tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49214326904348633482024-03-13T10:12:22.165-06:00Jim Meyer's BorderlandsMaking a run for the Turkic-Russian frontier...Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.comBlogger353125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-67279141588269925162024-01-27T15:15:00.017-07:002024-01-28T15:40:11.984-07:00The Sordid Reflections of a Detroit Lions Fan<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, January 27, 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As the only Lions fan in the lives of a number of people, I've been hearing from a lot of friends this week. Mostly, they're writing to tell me that they're pulling for my team in the playoffs, which I appreciate. There's always room for one more on the bandwagon. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog65k8eMEE3a85udAkIgkGPuefbnU_lpd3AnhTspTFm7MEgNyBiz42M9HU3k_BKP58pxXdsJB83Dj2NeqY-m0RDGNrtVbDxJUJlwOaieTaH8FcxTQpA1e-wPPCExdS_yjHrl3-gyxRgD5JZMf5TLpJos2GE8v8IqyGVZgpRKz-DT-Op9Uu6BXBr_9sFyh/s2048/162329670_133077718817440_5077061326446167459_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog65k8eMEE3a85udAkIgkGPuefbnU_lpd3AnhTspTFm7MEgNyBiz42M9HU3k_BKP58pxXdsJB83Dj2NeqY-m0RDGNrtVbDxJUJlwOaieTaH8FcxTQpA1e-wPPCExdS_yjHrl3-gyxRgD5JZMf5TLpJos2GE8v8IqyGVZgpRKz-DT-Op9Uu6BXBr_9sFyh/s320/162329670_133077718817440_5077061326446167459_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I have to say that I'm experiencing something of a personality crisis right now. All my football-watching life, more or less, I've been cheering for a perennial NFL loser. It's definitely strange to see the team doing so well. Part of me is genuinely optimistic and excited, but another side of me just hopes they don't manage to disgrace themselves somehow. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>The worst among bad</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Growing up in southeastern Michigan in the 1970s and 80s, all of our teams were bad. The Detroit Red Wings were called the "Dead Wings," and routinely missed the playoffs in a league in which 16 out of 21 teams went to the post-season. The Pistons won 16 games the first year I followed them. The Tigers hadn't been relevant since the early 1970s. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But the Lions--the Lions took the cake. Partly this was due to the fact that Detroit's other three major sports franchises would go on to redeem themselves. The 1984 Detroit Tigers were the first in my lifetime, starting the season 35-5 and steamrolling their way to World Series glory in the playoffs. While their dreams of dynasty unravelled in the hell-hole that was the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Tigers have still managed to occasionally shine bright, even if they still haven't won a World Series since Ronald Reagan was in his first term as president. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Pistons were the next of Detroit's big four franchises to shine, drafting Isaiah Thomas in the aftermath of their 16-66 season and winning the NBA title in 1989 and 90. After enduring years of futility in the 1990s, the Pistons had a second good run in the 2000s, winning the title in 2004 and remaining relevant for another five years after that. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And the Red Wings? Well they surprised everyone, of course, not only shedding their "Dead Wings" moniker but also going on to become one of the most celebrated and dominant franchises in sports. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">All of this, of course, left the Lions as the one under-performing team, historically, in the city of Detroit. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's not as if the Lions are always terrible. Sure, they went 2-14 the first year I cheered for them and later went on to become the first team in NFL history to go 0-16. The thing is, teams that hit bottom can often be revived if they draft decently. The Lions, on the other hand, were in most years just mediocre, typically going 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7, occasionally fighting their way to a first-round road playoff game that would certainly end in listless defeat. While 0-16 might feel like a punch to the stomach, a steady diet of mediocre football, year-in and year-out, is way more depressing. </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj225y9fp2cEJh_tWjWICdkt16Pzc_k4SEaGy6_c-zvx0V8WI5uKG96GWYsc8RE-ezDjM0_zvesMGmwGC4OCqPZvPu33owHDBdl7iVNfAA1nL_XobrX6OY3HRF4uPKLDA80t4b8UCjXsWRRM1_hpbhmgh6jUsyzpRKUxpCPV7yGf7_Q34jIFVYBTpDIpiBW/s401/EricHipple.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj225y9fp2cEJh_tWjWICdkt16Pzc_k4SEaGy6_c-zvx0V8WI5uKG96GWYsc8RE-ezDjM0_zvesMGmwGC4OCqPZvPu33owHDBdl7iVNfAA1nL_XobrX6OY3HRF4uPKLDA80t4b8UCjXsWRRM1_hpbhmgh6jUsyzpRKUxpCPV7yGf7_Q34jIFVYBTpDIpiBW/s320/EricHipple.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Eric Hipple leads <br />the way</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And as a Detroit Lions fan, I've had my experiences with both. So much so that when I bought my first Lions jersey about fifteen years ago I chose #20--no, not the jersey of the transcendent Barry Sanders, but rather that of Billy Sims. Billy Sims' professional career began with confusion and litigation after he signed two contracts coming out of college, one with the Lions and the other with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL. His great start with Detroit was eventually sidelined by injuries and early retirement, followed by bankruptcy and the selling off of his Heisman Trophy. Somehow, this seemed like the more appropriate emblem for the franchise. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In other words, I'd come to embrace the sadness. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Crazy losses, early retirements</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Another part of being a Lions fan has always been the crazy losses. There was a Thanksgiving game once in which the Lions were playing the Bears. Leading the whole game, the Lions gave up a game-tying touchdown to Chicago on the last play. The Bears then won the coin-flip in overtime and returned the ensuing kickoff all the way for a touchdown, thus winning the shortest-ever NFL overtime game. The Calvin Johnson "complete-the-process" game was another example of this kind of out-of-nowhere losing, and likewise very leonine, to say the least. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Something else, of course, has been the famous early retirements: Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson both quitting football when they were still in their primes, because not playing professional sports at all was better than playing for the Lions. And while fans like myself were upset, how could we blame them? Barry Sanders was the greatest running back I've ever seen, but who can say he made the wrong choice? He'd earned his money and got out of the game without experiencing any debilitating injuries. And of course, we all knew--there was no way he was ever going to win a Super Bowl with the Lions. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKD_DhkaFaWYM9dLn6mXi_vA-E-lCRaZLlAbwAhBE8GLCdZPHEzKANR2scTrIu8TjfJ26-AF18RBUfXz2rlJ0fAKasfw3r7zUvn6WTNBHMyTwZpjGoOd3ooAX0vqmH44QAdGiMxCb_4eYN42BM8S_l_up1yfnSirqK0ebQhjSmQ-tHZMw8KtCH4mK3Q6Z/s640/2474829-ap96091502310.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="477" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKD_DhkaFaWYM9dLn6mXi_vA-E-lCRaZLlAbwAhBE8GLCdZPHEzKANR2scTrIu8TjfJ26-AF18RBUfXz2rlJ0fAKasfw3r7zUvn6WTNBHMyTwZpjGoOd3ooAX0vqmH44QAdGiMxCb_4eYN42BM8S_l_up1yfnSirqK0ebQhjSmQ-tHZMw8KtCH4mK3Q6Z/s320/2474829-ap96091502310.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Barry was right to leave</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Eclipsed by the Panthers</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Indeed, Michigan's only taste of professional football glory came with Bobby Hebert, Anthony Carter, and the Michigan Panthers of the USFL. The Panthers defeating the Philadelphia Stars in the league's inaugural championship game marks the only time that a Michigan-based professional football team has won a title since 1957. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHvfbe-lHaXdNTSyZN-ww32IHnHFDsG7bxRklCTYfjt2-DNaGDfG9fdISRi2fHsS84vTu4VeF-lqNwI-3MZsVeLQArc32_ZWTMQZj3bNEqgIED9prvNcfg6uXFvQQG38dBzTS7XRYgatPdDEglAEmoqJ-38I4VxxmELatiKiMpuT2BGntk9iBMObIBAnr/s280/ecf66f21c301ce57e694cbbe2dd7b2ec.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHvfbe-lHaXdNTSyZN-ww32IHnHFDsG7bxRklCTYfjt2-DNaGDfG9fdISRi2fHsS84vTu4VeF-lqNwI-3MZsVeLQArc32_ZWTMQZj3bNEqgIED9prvNcfg6uXFvQQG38dBzTS7XRYgatPdDEglAEmoqJ-38I4VxxmELatiKiMpuT2BGntk9iBMObIBAnr/s1600/ecf66f21c301ce57e694cbbe2dd7b2ec.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Michigan's one taste of <br />professional<br />gridiron glory</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, 1957, back when the NFL had only twelve teams, the Lions won the championship. And since then, until a couple of weeks ago, Detroit had won only one playoff game, a great victory over the Cowboys in 1991. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But now this year's Lions have somehow managed to win two playoff games and, going into San Francisco, they seem like a legitimate contender for the NFC crown. Sure, the 49ers are favored--they're probably the better team--but I can't help but feel that the Lions have a puncher's chance of winning. I'm not sure I'd feel that way if we were playing on the road in say, Baltimore, but Detroit certainly can't be counted out. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Indeed, I think this year's team is a much more legitimate title contender than the only other good Lions team I've ever watched, the 1991 squad that made it to the NFC championship game. That team was crushed 45-0 by Washington in the first game of the season, then lost 41-10 to the same team in the NFC title game. Sure, they ended up going 12-4 in the regular season, but the manner in which they were blown out by the same team in both the opening and closing games of the season left a whiff of fraudulence in the air once the season was done. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Really? You think you're cursed?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">All of this is to say that I've never had much sympathy for whining fans of other supposedly "cursed" franchises. The Red Sox, especially. Prior to 2004, I couldn't stand listening to Red Sox fans go on about how unlucky they were--a franchise that was almost always competitive, even if they hadn't won a title since 1918. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">How would you feel, I asked them, cheering for a team that was just mediocre, one year after another, with the occasional disastrously bad season? Lions fans were never crushed the way Boston fans were in 1986 because we never got close to winning a title in the first place. I remember heatedly making this point to my department chair about two weeks after I started my job here. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And then there were the people that the Lions hired as coach and GM. Monte Clark. Darryl Rogers. Matt Millen. Marty Mornhinweg. Just a cavalcade of folks who seemed uninspiring and/or out of their depth. Most of these people would never coach/work as a GM again after leaving the Lions. Monte Clark was an exception, he would later coach a team in Minsk. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEgmzHmK6KZRQPz2VgSPoQ7w36vN1HsrqZeK9_x4_ltgM8N8UZIlo1AlMC6Yvd5MwztrY-50EtjaFFCw_7qTpvLiVLlrjumHAjzqNEVi3Ex7D5z5J8FjrkSCf_rphe7zakEFfmmS6wx_JlcbDZc7LDAf11E5nzJIkJlOY6uHFe0WtSyMMqV0pY_vSxWjH/s230/clark190.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="190" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEgmzHmK6KZRQPz2VgSPoQ7w36vN1HsrqZeK9_x4_ltgM8N8UZIlo1AlMC6Yvd5MwztrY-50EtjaFFCw_7qTpvLiVLlrjumHAjzqNEVi3Ex7D5z5J8FjrkSCf_rphe7zakEFfmmS6wx_JlcbDZc7LDAf11E5nzJIkJlOY6uHFe0WtSyMMqV0pY_vSxWjH/w238-h288/clark190.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Monte Clark went on <br />to coach in Belarus</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Frankly, I felt the same way when Dan Campbell was hired and held his opening press conference. It seemed like the Lions had hired their biggest and brashest clown so far. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But even when Campbell's early teams were losing, it seemed like they never stopped playing hard for him. They weren't making stupid mistakes the way earlier Lions teams had, but rather just didn't know how to close out games. I honestly can't believe it, but somehow the Lions found a coach who legitimately seems to know what he's doing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But even as I write these words, I'm afraid of jinxing everything.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Allowing myself to hope again</b> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I realize that the odds are against us tomorrow. San Francisco's a really good team, and while the Lions have a good offense and pass rush, their secondary is pretty weak. The 49ers were pushed pretty far by the Packers, so they've had their scare and will be taking the Lions seriously. Detroit, meanwhile, risks being what Bill Simmons describes as the "happy to be there" team. And yeah, as a fan, I've gotta say--I am kind of just happy to be here. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But who knows? This team has surprised us all since the second half of the season last year. They may not win it all, or even get past San Francisco, but at least we can say that they've earned our respect. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And that's an unfamiliar feeling. </span></p>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-33471417505267485512024-01-11T09:36:00.012-07:002024-01-18T11:36:50.848-07:00Upcoming Online Talk for the Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Nâzım Hikmet Merkezi<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thursday, January 11, 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In case you're interested, I'll be giving an online talk about </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet and </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">my book <i>Red Star over the Black Sea: </i></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation </i>at an event organized by the </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım Hikmet Center at Bosphorus University. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The event takes place on January 15, which is the 122nd anniversary of what is typically considered </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet's birthday (in fact, it seems he was born toward the end of 1901). </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Online admission is free and the talk begins at 8 am, Montana time (10 am Eastern US, and 6 pm in Turkey). </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkRILC89op8iQCH-xxO8ugIp5pnZSPtjbrWeSJSVp5uPRts1laJVftfeDL0Yg6LhNRgv45UvYLe6mYv1mZG9OF2B6gnFCH4MFXy21hSKfMalXRmx_Q91gaqKnmHdqN1yjvtIjjiAKgfaQqcRXM_g9wtE7_svbJbGpy-trhJoqjm7F6mvMeyDL5wiajdFM/s483/GDe8oAkWEAAxYwQ-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="345" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkRILC89op8iQCH-xxO8ugIp5pnZSPtjbrWeSJSVp5uPRts1laJVftfeDL0Yg6LhNRgv45UvYLe6mYv1mZG9OF2B6gnFCH4MFXy21hSKfMalXRmx_Q91gaqKnmHdqN1yjvtIjjiAKgfaQqcRXM_g9wtE7_svbJbGpy-trhJoqjm7F6mvMeyDL5wiajdFM/w415-h580/GDe8oAkWEAAxYwQ-2.jpeg" width="415" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">For more information, see below. </span></span></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">From <a href="https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20018997/james-h-meyer-nazim-hikmet-jan-15-online-bogazici-universitesi-nazim" target="_blank">H-Net</a>: </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On January 15 (8 am Montana-time, 10 am Eastern-time in the US, and 6 pm Turkish-time), James H. Meyer will be discussing Nâzım Hikmet on the occasion of the 122nd anniversary of the famed Turkish poet's birth. Meyer is the author of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation </em>(OUP, 2023), a new English-language biography that draws upon archives in Moscow, Istanbul, Amsterdam, and Washington, DC to provide a fresh take upon the life of one of Turkey's best known historical figures. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A communist and poet born in the Ottoman Empire, Nâzım Hikmet (1902-1963) spent six years (1922-28) studying and working at Moscow's Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV) before returning to a life of literary acclaim and political repression in Turkey. After spending more than fourteen years in Turkish prisons in the 1930s and 40s on trumped-up charges relating to his political beliefs, Nâzım Hikmet captured international headlines with his daring escape to the Eastern Bloc in 1951. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meyer's talk will discuss Nâzım Hikmet's life in the context of his border-crossing generation. Attendance is free, and can be accessed through the QR code on the attached announcement. </span></p></blockquote><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Links regarding the event <a href="https://twitter.com/nhksam/status/1745071159991779550?t=qFMaEIvgrIhnSNBAVHM88w&s=08" target="_blank">can be found here</a> and <a href="https://nazimhikmetmerkezi.com/james-h-meyerin-konferansi-15-ocakta-nazim-hikmet-and-his-border-crossing-generation/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st">More photos, commentary, and links can be found in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/06/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 11</a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_7.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 5</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/05/saturday-may-20-2023-first-time-i.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 4</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 2</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction</span></a></p></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nazım Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Birthdays of Nazım Hikmet</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">New Article Out: The Letters of Münevver Andaç to Nazım Hikmet</a></span></div><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #6666cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazım </span><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></a> </p>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-81931064738509673862024-01-07T06:13:00.144-07:002024-01-11T09:26:53.734-07:00Gabor Szabo in Budapest<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Monday, January 8, 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I was in Budapest recently, where I was constantly reminded of one of my favorite jazz musicians, Gabor Szabo. </span></p><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="397" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=397&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fabrasivocultural%2Fvideos%2F3128725800788029%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Gabor Szabo fled Hungary during the failed revolution of 1956. Starting in the late 1970s, however, he was able to return to the country and perform. The video above is from a concert that he gave at the Hilton Hotel in Budapest on January 1, 1978. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I love everything about this video: the music, the folks in the late 70s socialist-era audience, the evident pre-performance confusion, the cake that he's scarfing down before he goes on stage, the funny way that he's spinning around at the bar, the uniforms that the bar-girls are wearing. The first minute or so looks like a sketch from SCTV. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I've spent a lot of time in Hungary due to the fact that my daughter is Hungarian. My Hungarian used to be quite good, although it's gotten pretty rusty in recent years. In any case, it was good to go back there. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuaR88KMdZa14Q0qL274M88v-ckcvOlXP34SHOqlbfrL_Mo6mgMP0T4sP5Gjt-iO68-sOgU5G6K7d_MlI0rA3Herj4ETbRso51WG_XnLsbg3QqrjExctRTHwvdKiNzimB-wK2TcRXg5uz2oyLIeDLxqMJZ5xQEA_8IILOxKm_p7kELxijeeu7zalxrMq4h/s400/CIMG6436.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuaR88KMdZa14Q0qL274M88v-ckcvOlXP34SHOqlbfrL_Mo6mgMP0T4sP5Gjt-iO68-sOgU5G6K7d_MlI0rA3Herj4ETbRso51WG_XnLsbg3QqrjExctRTHwvdKiNzimB-wK2TcRXg5uz2oyLIeDLxqMJZ5xQEA_8IILOxKm_p7kELxijeeu7zalxrMq4h/w214-h285/CIMG6436.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Gabor Szabo died in 1982. In 2015 <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2015/07/the-home-stretch-bodrum-budapest-cluj.html" target="_blank">I visited his grave</a> in Budapest's </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Farkasréti cemetery--he's buried next to his mother. There's something about these border-crossing artists--like </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım <span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Hikmet</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">--that certainly interests me. Even more than their artistry, it's their ability to re-invent themselves in new places that I find fascinating. </span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0in;"> </p></span></span></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieI0KreqHYplC0MGAbViK41FzOxQt5lyjSjLpePb8xII5guA32uv0sifVv6gYOvqpfNZSy-a3spVf-jeqkVQmenRDiezg_NtqoLLcUxn1CJlxQwknPpgZVPU-uOJZ4NFM6FiC_HCIZGaBbxkOQvWDrO5oDqToWZH7eS2vqHuc9Ld-iajBRKhU1LIDdEbpf/s450/meyer%203-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieI0KreqHYplC0MGAbViK41FzOxQt5lyjSjLpePb8xII5guA32uv0sifVv6gYOvqpfNZSy-a3spVf-jeqkVQmenRDiezg_NtqoLLcUxn1CJlxQwknPpgZVPU-uOJZ4NFM6FiC_HCIZGaBbxkOQvWDrO5oDqToWZH7eS2vqHuc9Ld-iajBRKhU1LIDdEbpf/s320/meyer%203-4.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>For example, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198725140/ref=olp-opf-redir?aod=1&ie=UTF8&condition=all" target="_blank">my first book was about the so-called "pan-Turkists," </a>Turkic Muslim community activists from Russia who later made their way to Young Turk-era Istanbul and became known as the forefathers of Turkish nationalism. It certainly wasn't their pan-Turkism that interested me, but rather their talent for adjusting to new circumstances and places throughout their careers. So, rather than focus on their "debates" or "ideas" (topics that had already been written on many times), I set out to show how their border-crossing influenced their lives and their writing--and, by extension, how we should understand the origins and development of Turkish nationalism.</div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea-ebook/dp/B0BY6YNCGC?ref_=ast_author_mpb" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea-ebook/dp/B0BY6YNCGC?ref_=ast_author_mpb" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAP50MzjYI3Xoe4zmxpoRD65Ee90ArA9AVOUrB6ty8n4cXzbl0FbfbW9CobTPHhUVUjzicGPhcishoHJGVxXX3k-DgFFIBjMXSmFYnC63CW4MPc2sWwJ2iS4E89z3i6XSsPt9lyYKP9S0agicixZ-kHZ-02i6sAqgQpFDbcugEf_2hAW7sicUhgWode8rD/s387/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM-9.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAP50MzjYI3Xoe4zmxpoRD65Ee90ArA9AVOUrB6ty8n4cXzbl0FbfbW9CobTPHhUVUjzicGPhcishoHJGVxXX3k-DgFFIBjMXSmFYnC63CW4MPc2sWwJ2iS4E89z3i6XSsPt9lyYKP9S0agicixZ-kHZ-02i6sAqgQpFDbcugEf_2hAW7sicUhgWode8rD/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM-9.png" width="232" /></a></div>Likewise in my book about </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea-ebook/dp/B0BY6YNCGC?ref_=ast_author_mpb" target="_blank">Nâzım Hikmet</a>, it frankly wasn't his poetry (or his politics) that excited me, even though these tend to be the lenses through which people generally write about him. Instead, I saw his life to be a much larger representation of his times, in the form of his border-crossing. This, I realized, was something what </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım shared with many others from his generation, and it was this historical context that I found the most compelling. Not only was his border-crossing something that affected his life considerably, but it's also reflected in the various changes that took place in his writing over the course of his publishing career. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Gabor Szabo, too, is someone like this--a man of his times whose world was changed significantly by his cross-border experiences. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230328011938/https://dougpayne.com/bio2.htm" target="_blank">Here's a rough sketch of his life</a>, but I really wish someone would write a proper biography of him. If my Hungarian were a little better, that's what I'd be doing now. </span></div><div><br /></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-45665505924320506632023-12-29T02:22:00.001-07:002023-12-29T02:22:00.120-07:00Christmastime Research in Istanbul<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Friday, December 29, 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I've spent the last couple of weeks in Istanbul, and it's been good to be back. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnHLVBKraSBpWb5mFLmBZ_bHfAH8_XYIc-n0VfNKjb4DweYJ3sQhjqcziIj6_srR_v2YNLzqdW9Bjxz3tSvqQ9eOH8Axj3iN_AUPMQy-0D4PWNIlXZNLiLFS0c2-KBbLZaNR0saczew_kixRXSDvk-gGw7Sk-GsuD5avX6NEuRG104yga8PCVFXBnDn5w/s448/scan0008-3-3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="448" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnHLVBKraSBpWb5mFLmBZ_bHfAH8_XYIc-n0VfNKjb4DweYJ3sQhjqcziIj6_srR_v2YNLzqdW9Bjxz3tSvqQ9eOH8Axj3iN_AUPMQy-0D4PWNIlXZNLiLFS0c2-KBbLZaNR0saczew_kixRXSDvk-gGw7Sk-GsuD5avX6NEuRG104yga8PCVFXBnDn5w/w532-h340/scan0008-3-3.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">March, 1992: I'm the one in the jean jacket</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's always interesting to come back to the city where I lived between the ages of twenty-three and thirty. The seven years that I spent living in Istanbul in the 1990s had a profound impact upon the life that I've led ever since. This is where I worked my first real job, rented my first apartment without roommates, and had my first adult-style relationships. It's the place where, without really thinking about it in such terms, I ended up re-inventing myself. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With the exception of 2003 and 2020-2021, I've come to Istanbul every year since returning to the United States in 1999 to begin graduate school. Sometimes these trips have been for periods of several months, and other times, like now, for just a few weeks. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And even though I've spent 2-3 years, collectively, living in Istanbul since 1999--researching and writing as an academic working on Ottoman and Turkish history--I'll always associate Istanbul with my experiences here from </span><i style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">before</i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> graduate school, prior to the time that writing about Turkey became my job. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I think that this, more than anything else, is the reason why I continue to feel driven to read, research, and write about this part of the world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And that's what I've been doing these last couple of weeks. <span></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Nothing Lasts Forever</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Ottoman archive (BOA) moved about ten years ago to their present location in Kağıthane, a rather prosaic location compared to the archive's previous site in Sultanahmet. Back when the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) still had its guesthouse in Arnavutköy (on the Bosphorus), it was possible to travel back and forth to the archive by boat. I have fond memories of returning to the guesthouse at the end of the day, drinking tea and proceeding steadily forward on the water while honking cars sat locked in traffic for miles on the seaside road to the left of us. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Those were good times. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">So there were, of course, howls of protest from researchers when the archives moved. That was no surprise. In my experience, professional academics are some of the most conservative people around--not in their politics, but rather with respect to just about everything else. Any change whatsoever to our routines tends to be resisted ferociously. In truth, I didn't like the move, either. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But hey, nothing lasts forever--even cold November rain. Axl Rose taught us that. