Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Turkey: Theoretical Perspectives on Russia’s Republics, and the Kurdish Issue (1980–2004)
Abstract
This article examines the evolution of ethnic division in Russia and Türkiye during the period from 1980 to 2004. Drawing on comparative insights derived from the legacies of Soviet and Kemalist nation-building, the study investigates how multinational inclusivity in Soviet Russia and the assimilationist, French-influenced model in Türkiye shaped minority mobilization and state responses. Focusing on cases such as Tatarstan, Chechnya, and the Kurdish movement, the analysis underscores the roles of state capacity, historical legacy, and emerging ideological discourses. The findings reveal that both the multinational and assimilationist approaches involve intrinsic tensions that create enduring challenges in managing minority nationalism. Despite these tensions, the concept of state capacity remains a crucial political notion in explaining the quelling of ethnic separatist demands. Although rising state capacity manifested in various dimensions in both Türkiye and Russia, it has greatly diminished the strength of ethnic separatism in each country. In this context, separatism in Türkiye gradually evolved toward demands for autonomy, whereas in Russia, ethnic republics, linked to Putin’s centralizing policies, lost their asymmetric federal privileges and were integrated into the central authority. Moreover, the period between 1980 and 2004 was chosen not merely as a chronological interval but because it corresponds to a phase during which ethnic separatism experienced both a surge and a subsequent decline in both countries. After 2004, while Türkiye did not witness a linear decline in the spiral of separatism and violence, in Russia, ethnic separatism faded from the agenda following the Beslan massacre due to excessively centralizing and security-focused policies.
References
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- Akgün, R. (2021). Bookching and the Kurdish movement in Türkiye. In Y. Transki (Ed.), Enlightenment and ecology: The legacy of Murray Boochin in the 21st century (pp. 129-142). Montreal, Chicago, & London: Black Rose Books.
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- Al, S. (2014). Local armed uprisings and the transnational image of claim making: The Kurds of Türkiye and the Zapatistas of Mexico in comparative perspective. Globalizations, 12(5), 677–694. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2014.991541
- Brubaker, R. (1994). Citizenship and nationhood in France and Germany. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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- Dinç, D. (2022). Tatarstan’s autonomy within Putin’s Russia: Minority elites, ethnic mobilization, and sovereignty. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge.
- Faller, H. (2011). Nation, language and Islam: Tatarstan’s sovereignty movement. Budapest, Hungary: CEU Press.
- George, J. (2009). The politics of ethnic separatism in Russia and Georgia. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gorenburg, D. (2003). Minority ethnic mobilization in the Russian Federation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Graney, K. (2009). Of Khans and Kremlins: Tatarstan and the future of ethno-federalism in Russia. Lexington, KY: Lexington Books.
- Güneş, C. (2012). The Kurdish national movement in Türkiye: From protest to resistance. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Kahn, J. (2002). Federalism, democratization, and the rule of law in Russia. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Langdon, K., & Tismaneanu, V. (2020). Putin’s totalitarian democracy: Ideology, myth, and violence in the twenty-first century. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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- Ross, C. (2002). Federalism and democratization in Russia. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
- Sharafutdinova, G. (2003). Paradiplomacy in the Russian regions: Tatarstan’s search for statehood. Europe-Asia Studies, 55(4), 613–629.
- Slezkine, Y. (1994). The USSR as a communal apartment, or how a socialist state promoted ethnic particularism. Slavic Review, 53(2), 414–452.
- Sutherland, C. (2005). Nation-building through discourse theory. Nations and Nationalisms, 11(2), 185–202.
- Toktamis, K. F., & David, I. (2018). Repression and resistance – fragments of Kurdish politics in Türkiye under the AKP regime. Turkish Studies, 19(5), 661–670. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2018.1508350
- Yeğen, M. (1999). Devlet söylminde Kürt sorunu. İstanbul, Türkiye: İletişim.
