the successor state to both the Ukrainian SSR and the Soviet Union as a whole. The question of whether Russia or Ukraine succeeded the Soviet Union in 1991 arose due to a comprehensive dispute between the two countries over what had been collective Soviet state-owned properties. The Union Republics of
13776-552: The term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population (an estimated 70 to 75 percent) are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Muslims and follow the Sunni faith. The ethnic Turks can therefore be distinguished by a number of cultural and regional variants, but do not function as separate ethnic groups. In particular, the culture of the Anatolian Turks in Asia Minor has underlain and influenced
13899-728: The termination of the Eurasian Economic Community was signed in Minsk after a session of the Interstate Council of the EAEC. The Eurasian Economic Community was terminated from 1 January 2015 in connection with the launch of the Eurasian Economic Union . Russia , Belarus , Kazakhstan created a customs union that entered into force in July 2010. Ukraine , Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan indicated interest in joining at
14022-471: The territory of the former Soviet Union. These include: Transnistria , an unrecognized Russian-backed state in eastern Moldova; and Abkhazia and South Ossetia , two partially recognized Russian-backed states in northern Georgia. The United Nations (UN) has historically considered Russian-backed states in the "near abroad" to be illegitimate and instead views them as constituting Russian-occupied territories . The aftermath of Ukraine's Maidan Revolution saw
14145-655: The time. Russia has been eager for Armenia , Moldova and Ukraine to join the custom union instead of the European Union , and the Moldovan break-away state of Transnistria has supported this. In 2013, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia announced plans to seek membership, but division over the issue in Ukraine led to the Revolution of Dignity after the Ukrainian government backed out of an EU Eastern Partnership in favor of
14268-551: The transformation of the region, which had been a largely Greek-speaking region after previously being Hellenized , into a Turkish Muslim one. The Ottoman Empire expanded into parts of West Asia , Southeast Europe , and North Africa over the course of several centuries. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in large-scale loss of life and mass migration into modern-day Turkey from
14391-600: The two-year application period (up until 1 January 2010). Commonly referred to as the Iraqi Turkmens , the Turks are the second largest ethnic minority group in Iraq (i.e. after the Kurds ). The majority are the descendants of Ottoman settlers (e.g. soldiers, traders and civil servants) who were brought into Iraq from Anatolia . Today, most Iraqi Turkmen live in a region they refer to as " Turkmeneli " which stretches from
14514-475: The union. In 2014, voters in the Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia rejected closer ties to the EU in favor of the union. On 1 January 2012, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus established the Single Economic Space which ensures the effective functioning of a single market for goods, services, capital and labour, and to establish coherent industrial, transport, energy and agricultural policies. The agreement included
14637-699: The vowel harmony valued elsewhere"; the descendants of muhacirs (Turkish refugees) who fled persecution from former Ottoman territories in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; and more recent refugees who have continued to flee discrimination and persecution since the mid-1900s. Initially, muhacirs who arrived in Eastern Thrace and Anatolia came fleeing from former Ottoman territories which had been annexed by European colonial powers (such as France in Algeria or Russia in Crimea ); however,
14760-420: Was conquered, in 1571, bolstering Ottoman dominance over the sea routes of the eastern Mediterranean . However, after its defeat at the Battle of Vienna , in 1683, the Ottoman army was met by ambushes and further defeats; the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz , which granted Austria the provinces of Hungary and Transylvania , marked the first time in history that the Ottoman Empire actually relinquished territory. By
14883-589: Was followed by military intervention by Turkey whose troops established Turkish Cypriot control over the northern part of the island. Hence, census's conducted by the Republic of Cyprus have excluded the Turkish Cypriot population that had settled in the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . Between 1975 and 1981, Turkey encouraged its own citizens to settle in Northern Cyprus;
15006-408: Was forced to resign as a result of the Kyrgyz revolution of 2005 . Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan ruled from independence until his death in 2006, creating a personality cult around himself. His successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, has maintained a personality cult of his own that has replaced the worshipping of Niyazov. The issue of dynastical succession has been another element affecting
15129-402: Was fully secured into the Ottoman Empire in 1639 after a treaty signed with Iran brought an end to Iranian attempts to take the region. With the arrival of more Turkish colonizers, the Turkish Meskhetian community increased significantly. However, once the Ottomans lost control of the region in 1883, many Turkish Meskhetians migrated from Georgia to Turkey. Migrations to Turkey continued after
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