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8SbUC-UaAxE?si=NrIjRlFInhzqAhsV" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Listen to the Archives</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I have to admit, though, that working in the archive now is a lot easier than it was before. The reading room is a lot bigger, for one thing. Something else that speeds up the process is the fact that nearly everything that I need has been digitized. Back in the day we used to receive the actual documents, which meant that if someone else was working with them we'd have to wait days, sometimes weeks, until the other person was finished with them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Working with the originals also meant that we had to read the documents at the archive and take notes. The first time I ordered something back in 2004, I felt so intimidated upon looking at the materials that were delivered to me. How on earth am I supposed to read <i>this, </i>I wondered. It was possible to order photocopies of most of the materials, but this took time and there was only so much one could order. I didn't want to look like a chump, ordering copies of everything I looked at, so I just toughed it out and tried my best to work with what I had in the reading room. It certainly wasn't easy, though. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6oClAkIcIQ0MvT2o2xfjqVK97oYS5i-aw0-5oogc9kqxb9VJlApQUX_wEsn7Fk9HAL0AYZYpS1MLkhyphenhyphenVOJpsD-_mqXmvcUDE_7H5aEycpqJwQtMAu4OSEK_-6r1GcWmBbyItwsYTiei0KzJRHzbRzTd410Il3fH_tqfDGwqoTRTjvMgoJ4NfYvABbrAH/s4000/img_0969.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6oClAkIcIQ0MvT2o2xfjqVK97oYS5i-aw0-5oogc9kqxb9VJlApQUX_wEsn7Fk9HAL0AYZYpS1MLkhyphenhyphenVOJpsD-_mqXmvcUDE_7H5aEycpqJwQtMAu4OSEK_-6r1GcWmBbyItwsYTiei0KzJRHzbRzTd410Il3fH_tqfDGwqoTRTjvMgoJ4NfYvABbrAH/s320/img_0969.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Now researchers do keyword searches on computers located inside the archive. Ordering documents is easy, and at the end of every day I have hundreds of pages of materials burned onto a CD-Rom. Each image costs only half a lira, which means that even a thousand digitized pages only comes out to fifteen dollars or so. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to this. While keyword searches are undeniably helpful, they do tend to privilege whatever topics the researcher is already looking for. This isn't always a good thing. For example, the first time I worked in an archive of any sort was in St. Petersburg in 2002. I remember asking an archivist, in my then-halting Russian, about materials relating to "pan-Turkism." Had a keyword-based computer system existed back then, I would have immediately found documents with the phrase 'pan-Turkism' and gone on to work with them. However, because, I was forced to work through the documents systematically, I came to realize that the individuals and movements that I was interested in were, in most cases, described in the archives as "societal activism" (<i>obshchestvennaia deiatel'nost'</i>). Had I been relying solely on a keyword search, I might have never have found all of these other materials, nor would I have learned one of the most important element about working in such settings: you have to listen to what the archives are telling you. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What does it mean to listen to the archive? It means, for one thing, not trying to impose the concepts that you privilege upon what's available to you as a researcher. In an archive as large as the BOA in Istanbul or the RGIA in St. Petersburg, you can find at least a few documents in support of pretty much any argument you want to make, no matter how far-fetched. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I see this kind of cherry-picking in the research of scholars who, in most cases, spend relatively little time in the archive, and instead rush in, grab what they can, and leave with exactly the sorts of documents they were looking for. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For those scholars who have the luxury of spending months going through the archives more systematically, however, there's much more opportunity to go beyond the 10-15 documents that support whatever preconception one had prior to commencing their archival research. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is my third research trip to Istanbul in support of my current project, and I feel like only now am I beginning to get a sense of what the archive is telling me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, in a place like the BOA, it's obviously great to be able to do keyword searches. The important thing, though, is to balance these searches with more systematic examinations of materials that <i>don't</i> necessarily conform to whatever one is looking for at the outset. That means paying attention to the types of materials that come up in the keyword searches and then looking through "neighboring documents" that sit alongside the materials you find but which don't necessarily tell you what you want to hear. That way, you can get a better sense of the context surrounding the materials that a keyword search turns up. Sure, you can find a number of documents telling you <i>x</i>. But what if there are ten times as many that tell you <i>y</i>?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Christmas in Istanbul</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjn4nLwLUckny8JimUF__rLzVopohzfa9oYKP68pz1-dlMkHSCVKafxYUY-9RtJ_6Nlw18y0Gplj1rWt4Wz6SgTyB57SUai7gsbF9DHff34QifQF3AXYC4DeTSIqZNEgFqcduEsrW_mHzon0OVfueitSmoxj6tMDXz5CTgEBBCN0av7E9vF_-xl1Mx_S8k/s392/20111226_taksim-de-yilbasi-oncesi-noel-babali-tatbikat-3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="392" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjn4nLwLUckny8JimUF__rLzVopohzfa9oYKP68pz1-dlMkHSCVKafxYUY-9RtJ_6Nlw18y0Gplj1rWt4Wz6SgTyB57SUai7gsbF9DHff34QifQF3AXYC4DeTSIqZNEgFqcduEsrW_mHzon0OVfueitSmoxj6tMDXz5CTgEBBCN0av7E9vF_-xl1Mx_S8k/s320/20111226_taksim-de-yilbasi-oncesi-noel-babali-tatbikat-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I love coming to Istanbul in the wintertime. It's less crowded than in the summer, both in general and in the archive reading room. Christmas, in particular, is a time that I really like spending here. It's a regular workday, and most people in Turkey assume that Christmas is on January 1. Indeed, all sorts of secular aspects of Christmas, such as Santa Claus, are appropriated in Turkey as part of the New Year's celebration. Even the plainclothes police would get in on the act. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyqmk_iWGqd8uMlFHSEAfwo76UXqzfHRtEGMGFgFZ8Oqu00Z3-KOwfM7a5hl-yaQbM8NUgh_DHsuz1hzE_L9I8xwQXyXWRgHMSreZvbTE24v9lFKddGXeXS1NL41DmQlMXcs0LrtwlYicwfL_5yLA5sNJYjYvLoFFmpK4Mk8TIiOSGgbiorhX18Gpoj6z/s1440/413870685_10168499988250241_2781759668551880066_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyqmk_iWGqd8uMlFHSEAfwo76UXqzfHRtEGMGFgFZ8Oqu00Z3-KOwfM7a5hl-yaQbM8NUgh_DHsuz1hzE_L9I8xwQXyXWRgHMSreZvbTE24v9lFKddGXeXS1NL41DmQlMXcs0LrtwlYicwfL_5yLA5sNJYjYvLoFFmpK4Mk8TIiOSGgbiorhX18Gpoj6z/w387-h516/413870685_10168499988250241_2781759668551880066_n.jpg" width="387" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dancing, saxophone-playing Santa Claus. It's<br />starting to feel like an Istanbul Christmas.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/12/christmas-in-turkey.html?fbclid=IwAR0RYwkHDfXG7ltT7iI_LmeXvVhHf84dlMDsiM5qIFjapXAaN-mQtmpQnP8" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">As I've discussed elsewhere</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">, back when I lived in Istanbul in the 90s, it felt like a secret holiday. I would take the day off work, go to touristy p</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">laces in Sultanahmet that I never went to otherwise, and treat myself to a luxurious breakfast. I'd even stick my head into the Catholic church on İstiklal Caddesi--the only time in my life that I've ever been in church on Christmas, and it's in an overwhelmingly Muslim-majority country. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What I only began getting a taste of after spending several days in Istanbul was the part of Istanbul that sustained me throughout my twenties. And it's something that I still see amid all of the sterile stuff that can overwhelm the senses here. Riding shotgun in a late-night dolmuş, eating stinky fish somewhere, drinking strong tea out of smudged glasses with strangers. There were thousands of moments of this sort that today all blend together, but which at the time all contributed to an overall sense of well-being and belonging. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">All in all, it's been a nice trip. I've been staying in my old neighborhood, which has been nice. A lot of the places I used to go to are now closed, of course, but some of them remain. Last year, for example, I bumped into my old barber Mustafa, and the other day I bought a copy of the <i>New York Times </i>international edition from the old newsstand in my neighborhood. Interestingly, he still calls it the <i>Herald Tribune</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But it's not as if this is my first time back in the neighborhood since 1999. Even during the times when I was staying at the ARIT research guesthouse in Arnavutköy, I still made a point of come up to <span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Te</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span class="st">ş</span>vikiye</span> and seeing how things looked. I love this area. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At the same time: I gotta say, coming back here feels different now that I own a house in Montana. Back when I was living in my apartment in Bozeman, I used to think that I'd probably live in Turkey again after retiring from the university. But since buying a house a couple of years ago, I'm not so sure anymore. For the first time since living in Turkey in the 1990s, I feel connected to a place in a long-term way. I never thought this would happen--because I never wanted to buy a house, to be honest with you--but investing in property has, in turn, led me to feel emotionally invested in my surroundings to a degree that I had not previously anticipated, and which I frankly hadn't felt since I was living in <span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Te</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span class="st">ş</span>vikiye</span> all those many years ago. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But then again, you just never know. As Axl Rose sez... </span></div><div><br /></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-72104742665584396872023-12-23T11:29:00.015-07:002024-01-01T09:08:52.166-07:00Ukraine and Russia: Any Deal Should Include NATO Membership<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, December 23, 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I saw an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/23/world/europe/putin-russia-ukraine-war-cease-fire.html" target="_blank">interesting article in the </a><i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/23/world/europe/putin-russia-ukraine-war-cease-fire.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> </i>today regarding possible Russian interest in negotiating a peace deal with Kyiv. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecjWIOTGGjIpT3oHf_jdPR5E2kEo9Vzp7sTavmtkByD93_FREiUKmzRFS8qFvRyIP0_SJGTOEwERgilpbrfVrrDhGOfvtSXgLjhDczreq7GeDqO78XSog9MIx-IrmFkeGa1ZzHjzNvieBbanq21bSGXvodNu-ehpR9uwo4cJ_V0PEWD5T5MYoPrvw_o8a/s1280/_132104874_ukraine_close_up_krynky_2x640-nc.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1280" height="543" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecjWIOTGGjIpT3oHf_jdPR5E2kEo9Vzp7sTavmtkByD93_FREiUKmzRFS8qFvRyIP0_SJGTOEwERgilpbrfVrrDhGOfvtSXgLjhDczreq7GeDqO78XSog9MIx-IrmFkeGa1ZzHjzNvieBbanq21bSGXvodNu-ehpR9uwo4cJ_V0PEWD5T5MYoPrvw_o8a/w545-h543/_132104874_ukraine_close_up_krynky_2x640-nc.png" width="545" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I discussed</span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/12/russia-ukraine-war-too-much-wishful.html" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">in a post last week</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">, I th</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ink it would be foolish to let Putin off the hook by allowing him to declare victory in a war that's going so badly for Russia. I'd much rather see the Russian Army bleed out in eastern Ukraine than have it be in a position to recover and threaten Ukraine again in another few years. If the Ukrainians are willing to keep fighting, I think the US and its NATO allies should support them. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But what if the Ukrainian government were to consider a peace plan? What might it look like?<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">According to the NYT: </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54);"></span></p><blockquote><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mr. Putin has been signaling through intermediaries since at least September that he is open to a cease-fire that freezes the fighting along the current lines, far short of his ambitions to dominate Ukraine, two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and American and international officials who have received the message from Mr. Putin’s envoys say.</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Ukrainian government, of course, is not interested in making a deal with Russia, and I can't blame them. But I wonder: how easy is it ever going to be for Kyiv to re-integrate the Crimea and its currently-occupied eastern provinces? And that's assuming that Ukraine is able to eventually defeat Russia. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If any peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is concluded, it should coincide with Ukraine joining NATO. <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html" target="_blank">As I've argued elsewhere</a>, Putin's invasion of Ukraine is not just about Ukraine. It's about the NATO alliance. Prior to the invasion, <a href="https://www.intellinews.com/ash-putin-is-preparing-for-war-231579/?source=ukraine" target="_blank">Putin's demands were mostly generalized and about the alliance</a>, and not Ukraine in particular. They included: </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><p></p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54);"></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">* No further NATO enlargement.</span></p><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">* No NATO deployments to member states which joined the organization after 1997.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">* No more NATO training exercises in non-NATO countries in former Soviet space. </span></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">* No re-armament of Ukraine.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">* No deployment of US nuclear weapons outside the United States. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">* No deployment by NATO of short or intermediate range nuclear missiles within striking range of Moscow.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Ukraine was attacked by Russia precisely because it is not a member of NATO. It's therefore tempting to ask: what if Ukraine were to renounce the territories that are currently under Russian occupation (the Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine) and then, in its truncated form, join the NATO alliance? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOq9oks-kqDBLx5Eygr3nSgVfhgqFOAZQiEiZbQzWzPuPXW-Ggz3qyTGX7gwoJXQD5aYLMIOAVpRndcjKTmAcA2mL9FIgZ3Og2ERD07n1DnPfTVgs9BS4CL-196QbgSvwAsjfNc06QRCvthw8SQyRA56Ul-UM_TCwkUwGADgSE1wPsQ3fxFXWFmoen-aO/s1080/F2014021-5F7C-49EE-B7FA-648FEA8493A3_w1080_h608_s.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1080" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOq9oks-kqDBLx5Eygr3nSgVfhgqFOAZQiEiZbQzWzPuPXW-Ggz3qyTGX7gwoJXQD5aYLMIOAVpRndcjKTmAcA2mL9FIgZ3Og2ERD07n1DnPfTVgs9BS4CL-196QbgSvwAsjfNc06QRCvthw8SQyRA56Ul-UM_TCwkUwGADgSE1wPsQ3fxFXWFmoen-aO/s320/F2014021-5F7C-49EE-B7FA-648FEA8493A3_w1080_h608_s.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One might ask the same question with regard to Georgia, parts of which have been under Russian occupation since the early 1990s. What if Tbilisi were to renounce its claims to Abkhazia and South Ossetia and join NATO as a smaller, but more secure, country? </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In some ways, the idea makes sense. For both Ukraine and Georgia, the single biggest obstacle to joining NATO now is the fact that Russia is occupying parts of their respective territories. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_M8xNbrq7THyDbsACRPRfWk0bbOWA6dRE8aU8sZmG9E9ybBfCUvAoyMZIgCIftf8MLgxFwWMkjtRPtDdrg87DZiOmSl-7BOOeIAYX_OVRkxc_GqkTcnt9yjav2P16oH1i8GcQkTPMoJyujzLb_oKc9y0CfsFtWTLoiiP0Dip2MGSWgCUm6W0kpOR5oB3/s976/_127831150_bbcm_moldova_transnistria_profile_301122.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_M8xNbrq7THyDbsACRPRfWk0bbOWA6dRE8aU8sZmG9E9ybBfCUvAoyMZIgCIftf8MLgxFwWMkjtRPtDdrg87DZiOmSl-7BOOeIAYX_OVRkxc_GqkTcnt9yjav2P16oH1i8GcQkTPMoJyujzLb_oKc9y0CfsFtWTLoiiP0Dip2MGSWgCUm6W0kpOR5oB3/s320/_127831150_bbcm_moldova_transnistria_profile_301122.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Taking the matter even further, we could also include Moldova, whose Transnistria region has likewise been occupied by Russian "peacekeepers" since the USSR's breakup in 1991. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I wonder if it would be possible for each of these three countries to unilaterally discard their Russian-occupied territories and immediately join the NATO alliance. It's not as if Russia's permission would be necessary for such a move. Putin might bitch and moan, just as he did with respect to the idea of Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, but what would he be able to do about it, especially now with his <a href="https://www.iswresearch.org/2023/12/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment_48.html" target="_blank">very degraded military forces</a>? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In some ways, it's a possibly attractive idea. In the case of Ukraine and Georgia, in particular, it seems implausible that separatist-controlled territories are going to be interested in reconciling with Kyiv and Tbilisi, respectively, anytime soon. Perhaps by making a clean break of things and giving up these territories, Ukraine and Georgia (and maybe Moldova, too, if they wanted) could join NATO without there being any concerns of NATO territory being under Moscow's control. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As was the case with former Warsaw Pact countries in Eastern Europe, where NATO membership constituted a prelude to joining the European Union, joining the NATO alliance would likely provide the kind of stability that would make it possible for these countries to eventually join the EU. Ukraine and Georgia could serve as models of comparison to neighboring statelets (the Crimea, eastern Ukraine, Abkhazia, South Ossetia) that, no matter what, will likely remain suffocatingly authoritarian and under Moscow's control for the foreseeable future. Sort of like West Germany vis-a-vis East Germany during the Cold War. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In writing all of this, I'm mainly just thinking out loud. I don't really believe that there's any chance that politicians in Kyiv, or Tbilisi, will go for the idea of just giving up large parts of their territory. After all, it's easy for me to suggest divvying up other people's countries. The situation looks quite different when it's yours that's getting partitioned. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But maybe, and especially if it looks like western support for Ukraine's defense is drying up, it might be something worth considering. While ceding territory to Russia would doubtless be seen in both Kyiv and Tbilisi as a stinging defeat, gaining immediate admission to NATO might make the move seem more worthwhile. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Before I sign off, there's one last point that needs to be made: NATO is only as good as the US president's commitment to it. If the US elects a president who doesn't take NATO seriously, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/politics/nato-president-trump.html" target="_blank">or who wishes to withdraw from the alliance</a>, all bets are off. While Congress has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/12/16/congress-nato-exit-trump/" target="_blank">recently passed a bill</a> preventing any US president from unilaterally pulling out of NATO, a president who wishes to undermine the alliance, or render it ineffective, can still do so. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And if that happens, we're all screwed. </span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">More on the Russia-Ukraine War: </span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/12/russia-ukraine-war-too-much-wishful.html" target="_blank">Arming Ukraine: Why it's in American Interests</a></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/thinking-beyond-putin.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking beyond Putin</span></a></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/the-breakup-of-russia.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Breakup of Russia?</span></a></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Regrouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Russia-Ukraine Notes: Early October Edition</span></a></span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">All Crimea/Ukraine posts since 2008</span></span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/re-russia-ukraine-changes-coming.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Re Russia-Ukraine: Changes Coming?</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/04/back-and-forth.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back and Forth in the Quagmire</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/a-mission-accomplished-moment.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/one-week-in.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This past week...</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/re-ukraine-less-thumb-sucking-more.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">More Thoughts Re Ukraine and NATO</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The USA: NATO's Weakest Link?</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/brown-trouser-time.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brown Trouser Time</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/Looking%20at%20the%20Long-Term%20re%20Putin's%20Moves" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for the Long-Term in Putin's Moves</span></span></a></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/moscow-recognizes-two-breakaway-regions.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moscow Recognizes Two Breakaway Republics: Why do this?</span></span></a></span></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/bungling-toward-kyiv.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bungling toward Kyiv </span></span></a></div><div><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/the-monroe-doctrine-putin-and-post.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Monroe Doctrine, Putin, and Post-Soviet Space: Don't Muddy the Waters</span></span></a></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html#more" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Russia, Ukraine, and NATO</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/the-second-biden-putin-skype-summit.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hold me Back! The Second Biden-Putin Skype Summit</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">What Would Happen if Russia Invaded Ukraine?</span></span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/why-would-russia-invade-ukraine.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why Would Russia Invade Ukraine?</span></span></a></div><div><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/crimea-river-water-and-russian.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea River: Water and Russian-Ukrainian Relations</span></span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rattling Kyiv's Cage</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Not-So-Great Game: The US and Russia in Post-Soviet Space</span></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bad Idea Jeans: Ukraine Edition</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/crimea-and-eastern-ukraine-things-can.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea and eastern Ukraine: Things Can Always Get Worse</span></span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/05/crimea-tough-options.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tough Options</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/04/russia-and-the-politics-of-citizenship.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Russia and the Politics of Citizenship</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/02/the-crimea-more-than-just-a-war.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Crimea: More Than Just a War</a><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/09/12/trouble-in-ukraine.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trouble in Ukraine</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> </span></span></p></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/08/south-ossetia-and-fate-of-mini-republics.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">South Ossetia and the Fate of the 'Mini-Republics'</a> (from 2008)</span></span></p></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 27px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-79191663282955573422023-12-13T11:25:00.050-07:002024-02-18T10:09:15.276-07:00Arming Ukraine: Why it's in American Interests<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Friday, December 15, 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Every GOP senator voted no this week on a supplemental funding bill that included money for Ukraine. The vote, which failed 49-51, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/06/republicans-ukraine-funding" target="_blank">required 60 supporters in order to pass</a>. Republicans voting no mainly argued that they wanted the Biden administration to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-sets-test-vote-ukraine-aid-despite-republican-opposition-2023-12-06/" target="_blank">make concessions regarding US border policies</a> before they would consider supporting the spending bill. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXKi4xy-lYoGl28enJcIWAxIp54Pe3yli8zJ5UCkK0XBIKszpWwUfYHp2y5YDNTj1_yfvbaMfMG7Zv_L6ljCWH1qy7ohtVT7NjUaus8yGYciJ15zp8zoBuUxl-giuvPk7wWfk-8Edhk5e1jNdc1S6suanu4yqVksH93nnhkrtZ_bfiPs2ufKLqu3D_B_g/s320/320x180_cmsv2_5f94b3be-0fd0-55ec-a8cb-33acaa7a50c2-7263358.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXKi4xy-lYoGl28enJcIWAxIp54Pe3yli8zJ5UCkK0XBIKszpWwUfYHp2y5YDNTj1_yfvbaMfMG7Zv_L6ljCWH1qy7ohtVT7NjUaus8yGYciJ15zp8zoBuUxl-giuvPk7wWfk-8Edhk5e1jNdc1S6suanu4yqVksH93nnhkrtZ_bfiPs2ufKLqu3D_B_g/s1600/320x180_cmsv2_5f94b3be-0fd0-55ec-a8cb-33acaa7a50c2-7263358.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Bernie Sanders <a href="https://vtdigger.org/2023/12/06/without-guardrails-bernie-sanders-vows-to-vote-against-military-aid-package-for-israel/" target="_blank">also voted against the measure</a>, which included funding for Israel, arguing that the US shouldn't be giving money to the Israeli government "with no strings attached." </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In fact, it seems likely that, eventually, the measure will pass and that aid to both Ukraine and Israel will continue. At the same time, however, the vote points to a worrying trend regarding the evolution of American thinking regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. </span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the words of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/06/ukraine-israel-aid-biden-senate/" target="_blank">a <i>Washington Post</i> piece</a> discussing the vote: </span><p></p><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"></p></div><blockquote><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"></p></div><blockquote><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">While there was broad bipartisan support for Ukraine after Russia invaded in February 2022 — as well as widespread public displays of support for Ukraine — interest in the war among the American public has waned considerably, especially as it has ground to a stalemate with no clear end.