- Yeğen, M. (2006). Turkish nationalism and the Kurdish question. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(1), 119–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870601006603
Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Turkey: Theoretical Perspectives on Russia’s Republics, and the Kurdish Issue (1980–2004)
Abstract
Bu makale, 1980 ile 2004 yılları arasındaki dönemde Rusya ve Türkiye’de etnik ayrışmanın evrimini incelemektedir. Sovyet ve Kemalist ulus inşa miraslarından elde edilen karşılaştırmalı içgörülere dayanarak, çalışma; Sovyet Rusya’daki çok uluslu kapsayıcılık ile Türkiye’deki asimilasyonist, Fransız etkisindeki modelin azınlık mobilizasyonunu ve devlet tepkilerini nasıl şekillendirdiğini araştırmaktadır. Tataristan, Çeçenistan ve Kürt hareketi gibi vakalara odaklanarak, analiz; devlet kapasitesi, tarihsel miras ve gelişen ideolojik söylemlerin rolünü vurgulamaktadır. Bulgular, hem çok uluslu hem de asimilasyonist yaklaşımların, azınlık milliyetçiliğini yönetmede kalıcı zorluklar yaratan doğuştan gelen gerilimler içerdiğini ortaya koymakta ve bu modellerin hiçbirinin etnik çatışmalara tam bir çözüm sunmadığını göstermektedir.
References
- Akgün, R. C. (2018). The possibilities and limitations of articulations and political subjectification mechanisms in Türkiye (Doctoral dissertation). Middle East Technical University, Ankara.
- Akgün, R. (2021). Bookching and the Kurdish movement in Türkiye. In Y. Transki (Ed.), Enlightenment and ecology: The legacy of Murray Boochin in the 21st century (pp. 129-142). Montreal, Chicago, & London: Black Rose Books.
- Aktürk, Ş. (2012). Regimes of ethnicity and nationhood in Germany, Russia, and Türkiye. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Al, S. (2014). Local armed uprisings and the transnational image of claim making: The Kurds of Türkiye and the Zapatistas of Mexico in comparative perspective. Globalizations, 12(5), 677–694. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2014.991541
- Brubaker, R. (1994). Citizenship and nationhood in France and Germany. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Dinç, D. (2021). The rise and decline of ethnic mobilization and sovereignty in Tatarstan. Bilig, 98, 123–146.
- Dinç, D. (2022). Tatarstan’s autonomy within Putin’s Russia: Minority elites, ethnic mobilization, and sovereignty. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge.
- Faller, H. (2011). Nation, language and Islam: Tatarstan’s sovereignty movement. Budapest, Hungary: CEU Press.
- George, J. (2009). The politics of ethnic separatism in Russia and Georgia. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gorenburg, D. (2003). Minority ethnic mobilization in the Russian Federation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Graney, K. (2009). Of Khans and Kremlins: Tatarstan and the future of ethno-federalism in Russia. Lexington, KY: Lexington Books.
- Güneş, C. (2012). The Kurdish national movement in Türkiye: From protest to resistance. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Kahn, J. (2002). Federalism, democratization, and the rule of law in Russia. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Langdon, K., & Tismaneanu, V. (2020). Putin’s totalitarian democracy: Ideology, myth, and violence in the twenty-first century. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Martin, T. (2001). The affirmative action empire: Nations and nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923–1939. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
- Ross, C. (2002). Federalism and democratization in Russia. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
- Sharafutdinova, G. (2003). Paradiplomacy in the Russian regions: Tatarstan’s search for statehood. Europe-Asia Studies, 55(4), 613–629.
- Slezkine, Y. (1994). The USSR as a communal apartment, or how a socialist state promoted ethnic particularism. Slavic Review, 53(2), 414–452.
- Sutherland, C. (2005). Nation-building through discourse theory. Nations and Nationalisms, 11(2), 185–202.
- Toktamis, K. F., & David, I. (2018). Repression and resistance – fragments of Kurdish politics in Türkiye under the AKP regime. Turkish Studies, 19(5), 661–670. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2018.1508350
- Yeğen, M. (1999). Devlet söylminde Kürt sorunu. İstanbul, Türkiye: İletişim.
- Yeğen, M. (2006). Turkish nationalism and the Kurdish question. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(1), 119–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870601006603
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Comparative Political Movement, Turkish Political Life, International Politics |
| Journal Section | Makaleler |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | March 22, 2025 |
| Publication Date | March 21, 2025 |
| Submission Date | February 17, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | February 28, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 |
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