</span></p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An Economist-YouGov poll released late last month found that 22 percent of Americans favored increasing military aid to Ukraine, 28 percent favored decreasing it and 27 percent wanted to maintain the same amount.</span></p></div></blockquote><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"></p></div></blockquote><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"></p></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I can't say I'm surprised. Indeed, <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" target="_blank">I predicted something like this back in February of 2022</a>, just a few days after Russia attacked Ukraine, writing that "</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I wouldn't be at all surprised if the future involvement of the US in NATO, and the scale of the involvement, were to become campaign issues this fall, and in 2024." </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">Americans can't be counted on to support anything universally anymore, and maybe that's not such a bad thing. After all, post-9/11 there was an unusually large amount of political unity in the United States, and where did that lead us? </span><a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-war-against-iraq.aspx" target="_blank">More than 70% of Americans supported the war in Iraq</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"> in March of 2003. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCzovRcBKabBGCVmoWdaI61Arh1vrWP3hNvyYxe65tCJT5xiMtq3je64OHndsOuzrcb721UZ_Uu0QarXzK-5rwZ4z3ca6m0xrGq0__HeIs7aNmeepnz1Jeaj9ks1Qr2-bmG_dVgKYdrpOYQplNH8xIFvZi_8Bq2k9WWr6xOIzCmX_SKM5VWpq_owoL0ot/s350/pr030324i.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="350" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCzovRcBKabBGCVmoWdaI61Arh1vrWP3hNvyYxe65tCJT5xiMtq3je64OHndsOuzrcb721UZ_Uu0QarXzK-5rwZ4z3ca6m0xrGq0__HeIs7aNmeepnz1Jeaj9ks1Qr2-bmG_dVgKYdrpOYQplNH8xIFvZi_8Bq2k9WWr6xOIzCmX_SKM5VWpq_owoL0ot/s320/pr030324i.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">American support for <br />Iraq War, March 2003</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, sometimes maybe a little bit of political division isn't such a bad thing. And frankly, it's not a bad thing for Americans to be asking whether or not arming Ukraine is a good idea. It's a fair question, one that deserves a thoughtful answer. </span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And people (like me) who support the US continuing to arm Ukraine need to make a clearer case for why this is necessary. Right now there's too much preening and pandering on social media, and not enough honest discussion regarding where US interests lie with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17pvt1ieQguJhQLyUWJI1oWX6FayUg9SlBD1ByDHHVJGGhP8QPTZ6xDB82rDydHG9W1kKdpEcuLBAuJdsEw0qESfIjPK_iKQz7wwh-xlR5YcI5Ij8WdoHDojtC7TBoUit1K6rOjJVUbsOr5Wxwlym8-hdbIDUMcgb03jmdYzpi_WgXcvYn7267vY_CUml/s2662/Russian%20Annexation%20Claims%20December%2010,%202023.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2662" data-original-width="2539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17pvt1ieQguJhQLyUWJI1oWX6FayUg9SlBD1ByDHHVJGGhP8QPTZ6xDB82rDydHG9W1kKdpEcuLBAuJdsEw0qESfIjPK_iKQz7wwh-xlR5YcI5Ij8WdoHDojtC7TBoUit1K6rOjJVUbsOr5Wxwlym8-hdbIDUMcgb03jmdYzpi_WgXcvYn7267vY_CUml/s320/Russian%20Annexation%20Claims%20December%2010,%202023.png" width="305" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For starters, advocates of arming Ukraine need to articulate that they support doing so out of a concern with <i>American </i>interests, not specifically Ukrainian ones. While I feel as much sympathy for Ukrainians as anybody else, it's not the job of the US president to protect them. Instead, it's the US president's responsibility to protect Americans and the interests of the United States. A lot of well-meaning words have been written, primarily by American academic specialists on the region, which focus upon what the world owes Ukraine. In many ways, I'm sympathetic to these arguments, but they're not going to change the minds of Americans who wonder, justifiably, why the US is sending billions of dollars to Ukraine when that money could be spent here. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">So why is arming Ukraine in American interests? </span></span></div><div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yirPB4ssqEpAbJMWKo99HAC4XL1abFMbELC8nQX_vC7FEPGYpA38CD7VJ0Q1yEWWaTVlJiV4qi0DzH-Iw8E6X4H1sE8HeQaWx5JtKzQWm_9e3NBrn67CMFnKbJo2cd1RyzpAw8u0fcHwcn_B4_NQRJm84J2XuhKAwiQD2AQ7uHH3bImtpgornVF-8Svt/s500/EasternEuropeMap-56a39f195f9b58b7d0d2ced2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yirPB4ssqEpAbJMWKo99HAC4XL1abFMbELC8nQX_vC7FEPGYpA38CD7VJ0Q1yEWWaTVlJiV4qi0DzH-Iw8E6X4H1sE8HeQaWx5JtKzQWm_9e3NBrn67CMFnKbJo2cd1RyzpAw8u0fcHwcn_B4_NQRJm84J2XuhKAwiQD2AQ7uHH3bImtpgornVF-8Svt/s320/EasternEuropeMap-56a39f195f9b58b7d0d2ced2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Twice in the 20th century the US was drawn into conflicts that would have ended much sooner had the US been more involved from the beginning. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, is not simply going to go away if he gets what he wants from Ukraine. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He's going to want more, because that has become the nature of his regime at this point--one that reflects Putin's obsession with rolling back NATO's expansion since the 1990s. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A Russian victory in Ukraine would hardly signal the end of diplomatic and military conflict in eastern Europe. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;">Rather, it would signal the start of a new stage of this conflict, hundreds of miles further west. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I, for one, would much rather have the Russian Army stuck in a quagmire in eastern Ukraine than see it massing on the border with NATO states in western Ukraine. If Ukraine is defeated and becomes a satellite state of Moscow in the manner of Belarus, that's what we have to look forward to. </span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The point isn't to virtue-signal our personal concern for Ukrainians, but rather to acknowledge that, at this particular moment in history, Ukrainian and American interests coincide. American voters need to be told that it'll be a lot easier to deal with a Russia that is stuck in the mud outside Kharkiv than one that, flush with a victory in the form of Ukrainian defeat, is looking to teach NATO another lesson. Handing Putin such a victory by--especially when it's so unnecessary--would be a major tactical error. </span></span></div></span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And then there's this: as cynical as this might sound, Ukraine doesn't need to necessarily defeat Russia for US interests to be advanced. For as long as the Russian Army is pinned down and bleeding out in eastern Ukraine, the European Union and United States will benefit. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Vladimir Putin has made an historically significant blunder in attacking Ukraine, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/russia-troop-losses-us-intelligence-assessment/index.html#:~:text=Russia%20has%20lost%20a%20staggering,provided%20to%20Congress%20told%20CNN." style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" target="_blank">one that has significantly degraded Russia's pre-war armed forces</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">. Why on earth should we let him off the hook? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The hope, of course, is that Ukraine wins the war and defeats Russia, but simply offering continued resistance to Russia--and keeping the Russian Army occupied--is a far better alternative than allowing Vladimir Putin to emerge from his war of choice with a "victory" in the form of territory in eastern Ukraine and possible regime change in Kyiv. For as long as the Ukrainians are willing to fight, we should help them. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiSJQcm7iyFRYzJZJmfV25FiU5MMi4Xug1mundoNXRvoF7iain_4EGxSSchWka0aebaZQi9U2SuIIfYxj_lGm8F924SpiINcjxgZe1oh4WfeS478mBiZGI4F1yPVXjkC69IzPMqTZv7a_MCCLMWF9HpOhJgdrcbAKiS4g3xmaxfb4HuPgecgoo_FHZfJi/s807/timthumb.php.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="807" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiSJQcm7iyFRYzJZJmfV25FiU5MMi4Xug1mundoNXRvoF7iain_4EGxSSchWka0aebaZQi9U2SuIIfYxj_lGm8F924SpiINcjxgZe1oh4WfeS478mBiZGI4F1yPVXjkC69IzPMqTZv7a_MCCLMWF9HpOhJgdrcbAKiS4g3xmaxfb4HuPgecgoo_FHZfJi/w407-h229/timthumb.php.jpeg" width="407" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just as the United States was right to arm the Afghans who were resisting Soviet occupation in the 1980s, it makes sense for the US and its allies to help Ukrainians fight the Russians. And yes, I do realize that the mujahideen the US supported ended up morphing into the Taliban--but arming them in the 80s in an effort to keep the Red Army occupied was still the right thing to do. The mistake that the US made, years later, was in allowing the Taliban to host Osama bin Laden and then, after 9/11, trying to occupy Afghanistan following the rout of the Taliban forces in 2001-2002. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There's been, in my view, altogether too much wishful thinking lately regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. On the one hand, politicians and others who are calling for an end to funding Ukraine are deluding themselves if they think Vladimir Putin is going to be satisfied once he's transformed Ukraine into a Russian satellite. Putin made this absolutely clear <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html" target="_blank">with the demands that he made from NATO immediately prior to the beginning of the invasion</a> in February of 2022. His beef isn't just with Ukraine, it's with NATO more generally. None of this is going to stop with Ukraine. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">But I think that too many individuals who support the continued arming of Ukraine are likewise deluding themselves. Ultimately, Americans will choose whether or not to support Ukraine not out of a concern with Ukrainians or Ukrainian interests per se, but because they feel that such a move would align with American interests. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">And that, I think, is the argument that we need to be making now. </span></span></span></div><div><br /><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More on the Russia-Ukraine War: </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/thinking-beyond-putin.html" target="_blank">Thinking beyond Putin</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/the-breakup-of-russia.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Breakup of Russia?</span></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Regrouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Russia-Ukraine Notes: Early October Edition</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">All Crimea/Ukraine posts since 2008</span></span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/re-russia-ukraine-changes-coming.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Re Russia-Ukraine: Changes Coming?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/04/back-and-forth.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back and Forth in the Quagmire</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/a-mission-accomplished-moment.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/one-week-in.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This past week...</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/re-ukraine-less-thumb-sucking-more.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">More Thoughts Re Ukraine and NATO</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The USA: NATO's Weakest Link?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/brown-trouser-time.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brown Trouser Time</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/Looking%20at%20the%20Long-Term%20re%20Putin's%20Moves" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for the Long-Term in Putin's Moves</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/moscow-recognizes-two-breakaway-regions.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moscow Recognizes Two Breakaway Republics: Why do this?</span></span></a></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/bungling-toward-kyiv.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bungling toward Kyiv </span></span></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/the-monroe-doctrine-putin-and-post.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Monroe Doctrine, Putin, and Post-Soviet Space: Don't Muddy the Waters</span></span></a></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html#more" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Russia, Ukraine, and NATO</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/the-second-biden-putin-skype-summit.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hold me Back! The Second Biden-Putin Skype Summit</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">What Would Happen if Russia Invaded Ukraine?</span></span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/why-would-russia-invade-ukraine.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why Would Russia Invade Ukraine?</span></span></a></div><div><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/crimea-river-water-and-russian.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea River: Water and Russian-Ukrainian Relations</span></span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rattling Kyiv's Cage</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Not-So-Great Game: The US and Russia in Post-Soviet Space</span></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bad Idea Jeans: Ukraine Edition</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/crimea-and-eastern-ukraine-things-can.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea and eastern Ukraine: Things Can Always Get Worse</span></span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/05/crimea-tough-options.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tough Options</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/04/russia-and-the-politics-of-citizenship.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Russia and the Politics of Citizenship</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/02/the-crimea-more-than-just-a-war.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Crimea: More Than Just a War</a><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/09/12/trouble-in-ukraine.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trouble in Ukraine</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> </span></span></p></div></div></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/08/south-ossetia-and-fate-of-mini-republics.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">South Ossetia and the Fate of the 'Mini-Republics'</a> (from 2008)</span></span></p></div><br /></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-55858231239149760152023-11-10T17:25:00.056-07:002023-12-23T00:02:33.330-07:00Nâzım Hikmet in Montreal<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Friday, November 10, 2023</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I recently got back from the annual Middle East Studies Association conference in Montreal. It was great. I went to university in Montreal and had only been back a couple of times since I graduated more than thirty years ago. This was my first visit since 2001. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1TFv8_N9Q0avc6at2AJXfYXDYm0JPyUpUCHMbR6phWkBBd7x1vtSnJJMSW1IzxvOu4E6UmDk0UauXmsMFqM9A0KwmBZQJmWCWwEH2j43VRMrTM_QR5AUsaVVvFKOxbg-A4PBtfGkP8CEOQKBvhn7mzib5nHAb-AVZuZqMb8IZLfANdrVk5xBHQFwuFFr/s3421/271a5071-87c3-4a2d-87c5-7510409de89b.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="3421" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1TFv8_N9Q0avc6at2AJXfYXDYm0JPyUpUCHMbR6phWkBBd7x1vtSnJJMSW1IzxvOu4E6UmDk0UauXmsMFqM9A0KwmBZQJmWCWwEH2j43VRMrTM_QR5AUsaVVvFKOxbg-A4PBtfGkP8CEOQKBvhn7mzib5nHAb-AVZuZqMb8IZLfANdrVk5xBHQFwuFFr/w497-h196/271a5071-87c3-4a2d-87c5-7510409de89b.png" width="497" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Best of all, I had the chance to talk for a little while about my new book on <span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Nâzım Hikmet, <i>Red Star over the Black Sea: </i></span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); color: #1a1a1a; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation</span></i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(26, 26, 26);">. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KXIU8UY5BJDH&keywords=red+star+black+sea+hikmet&qid=1699634822&sprefix=red+star+black+sea+hikme%2Caps%2C208&sr=8-1" target="_blank">The hardcover is now selling for just $41.</a> And if that's too rich for you, a paperback edition is due to come out by March of 2025. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPksvpFXMtq4DvWeKEXxROcJH9nDvBf_3A5yczFnX9wqxoo6FMwXTr7k3awY2LYqZtwzU6kMswtOjFSvxBJb3InGhO_SgGKjM9Iqu9YVljXgBb7h4-XvqlWbL-3253TBmhSQSBhmjNetFHc7L87CIMWJRWAAnj5AA1j62S8yyKpAudMuIJA5NSqGbxnPq/s387/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM-7.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPksvpFXMtq4DvWeKEXxROcJH9nDvBf_3A5yczFnX9wqxoo6FMwXTr7k3awY2LYqZtwzU6kMswtOjFSvxBJb3InGhO_SgGKjM9Iqu9YVljXgBb7h4-XvqlWbL-3253TBmhSQSBhmjNetFHc7L87CIMWJRWAAnj5AA1j62S8yyKpAudMuIJA5NSqGbxnPq/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM-7.png" width="232" /></a></div>In truth, it was hardly the first opportunity I'd had to discuss the book. In October of last year, <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" target="_blank">the good people at the University of Texas</a> were kind enough to invite me on campus for a book talk. I've also been interviewed on a couple of podcasts: </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">the <span style="color: #1155cc;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://newbooksnetwork.com/red-star-over-the-black-sea&source=gmail&ust=1699731223118000&usg=AOvVaw286p7pEXnta2YFyyyUtN7C" href="https://newbooksnetwork.com/red-star-over-the-black-sea" style="color: purple;" target="_blank">New Books Network</a> </span><span style="background-color: white;">and </span>the <span style="color: purple;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://turkeybooktalk.com/tag/nazim-hikmet/&source=gmail&ust=1699731223118000&usg=AOvVaw3sWQ1F8M9FU3oqC34HHB3X" href="https://turkeybooktalk.com/tag/nazim-hikmet/" style="color: purple;" target="_blank">Turkey Book Podcast</a>. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); color: #1a1a1a;">Over the summer, I participated in a panel discussion about <i>Red Star</i> organized by </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DdlZWNb4LHww&source=gmail&ust=1699731223118000&usg=AOvVaw00kAwbA9AI78F57Y-PJkhc" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlZWNb4LHww" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association</a><span style="background-color: white;">, and then gave an online book talk with the </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D1ohEaAJMy-8%26t%3D21s&source=gmail&ust=1699731223118000&usg=AOvVaw02dB6ciivbfpsGfZC57DMu" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ohEaAJMy-8&t=21s" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Anglo-Turkish Association</a> in the UK.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This was something of a surprise, but <i>Red Star </i>was also discussed in the latest issue of a Swedish cultural magazine called </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.flamman.se/socialisten-som-blev-turkisk-nationalskald/" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;">Flamman</a>. </i>With the Turkish government holding up Sweden's entry into NATO, Turkey has apparently been a popular subject there in recent months. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's nice to see the book getting a little traction. There was also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/russ.12557?saml_referrer" target="_blank">a quite positive review of the book</a> in <i>The Russian Review</i> not long ago, which was good to see. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>*</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The MESA conference was a lot of fun as usual. </span></span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really liked </span><a href="https://my-mesa.org/program/sessions/view/eyJpdiI6ImZ5bm9DZHZYVVNvYzNTOHlkWDRENHc9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiZXVqNGxLcWlJSHV6VzBHWnI5RDJzUT09IiwibWFjIjoiODc5NjMzNzM0ZjM2ODcyN2M4MmJlMDc3M2ZmMDE0Yzc0MzQ5NTViZDhhMDdkNzFlOGYxNTFmZTFhMDMzMzk1ZiIsInRhZyI6IiJ9" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">the panel that I was on</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. We w</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ere given a pretty bad time slot--the second-to-last panel of the conference, on early Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, we got a good turnout. Best of all, my co-panelists, discussant, and chair were excellent. We rocked the joint. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Montreal</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-r9hczxnfgTIpjKNbwYUSGUDsuQMHwpC6jQ4E0zcbK4R-hnANZUnbRGYx7G1ux7WUzjjv78VpWfSw4Mib_Hk_dcJcvxmeJboAo-cYaLdtyNPLDgGUW6-XE1ax8ipGLtD2vIAbYBFO7SHfO2nOKn0o_-PNAFgqTc5rvavB-TknL9jVoz32I0og4wf_rPK/s4608/20231106_120739.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2072" data-original-width="4608" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-r9hczxnfgTIpjKNbwYUSGUDsuQMHwpC6jQ4E0zcbK4R-hnANZUnbRGYx7G1ux7WUzjjv78VpWfSw4Mib_Hk_dcJcvxmeJboAo-cYaLdtyNPLDgGUW6-XE1ax8ipGLtD2vIAbYBFO7SHfO2nOKn0o_-PNAFgqTc5rvavB-TknL9jVoz32I0og4wf_rPK/w409-h184/20231106_120739.jpg" width="409" /></a></div>It was interesting to be back in Montreal again. I graduated from McGill in 1991, and by the time I finished school I knew I would never set foot in a university classroom again. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQS4uSFR_-NIiQj1ApVj2S4Iu2kdT-NQS3khYkD_ro29_q2DdXkcVVOBd49biHEn4XOuiJe9nx6pK9p2cpKwGCAFdshsWAw4y-Ymdji7C0AOQiv6j7OnrhqJR1c3r_5z2QfX-sBcYSLZLdzL7AuDbB1dAoYaRzoCt_vciFh_KAHdg5S2rtK-52sSZCyf8B/s448/scan0024-6.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="448" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQS4uSFR_-NIiQj1ApVj2S4Iu2kdT-NQS3khYkD_ro29_q2DdXkcVVOBd49biHEn4XOuiJe9nx6pK9p2cpKwGCAFdshsWAw4y-Ymdji7C0AOQiv6j7OnrhqJR1c3r_5z2QfX-sBcYSLZLdzL7AuDbB1dAoYaRzoCt_vciFh_KAHdg5S2rtK-52sSZCyf8B/w340-h226/scan0024-6.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Syria, 1995, showing off some <br /> of the skills I'd picked up in college </span><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>I'd been, overall, a pretty incompetent student for most of my university career, having double-</div><div>majored in English Literature and Bonghit Studies. By the time I went home for Winter Break of my senior year in December of 1990, I had sixteen papers from previous semesters that I still had to write. It was only during the course of my final two semesters (Spring and Summer of 1991) that I managed to finally get my act together with the finish line in sight. </div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLwfPDNVOe2VmgYNrgjvjQmD7K0raDuvkBSHXun95vXSWikBunuBNZURi6h20LjjhcCN1FEIID8Kq-8PaNQV5WeSGYGxOOwXAzV0Wq9TpSmdKSsUi1iapv0VOBp5Te4-xTFaW4onodBidZWIjl8UxkRUlw-QXOzcsDaYvHYFShJ9xn7iMlMxaSrRZe_VS/s4608/20231102_163209.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2072" data-original-width="4608" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLwfPDNVOe2VmgYNrgjvjQmD7K0raDuvkBSHXun95vXSWikBunuBNZURi6h20LjjhcCN1FEIID8Kq-8PaNQV5WeSGYGxOOwXAzV0Wq9TpSmdKSsUi1iapv0VOBp5Te4-xTFaW4onodBidZWIjl8UxkRUlw-QXOzcsDaYvHYFShJ9xn7iMlMxaSrRZe_VS/w422-h190/20231102_163209.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>So, in addition to walking through the beautiful neighborhoods of Montreal that I'd always loved, I also found myself confronting some of the ghosts of my past. For me, college was mostly a pretty depressing time of life. I spent so much time feeling bad about myself due to the numerous overdue papers that I'd allowed to pile up around me. Professors were kind enough to give me incomplete grades (I) in their classes so that I could finish up the work later, but for this reason months and even years would pass before I finally submitted the work. I was getting grades that most people had never even heard of: Js, Ks, and even something called a K-star. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVa9Kz2oa36yanDta35WK7h2_Xmn7QLU9nnbJD2UT89TAeiLPGbTQ13dlMpvLtCIBNum-Mh09DrOxzlKeAtAO4pG_l3KSLE1ejmgZ4G1l-FXlXwQO6P5XG_pKWn9t5mK3GwMRpp1mtc5gItK03vmTcWKInB5jV5Rvv1FiwWi2XG4o7RCqdxPI66UUgVkS/s4608/20231102_120014.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2072" data-original-width="4608" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVa9Kz2oa36yanDta35WK7h2_Xmn7QLU9nnbJD2UT89TAeiLPGbTQ13dlMpvLtCIBNum-Mh09DrOxzlKeAtAO4pG_l3KSLE1ejmgZ4G1l-FXlXwQO6P5XG_pKWn9t5mK3GwMRpp1mtc5gItK03vmTcWKInB5jV5Rvv1FiwWi2XG4o7RCqdxPI66UUgVkS/w420-h189/20231102_120014.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The night before I graduated in October of 1991 I was showing my parents around the Arts Building at McGill, where the English department was located. My parents looked on with bemusement as I slid my final paper under the door of one of my professors from semesters past. After all, I was due to graduate the next day. The professor in question had been good enough to submit a grade for me based upon the classwork I had already completed, allowing me to graduate when I did. I'd written that last paper on the honor system.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> It was the last remaining assignment, so I had thought at the time that my academic career was officially over. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xXfukTiZQlsdh9t43LL6P11USIgiC8cSAH4UszoFUG4290RZg4-5hszc7-LpMPy_tDMmLh-1EKMAgqkn6-i9hQwPnZJPfi6Rr_0ijzjMzevq2UhSrIIgPAEeMMDUpKzBMF06a2ItntSYHBitTwP3N2KcSJugozwxzpOsHPp7lQRTiqApQtGtSLbU3YqL/s2044/20231103_160434.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="2044" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xXfukTiZQlsdh9t43LL6P11USIgiC8cSAH4UszoFUG4290RZg4-5hszc7-LpMPy_tDMmLh-1EKMAgqkn6-i9hQwPnZJPfi6Rr_0ijzjMzevq2UhSrIIgPAEeMMDUpKzBMF06a2ItntSYHBitTwP3N2KcSJugozwxzpOsHPp7lQRTiqApQtGtSLbU3YqL/w421-h228/20231103_160434.jpg" width="421" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The apartment of broken dreams: corner of Rivard<br />and Marie-Anne streets. </span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eight years later, that same professor would write a letter of recommendation on my behalf when I applied to do an MA. By that time, of course, I was a very different person, at least with respect to how I managed my responsibilities. I'd spent seven years living in Turkey, working at a job for which I wouldn't get paid unless I handled things well. I'd also developed an interest in the regions I now work on--the Middle East, Russia, and the Balkans--through a relatively organic process. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8kN7egECKuEUm2c2LxtfcUFi3dlwBmC1W1nkEFnalf75wX2G-iQXAVPsgSvsthpcRdP0pmDi39UUZ8gpKThwSEpmOvX0J5GoneaINkQJrxwLBhITnIIR5Ckbw37qkrPya9FyVy2OkwH0VoxI2jBYiKOtLVvkWR8qrP0n3HUmjZ8jjdanSyKixQi8AbJm/s2117/20231106_132203.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1743" data-original-width="2117" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8kN7egECKuEUm2c2LxtfcUFi3dlwBmC1W1nkEFnalf75wX2G-iQXAVPsgSvsthpcRdP0pmDi39UUZ8gpKThwSEpmOvX0J5GoneaINkQJrxwLBhITnIIR5Ckbw37qkrPya9FyVy2OkwH0VoxI2jBYiKOtLVvkWR8qrP0n3HUmjZ8jjdanSyKixQi8AbJm/w449-h369/20231106_132203.jpg" width="449" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">An old haunt from my university days.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">And for this reason, I think, I've been able to avoid the sense of burnout that I often see among colleagues of mine who jumped straight into a PhD program after college. Instead of making a career-defining decision at the age of 21, I decided to go to graduate school only after having spent years of my life living in and traveling through the countries that I now write about. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thank goodness I was a screw-up in college for whom graduate school was not even a remote possibility. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>The Long Road Back</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was a long and tiring trip. I'd arrived in Montreal just after 11 on Wednesday evening, and didn't get to my AirBnB that night until after 1. And then, almost every night I was there I got to bed late. Between catching up with a dear friend from college and seeing friends from MESA, not to mention participating in the conference itself, I was pretty wiped out by the end of my stay. I needed three flights to make my way back to Big Sky country, with a lungful of phlegm to boot. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The last several days have been a slog, so I'm looking forward to resting this weekend. I sit in the sauna and feel the Crisco-like sweat ooze out of my face and think: man, do I like what I do. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><div class="column"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Like the book? You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st">More photos, commentary, and links can be found in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/06/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 11</a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_7.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 5</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/05/saturday-may-20-2023-first-time-i.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 4</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 2</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction</span></a></p></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nazım Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Birthdays of Nazım Hikmet</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">New Article Out: The Letters of Münevver Andaç to Nazım Hikmet</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazım </span><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></a></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-59824328601493610822023-10-01T12:11:00.031-06:002024-02-06T11:16:36.120-07:00My Thoughts on Nagorno-Karabakh<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Sunday, October 1</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Since Azerbaijan's attack on the remaining Armenian-held territory in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19-20, a number of people have gotten in touch and asked me what I thought.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZD_6EgkoqxekbuU4-L8n6ECdZUX4IeYMO5ftQaz2sR_X8QEyNQZZZkhc_7vtw-HCVszMwY3u-3GyIWFZFR2JEVogmTBVzB8-j-qGU-HcdHGDHrhbj-ie0ZifRp7tkTj9wk4zKjI3ovS4LLa34L2nnc0WlXZUEL5cWmaxHmXXBRzUBs_BHMoW-6-aUh2k/s1200/WEB-MAP-ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN-NAGORNO-KARABAKH-1000x562-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZD_6EgkoqxekbuU4-L8n6ECdZUX4IeYMO5ftQaz2sR_X8QEyNQZZZkhc_7vtw-HCVszMwY3u-3GyIWFZFR2JEVogmTBVzB8-j-qGU-HcdHGDHrhbj-ie0ZifRp7tkTj9wk4zKjI3ovS4LLa34L2nnc0WlXZUEL5cWmaxHmXXBRzUBs_BHMoW-6-aUh2k/w439-h247/WEB-MAP-ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN-NAGORNO-KARABAKH-1000x562-1.jpg" width="439" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, here goes: </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before anything else, one must acknowledge the human suffering that has resulted from all of this. No one can look at the pictures of refugees streaming out of Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh) without a profound sense of revulsion, pity, and anger. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Unfortunately, those people are pawns in a game that is being waged against them not simply by the "other side," but their own governments as well--the very institutions they now need to look to for survival. </span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It also needs to be remembered that Nagorno-Karabakh is, after all, part of Azerbaijan, as it has always been recognized by the vast majority of the world's states since the breakup of the USSR in 1991. In the early 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Azeris were expelled from their homes and lands in Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenians seeking to break away from newly-independent Azerbaijan. </span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And guess what? Nobody cared. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUHydncNCLYCV5gPNpcW5v_JVnuLkZ7tx05wVitjVnWocqIu_f4AMCkohYW8I8e7IjfGmkAcC0x_AzGB-LAZnApNe5hURt6OIeDjyF1jA2wJ4GUG_N3xYvah8Yo-cfjROvx0YUOD3vDm1Gjio_PGG86oZnReN0Tg2GBp0engDX_s_k1Yycts_xwprdc8n/s2136/Insanlik-Tarihinin-Kara-Lekesi-Hocali-Katliami.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2136" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUHydncNCLYCV5gPNpcW5v_JVnuLkZ7tx05wVitjVnWocqIu_f4AMCkohYW8I8e7IjfGmkAcC0x_AzGB-LAZnApNe5hURt6OIeDjyF1jA2wJ4GUG_N3xYvah8Yo-cfjROvx0YUOD3vDm1Gjio_PGG86oZnReN0Tg2GBp0engDX_s_k1Yycts_xwprdc8n/w472-h266/Insanlik-Tarihinin-Kara-Lekesi-Hocali-Katliami.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Azeris running for their lives in Khojaly, February 1992</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">For twenty-five years, the world was cool with the idea that 10% of Azerbaijan's population would be made up of refugees and nearly 15% of its territory held by Armenian separatists. At a time when the US was diplomatically courting formerly Soviet republics like the Baltics, Georgia, and Ukraine, no pressure was brought to bear upon Yerevan to use its influence upon the government of Nagorno-Karabakh (which considered itself independent, not part of Armenia) to work out a compromise with Azerbaijan at a time when the Armenians still had leverage. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">When I was researching in Baku in 2004 and 2005, many of the women working in the library at the Azerbaijan Central State History Archive were refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and Lachin (Armenian forces had also created the "Lachin Corridor" land bridge between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, driving out still more Azeris). One woman told me that she had run from her house with no shoes on her feet. She, her son, and her father were all still sharing the single hotel room they'd been given when they'd arrived in Baku as refugees in 1992. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIdZ3sUU2seFX_Byl94Ye-JEzjGnkcsvOcsOWlppw07qqtztLIJD8O4u13fNhg9-Llcdvw6gdOgiK4CIex4DPmawBBM4csDK-AkOIvEcnBUGSO3lmMH5Effb7nDf_uIPd3l3PvQzXN1xeF-Q5RZiEri5SiPZAeXFTNe5YuQVPz33ienymY4xJuR7mLa3p/s448/CIMG3880-2.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="448" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIdZ3sUU2seFX_Byl94Ye-JEzjGnkcsvOcsOWlppw07qqtztLIJD8O4u13fNhg9-Llcdvw6gdOgiK4CIex4DPmawBBM4csDK-AkOIvEcnBUGSO3lmMH5Effb7nDf_uIPd3l3PvQzXN1xeF-Q5RZiEri5SiPZAeXFTNe5YuQVPz33ienymY4xJuR7mLa3p/w537-h403/CIMG3880-2.JPG" width="537" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ladies of the Central State Archive library, Baku</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">For more than two decades no one felt any urgency to solve this problem, and then the world was somehow shocked when Baku, now much wealthier and more powerful (thanks to oil), managed to beef up its military and launch an attack to re-take Nagorno-Karabakh in late September of 2020. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The result was a resounding military victory for Baku, but also a diplomatic win for Moscow. Azerbaijan was obliged to halt its advance, leaving about 20% of Nagorno-Karabakh in the hands of the Armenian separatist government. Russian peace-keepers were brought in to act as a buffer between the two sides. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Then, last month: Baku, correctly surmising that Moscow is too distracted right now to impose the 2020 cease-fire terms upon anybody, re-launched its campaign to re-take territory lost in the 1990s. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">It's awful that the Armenians feel (rightly, I think) that they have to leave their homes, that it would be foolhardy and dangerous to stay. But it's also too bad that there was so little interest, back in the 90s, in addressing such wrongs at a time when the Armenians were winning in Nagorno-Karabakh. For as long as the Azeris were the primary victims, the world was fine with this being a frozen conflict. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">So, here are a few conclusions: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">a) If Yerevan and the separatist Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh had been given, in the 1990s, a serious message that they had to allow Azeris to return to their homes, neither the brief war in 2020 nor the even briefer one of 2023 would have taken place. The problem is, for as long as the victims were predominantly Muslim "Turks," nobody gave a damn. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">People in western countries tend to be more familiar with Armenians, and certainly are more used to the narrative of Armenian suffering at the hands of Turks. So, the idea that Azeris were actual victims, too, tends to get mentally discounted somehow. While the world had watched in horror in the 1990s as Serbs slaughtered Muslims in Bosnia, the fact that very similar events were taking place at the hands of Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh registered very, very low on the list of international concerns at the time. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">An interesting thought experiment: what if the government in Sarajevo found itself to be sitting upon billions of dollars in oil reserves, then used the money generated from this to purchase advanced weaponry and, eventually, retake territory from the Republika Srbska? </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">There would be, to be sure, concern for the victims--Serbs fleeing their homes--but no coverage of the conflict would fail to note that the Serbs had themselves used savage means to take that territory and expel/exterminate the Muslims who had lived there in the mid-1990s. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">That's something that we're typically not hearing right now re Nagorno-Karabakh. I wonder why not? </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">b) These events also tell us, once again, of Russia's weakening position in the Caucasus thanks to its ongoing attack on Ukraine. <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" target="_blank">Indeed, alert Borderlands readers may remember that this possibility was discussed on these pages back in late 2022.</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In the "not-so-Great Game" that the US and Russia have been playing for the past 20 years or so, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have been closer to Moscow than Washington. Indeed, Armenia is in </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">the </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #333333;">Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military semi-alliance made up of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan--<a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" target="_blank">the post-Soviet Dream Team!</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I wonder if Baku's recent success in Nagorno-Karabakh is giving folks in Tbilisi ideas about re-taking Abkhazia and/or Southern Ossetia. Probably not, as such an action would constitute much more of a direct challenge to Moscow than simply violating a Russian-backed cease-fire. But still, September's events are a reminder that Moscow's once vaunted influence in places like the Caucasus and Central Asia is weakening as a result of Vladimir Putin's ongoing fever dream in eastern Ukraine. If the dam ever does break for Russia in Ukraine, maybe Tbilisi would give it a try. What better time would there be, after all? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">c) It's too bad that people--even experts working on the region--seem to think that we need to pick a side between "the Armenians" and "the Azeris." Frankly, it sickens me to see people who couldn't have cared less about Azeris driven from their homes and lands raising the humanitarian flag once the refugees happen to be Christian. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The refugees, all of them, are the real victims here. The governments who speak in the names of the victims are the ones committing the crimes. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Anyone who is trying to peddle an "Armenian vs. Azeri" narrative, cheering on one side while booing the other, is just doing the bidding of these governments, whether or not they realize it. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">*** </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">For all of my posts regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Nagorno-Karabakh" target="_blank">look here</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Also see: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/kazakhstan-russia-and-secular-national.html" target="_blank">Kazakhstan, Russia, and the Secular-National-Authoritarian Model</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" target="_blank">Russia-Ukraine Notes: Early October Edition</a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/12/n-p-christmas-at-borderlands-lodge.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Christmas at the Borderlands Lodge</span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/12/n-p-end-of-semester-edition.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">N&P: End of Semester Edition</span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Nagorno-Karabakh" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">N&P:Annual Conference Edition</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/10/n-p-padre-possibility-edition.html" target="_blank">N&P: Padre Possibility Edition</a></span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Like the blog? You'll love the book. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Purchase your copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-54904327446766579252023-08-18T15:23:00.006-06:002023-11-29T11:42:40.635-07:00Remembering Thomas Goltz<span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Friday, August 18, 2023</span><strike></strike><div><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I was sitting in the sauna the other day, reading the <i>Bozeman Yesterdaily Chronicle, </i>when an <a href="https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/special/bringing-montana-and-the-caucasus-together-remembering-the-uniqueness-of-thomas-goltz/article_e8571b5c-387a-11ee-ba72-e7f6c3c9c99e.html" target="_blank">article</a> caught my eye. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"Former MSU Professor and World Traveler Remembered" read the print version (the online title is different). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Who could it be? I wondered. And then I saw the photo. </span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4jRALwRJoH5TCm-VSGNZA6zze2j7gg9WkJYKfbXd-Vv_1eCLMRwI_sKR2nb0iCOB9pv-tOnPamLeVXuM6zo6rG-fLlE1_1qJG9Bv2MYbOKRjXXgdrFcmoy_9ukEzupP6skpswSJIJKNUVAyyksdztgesI4L9CrBKUzHtuNGDSTz9Gt1IoxZw9QMWRL20/s500/64cbec7975051.image.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="435" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4jRALwRJoH5TCm-VSGNZA6zze2j7gg9WkJYKfbXd-Vv_1eCLMRwI_sKR2nb0iCOB9pv-tOnPamLeVXuM6zo6rG-fLlE1_1qJG9Bv2MYbOKRjXXgdrFcmoy_9ukEzupP6skpswSJIJKNUVAyyksdztgesI4L9CrBKUzHtuNGDSTz9Gt1IoxZw9QMWRL20/s320/64cbec7975051.image.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thomas Goltz passed away on July 29. <a href="https://www.livingstonenterprise.com/obituaries/thomas-goltz/article_4af6c1ac-3170-11ee-9b1a-33e3109b3a00.html" target="_blank">Here is his obituary</a> from the <i>Livingston Enterprise</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><a name='more'></a></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">His personality wasn't for everyone, especially in a university environment, but Thomas Goltz was an interesting dude. Born in Japan in 1954, Thomas had grown up in North Dakota. After studying theater in Chicago, and then German Literature and Middle East Studies at NYU, </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.thomasgoltz.com" target="_blank">he traveled through Africa performing a puppet-theater version of Shakespeare</a><span>. For much of the 1980s, Thomas was based in Turkey, where he was working as a freelance journalist. In 1991, he received a two-year grant to study the Turkic republics of the USSR. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">My time in Turkey began in 1992, so just a year or so after Thomas had left. In 1997, I first spied Thomas' book about his experiences in Azerbaijan in a delightful Istanbul bookstore called <a href="http://www.rob389.com/default.asp?PG=VITMTR" target="_blank">Robinson Crusoe</a>. The book, which would be -re-published in the United States two years later as <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Azerbaijan-Diary-Reporters-Adventures-Post-Soviet/dp/076560244X" target="_blank">Azerbaijan Diary</a>, </i>was called, in this primary iteration, <i>Azerbaijan: Requiem for a Would-be Republic. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNDtoEH2yKCtdgTS4ToB0bvH4hI4iLRETDbxt3pEufSi29mGZWV5UmBjqJXrvys1Aggjk1AsiD057M9H9NMYppWjRRPlykeAIYgy-wTi-ayLyRaTy9awosK10beLEOGrAhBi83QJJiQRbdP9g1Rv-4c2yKH3_D1Mfc_gmOImrNfNoDA8IlSg69SwZPcC-/s3212/20230814_120704.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3212" data-original-width="2072" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNDtoEH2yKCtdgTS4ToB0bvH4hI4iLRETDbxt3pEufSi29mGZWV5UmBjqJXrvys1Aggjk1AsiD057M9H9NMYppWjRRPlykeAIYgy-wTi-ayLyRaTy9awosK10beLEOGrAhBi83QJJiQRbdP9g1Rv-4c2yKH3_D1Mfc_gmOImrNfNoDA8IlSg69SwZPcC-/w367-h570/20230814_120704.jpg" width="367" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">It was a beautiful, perplexing edition. Fake leather-bound and published by the unfortunately named ISIS Press, the pages were already falling out when I started looking through it at the bookstore. The book was filled with typos and long digressions that I thought were just wonderful. It came with a little red ribbon attached to the binding to act as a bookmark and cost something like $75. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Even though I was earning pretty decent money back in those days, I refrained from purchasing it. Instead, I would stop in to Robinson Crusoe every time I was walking up İstiklal Caddesi to fondly read a few more pages. Eventually, my girlfriend at the time got tired of my insisting on stopping in and looking at the book every time we walked by Robinson Crusoe, so she broke down and bought it for me as a birthday present. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJNI5wAzqUjnXt8FZ4O8hSlyO2lnjxCWEJtvu2ej3tpRQDj1aJpHZgXcMoclUDMMOGiNsZaZ7cLL_ejujBuyy6HfEODYGKAUDx5ByJTRmKSuEuSz_5xIcaXDRm791kPI-blFluUhhEQOBeaNqN4FMIJ_77FVd8x_l8gUvbS6yZLJOql3gCu6W7fWYLba_/s2681/20230814_130412.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2681" data-original-width="1991" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJNI5wAzqUjnXt8FZ4O8hSlyO2lnjxCWEJtvu2ej3tpRQDj1aJpHZgXcMoclUDMMOGiNsZaZ7cLL_ejujBuyy6HfEODYGKAUDx5ByJTRmKSuEuSz_5xIcaXDRm791kPI-blFluUhhEQOBeaNqN4FMIJ_77FVd8x_l8gUvbS6yZLJOql3gCu6W7fWYLba_/w389-h523/20230814_130412.jpg" width="389" /></a></div>Two years later, in 1999, I was back in the United States studying in an MA program at Princeton. In connection with the publication of <i>Azerbaijan Diary, </i>Thomas was giving a public lecture at Columbia University. I went and got him to sign my copy of the older book, eliciting a small cry of surprise from him when he saw the cover.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As the years passed and I became more involved with writing a dissertation and finding an academic job, Thomas' old book gathered dust in a box that I was keeping in my childhood bedroom at my parents' house in Ann Arbor. Living the life of a graduate student and changing apartments every year between trips to Turkey and the ex-USSR, I had no inclination to lug this and a bunch of my other books from one place to the next. One day, I figured, if I ever got a permanent job I would bring all of my books together in one spot. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In December of 2008 I visited Bozeman for a job visit at Montana State University. Academic job visits can be a trying event. You're constantly talking to people, always "on" in a way that, after a few days, gets pretty exhausting. But one of the highlights from the trip took place when I was walking down the corridor of Wilson Hall en route to giving my research talk to the faculty and grad students of the Department of History & Philosophy. In the Political Science Department, which is next to History, a closed door on my right-hand side was identified, by its name plate, as belonging to none other than Thomas Goltz. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I remembered, from the book I'd first seen at Robinson Crusoe some eleven years earlier, that Goltz lived full-time in Livingston, Montana, which, it turned out, is just down the highway from Bozeman. I asked what his connection was to MSU and was told that Thomas was an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Once I got the job and moved to Bozeman in August of 2009, Thomas would occasionally show up at events hosted by MSU's Turkish Club, for which I was acting as the faculty advisor (back then, thanks to dual degree programs between MSU and various Turkish universities, we had over 100 Turkish undergraduates on campus). We went out for beers two or three times, maximum. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I can't say that we were close. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I think Thomas assumed that I was some twit who had never spent any serious time in Turkey until graduate school. Although I had the sort of in-country background that I think he would have appreciated, I never volunteered information about my own connection to Turkey (or Azerbaijan) beyond noting that I had a copy of an early, now forgotten, edition of one of his books. Nor was I asked. Our relatively few interactions consisted mainly of Thomas talking and me listening. Which was fine with me. He had, after all, a lot to say. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thomas was a tremendously talented writer. I was, coincidentally, looking through <i>Requiem </i>just last week and was struck by how well it holds up. The book is episodic, and each story has a discernible beginning, middle, and end, punctuated with a blend of self-deprecating humor and the reporting of often quite grisly information. But what comes through most from that book is the author's clear dedication to getting his story out. It's an enthralling read. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A couple of years after I started teaching at MSU, Thomas quit </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">adjuncting. According to what I was told by mutual students of ours that he was still in touch with, Thomas had begun splitting</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> his time between Livingston and a house that he owned in Ayvalık, on the Turkish Aegean coast. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I thought it was a pity that Thomas wasn't able to do more at MSU. The fact that someone like him, raised in a rather remote part of the country, would spend his adult life traveling the world seemed really inspirational to me. And, it was clear that his students--many of whom came from locales that were similarly small and off the beaten track--really responded to this part of his story as well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While the mountains surrounding this stretch of Montana are beautiful, they can also hem people in. The first student who ever came to my office hours, a young woman who was one of the stars among our undergrads at the time, told me that, after graduation, her dream was to teach history in the very same central Montana high school where she had studied. "It's so beautiful here," she gushed. "Why would anyone want to go anywhere else?" </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At that time, I was still too stupid and inexperienced to come up with a rejoinder that seemed effective. Instead, I mumbled something about there being nice places to live all over the world. I don't think my words had much of an impact. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But I did start to think about this conversation, and the example of Thomas Goltz, when talking to my students from that point forward. I would point to Thomas as a model of sorts, </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">and often brought him up when conferring with my students about their plans after college. About 25 of these MSU grads have since gone on to live and work abroad. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thomas Goltz devoted most of his adult life to exploring the world and explaining what he had learned to others. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that, I think, is a sign of a life well lived. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Purchase your copy of <i><span style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: </a></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X" target="_blank">Nâzım</a></i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X" target="_blank"><i> Hikmet and his Generation</i> here.</a> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;">***</span><br /><span class="st"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: black; font-family: georgia;">comme </i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><i>toujours</i>, in the </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia;">. </span></span></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-86142372218250805192023-06-17T07:53:00.001-06:002023-06-17T07:54:28.295-06:00Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 11<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, June 17, 2023</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On this date in 1951, a Turkish poet named Nâzım Hikmet awoke before dawn, crept out of his house in Istanbul, and boarded a motorboat piloted by his brother-in-law. Their destination? The Eastern bloc. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxdl0BpDEBXBzbak0DhtasLl-1P1pVpRZT0xg2RXfG5nKeJqve6lXryrXej-nGo13pzfUEQFeYl46TepQ5ywJiQEp-iPJrxpe5dCBrhGtZyigGG6la8yxBCrzz4uhbvUg-kKLe8MVdEd8-ga0QaM-H11GpvzUyuGDK5qWdA6rlMMylMlBa2CHAVpChw/s414/Picture1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="414" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxdl0BpDEBXBzbak0DhtasLl-1P1pVpRZT0xg2RXfG5nKeJqve6lXryrXej-nGo13pzfUEQFeYl46TepQ5ywJiQEp-iPJrxpe5dCBrhGtZyigGG6la8yxBCrzz4uhbvUg-kKLe8MVdEd8-ga0QaM-H11GpvzUyuGDK5qWdA6rlMMylMlBa2CHAVpChw/w450-h328/Picture1.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Chris-Craft boat of the sort </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nâzım Hikmet<br />used to escape Turkey in 1951</span><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The two brothers-in-law rode their boat up the Bosphorous, the turquoise saltwater strait which divides Turkey, and Istanbul, into “European” and “Asian” sections, before heading out into the Black Sea. Their original idea had been to get Nâzım to Bulgaria, and from there the USSR. En route, however, the brothers-in-law spotted a Romanian cargo ship, the </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Plekhanov. </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Boarding this should would, for Nâzım, be just as good as traveling all the way into Bulgarian territorial waters. Either way, they figured, Nâzım would be safely deposited behind the Iron Curtain. Nâzım boarded the </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Plekhanov, </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">and his brother-in-law turned around and piloted the boat back to Istanbul. They would never see each other again.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Below you'll find some excerpts from Chapter 11 of my new book, <i>Red Star over the Black Sea: Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation. </i>These pages relate what Nâzım was doing between the day of his escape from Turkey and his arrival in Moscow twelve days later. They're redacted and without footnotes, though. If you want the real deal, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" target="_blank">you'll have to buy the book</a>. </span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 278"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro; font-size: 22pt;">11</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 600;">In Stalin’s USSR</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Some twelve days after setting out one early morning from his home on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, Nâzım had arrived in the Soviet Union by plane from Bucharest. It was June 29, 1951. He had come home once again to Moscow, the city of his youth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It must have seemed like a good sign. Nâzım had been met at Moscow’s Vnukovskii aerodrome by a flurry of representatives from various Soviet cultural institutions. The most important of these was the Soviet Writers’ Union, the organization which had officially invited Nâzım to the USSR in the aftermath of his flight from Turkey. The Moscow dailies all wrote extensively about Nâzım’s arrival, an event that was likewise broadcast throughout the official medias of the Eastern Bloc.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This was, after all, an important day for freedom.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In a warm editorial welcoming Nâzım to the Soviet Union, <span style="font-style: italic;">Literaturnaia Gazeta </span>hailed the exiled poet as a “hero” and dedicated “fighter for peace.” Appropriately, the paper greeted Nâzım with both a poem and a toast.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITnUCkECPtnvqHFD7s1EToDqBn-rwUuQ0SCVHQWnisUPi8EkX0gMG0Q_WUj_5wBYGlDwR-bkN05XjvQsGIxU5zj-X55L2mgj3wXyRUe9UzG2TDa_2Mk5TVsjp6VWGthTz7wcgYmuDPWbQPAYds2FYYaSvZBAfdN04Pi0opeX3Cbx4gur35Ovhkg1AOw/s1117/Fig.%2022%20All%20smiles%20for%20now-%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%20arriving%20in%20Moscow.%20June%2029,%201951%20p.%20411%20.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1117" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITnUCkECPtnvqHFD7s1EToDqBn-rwUuQ0SCVHQWnisUPi8EkX0gMG0Q_WUj_5wBYGlDwR-bkN05XjvQsGIxU5zj-X55L2mgj3wXyRUe9UzG2TDa_2Mk5TVsjp6VWGthTz7wcgYmuDPWbQPAYds2FYYaSvZBAfdN04Pi0opeX3Cbx4gur35Ovhkg1AOw/w477-h350/Fig.%2022%20All%20smiles%20for%20now-%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%20arriving%20in%20Moscow.%20June%2029,%201951%20p.%20411%20.png" width="477" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım Hikmet! Our hearts burned with such bitter pain in the days when, together with all progressive humanity, we fought for the release from prison of the great son of the Turkish nation! How great was our joy when the walls of the prisons fell down!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was time for Nâzım to sing for his supper. His public statements in Moscow during these early days were filled with denunciations of the Turkish and American govern- ments, and especially Ankara’s recent decision to become directly involved in the Korean War. In a letter that he published in <span style="font-style: italic;">Literaturnaia Gazeta </span>shortly after his arrival in Moscow, Nâzım listed the calamities visited upon his homeland by US sol- diers. “On the streets of Istanbul,” Nâzım reported, “drunken officers stroll about, creating scandals. The Turkish people hate the American imperialists because they know that, at [the Americans’] command, Turkish fascists are shipping off Turkish youth to a likely death in Korea.”</span></span></p></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nevertheless, noted Nâzım, there was still hope for humanity: Joseph Stalin. In an editorial otherwise devoted to castigating the American military presence in Turkey, Nâzım also found a way to laud the greatness of the Soviet leader. The poet-communist </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">conjured an oleaginous image juxtaposing his wife, mother, and a certain </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Georgian dictator:</span></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 279"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">During my most difficult days and hours in prison I never lost heart or certainty in my victory. Before me was the image (<span style="font-style: italic;">obraz</span>) of Comrade Stalin. I always had a photograph of Comrade Stalin with me, which I faithfully saved alongside photographs of my mother and wife.</span></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While Nâzım’s biographers tend to assume that his communist credentials in Moscow were “almost impeccable” in 1951, this was far from being the case. Practically no one in the Soviet Union, least of all a Turkish poet with an allegedly Trotskyite past, had an unimpeachable background at this time. While İsmail Bilen may have liked Nâzım, there was still a lot of unflattering material in the poet’s party file. Moreover, being close to İsmail Bilen was hardly a guarantee that one could evade unjustified arrest and imprisonment—as Salih Hacıoğlu and others could attest. Although Nâzım was surely aware that his checkered past had been recorded in his party paperwork, he may not have understood the extent to which his reputation had been savaged in the 1930s.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 280"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Twelve Days in Romania</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım left Istanbul in the early morning of June 17. By the end of the day, he had made it to Constanța, Romania. He did not, however, fly out of Bucharest until June 29. So, what was Nâzım doing during the course of these twelve days in Romania?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">According to Zekeriya Sertel, who often met up with Nâzım in the 1950s, Nâzım was greeted in Constanța by a collection of writers, and then was personally ferried by car to Bucharest by Ana Pauker, Romania’s Foreign Minister. Arriving in the capital on June 19, Nâzım was installed at a Central Committee guesthouse located in a leafy neighborhood on A. A. Zhdanov Street, 32. Nâzım’s hosts in Bucharest brought him some new clothes, as he had still been wearing what had been on his back when he had left Istanbul.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">His handlers in the Romanian capital kept him busy. On his first evening in Bucharest Nâzım was taken out to attend a performance of the ballet <span style="font-style: italic;">The Red Poppy</span>, which he recalled having seen years earlier during his student days in Moscow. On June 20, a Wednesday, Nâzım was given a medical checkup, later visiting public exhibitions on Stalin and Romanian folkloric art. In the afternoon, he went to the offices of the Romanian branch of the World Peace Council, where he met with the Romanian media. As would be the case with nearly all of his public statements during this time in Bucharest, Nâzım said nothing about the actual reason why he had fled Turkey, preferring instead to focus upon the broader terms of Cold War politics.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Rather than tell his own story and underscore the inhumanity of conscripting a 49-year-old in weakened health, Nâzım criticized Ankara’s developing relationship with the United States, declaring that Turkey had become “an American colony” under Menderes. The Turkish government, Nâzım charged, had transformed “the sons of Turkey into the murderers of the Korean people.” The next day, he visited Radio Bucharest, where Nâzım made comments “almost exactly like” those from the day before at the WPC.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım was making an audition of sorts to Soviet, Romanian, and other Eastern Bloc governments. He was demonstrating, in these early days, his potential value as a propagandizer, and he had ambitious plans about the role he could play in USSR- based TKP activities. In a report to Moscow from this time, party officials in Bucharest noted that Nâzım planned on asking the Communist Party of the USSR “to provide assistance for the strengthening” of the party. Nâzım, the report went on to say, was “constantly working on ideas about the need to reorganize the TKP and strengthen the moral support that it receives from the VKP (b) and the fraternal parties of the peoples’ republics.”</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9J61FuLjBRscx29wxW_p5zI1MhhZeL62UpJoZzPE8rsGwge_DHqgRA1n9NYvVcliVzyGf73zRT_D4uHIqV85KUn51NnDwRP0No4kUaQu0TIrlmTIYvwFYHgUdQ5L6vP_BOLqY7BLRrNCmu_uDnc2eqrlfDJz36biyZ0-2JOAekB3qrK8z3D_3796bQ/s1071/Fig.%2023%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%E2%80%99s%20arrival%20on%20front%20page%20of%20Scanteia,%20June%2021%20p.%20415.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1071" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9J61FuLjBRscx29wxW_p5zI1MhhZeL62UpJoZzPE8rsGwge_DHqgRA1n9NYvVcliVzyGf73zRT_D4uHIqV85KUn51NnDwRP0No4kUaQu0TIrlmTIYvwFYHgUdQ5L6vP_BOLqY7BLRrNCmu_uDnc2eqrlfDJz36biyZ0-2JOAekB3qrK8z3D_3796bQ/s320/Fig.%2023%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%E2%80%99s%20arrival%20on%20front%20page%20of%20Scanteia,%20June%2021%20p.%20415.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On June 20, three days after the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plekhanov </span>had plucked Nâzım out of the Black Sea, his arrival in Romania was announced internationally on Radio Bucharest. The next </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">day, the story was splashed across the front page of the Bucharest daily <span style="font-style: italic;">Scânteia</span>. Just below Nâzım’s large photo, which was featured prominently above the newspaper’s fold, was a handwritten message, in Turkish, from Nâzım to the Romanian people, again lauding Stalin:</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 281"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the struggle between life and death, and between peace and war, life and peace will emerge victorious. This is because there are masses of people who rise to the defense of peace and life. And these masses of hundreds of millions are the free people of the Soviet Union and the peoples’ republics. The hand that carries the flag of peace and life is Stalin’s.</span></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the Soviet press, meanwhile, nothing about Nâzım’s arrival in Romania appeared until June 22, two days after the announcement on Radio Bucharest. The tone of this coverage, moreover, was noticeably understated in comparison with that of <span style="font-style: italic;">Scânteia</span>. In <span style="font-style: italic;">Pravda</span>, the news of Nâzım’s escape was announced in a small item tucked away on page 3. The story was just a few paragraphs long and its headline was written in a noticeably smaller font than the two stories placed on either side of it.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtM7T8k4gveYvupe16gVqZcCAPXy-bg-GwUbbHrzs5r00MCGcADQFyrZwWa2fG-fQSsOvCw0P9Md7ca21sFi2r2OyX1DUsy3f3M3Lmx7uT-GEVSHiP69pG-C0_XGDjMmRdkds-BGYLSqL2Vh2SyhC8dujAWbYsvfynSU9d_a3KGf9a29GYkbywXGuMBQ/s1454/Fig.%2024%20Buried%20in%20the%20middle-%20the%20smaller%20print%20of%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%E2%80%99s%20page%203%20arrival%20in%20Pravda%20p.%20416.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1454" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtM7T8k4gveYvupe16gVqZcCAPXy-bg-GwUbbHrzs5r00MCGcADQFyrZwWa2fG-fQSsOvCw0P9Md7ca21sFi2r2OyX1DUsy3f3M3Lmx7uT-GEVSHiP69pG-C0_XGDjMmRdkds-BGYLSqL2Vh2SyhC8dujAWbYsvfynSU9d_a3KGf9a29GYkbywXGuMBQ/w479-h230/Fig.%2024%20Buried%20in%20the%20middle-%20the%20smaller%20print%20of%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%E2%80%99s%20page%203%20arrival%20in%20Pravda%20p.%20416.png" width="479" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Titled “Nâzım Hikmet is in Romania,” the article’s contents were taken entirely from public statements that Nâzım had made to the Romanian media. This would constitute the only comment that </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;"><span>Pravda </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">would make about Nâzım until June 27, the day after the Central Committee of the CPSU had made a decision on Nâzım’s status.</span></span><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 282"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On June 26, the Central Committee of the CPSU voted to admit Nâzım to the Soviet Union. The Deputy Chairman of the External Political Committee, Boris Ponomarev, sent a note to Stalin, Malenkov, Molotov, Beria, Mikoyan, Kaganovich, Bulganin, and Khrushchev regarding Nâzım’s bid to re-locate from Bucharest to Moscow. Noting that Alexander Fadeyev, the Chairman of the Soviet Writers’ Union, had “inquired with a request for permission to invite Nâzım Hikmet to the USSR as a guest” of the Writers’ Union, Ponomarev forwarded a letter that Nâzım had written to Stalin and the rest of the Central Committee. In this statement (<span style="font-style: italic;">zaiavlenie</span>), Nâzım explained how he had gotten to the Eastern Bloc and what he hoped to do next.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It is a remarkable document. According to Nâzım, the financing for his escape had come from the money that he had earned from his World Peace Council prize from the previous year. The Sertels, Nâzım claimed, had acted as go-betweens connecting Nâzım and the WPC. Nâzım stated that he had asked the WPC to give half of his peace prize money to Sabiha, and to deposit the other half in Nâzım’s name into a Swiss bank account. Sabiha, who was living in Paris at this time, was not able to travel back to Turkey due to fear of arrest, so Zekeriya, Nâzım wrote, had brought the cash from France to Istanbul. “In this way,” Nâzım claimed, “I had the money to organize the escape. <u>The comrades from the party had permitted me</u>,” Nâzım emphasized, “to organize my own escape” without the involvement of anyone else.</span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like the book? You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span><br /><span class="st"><span style="font-family: georgia;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, </span><i style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">come </i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>sempre</i>, in the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Also see: </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_7.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 5</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/05/saturday-may-20-2023-first-time-i.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 4</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 2</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction</span></a></p></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Nazim Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Birthdays of Nazim Hikmet</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">New Article Out: The Letters of Munevver Andac to Nazim Hikmet</span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazim </span><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></a></div></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-66999196547504726662023-05-20T12:40:00.009-06:002023-05-20T14:49:18.817-06:00Excerpts from Chapter 4, Red Star over the Black Sea: Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, May 20, 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The first time I visited Batumi, Georgia, I couldn't believe my eyes. Rather than the drab, post-Soviet settlement that I expected to find, I'd come across a subtropical-looking place filled with flowers, weird-looking insects, and pastel-colored buildings. That was back in 2009, when I undertook the first of two research trips (the second was in 2013) on behalf of what would become my first book, <i>Turks Across Empires. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IZhvjHysQlWG0BeAG6FEtL0r7UwRnP5ZfacRBnGRdXHp55iKEG3fhPFwWrDg7JAN3ZRlrkeOFikzUgp5i0RA0ltCGzZezeuPhfKTdpWGSbCwKKUxsMRl3k7IlnVraDGvUP8g0Bu0u4jYatu-GEL5RWYpqEIaXdrl6PUzL42IWOxcQ2xqbvuftPsLUw/s1600/CIMG0806.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IZhvjHysQlWG0BeAG6FEtL0r7UwRnP5ZfacRBnGRdXHp55iKEG3fhPFwWrDg7JAN3ZRlrkeOFikzUgp5i0RA0ltCGzZezeuPhfKTdpWGSbCwKKUxsMRl3k7IlnVraDGvUP8g0Bu0u4jYatu-GEL5RWYpqEIaXdrl6PUzL42IWOxcQ2xqbvuftPsLUw/s320/CIMG0806.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">During the course of writing my second book, <i>Red Star over the Black Sea, </i>I didn't go back to Batumi. I did, however, feel transported there somewhat by the writing in </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Vâlâ Nureddin's later account of his travels through Anatolia and the USSR with </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Vâlâ's description of their first days in Georgia, which had recently come under Bolshevik control, brought me back to the rocky beaches and very cool vibe that I associated with Batumi in particular. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Below you'll find a few of the sections from Chapter 4 of </span><i style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Red Star, </span></i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">which went on sale in the UK a couple of months ago. The book is set to go on sale in the US at the beginning of June. The photos are from</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Caucasus%20Journey" target="_blank"> a travelogue that I was keeping on this blog</a> in 2009<span>. </span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 108"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro; font-size: 23pt;">4</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro; font-size: 19pt; font-weight: 600;">First Soviet Steps</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Their boat pulled into the port in Batumi on a late September morning in 1921. Looking out from the ship’s deck on a clear day, the boys would have seen a lush, almost tropical landscape, with large, bright green mountains hemming the city in from behind. Officially, they were entering the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia. As far as Nâzım and Vâlâ were concerned, however, they had just set foot in the land of communism. Eight months after first encountering the Spartakists in İnebolu, Nâzım and Vâlâ were going to see what communism looked like first-hand.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF7hsR4Ohd6ULG0P3P0AD39XrQyDNRSZrd6gZmOovhkxfkIAyQRBk4SgVnKHHYGiGOXeU4gCpNdesNjiJ3RtRHkOqdsV6mSw_xjCz8DKPqManfGf_M_yRonwmLgJ0uAGz4t_I7HkSj4lOoBT2tmommKBAfuTWV5jy5DAzv7b242rCouIap9bHLAtLpA/s640/CIMG9316%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF7hsR4Ohd6ULG0P3P0AD39XrQyDNRSZrd6gZmOovhkxfkIAyQRBk4SgVnKHHYGiGOXeU4gCpNdesNjiJ3RtRHkOqdsV6mSw_xjCz8DKPqManfGf_M_yRonwmLgJ0uAGz4t_I7HkSj4lOoBT2tmommKBAfuTWV5jy5DAzv7b242rCouIap9bHLAtLpA/w370-h278/CIMG9316%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="370" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ’s memoirs emphasize how strange everything struck them that day. Everywhere they went, they encountered confusing new phenomena. At customs, for example, they were asked to describe their “social origins.” This concept was highly important in Bolshevik society, but totally foreign to Nâzım and Vâlâ. The term refers to one’s class background, i.e., whether one derives from “workers,” “peasants,” or “intellectuals.” Nâzım and Vâlâ were not used to seeing or describing themselves in such a manner.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ was asked the question first, and in response confessed that he didn’t understand what the officer wanted to know. The customs agent then told him to simply state his father’s profession.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Provincial governor,” he calmly replied.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />“Governor, what???”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />“He was the governor of Beirut,” added Vâlâ. “He’s deceased now.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Having made their way through the customs area, Nâzım and the late Beirut </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">governor’s son took their initial steps into Georgia.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Th</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">e</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">rst person who approached them was a Turkish guy.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Hey, are you Turkish?” asked the man, who was carrying a length of rope wound up in a spiral. “Welcome to Batumi. I’m Turkish, too.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım and Vâlâ were genuinely relieved to have found someone who spoke their language. But what did he want with them?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“You’re foreigners here,” continued the man. “You won’t find a place to stay on your own. I’ll carry your bags and can take you to a hotel.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The boys weren’t sure what to do. The thought occurred to them that their interlocutor might want money in exchange for his services. Nâzım and Vâlâ barely had enough for their own expenses, let alone hiring others to carry their bags for them. On the other hand, the two reasoned, this was a Turkish-speaker who could help them find a place to stay. Maybe it would be worthwhile to give him a little money in exchange for his assistance.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 109"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ wanted to hire the fellow, if only because he had claimed that he would find them a good, inexpensive hotel. Nâzım, however, responded by saying that he could only accept half of the man’s offer. “He can take us to the cheapest place to stay. But given that we’ve come to a communist country, let’s stop exploiting people. We won’t let him carry our bags.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“You’re right,” concurred Vâlâ. “From now on, let’s stop exploiting the proletariat.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Glancing back and forth at the boys, Nâzım and Vâlâ’s newfound comrade couldn’t help smiling. “Okay,” he wondered aloud to them, “but then how am I supposed to earn any money?”</span></p></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">From Batumi to Tbilisi</span></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 109"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Walking around Batumi felt like a dream that day. After dropping off their bags, Nâzım and Vâlâ decided to explore the town and get their first taste of communism. Wandering aimlessly among the palm trees and tropical plants which lined the big city park the boys had stumbled across, they quickly got lost.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6mAIzGFMaot4MFKXPWaakEINqiWoKNuk0juN6YSSo6on6BR0sQOMT84OY9nxxKkaBz4MUl8n3bRJdjKTS3P_myAJnCSsi-MKKBxnnWmAu1UPyPdS1z9BzBDEBl2Ltxw8NS32b_4bbHDAMWW3uPg8Ul9wOV6ItKvUr964TSzzW01F5HG2ZRyHCHd3FQ/s800/CIMG9338%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6mAIzGFMaot4MFKXPWaakEINqiWoKNuk0juN6YSSo6on6BR0sQOMT84OY9nxxKkaBz4MUl8n3bRJdjKTS3P_myAJnCSsi-MKKBxnnWmAu1UPyPdS1z9BzBDEBl2Ltxw8NS32b_4bbHDAMWW3uPg8Ul9wOV6ItKvUr964TSzzW01F5HG2ZRyHCHd3FQ/s320/CIMG9338%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Having been prepared to find a revolutionary republic in the throes of upheaval, the boys were stunned by how ordinary everything appeared. For example, as they were walking Nâzım and Vâlâ saw a beautiful little church—but hadn’t the Spartakists told them that religion had been outlawed? And what about that couple over there, strolling hand in hand, with a baby in tow? Didn’t Sadık Ahi say that the traditional family patriarchy had come to an end under communism?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“That’s what he said,” confirmed Nâzım.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But it sure didn’t look that way, at least insofar as Nâzım and Vâlâ could tell. In fact, everywhere the boys turned, they saw something that seemed relaxed, comfortable, and . . . quite normal. Having arrived in Georgia thinking of their surroundings mainly in political and ideological terms, this juxtaposition of everyday life alongside what Nâzım and Vâlâ had been told about communism was jarring.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh19HOKMr2fb05wgv9uAsYFV1XhDwXJvKczpgPLVg1OKbJlb0m2QuNV9NktWZJNCiRNjmeuCJo2OAVy1vtLX8Wl-vlt6uaViUOYSmm23WCam7TM57OA-vrLNy9gbC4nNTwYhYqfAf7QwRrhqedQyknC5xULkqzhjzs2Lxs4AoWH8FBXQ2LuTCfLeP9Q/s1024/CIMG9341.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh19HOKMr2fb05wgv9uAsYFV1XhDwXJvKczpgPLVg1OKbJlb0m2QuNV9NktWZJNCiRNjmeuCJo2OAVy1vtLX8Wl-vlt6uaViUOYSmm23WCam7TM57OA-vrLNy9gbC4nNTwYhYqfAf7QwRrhqedQyknC5xULkqzhjzs2Lxs4AoWH8FBXQ2LuTCfLeP9Q/s320/CIMG9341.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">From an old lady in the park, they bought some little black grapes wrapped in paper cartons. Carrying their snacks, Nâzım and Vâlâ walked along the rocky shoreline for a while before stumbling across something that definitely did feel out of the ordinary: a nude beach. Astonished by their surroundings as they ran a gauntlet of naked flesh, the two young friends glanced back at one another in wonder. “Women and girls,” recounted Vâlâ breathlessly almost forty years later, “were walking around with their breasts and every organ exposed.”</span><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 110"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In <span style="font-style: italic;">Life’s Good, Brother</span>, Nâzım described something similar in presenting the experiences of his fictional hero, Ahmet:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JphCdWGCCowvcHz15SQmEODQ5Z-RZnysft74A-uIhEmUovcKaEro3fb1R5U1iPDEdG8jLBJtTiHfQC41dg3EDpyWXlhuc21UMeFwytemUWAidm1vZlJ778-Q9FzsQ4Mm0ejSOz_jFFmZKZLNsyOCZrudpFYDds5ycg4ap18vSVrOXCagPHEPDLpDZQ/s1600/CIMG0761.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JphCdWGCCowvcHz15SQmEODQ5Z-RZnysft74A-uIhEmUovcKaEro3fb1R5U1iPDEdG8jLBJtTiHfQC41dg3EDpyWXlhuc21UMeFwytemUWAidm1vZlJ778-Q9FzsQ4Mm0ejSOz_jFFmZKZLNsyOCZrudpFYDds5ycg4ap18vSVrOXCagPHEPDLpDZQ/s320/CIMG0761.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In 1922, midsummer, men and women lay side by side on the Batumi beach, face down or on their backs—all completely naked. I mean, no bathing suits or anything, just stark naked.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Are we in a dream?” Vâlâ remembered asking himself. Or was this really communism?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Despite their rather positive first impressions of Batumi, the boys were concerned about money. After paying for their hotel room for the night, they had a total of twenty-six liras remaining. Nâzım and Vâlâ therefore decided that it would be best to continue traveling as soon as possible to Tbilisi, where they hoped to find Muhittin Bey and Nüzhet. The easiest way to get there was by train, but the boys had been warned that it might be difficult to obtain tickets. One of the desk clerks at their hotel had told them that, in order to secure a place in line, they would need to arrive at the station hours ahead of time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-I93LoFwQho_MZ8KXhzt3mT20UZfBhK__Q6HbCVDpDKCcjucHq_sCZcdYwt19zNfCkcB3xRYmgDE8Bplsfq4ZQTtwc8CZ0cgN9N8XwoJUzP1zrn-4R3KHEgYCelz2zpTpVK-QXPWiaNEq-UygcPBodH1kNvoHhv1YglL3ofhV0Yffs7ttqLjvammsw/s640/CIMG9328%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="397" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-I93LoFwQho_MZ8KXhzt3mT20UZfBhK__Q6HbCVDpDKCcjucHq_sCZcdYwt19zNfCkcB3xRYmgDE8Bplsfq4ZQTtwc8CZ0cgN9N8XwoJUzP1zrn-4R3KHEgYCelz2zpTpVK-QXPWiaNEq-UygcPBodH1kNvoHhv1YglL3ofhV0Yffs7ttqLjvammsw/s320/CIMG9328%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="199" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He was right. When the boys showed up at the train station the next morning, they found a line “more than a kilometer long,” stretching far beyond the large building’s doors. Slowly, and by subtly cutting in front of people “in the Turkish style,” Nâzım and Vâlâ made it to the ticket window some eight hours later. The bad news, however, was that the train they wanted was sold out. They would have to come back the next day.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At this point, Vâlâ lost his temper. He wrote later that he could not remember “having ever been so angry in my life, kicking and stomping my feet, my fists clenched.” This time, however, it was Nâzım who kept his cool. According to Vâlâ’s later reminis- cences, Nâzım managed to calm Vâlâ down, urging his friend to focus on the matter at hand. In order to be sure about getting tickets the next day, the two quickly decided to spend the night in the station sleeping in front of the sales window. The following morning, they were the first in line, and later that day they boarded a train for Tbilisi.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Traveling day and night, the boys took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the crowded train, which ambled past mountain peaks of more than 9,000 feet. Some of Nâzım and Vâlâ’s fellow passengers shared food and wine with them, while others passed the time singing songs. Years later, Vâlâ would recall the large number of attractive women on board. He tried to listen in on their conversations, observing that it sounded as if they were “speaking with letters that came right from their throats.” The train finally pulled into Tbilisi the next morning.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While they were still in Batumi, Nâzım and Vâlâ had met a few Turks who claimed to know Muhittin Bey. Everybody had said the same thing: look for him at the Orient Hotel. Disembarking at Tbilisi’s main train station, Nâzım and Vâlâ went straight to the Orient. The hotel was easy to find, as it was an imposing building located right in the heart of the city center. The boys, Vâlâ later recalled, felt a bit uncomfortable walking into such a fancy place in their grimy, travel-worn clothes, so they took a minute to straighten their hair and clean up their faces before entering.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 111"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Parlez-vous Français?” ventured Vâlâ, addressing the receptionist. Receiving a response in the affirmative, Vâlâ quickly explained that he and Nâzım were looking for Muhittin Bey.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Muhittin Bey has left the hotel,” came the abrupt reply. The words tumbled down upon Nâzım and Vâlâ like a collapsing wall. Their worst fears had been realized. From further questioning, the boys apprehended that Muhittin Bey had recently departed for Moscow, and that Nüzhet had gone with him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Just as it had begun to appear that all hope had been lost, the receptionist added that Muhittin Bey had not left permanently, and that his wife and mother were still staying at the Orient. This was good news. Vâlâ and Nâzım begged for the ladies to be called in their room. Agreeing to the request, the receptionist reported that they were in. While they had never met Vâlâ before, the women knew Nâzım and invited the boys to come up and visit them in their rooms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Upstairs, the women treated Nâzım and Vâlâ to breakfast and a round of questions. Why had they come to Tbilisi? How much money did they have? Where were they staying? After hearing the boys’ answers, it became clear to the women that their guests were in need of assistance. Muhittin Bey’s wife, Melâhat Hanım, offered to let Nâzım and Vâlâ stay with them. The women would share the bedroom, and Nâzım and Vâlâ could sleep on the couch and armchair in the sitting room.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The problem with this arrangement was that the hotel had a standing rule against non-paying visitors staying in guests’ rooms beyond midnight. Sure enough, just before twelve o’clock there was a knock at the door of the suite. The boys were told that they would have to go. With their bags still at the left-luggage room of the train station, Nâzım and Vâlâ walked out into the nearly empty streets without any idea of what to do or where to go.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They approached a few people on the street and tried, in various languages, to ask about cheap hotels in the area. No one understood them. Eventually, Nâzım and Vâlâ noticed that one fellow had been following them ever since they had left the Orient. Half-suspecting he was a plain-clothes policeman, they decided to ask him if he knew of a decent place to stay. It turned out that he did, directing Nâzım and Vâlâ to a clean, but quite expensive, inn. By the time they had paid for their room, Nâzım and Vâlâ had just nine liras left. But at least they had a bed for the night.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 112"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After breakfast the following morning, the boys were at a loss for what to do. They wandered the streets for a while, walking underneath the graceful wrought-iron balconies typical of the architecture of the southern Caucasus. Eventually, Nâzım and Vâlâ headed over to the Orient to see if Melâhat Hanım could do anything about their plight.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_wqfkrLlwY7XuMtW47tJvivPvdHGyweda44sxSVPsgOkXQ1kJeelbMHWQ1z2OrwxtW1GEeoj2AIe_c-MLOhjL4Wi4x54ddi-hyjXiqpMWoEdY_IudZlBjwFQTJN0Gvni0b7bxStLBxG_8NaOihFjh1xmGoQjw7xT7djU1qP1WjjnpvY-udXSgrk1Aw/s1600/CIMG9577.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_wqfkrLlwY7XuMtW47tJvivPvdHGyweda44sxSVPsgOkXQ1kJeelbMHWQ1z2OrwxtW1GEeoj2AIe_c-MLOhjL4Wi4x54ddi-hyjXiqpMWoEdY_IudZlBjwFQTJN0Gvni0b7bxStLBxG_8NaOihFjh1xmGoQjw7xT7djU1qP1WjjnpvY-udXSgrk1Aw/s320/CIMG9577.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As the boys entered the Orient’s ornate foyer, the receptionist hurried up to them with unexpected news. He told Nâzım and Vâlâ that Polikarp “Budu” Mdivani, one of the most important politicians in Georgia, wanted to see them immediately. Vâlâ remembered the name, as Spartakist Vehbi had mentioned it to him back when the two had met up at the Kuyulu Café in Ankara. Vehbi, Vâlâ recalled, had told him that if he ever found himself stranded in Tbilisi, he should get in touch with Mdivani—and now Mdivani was making contact with them! The boys’ luck appeared to be changing.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The receptionist led Nâzım and Vâlâ to Mdivani’s living quarters, which were located about two hundred yards down the street from the hotel. The boys went upstairs, where they were ushered into a large room. Mdivani entered shortly after they did. He told Nâzım and Vâlâ that he knew who they were and why they were in Tbilisi. This must have come as news to Nâzım and Vâlâ, who themselves had only the vaguest notion of what they were doing in Georgia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At this moment, Vâlâ came close to ruining their unexpected good fortune by needlessly launching into an elaborate lie. The maneuver was something that Spartakist Vehbi had suggested he try back when they were at the Kuyulu. Following Vehbi’s advice, Vâlâ “reminded” the Georgian politician that they had once met at Muhittin Bey’s house in Ankara. “That day,” began Vâlâ, “Sadık Ahi Bey was there, Servet Bey was there, Vehbi Bey was there...”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ’s clumsy trick, however, was quickly shot down by Mdivani, who interrupted him by saying: “I have never seen either of you before in my life. Yes, I did in fact go frequently to Muhittin Bey’s house. I know Sadık, Servet, and Vehbi. But if I were to see either of you passing in the street, I wouldn’t recognize you.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım rescued the moment, however, by changing the subject. Discreetly shifting away from the failed ruse, Nâzım explained to Mdivani that he and Vâlâ were poets who had come to Tbilisi because they were curious about the revolution. They did not know anyone in town, and had been unable to find Muhittin Bey, their only contact. They were willing to work hard, explained Nâzım, to overcome their difficulties.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“I know,” responded Mdivani cryptically. “That’s what everyone has told me. But my train is about to depart—I’m on my way to Moscow. When I get back, our mutual friend Muhittin Bey will have already returned. We’ll look after you.” With these words, Mdivani escorted Nâzım and Vâlâ back to the Orient, scene of their previous eviction. Mdivani explained to the hotel manager that the two young travelers would be staying free of charge in a room reserved for guests of the Georgian government. Instructions were issued to supply Nâzım and Vâlâ with vouchers in order to dine without cost at the hotel restaurant.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 113"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After checking in to their new abode, Nâzım and Vâlâ returned to the train station and retrieved their bags. The boys took a taxi back to the Orient with their things, draining still more of their remaining funds. But who needed money now? Perhaps Sadık Ahi and Ziya Hilmi had been right all along. As long as you knew the right people, maybe you really didn’t need money under communism, after all.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 117"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A Search for Embeddedness</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When Şevket Süreyya had first arrived in Azerbaijan in 1919, he had felt exhilarated. Here he had the chance, thought Şevket, to provide a genuine service to the community, as well as for the Turkic world more generally. In Baku, however, he had grown to feel only disdain for the other Turks he had seen, indolent types who wasted their time hanging out at the Çanakkale coffeehouse. Surrounded by the sea breeze, and the smacking of pips and rolling of dice from the establishment’s much-used backgammon boards, Şevket Süreyya had come to the conclusion that most of those other teachers had somehow lost their way.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He vowed to be different. Early on in Baku, Şevket had visited the offices of the Azeri Ministry of Education and requested to be appointed to a school far from the capital. They gave him a position in Nuha, today’s Şeki, in the far northwest of the country. Arriving in Nuha with the mountains looming far above him, Şevket Süreyya had finally made it to the real Turan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was a stretch, of course. Technically speaking, “Turan” was usually thought of in terms of Central Asia, as Şevket Süreyya well knew. But to the newly-arrived Turkish teacher from Edirne, Azerbaijan represented reclaimed Turkic land, territory that had been taken back from the Russians. Just as Nâzım and Vâlâ had initially searched for an idealized communism in Batumi, Şevket Süreyya had, in those early days under the nationalist Müsavat government, thought of Azerbaijan mainly in ideological terms as a pan-Turkic entity. Yet, as had also been the case with Nâzım and Vâlâ on their first day in Georgia, the reality of life in Turan would ultimately prove quite disorienting to Şevket.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 118"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This time of Şevket Süreyya’s life was particularly intense with feeling. Working in Nuha as the local teacher, he had begun a secret love affair with a woman named Sitare. Şevket had also become a soldier again, commanding a group of men in fighting that had broken out between Muslims and Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a veteran of World War I, Şevket Süreyya was a valued presence. But even as he was living out what once had been his pan-Turkist fantasy—leading his brother “Turks” into battle against their enemies—Şevket Süreyya was growing increasingly disillusioned with his life in Azerbaijan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">His pan-Turkism died in Turan. Whereas young men like Şevket had, in the years prior to and during World War I, eagerly bought into the idea that all “Turks” from the Balkans to Central Asia were part of one nation, the reality of living in Azerbaijan had disabused him of this notion. In what was supposedly part of the greater “Turan” of his youthful dreams, Şevket came to the conclusion that the people around him cared nothing for the pan-Turkic identity to which he had ascribed so much importance. Instead, the Azeris that Şevket Süreyya had met usually viewed themselves and others in much more parochial terms, specifically as either Sunni or Shiite Muslims. The idea of somehow tying together the various Turkic peoples of the former Ottoman and Russian empires into a single community began to strike him as a preposterous fantasy. As Şevket Süreyya Aydemir would later record in his memoirs, this realization brought upon a period of philosophical re-evaluation and personal uproar (<span style="font-style: italic;">hengâme</span>).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Returning to Nuha from the fighting, Şevket Süreyya received the news that Baku had fallen to Bolshevik forces. It was April 1920, and the days of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic were numbered. By the end of the month, the nationalist government would be thoroughly routed and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic erected in its place. The new government was under the political domination of Moscow, with which Azerbaijan would formally be politically reunited when the Soviet Union was created in 1922.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One day, not long after getting back to Nuha, Şevket Süreyya was waiting for Sitare to visit him when he heard footsteps approaching. Turning around in the expectation of greeting his lover at the door, Şevket instead found himself face-to-face with a young man. The intruder had tousled hair and was completely covered with the dirt and grime of the battlefield. He carried a gun and stood staring at Şevket Süreyya with a mocking expression. Throwing his filthy cloak down onto the carpet in front of him, the man looked up at Şevket and announced, “I’m going to stay here, too.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Tongue-tied, and perhaps trying to make some kind of connection with this strange new presence, Şevket Süreyya asked him: “Were you in the war as well?” The intruder responded by saying “I was a fisherman in Astrakhan. Then I got drafted. They sent me to the German front. I joined the party once the revolution broke out.” From that point forward, Şevket Süreyya took to calling the man “the Astrakhan Fisherman.”</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 119"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Astrakhan Fisherman and his colleagues were the first communist unit to make their way to Nuha, over which they quickly went about establishing administrative control. Posters were hung demanding that the city’s families, businesses, and inns turn over their valuables. By the end of the day, the town’s new rulers had confiscated a pile of expensive carpets alongside gold and silver objects and coins, all of which lay stacked together in front of the Bolsheviks’ new headquarters in town. Those who were found to have hidden their possessions from the Astrakhan Fisherman’s gang were put on trial as speculators or spies.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What Şevket Süreyya was witnessing first-hand in Nuha was part of a larger process of Bolshevization that took place more generally in Azerbaijan in the spring and summer of 1920. The Bolsheviks saw the southern Caucasus as crucial to exporting their revolution to the Muslim populations of Asia and Africa. Bordering Turkey and Iran, Azerbaijan was emerging as Moscow’s window on the Middle East.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">According to paperwork that Şevket would fill out in Moscow in 1922, he had formally joined the TKP in Azerbaijan on December 19, 1920. These forms also indicate that Şevket had served as a member of the district committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party (or “AKP”) in Nuha. This would have made him a colleague of the Astrakhan Fisherman, rather than his antagonist. Yet Şevket soon left town all the same, making his way to Batumi, which he reached in September 1921. The former pan-Turkist, disillusioned by the lack of “unity” he had seen in Azerbaijan, was gradually shifting his gaze from one ideal to another.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Şevket Süreyya’s newfound allegiance to communism did not, moreover, constitute the only way in which he was taking on new commitments at this time. Having left Sitare behind in Nuha, Şevket decided that it was time to get married. Shortly after arriving in Batumi, he heard about a young woman named Leman, whose family had recently arrived in the region as refugees from İzmir. The two were quickly betrothed. At the time of their wedding, Şevket Süreyya was twenty-three years old and Leman fifteen or sixteen. As Şevket would note in his account from many years later, upon arriving in Batumi “I married the first Turkish girl I came across.”</span></p><div class="column"><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like the book? You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">***</span></span><br /><span class="st"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, </span></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: black; font-family: georgia;">come </i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><i>sempre</i>, in the </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">. </span></span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_7.html" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 5</a></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 2</a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction</span></a></span></p></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Nazim Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Birthdays of Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">New Article Out: The Letters of Munevver Andac to Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazim </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-36657730683850477212023-05-19T07:00:00.010-06:002023-08-09T05:59:37.500-06:00The Turkish Elections & the Origins of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Friday, May 19, 2023</span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, the results of the first round of balloting are in, and it's not looking good for the opposition. </span></p><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I can't say I'm surprised. While the economy in Turkey has been terrible, this election was largely a referendum on President Tayyip Erdoğan. In a country that is broadly divided regarding their opinions of </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Erdoğan, people aren't going to turn their backs on him just for the hell of it. They needed a good reason to vote differently this time. </span></p><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: -webkit-standard;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_v0qpvd2SvsECZ0ouUBo6RN9WUqz9a9g8OISjes2dkVgbzlBAu3uRdvI8uK0bbIlyytAHOxl5mO3S-eixJyhC-FBGZuCutQvNQJ-3HrfKJ3be9eft6Ri4Ef5T4cHXSvwIsncCRl6lGeCKCNQ5zERDKEzi-hF9tU9tVtvK5hsvBljniZwVEH6fwSv0WA/s1440/78ac72e5-f5ab-4ba1-a1ca-50b091d274c2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_v0qpvd2SvsECZ0ouUBo6RN9WUqz9a9g8OISjes2dkVgbzlBAu3uRdvI8uK0bbIlyytAHOxl5mO3S-eixJyhC-FBGZuCutQvNQJ-3HrfKJ3be9eft6Ri4Ef5T4cHXSvwIsncCRl6lGeCKCNQ5zERDKEzi-hF9tU9tVtvK5hsvBljniZwVEH6fwSv0WA/w467-h263/78ac72e5-f5ab-4ba1-a1ca-50b091d274c2.jpg" width="467" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Four-time electoral loser Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu <br />once again faces off against 21-year <br />incumbent Tayyip Erdoğan</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What they got instead was Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a decent man who in the first round of the campaign made real efforts to appeal to people's better instincts, as opposed to exploiting their resentments in the style of his opponent. </span></p><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the resentments that many in Turkey have long held against the Republican People's Party (CHP) are real enough that, 100 years after the founding of the Turkish Republic, roughly half the </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">country <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/opinion/turkey-election-erdogan.html" target="_blank">cannot bring itself </a>to vote for Atatürk's party.</span></p><a name='more'></a><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"></p><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This would all be quite disadvantageous for anyone running against Erdo</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ğ</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">an, but choosing </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Kılıçdaroğlu as the united opposition candidate still probably wasn't the greatest idea. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">As CHP party leader he has now led his party to middling results in five straight parliamentary elections, with the CHP always garnering between 20 and 26% in these contests. Running as the presidential candidate representing an "alliance" ticket he did somewhat better, but Kılıçdaroğlu still has too much ground to make up in too little time.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ro" dir="ltr">Turkish opposition parties choose 3-time general election loser Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as their unified candidate. <br><br>I guess Neil Kinnock was unavailable. <a href="https://t.co/ibDSKMFTdr">https://t.co/ibDSKMFTdr</a></p>— Jim Meyer (@JamesHMeyer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesHMeyer/status/1632921066589892608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</span></p></span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And what has been Kılıçdaroğlu's answer to his rather anemic first round electoral performance on Sunday? <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/kick-all-refugees-out-turkey-kemal-kilicdaroglu-recep-tayyip-erdogan-election/" target="_blank">Declaring that he'll kick every last Syrian refugee out of Turkey</a>. Well, so much for attempting to appeal to voters' better instincts. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p></p><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAsVhoYLwvCwPyWkuOH7RiDyI0V0IW3RLjOApIqWTfNOqwxurPOkyWRHSNZkkIz_C5tvwoBY5qTTtC68KOwuqDfhbV8R_zKzPVu-N5N1_4ojJ6Uxv7cqojCoR5reyXshyhPF6bwW1hWe4_rdrPxKDg1qT3lX5Slvos8vWFikLAzRCti8lkomhdmWLcA/s1162/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-18%20at%2012.44.52%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1162" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAsVhoYLwvCwPyWkuOH7RiDyI0V0IW3RLjOApIqWTfNOqwxurPOkyWRHSNZkkIz_C5tvwoBY5qTTtC68KOwuqDfhbV8R_zKzPVu-N5N1_4ojJ6Uxv7cqojCoR5reyXshyhPF6bwW1hWe4_rdrPxKDg1qT3lX5Slvos8vWFikLAzRCti8lkomhdmWLcA/w609-h428/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-18%20at%2012.44.52%20PM.png" width="609" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With Turkey now heading toward a second round of presidential balloting on May 28, it seems pretty much like a foregone conclusion that Erdoğan, who received just under the 50% necessary to win, will be re-elected as president. He only needs to pick up 0.51% of the vote. </span></p><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"></p><p><span face="-webkit-standard" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p><b>The Roots of Tayyip Erdoğan</b></p><p>The race between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu has repeatedly been cast as a stark choice between opposites. Tayyip Erdo<span lang="TR">ğan </span>is rightly criticized for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/10/erdogan-liberal-democracy-election-autocrat/" style="color: #954f72;">increasingly authoritarian nature</a> of Turkish politics, while Kemal <span lang="TR">Kılıçdaroğlu </span>is viewed as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65483654" style="color: #954f72;">a force for returning democracy to Turkey</a>. </p></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span lang="TR">Yet it is worth remembering that Mr. </span>Erdo<span lang="TR">ğan </span><span lang="TR"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3701606.stm" style="color: #954f72;">was himself initially celebrated as a reform figure</a> when he first came to power in 2002. Less than a year after 9/11 and the beginning of the international war on Islamic terrorism, Turkey had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/28/opinion/a-turkish-success-story.html" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #954f72;">elected “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: #954f72;">an Islamic politician who favors democratic pluralism.”</span></a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">So what changed? How is it that this one-time champion of reform developed into an autocrat? For insights into Mr. </span>Erdo<span lang="TR">ğan’s</span><span lang="TR" style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">metamorphosis, a brief discussion of the career of one of his predecessors is instructive.<span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">On May 27, 1960, soldiers in Ankara arrested Adnan Menderes, the Prime Minister of Turkey. Born in 1899, Menderes had been a longtime member of the CHP, which had ruled Turkey since the country’s establishment in 1923. In 1946, Menderes and three of his CHP colleagues in parliament founded an opposition party, calling themselves the Democrats. While the Democrats were cheated out of winning that year, they would cruise to a commanding victory in 1950, earning an electoral majority that they would easily repeat in 1954 and 1957. Yet in May of 1960 his government was overthrown in a military takeover, the first in Turkey’s history. On September 17, 1961, Menderes was executed.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENzQSUXrJ97qqHujUKjQycR3axZNK88ea6iX0zILQBnuT0N050vg8STuHXGIaCij7iLfjatcoqcOWKL5ZqouXyg7ik7KL4syRKs7opQ4HnVEqk2StCDLOydVCe7jHgzpHtQ4GNZ9O8oZPqksVYZSvx-UDr30R_Jfsy809R0qMD_0Q0nTP_tMbwm60Zw/s602/main-qimg-b5e37bc44c9e178fca49dbb52a8616f3-lq.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="602" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENzQSUXrJ97qqHujUKjQycR3axZNK88ea6iX0zILQBnuT0N050vg8STuHXGIaCij7iLfjatcoqcOWKL5ZqouXyg7ik7KL4syRKs7opQ4HnVEqk2StCDLOydVCe7jHgzpHtQ4GNZ9O8oZPqksVYZSvx-UDr30R_Jfsy809R0qMD_0Q0nTP_tMbwm60Zw/w440-h232/main-qimg-b5e37bc44c9e178fca49dbb52a8616f3-lq.jpeg" width="440" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What ultimately doomed Adnan Menderes and his Democratic Party was an institutional problem that the country has yet to solve: authoritarian-friendly constitutions. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">No matter what democratic inclinations Menderes and his colleagues may have initially entertained upon taking office, the constitution they were working under was a holdover from 1924, written one year prior to Turkey’s transition into a one-party state. </span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When Menderes’ Democrats came to power in 1950, they soon found that, with their parliamentary majority, they could do virtually anything they wanted. There were no checks and balances. A government whose leaders had suffered through four years in opposition now began to abuse its power. Starting in 1955, authorities in Ankara undertook a series of campaigns against their perceived adversaries, especially journalists, judges, university professors, and civil servants. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Menderes’ government also sought to whip up mobs to attack Greek citizens of Turkey in retaliation for Greek provocations against Turks in Cyprus. In a famous incident taking place in early April of 1960, military troops were ordered to prevent CHP opposition leader and former Prime Minister and Presiden</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">t </span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">İsmet İnönü from giving a speech. The incident horrified the country’s junior officer corps, and within two months Menderes’ political career would be over. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span lang="TR"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSB46ewYz4PA0r6Ew2ZD2VRSNGZktU2Kpj6x0iQF9yTG1V3bpCd6PblAdLF9osloOGMkjZk6dIr-bHQBsn-VWIkkSZN84pwRU44cxkgtP-z3kMkKPPzp59E2vw24VYD3vDEtwNhSXqYssqyFY92YtSicYODktKnDHg2_yNjAxn2qNmPs-Gup74_JTPfQ/s1600/378031-112835761.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSB46ewYz4PA0r6Ew2ZD2VRSNGZktU2Kpj6x0iQF9yTG1V3bpCd6PblAdLF9osloOGMkjZk6dIr-bHQBsn-VWIkkSZN84pwRU44cxkgtP-z3kMkKPPzp59E2vw24VYD3vDEtwNhSXqYssqyFY92YtSicYODktKnDHg2_yNjAxn2qNmPs-Gup74_JTPfQ/w396-h264/378031-112835761.jpg" width="396" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The National Unity Committee (NUC), which took power after the coup, prioritized the writing of a new constitution. The new document, which was formally adopted in 1961, was created specifically with the goal in mind of preventing a return to the monopoly of power wielded by the CHP in 1923-1950 and the Democrats after that. Unlike its predecessor, Turkey’s constitution of 1961 guaranteed rights to speech, association, and other freedoms that had been absent from its predecessor. The constitution of 1961 was not perfect, but, from the perspective of individual rights, it was by far the best one Turkey has ever had.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, the coup of 1960 and the generally quite liberal constitution of 1961 would give many people in Turkey the impression that military takeovers constituted a legitimate means of fixing political problems. In some ways, as I argued <a href="http://www.jhmeyer.net/MeyerMenderesThesis.pdf" target="_blank">in an MA thesis I defended way back in 2001</a>, the apparent "success" of the Coup-and-Constitution Combo deal from 1960-61 helped to pave the way for subsequent military interventions in 1971, 1980, and 1997. <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsku----h3bEg8CFKg8R62sBhymV5kqgnnzR_8KwpIlQ_n6uiVOOiXnjCuAb7ea1MMOyZpErqbtqs2EddnXa44cjsHCot9T_csTFcPLt0KM8utctbEmuqLuIG9jKLAs0DMo_m6LscX2l3_DPn3gUrhXllywqZ8YZugmb5b1vtgMlEvnocEqk6O0XXig/s640/kenan-evren-kimdir-12-eylul-darbesinin-1-numarali-ismi-1599917765.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsku----h3bEg8CFKg8R62sBhymV5kqgnnzR_8KwpIlQ_n6uiVOOiXnjCuAb7ea1MMOyZpErqbtqs2EddnXa44cjsHCot9T_csTFcPLt0KM8utctbEmuqLuIG9jKLAs0DMo_m6LscX2l3_DPn3gUrhXllywqZ8YZugmb5b1vtgMlEvnocEqk6O0XXig/w402-h220/kenan-evren-kimdir-12-eylul-darbesinin-1-numarali-ismi-1599917765.jpg" width="402" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Turkey’s current constitution was produced in 1982, following a second military takeover that occurred on September 12, 1980. This time, the military leaders (not junior officers) who took power decided that there was altogether too much freedom in Turkey. The new constitution watered down most of the language pertaining to rights and freedoms, rendering them virtually meaningless through the employment of various caveats and conditions.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In Turkey today it is legal for politicians to sue journalists over “insulting” coverage, a tool of repression that</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Erdoğan has utilized <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-erdogan-lawsuit/nearly-2000-legal-cases-opened-for-insulting-turkeys-erdogan-idUSKCN0W42ES" style="color: #954f72;">literally thousands of times</a>.</span><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The crime of “offending state leaders”</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><a href="https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-prosecutors-launch-more-than-7500-cases-for-insulting-erdogan-and-state-in-2022-news-62175" style="color: #954f72; text-indent: 0.5in;">is also punishable by fine and/or prison</a><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">. The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, was sentenced in 2022 to more than two years in prison for “</span><a href="https://yetkinreport.com/en/2022/12/14/oppositions-istanbul-mayor-imamoglu-sentenced-to-prison/" style="color: #954f72; text-indent: 0.5in;">insulting electoral officials</a>,<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">” in a move that seemed calculated to keep the popular mayor out of the presidential race. The charge of “insulting Turkishness” has most often been used</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><a href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Pro-Kurdish-Leader-Faces-Probe-for-Insulting-Turkishness-20150909-0037.html" style="color: #954f72; text-indent: 0.5in;">to crack down on Kurdish rights organizations</a><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">, but has also been employed on two occasions as a means of harassing the</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/16/orhan-pamuk-charged-again-with-insulting-turkishness-nights-of-the-plague" style="color: #954f72; text-indent: 0.5in;">Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk</a><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> And none of this even begins to address the various ways in which </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 48px;">Erdoğan and the AKP have employed branches of the Turkish state to serve their electoral interests. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">But guess what? Erdoğan</span><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">didn’t invent these tactics. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">Indeed, Turkey’s current president himself spent four months in prison in 1999 after publicly reading a speech in which he quoted lines from a poem by Ziya</span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gökalp, </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">one of Turkey’s best-known intellectual figures. The crime? “Provoking religious hatred,” a cudgel that was commonly used in the 1990s against Islamically-oriented political figures like Mr. Erd</span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">oğan. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">Erdoğan</span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">’s prison sentence was intended to end his political career, as there was a law at the time banning anyone with a prison record from serving in parliament. When Mr. Erdo</span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0.5in;">ğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, that law was rescinded.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ-pkHWUtcvuwSprWoNsb-STHn5KQD83hKKRU5gUyxy4ZUJEat-yi7GR5fraocPGF2GZMFHQTJdZg6xljFAge8LUZjwnuAvdXqb7ecaLgVmsM05fweYfs0pWVlwFXb7sTqk8c5py6JSAP0TZ1ljRhnICWBB41mcHOQz5S4azIbXP5l5EiBL_KvVjJPQ/s725/8-7.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="500" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ-pkHWUtcvuwSprWoNsb-STHn5KQD83hKKRU5gUyxy4ZUJEat-yi7GR5fraocPGF2GZMFHQTJdZg6xljFAge8LUZjwnuAvdXqb7ecaLgVmsM05fweYfs0pWVlwFXb7sTqk8c5py6JSAP0TZ1ljRhnICWBB41mcHOQz5S4azIbXP5l5EiBL_KvVjJPQ/w270-h391/8-7.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Tayyip Erdoğan <br />knows a thing or two<br />about being on the <br />receiving end of <br />Turkish justice </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Tayyip </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Erdo</span><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">ğan’s present-day authoritarianism has nothing to do with Islam, and everything to do with Turkey’s constitution. Like Menderes, </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Erdo</span><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">ğan inherited a constitution that allows him to abuse power legally, and he has used this power to attack the independence of the country’s other institutions. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Unlike Menderes,</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> however, </span><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Erdoğan had already been arrested, tried, and imprisoned before he ever came to power. He therefore entered office with a certain ruthlessness that Mr. Menderes never possessed.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Where did Tayyip Erdoğan learn to behave in the manner that he does</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">? Who taught him that it was okay to jail and intimidate his critics and political adversaries?</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The roots of Tayyip Erdoğan</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">’s authoritarianism, most of which is perfectly legal under Turkish law, are without question intimately tied to Turkey’s present-day constitution. But they run much deeper than that. Authoritarian-friendly constitutions have been baked into Turkey’s political DNA since the country’s establishment in 1923.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmMUIib3twZpm7IuBMln-SlPnlBivrFZlIgVxCp1e5Z4HnI0UcNwOGDhV5YfSHx4y0s5kLpgKiCIRSOwL8QnowWkRMeQZCvl1gEeO2QpnJZw_A6wype64_KkAvyHJkV-uT0i47UNVSKTw7f88Ucwj51jFq6f8wTY7fu5VOORpasqCax0yS7TYUmMX3Q/s1160/GettyImages-493291829-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmMUIib3twZpm7IuBMln-SlPnlBivrFZlIgVxCp1e5Z4HnI0UcNwOGDhV5YfSHx4y0s5kLpgKiCIRSOwL8QnowWkRMeQZCvl1gEeO2QpnJZw_A6wype64_KkAvyHJkV-uT0i47UNVSKTw7f88Ucwj51jFq6f8wTY7fu5VOORpasqCax0yS7TYUmMX3Q/s320/GettyImages-493291829-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It is tempting to see Tayyip Erdoğan, who has built a political career out of bringing Islam back into the public sphere, as the antithesis of Turkey’s radically secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. But more than anything else, Turkey’s current president is a product of the political system that </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Atatürk created, and its republic. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Also see: <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Turkey" target="_blank">Posts about Turkey</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Like the Borderlands? You'll love the book: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i></a>. </span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, <i>comme toujours</i>, in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></span></span></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-73785829908530495952023-04-11T12:26:00.188-06:002023-11-18T11:56:16.825-07:00The Breakup of Russia?<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">Wednesday, April 12, 2023</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Putin's air of invincibility is shrinking by the day. But what would happen if he were somehow removed from power?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOYLfhmHGz95Awmuq3uKVV6-PRpLijSlw9PZHKSCX9MBpUWwbT7osjUz2rNboe77kEtHeXGHlphULFAFp-dVH0YF0eoYv3KciK13XWg7k6SRcyjz6iPz0vt2eK247utFS7fdjgL-miLQfM8eFg__Hrw5dBY4SSCKWDRwzFpy9WVR5G8-GFqVcXaHxeA/s1280/FMWpctiXoAQ0TDv.jpg-large.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1280" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOYLfhmHGz95Awmuq3uKVV6-PRpLijSlw9PZHKSCX9MBpUWwbT7osjUz2rNboe77kEtHeXGHlphULFAFp-dVH0YF0eoYv3KciK13XWg7k6SRcyjz6iPz0vt2eK247utFS7fdjgL-miLQfM8eFg__Hrw5dBY4SSCKWDRwzFpy9WVR5G8-GFqVcXaHxeA/w418-h251/FMWpctiXoAQ0TDv.jpg-large.jpeg" width="418" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In my previous post, <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/thinking-beyond-putin.html" target="_blank">I speculated on the possibilities of sudden collapse in Russia</a>. My argument was that, as was the case with respect to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, there's a possibility of a similarly unexpected downfall in today's Russia as well. While Vladimir Putin by all accounts appears to be quite secure with respect to his ability to maintain his position in power, there is certainly precedent in Russia for seemingly stable regimes falling unexpectedly. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As I noted on Monday, Putin's legitimacy rests largely upon his ability to deliver. He has no dynastic claim. There is no all-powerful party in the manner that there was in Soviet times. Nor is there any real ideology associated with Putin's rule. Instead, Putin's competence has been his primary tool of legitimacy in Russia. And, no matter how much Russian authorities endeavor to hide the truth from their citizens, the fiasco that is the war in Ukraine is becoming increasingly difficult to explain away. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, when your claim to legitimacy is based mainly upon your competence, that legitimacy evaporates once you've been exposed as incompetent. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And that can be very bad news if you happen to be the incompetent one in power</span>. </span><div><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">My sense is that, were Putin to be removed from power, it wouldn't happen in the form of a people-power movement of Jeffersonian democrats. Indeed, the only form of criticism of the war that is disseminated in Russia these days is that which critiques the war effort from the right. Anti-war views are not permitted, but voices arguing for a more successful prosecution of the war are allowed. </span></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If/when Putin is removed from power, chances are better that it'll be through a right-wing coup rather than via a people-power pro-democracy movement <a href="https://t.co/w3VdmyYf5G">https://t.co/w3VdmyYf5G</a></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">— Jim Meyer (@JamesHMeyer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesHMeyer/status/1642539103559229444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Reports of rifts between the Kremlin and the mercenary Wagner Group <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Wagner+group+criticize+war+effort&newwindow=1&client=safari&rls=en&sxsrf=APwXEdcONuGiCvJTlZqZ03K9KeUiC9ubXA:1681238103675&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:m&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjx9M7_u6L-AhW4FjQIHY3iB6YQpwV6BAgBEAo&biw=1318&bih=734&dpr=2" target="_blank">have been circulating for months</a>. If I were a betting man, I would tab this organization as a much more credible means of overthrowing Putin than any of the more democratic-appeari</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">ng figures in Russia. That's certainly not good news, but one thing that history teaches us is that things can always get worse. And the prospect of civil war breaking out in a country with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons would end up making today's shit-show look very minor in comparison. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thinking two steps ahead of where we are today, we need to consider the prospect of Putin's foolish and catastrophic war rebounding back upon Russia. The last two times that an intellectually bankrupt regime came under pressure during the course of a losing and destabilizing war effort, the result was not simply the fall of a regime, but also the breakup of the country and, in some of its former regions, civil war. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVza0WaVFFpkCgtlamOFJ66TaTNuWSDa-g5RLv1yPd9GxMXKnpDILBzWTRt_lpL73uGYW0C9EdTP_I5cToE5MosS0s56wnfUYMXbLNlJCO1A5P_4knP7o0P2mRPNRAN4uzXuEDY2O2g9MorvR7DL4UATciyNWoy0KmOS6J4y0Oe_2sDgu7tha1mGugg/s644/russian-regions-2.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="644" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVza0WaVFFpkCgtlamOFJ66TaTNuWSDa-g5RLv1yPd9GxMXKnpDILBzWTRt_lpL73uGYW0C9EdTP_I5cToE5MosS0s56wnfUYMXbLNlJCO1A5P_4knP7o0P2mRPNRAN4uzXuEDY2O2g9MorvR7DL4UATciyNWoy0KmOS6J4y0Oe_2sDgu7tha1mGugg/w420-h295/russian-regions-2.gif" width="420" /></a></div>Prior to launching this war, Vladimir Putin had usually made a point of not presenting himself as a Russian nationalist. Instead, he saw himself as a custodian of Russia's best interests. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is a smart approach, as Russia is a multi-ethnic federated republic. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As was the case with the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation is divided into dozens of republics and regions, the great majority of which are ethnically defined. Like in the USSR, crossing these borders means relatively little today. But, if Russia were to descend into political chaos, or fall into civil war, there are pre-existing boundaries that could provide a guide for what might happen next. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Non-ethnic Russian regions of Russia, such as the North Caucasus and Buryatia, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=ethnic+minorities+Russia+War+Ukraine&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank">have been prime sources of cannon-fodder in Ukraine</a> since the war began. While it is true that the cruel details concerning the war have been largely shielded by the media in Russia, it is also clear that, particularly in non-ethnic Russian areas, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/29/russia-putin-mobilization-protests-fury/" target="_blank">there have been protests against the war</a>. People, at least some of them, know what's going on. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Anyway, this is all idle speculation. For all I know, Putin could remain in power for decades to come. But history has shown that intellectually bankrupt regimes fighting long and hopeless wars don't tend to last forever. Putin seems determined to fight to the end, but no matter how badly the war goes for Ukraine, Ukrainians are going to keep resisting Russia for as long as they possibly can. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At some point, things are going to start falling apart on the Russian side. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And once that happens, past may indeed end up as prologue in the breakup of Russia. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the past, western politicians have been accused of making the mistake of focusing solely upon Russia's leader. Such was the case, allegedly, with regard to George HW Bush and Gorbachev (he ignored Yeltsin!) and Bill Clinton (focused too much on Yeltsin!). Now, they may be doing so again with respect to Putin. Obviously, we need to keep paying attention to the Russian President, but it might also be a good idea to starting thinking about life without him. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More on Russia: </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/thinking-beyond-putin.html" target="_blank">Thinking beyond Russia</a></span></div><div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Regrouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Russia-Ukraine Notes: Early October Edition</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">All Crimea/Ukraine posts since 2008</span></span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/re-russia-ukraine-changes-coming.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Re Russia-Ukraine: Changes Coming?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/04/back-and-forth.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back and Forth in the Quagmire</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/a-mission-accomplished-moment.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/one-week-in.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This past week...</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/re-ukraine-less-thumb-sucking-more.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">More Thoughts Re Ukraine and NATO</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The USA: NATO's Weakest Link?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/brown-trouser-time.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brown Trouser Time</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/Looking%20at%20the%20Long-Term%20re%20Putin's%20Moves" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for the Long-Term in Putin's Moves</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/moscow-recognizes-two-breakaway-regions.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moscow Recognizes Two Breakaway Republics: Why do this?</span></span></a></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/bungling-toward-kyiv.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bungling toward Kyiv </span></span></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/the-monroe-doctrine-putin-and-post.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Monroe Doctrine, Putin, and Post-Soviet Space: Don't Muddy the Waters</span></span></a></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html#more" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Russia, Ukraine, and NATO</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/the-second-biden-putin-skype-summit.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hold me Back! The Second Biden-Putin Skype Summit</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">What Would Happen if Russia Invaded Ukraine?</span></span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/why-would-russia-invade-ukraine.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why Would Russia Invade Ukraine?</span></span></a></div><div><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/crimea-river-water-and-russian.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea River: Water and Russian-Ukrainian Relations</span></span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rattling Kyiv's Cage</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Not-So-Great Game: The US and Russia in Post-Soviet Space</span></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bad Idea Jeans: Ukraine Edition</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/crimea-and-eastern-ukraine-things-can.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea and eastern Ukraine: Things Can Always Get Worse</span></span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/05/crimea-tough-options.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tough Options</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/04/russia-and-the-politics-of-citizenship.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Russia and the Politics of Citizenship</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/02/the-crimea-more-than-just-a-war.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Crimea: More Than Just a War</a><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/09/12/trouble-in-ukraine.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trouble in Ukraine</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> </span></span></p></div></div></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/08/south-ossetia-and-fate-of-mini-republics.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">South Ossetia and the Fate of the 'Mini-Republics'</a> (from 2008)</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-66629731820987289842023-04-10T10:52:00.010-06:002023-11-18T11:56:35.502-07:00Thinking beyond Putin<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Monday, April 10, 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lately I've been thinking about the possibilities of collapse. No, not my own--but rather that which could take place inside Russia. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyqz2s-q6FRMk3xrpBybLiEYDFwqjkUtS0E_J66wVNbfLBCel668EqOt-h5_3gnWFe9tYg9ViAWJUY4rgNu5I5r_GSuD-WrCys-6BnueCq4xSkOeLGevjaRBL9_SBKXCPhixMHyQxtIK1sJ_ygcZXTaTfZIOzmGMX6mjBRENUvcm1Re4wAuzXItM32A/s383/demonstration-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="260" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyqz2s-q6FRMk3xrpBybLiEYDFwqjkUtS0E_J66wVNbfLBCel668EqOt-h5_3gnWFe9tYg9ViAWJUY4rgNu5I5r_GSuD-WrCys-6BnueCq4xSkOeLGevjaRBL9_SBKXCPhixMHyQxtIK1sJ_ygcZXTaTfZIOzmGMX6mjBRENUvcm1Re4wAuzXItM32A/w279-h411/demonstration-2.jpeg" width="279" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When Nicholas II of Russia was, in 1905, pushed to the brink of overthrow, the world was incredulous. After all, the Russian government had, it seemed, been making all of the right moves for decades. The liberalization of the economy that had followed Russia's abolition of serfdom had led to an astonishing level of development. In the 1890s, Russia had the second fastest-growing economy in the world, after the USA. Foreign investment in the Russian economy increased nine-fold between 1880 and 1900. <span><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, infrastructure was growing at an equally rapid pace. B</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">etween 1881 and 1894, Russia's railroad network had grown by 40%, then doubled again between 1895 and 1905.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> In 1880, there were roughly 22,000 elementary schools in Russia, roughly 70% of which had been opened since the abolition of serfdom in 1861. 20 years later, the number of elementary schools had reached almost 80,000. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNwwjGC2G_vYjRXHjPwumTF8g9MCk1pDwLZ_DYeW-k46H62yRgQ0cq67gGuk1seSdRTNPTSqqGowtDn2IrlsoPDMAXFsXj5fVpuiX342RlFhHSt1A3jw9wj-IUKMiKwW-lVNlCJZlbduBhMwNPZWJmFY8DqeIoJ14vlT5kKtQ88zlSw4oxXTYyyOJmg/s1080/Picture1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="887" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNwwjGC2G_vYjRXHjPwumTF8g9MCk1pDwLZ_DYeW-k46H62yRgQ0cq67gGuk1seSdRTNPTSqqGowtDn2IrlsoPDMAXFsXj5fVpuiX342RlFhHSt1A3jw9wj-IUKMiKwW-lVNlCJZlbduBhMwNPZWJmFY8DqeIoJ14vlT5kKtQ88zlSw4oxXTYyyOJmg/w304-h370/Picture1.jpg" width="304" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Russia had not only become more educated and better developed by 1900, but also much more urban. Whereas there had been just thousands of industrial laborers in Russia in the 1830s, by century's end that number exceeded two million. The vast majority of these factory workers were residing in urban centers located in the empire's western provinces, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, and Kiev. <span><!--more--></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">By any standard, the generation of Russians who rebelled against Nicholas II in 1905 was the best educated, most urban, and most sophisticated to have ever existed in Russian history. And yet, with Russian armed forces fighting a losing war against Japan, Nicholas II came within a hair of losing his throne in the wake of a series of strikes and protests that rocked his empire. And while the tsar would, after making promises to create a parliament and constitution, manage to retain his hold on power for another twelve years, the February Revolution of 1917 (which also took place during the course of a war that was not going well) was in many ways simply a case of the second shoe dropping .</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nicholas II's mistake (like that of Putin in the early 21st century) was in trying to modernize Russia in every way but one: politically. Tsarist administrators had sought, in the second half of the nineteenth century, to develop the country's educational system, infrastructure, and economy, and in many ways they had succeeded. The problem lay in assuming that Russian subjects would simply be grateful for all of the seemingly quite positive changes that had been brought to their lives. Rather, an increasingly educated and urbanized society began to make more demands upon the government. Nicholas II and the people running Russia in his name had created their own opposition (much like the Shah of Iran, flush with oil-wealth, would do in the 1960s and 70s). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ORt1bTqzbKgS0F3WY-X5kp_J90_gXFP8FIRYQYn3Yvs6o9sYGNN2ylzuvepu5Iq1PUBCqTuDKbBycTGofQ2EsAKi5I2t3x6XI3KCjIsN0G8LE1fcpQMNnNEx3Tx5AITl9vkgzWarAJ0RpsriEUeF9pEsrtbu3JXFpC4JP_8jyAwY0-1-A9RBzI__mg/s602/main-qimg-dc57a502273f2cc314802c1d2d9a964d-lq.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="602" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ORt1bTqzbKgS0F3WY-X5kp_J90_gXFP8FIRYQYn3Yvs6o9sYGNN2ylzuvepu5Iq1PUBCqTuDKbBycTGofQ2EsAKi5I2t3x6XI3KCjIsN0G8LE1fcpQMNnNEx3Tx5AITl9vkgzWarAJ0RpsriEUeF9pEsrtbu3JXFpC4JP_8jyAwY0-1-A9RBzI__mg/w374-h210/main-qimg-dc57a502273f2cc314802c1d2d9a964d-lq.jpeg" width="374" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Fast forward to 1981, and the final slogging steps of the Brezhnev years: did anyone think that the USSR would vanish from the map of the world just a decade later? On paper, it looked like the Soviet Union would be around forever, or at least for as far as the eye could see. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Under Brezhnev and his immediate successors Andropov and Chernenko, ambitions were similarly grounded in the state's ability to better provide material goods to its citizens and preserve the status quo. These late-era Soviet leaders, like Nicholas II at the beginning of the 20th century, wanted to modernize the USSR in every way but one. </span><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwHEG91vGmSLlzTUVMC1CparswCJdiTou_AlZqQEVEZ4vumBCwWKdr49rNYBhp5-rX15cmWz1m8HJSxedeItPQkqDOuYXcgNF8e0a0KCBDIGWBGVSXDO5UJftZaSGyjJg9SUdwW0AG_rjStyXdk2k8vJx6rF7NnYZnBoLJYQHAAa2HfhMYNhTMGKzwA/s300/images-24.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwHEG91vGmSLlzTUVMC1CparswCJdiTou_AlZqQEVEZ4vumBCwWKdr49rNYBhp5-rX15cmWz1m8HJSxedeItPQkqDOuYXcgNF8e0a0KCBDIGWBGVSXDO5UJftZaSGyjJg9SUdwW0AG_rjStyXdk2k8vJx6rF7NnYZnBoLJYQHAAa2HfhMYNhTMGKzwA/w377-h211/images-24.jpeg" width="377" /></a></div>For a party that was supposedly revolutionary, however, such drab ambitions were a sign of the USSR's advanced state of ideological bankruptcy. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Mikhail Gorbachev, who assumed power in the USSR in 1985, genuinely tried to change the Soviet Union's political system. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Gorbachev's most significant contribution, I think, lay in his willingness to expose the party, and the Soviet government, to criticism by ordinary Soviet citizens. The problem was that very little was done to create an alternative to a system of repression that had existed, in varying forms, since 1917. By modernizing Soviet politics in one particular way--by making it much easier for Soviet citizens to criticize the state and party--without creating something workable to replace it, Gorbachev's reforms swiftly led to the USSR's breakup. And the fact that all of this was taking place in the context of another losing war, this time in Afghanistan, should not be ignored, either. </span></div><div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vladimir Putin's approach to modernizing Russia is much more in the mold of Nicholas II or Brezhnev. His more than two decades of rule have been characterized by a desire to improve Russia's standard of living and infrastructure, while slowly consolidating power for himself. As was the case in the years before 1905, Putin has presided over the creation of a generation of Russian citizens who are better educated, more materially well-off, and internationally sophisticated than in any previous era of Russian history. But it's a form of service-based legitimacy that is dangerously dependent upon his ability to continue delivering the goods. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In many ways, it's been a successful run. I started traveling to Russia regularly in 2002, and spent at least part of every year in various locales in the Russian Federation between 2002 and 2010. Then, after a break of five years, I again began visiting Russia semi-regularly in 2015. What I saw upon returning to Russia astonished me: whereas in the early 2000s, Moscow and St. Petersburg had, in comparison with the provinces, felt almost like foreign countries (especially Moscow) with respect to their level of material development, in the second decade of the 21st century public investment and the improvement of infrastructure had greatly changed the appearances of places like Kazan, Ufa, Samara, and other populations centers in the regions outside the capital cities. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More than any previous leader in Russia's history, Vladimir Putin's pitch for legitimacy has been based upon his ability to deliver. Unlike Nicholas II, Putin is not part of a dynasty that has ruled Russia for hundreds of years. Unlike Brezhnev or Gorbachev, there is no institutionally relevant party to fall back upon (Putin's party, United Russia, does not have anything close to the sort of ideological standing in Russia that the Communist Party had in the USSR). Nor is there any sort of real ideology behind Putin, although he has lately been attempting to create one based upon a combination of Russian nationalism, religious conservatism, and hostility toward LGBTQ communities. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What sort of <i>institutional</i> legitimacy does Putin have to support him? V</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">ery little. Since 1999 Russians have, for the most part, shrugged their shoulders and allowed Putin to amass power in exchange for his ability to improve their lives materially and provide political stability (even if this 'stability' was just a more polite name for an ever-strengthening dictatorship). But after the chaos and manifest incompetence of the Gorbachev and Yeltsin years, who could blame them? Sure, he enriched himself and his supporters. Without question he was no democrat. But people's lives appeared to be getting better. The country was developing. Something was getting done. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4KY7eV_7PuU8L3vLIMOFZFYV5eb8L9mX2n-rRz_bfP78ItIvdXLTs7xwau9gKOn7Nn9EH0m0ut9rdkE97mRqhd5vUpS6Ik7KTYHynwkDqmbFCU_RoLnZYevNl8Dm3-lytFjzmSldc-dWCX8TjA5jWxsZrw7R2oClJ8i6QNAM-RcvJDvjKslf2E6hCA/s1024/putin-belarus-final-1024x654.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1024" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4KY7eV_7PuU8L3vLIMOFZFYV5eb8L9mX2n-rRz_bfP78ItIvdXLTs7xwau9gKOn7Nn9EH0m0ut9rdkE97mRqhd5vUpS6Ik7KTYHynwkDqmbFCU_RoLnZYevNl8Dm3-lytFjzmSldc-dWCX8TjA5jWxsZrw7R2oClJ8i6QNAM-RcvJDvjKslf2E6hCA/s320/putin-belarus-final-1024x654.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But what about now? Putin has been exposed as spectacularly incompetent in the most important undertaking he has ever initiated. A war is going badly. For someone whose claim to rule is based largely upon his ability to improve people's lives, what happens once it becomes obvious that the president is wearing no clothes? Lacking an ideology, a dynastic claim, or a party to legitimize his rule, what's left for Putin if the aura of competence which has thus far surrounded him evaporates? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The way I see it, Putin today is suffering the challenges of both Nicholas II and the latter-day Soviets. On the one hand, he has sought to modernize his society in every way but one--politically. This is always a problem (just ask the Shah). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On the other hand, there's no pretending anymore: the emperor has no clothes. There's nothing driving him forward at this point other than inertia. No party, no ideology, no revolution, no nothing. The organization man unravels amid total intellectual bankruptcy. <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">None of this means that Putin is going to be overthrown. Indeed, he certainly appears to have a strong hold over the levers of power and their ability to repress dissent. And, thanks to the Kremlin's control over television and radio airwaves in Russia, most Russians probably don't know enough to form an informed critique of Putin's prosecution of the war in Ukraine, anyway. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But there is a history in Russia of outwardly stable-looking regimes collapsing suddenly and unexpectedly. Without an ideology, a party, or a dynastic claim to justify his rule, Putin needs to deliver success. If he can't do that--in the form of either winning the war or extracting Russian troops from it--his rule will begin to appear just as bankrupt as Communist Party rule appeared to Soviet citizens in the latter 1980s. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In other words, imagining Putin's political downfall is not simply an exercise in wishful thinking, and there are historical precedents for this happening in Russia. In both 1905 and in the latter 1980s, moreover, the imperial and Soviet regimes were exposed as inept at a particularly delicate time--during the course of a war that was going very badly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For all I know, Putin will continue to rule Russia for another twenty years. However, given what we know about Russia's past, I think it makes sense to prepare for the contingency that, if this war continues to go badly for Russia, there could be a swift and unexpected change in power in Moscow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The real question is: what would happen after that? </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">***</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More posts on Russia: </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" target="_blank">Regrouping in Belgrade N & P</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/russia-ukraine-notes-early-october.html" target="_blank">Russia-Ukraine Notes: Early October Edition</a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">All Crimea/Ukraine posts since 2008</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/re-russia-ukraine-changes-coming.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Re Russia-Ukraine: Changes Coming?</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/04/back-and-forth.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Back and Forth in the Quagmire</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/a-mission-accomplished-moment.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/one-week-in.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This past week...</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/re-ukraine-less-thumb-sucking-more.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More Thoughts Re Ukraine and NATO</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The USA: NATO's Weakest Link?</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/brown-trouser-time.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Brown Trouser Time</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/Looking%20at%20the%20Long-Term%20re%20Putin's%20Moves" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Looking for the Long-Term in Putin's Moves</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/moscow-recognizes-two-breakaway-regions.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Moscow Recognizes Two Breakaway Republics: Why do this?</span></a></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/bungling-toward-kyiv.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Bungling toward Kyiv </span></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/the-monroe-doctrine-putin-and-post.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Monroe Doctrine, Putin, and Post-Soviet Space: Don't Muddy the Waters</span></a></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html#more" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Russia, Ukraine, and NATO</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/the-second-biden-putin-skype-summit.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Hold me Back! The Second Biden-Putin Skype Summit</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What Would Happen if Russia Invaded Ukraine?</span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/why-would-russia-invade-ukraine.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Why Would Russia Invade Ukraine?</span></a></div><div><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/crimea-river-water-and-russian.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Crimea River: Water and Russian-Ukrainian Relations</span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Rattling Kyiv's Cage</span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Not-So-Great Game: The US and Russia in Post-Soviet Space</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bad Idea Jeans: Ukraine Edition</a> </span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/crimea-and-eastern-ukraine-things-can.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Crimea and eastern Ukraine: Things Can Always Get Worse</span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/05/crimea-tough-options.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tough Options</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/04/russia-and-the-politics-of-citizenship.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Russia and the Politics of Citizenship</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/02/the-crimea-more-than-just-a-war.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Crimea: More Than Just a War</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/09/12/trouble-in-ukraine.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trouble in Ukraine</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> </span></p></div></div></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/08/south-ossetia-and-fate-of-mini-republics.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">South Ossetia and the Fate of the 'Mini-Republics'</a> (from 2008)</span></p></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-58331471912121087472023-04-07T11:40:00.003-06:002023-04-07T11:47:19.569-06:00Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 5<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, April 8, 2023</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For the past week or so I've been posting excerpts from my new book, <i>Red Star over the Black Sea: </i></span><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım</span></i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i> Hikmet and his Generation. </i>You can find <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" target="_blank">the book's prologue here</a>, a few sections from the introduction <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and selections from Chapter 2 <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTeL8ObcNERusjLalPNjcqDnVoxx_SRSjygND6qEwwASoRSuWt4DoeUL9vmHx1OvdxN5EAsHZT-Cpq3IryqSsm-274mnryX3lY-ZjtOVPmXe70Aeeq7A12liVniq8UUB2dwjR6tVCjIBWbuD-7Ql-cbJCYHvzqfTG15Dt50cGe91nfVrfIT01JGts6hQ/s2684/Stamp-2x-transparent%20copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1930" data-original-width="2684" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTeL8ObcNERusjLalPNjcqDnVoxx_SRSjygND6qEwwASoRSuWt4DoeUL9vmHx1OvdxN5EAsHZT-Cpq3IryqSsm-274mnryX3lY-ZjtOVPmXe70Aeeq7A12liVniq8UUB2dwjR6tVCjIBWbuD-7Ql-cbJCYHvzqfTG15Dt50cGe91nfVrfIT01JGts6hQ/w478-h344/Stamp-2x-transparent%20copy.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A few points to keep in mind: </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">1) These are just excerpts, not entire sections. So, for example, the offerings on this post represent only a small part of Chapter 5. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">2) These sections do not necessarily appear contiguously in the book. In some places, I've cut intervening sections out while preparing the digital excerpts. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">3) There are no footnotes in the excerpts, but there are in the book (more than 1600 of them, as a matter of fact). So, if you're wondering where the information comes from, check the notes in the book. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Something else that you'll notice when reading the excerpts: the book is about a lot more than </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> Hikmet. While the poet-communist is at the center of the story, you'll see that the book also details the lives of other, less well-known figures. Mainly, what I was interested in doing with this book was placing </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> within a particular context, then using the stories of this generation's lives to say something bigger about the times in which these people lived. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I hope you like it. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <span style="font-size: 23pt;">5</span></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 125"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 19pt; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In Revolutionary Russia</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was springtime in Moscow, 1922, and Nâzım and his friends were registering for classes at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East. The forms that Nâzım and the others filled out were a couple of pages long and relatively straightforward, focusing mainly upon family history and the recent past. “What is your family’s social background?” they asked. “Did you participate in the civil war and, if so, in what capacity?” “What is your party background?”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Do you write?” asked the questionnaire. “If so, then what?” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“I write everything,” responded Nâzım.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“What is your street address in Moscow?”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Gde ia zhivu</span>, Nâzım wrote. “Where I live.”</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım’s comment may have sounded a little glib, but it also contained a kernel of truth. After more than a year of traveling, including stays in Ankara, Bolu, and Batumi, home for Nâzım and Vâlâ perhaps really was wherever they happened to find themselves at the moment. It had been a long time since they’d had a fixed address. Moscow would finally provide them with one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While Nâzım’s years in Moscow in the 1920s are typically discussed in terms of his interactions with well-known cultural personages like Vladimir Mayakovsky and Vsevolod Meyerhold, in fact Nâzım spent little time with such exalted figures. By far the most influential individuals in Nâzım’s life in the Soviet capital were the people he knew from school, worked with in the TKP, and spent time with socially. At first glance it might seem like Nâzım and his bourgeois traveling companions had relatively little in common with their more working-class comrades at KUTV. In fact, they fit in with this broader community of students in certain unanticipated ways.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 126"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Early Days in the Bolshevik Capital</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The ride up from Batumi had been a grim one. Traveling very slowly, “at the speed of a caravan from the Middle Ages,” Nâzım, Vâlâ, Şevket, Leman, and Ahmet Cevat wound their way through former battlefields in the Caucasus, Ukraine, and the Volga River valley. Surrounding their often-stalled train, in places, were scenes of utter devastation. Photographs from the era reveal crowds of stunned and weakened refugees seeking shelter in railway stations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It took Nâzım and the others eleven days, riding multiple trains, to reach their destination. Stopping off at one railroad station after another, the travelers stayed at inns and schools while waiting for the next train forward. The stations were unbearably crowded. Civil war and the threat of starvation had forced hundreds of thousands onto the roads and rails in search of a means of survival. Inching their way through the burnt out remains of central Russia, the five friends pressed onward.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They finally arrived in Moscow in late spring of 1922. From the train station, the traveling companions headed directly to the Hotel Luxe, where rooms had been arranged for them. Originally constructed in 1911, the Luxe’s building had previously housed the Hotel Frantsiia. Following the October Revolution, the Frantsiia had been nationalized, and now the Luxe was used mainly to house foreign communists visiting the Soviet capital for stays both long and short.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Located on Tverskaia Street, the broad boulevard extending north from the Kremlin, the Hotel Luxe was well known in Moscow for providing Bolshevik-class comfort in a downtown location. The hotel included a cafeteria for which Nâzım and his traveling companions were provided vouchers, a matter of critical importance in food-scarce Moscow. Vâlâ later wrote that he had made quick use of the modern bathtub at the Luxe, divesting himself of the web of fleas that had been infesting his clothes for much of the last 1,300 miles of travel.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQV9yOv7M3tkUxqAwJj6GyhD41Qwv_S1-ZoKrzAAzGKNKRips1_I_IrW2uG2eXQaysm4jOtID8bRr_ThXCHVHDjRUzjC1dIR_dtopQ03Cmunx2fsCpocnxJyas-Ja73NVrxM84MWuTh2pziafucBeXWycp2Jwuqhcr1h1zlf0JLY99HhY9HQdDbwkTmA/s600/Hotel%20Luxe%20photo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="600" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQV9yOv7M3tkUxqAwJj6GyhD41Qwv_S1-ZoKrzAAzGKNKRips1_I_IrW2uG2eXQaysm4jOtID8bRr_ThXCHVHDjRUzjC1dIR_dtopQ03Cmunx2fsCpocnxJyas-Ja73NVrxM84MWuTh2pziafucBeXWycp2Jwuqhcr1h1zlf0JLY99HhY9HQdDbwkTmA/w369-h219/Hotel%20Luxe%20photo.jpg" width="369" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the early 1920s, the Luxe had an exciting international vibe of the sort that many of its one-time guests would remember fondly in their memoirs. Nâzım and his friends, who spoke French and German among other languages, similarly got a thrill from the sheer cosmopolitanism of the legendary hotel-residence. “Amid the conversations taking place at mealtimes,” wrote Şevket Süreyya years later, “you could </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">hear all of the languages of the world.”</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Vâlâ observed drily that there were people at KUTV from “seventy-two and a half nations.”</span></span><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 127"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Staying at the Luxe also gave the friends a chance to rub elbows with well-known Bolsheviks. Şevket would later note that at the Luxe “it was possible to see practically all of the revolution’s leaders,” including Bolshevik luminaries like Karl Radek, Nikolai Bukharin, Lev Kamenev, and Grigory Zinoviev, the head of the Comintern. If only Sadık Ahi and the rest of the Spartakists could see them now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Despite the excitement aroused among Nâzım and his friends by the international flavor of their surroundings, the state of the KUTV campus was somewhat dispiriting. Şevket Süreyya, the only one among the younger members of their group to have received actual training to work as a teacher, thought the campus felt “abandoned” and “cold.” He started to wonder if he had made the wrong choice in traveling up to Moscow with the others. Maybe, Şevket thought, it would be a better idea to just turn around and head back to the Caucasus with Leman.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Moscow was, moreover, ill-equipped to handle the influx of new mouths to feed. During this time in Russia, cities were hit especially hard by famine, and even in the capital there were dire food shortages. After having spent about a month in Moscow </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">at the Luxe, Nâzım, Vâlâ,</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ş</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">evket, and Leman were informed that they would have to go to a youth summer camp in Udel’naia, a village located about</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fift</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">een miles to the southeast of the capital.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ahmet Cevat would stay in Moscow, preparing for the upcoming school year.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 128"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım did not like this idea one bit. “We didn’t come here to stay in some village,” he sniffed. “Life is in Moscow.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But so was death. Nâzım’s objections notwithstanding, the four had no choice in the matter. They bade farewell to Ahmet Cevat and were soon on their way to camp.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 129"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Communist University</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What kind of school was Communist University of the Toilers of the East? Located on Mokhovaia Street, just a fifteen-minute walk from the Hotel Luxe in central Moscow, the university (known by its Russian initials KUTV) had opened its doors in the spring of 1921. The school was one of a series of internationally focused institutions established in Moscow and elsewhere in the USSR in the 1920s. In addition to KUTV, these schools included: Communist University of the National Minorities of the West (or “KUNMZ,” which also opened in 1921), Sun Yat-sen Communist University (1925), and the International Lenin School (1926).</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 130"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The organization of the “eastern” KUTV and the “western” KUNMZ fell under the purview of the Comintern. Formally established in 1919, the Comintern was a Moscow-based institution that played a critical role in international communist organization. Starting in pre-revolutionary times, there had been a series of meetings, dubbed “communist internationals,” that had brought together communists from various countries. Following the Bolshevik takeover in Russia, the Comintern was transformed into a more permanent institution responsible for maintaining connections between Moscow and Communist Party organizations in other countries.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Comintern was also involved in more quotidian tasks relating to the daily lives of international communists living in the USSR. Staff from the Comintern could help, for example, if a foreign communist needed assistance finding accommodation or employment. Until its dissolution in 1943, the Comintern employed thousands of individuals. During the organization’s bureaucratic heyday in the early 1930s, more than 500 people worked for the Comintern in Moscow alone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Why create two separate universities for “eastern” (KUTV) and “western” (KUNMZ) students? The reasoning behind this division was both theoretical and practical. In theoretical terms, the splitting of the world into “western” and “eastern” populations was a very old practice, in Russia and elsewhere, one that had survived into the Soviet era. Easterners and westerners came from separate civilizations and learned differently, it was believed, so why not offer them separate educations?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There were also more practical reasons behind this institutional division. The Bolsheviks viewed the types of issues facing revolutionaries in the East and West as distinct from one another. “Western” communists, they reasoned, were more likely to come from industrialized societies that were considered ripe for communist revolution due to their more advanced stage of economic and social development. “Eastern” communists, on the other hand, more frequently came from colonized </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">populations, where anti-imperialism and agricultural questions were considered to be of more practical bene</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">t for revolutionary training.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Segregated national populations of communists studied at di</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ff</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">erent universities in Moscow, with African Americans and black South Africans attending the “eastern” KUTV, whereas their white co-nationals enrolled at other schools.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 131"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">KUNMZ was primarily responsible for working with foreign students from the USSR’s “near-abroad,” countries on the western borderlands which had gained their independence from Russia following the revolutions of 1917. Originally, KUNMZ was supposed to consist of departments teaching in nine languages, four of which— Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, and Polish—were spoken in countries which had, until recently, been part of the Russian Empire. The other five anticipated languages of instruction at KUNMZ were German, “Jewish” (Yiddish), Hungarian, “Yugoslavian” (Serbo-Croatian), and Czech. The last three of these, which were all spoken primarily in regions that had never been a part of Russia, were later scrapped in favor of Finnish and Romanian, two languages which were spoken in former Russian imperial territories. The goal, here and elsewhere, was to employ KUNMZ as a means of making contact with young communists from regions of the former Russian Empire that had not (yet) been re-incorporated into the Soviet Union.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">KUTV and KUNMZ were not exclusively, or even predominantly, populated by foreign students. In the 1920s, the total number of students enrolled at KUTV and KUNMZ typically ranged between 600 and 1,000 per university. Internal documents at KUNMZ routinely referred to the university’s students as hailing from both “the western regions of the RSFSR” and “the west” more generally. “[I]n some sectors,” one report noted, “students coming from abroad make up the majority” of the overall number of enrollees, an indication that in the other sectors Soviet students outnumbered their foreign classmates.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In a similar manner, KUTV was home to both Soviet and foreign students, with the numbers in the “Foreign Group” (<span style="font-style: italic;">ingruppa</span>) at KUTV usually ranging between 200 </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">and 300 per year.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, not all of the students listed in these reports were necessarily in Moscow, or even the Soviet Union. In December 1924, for example, out of a total number of 294 KUTV Foreign Group students, thirty-two Turks were counted. Only sixteen of these students, however, were actually living within the borders of the USSR at the time.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 132"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When Nâzım and his friends arrived in Moscow, there was not yet a Turkish sector at KUTV. Five language sectors were then available: Russian, French, English, Chinese, and Korean, with Nâzım and Vâlâ opting to study in the French one. In the 1924–25 academic year, KUTV opened several new sectors, including one for Turkish, alongside Greek, Malayan, Japanese, and Persian. From this point forward, there were usually between ten and fifteen Turkish students on campus at KUTV at any given time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A typical course of study at KUTV or KUNMZ usually lasted about two years, with students receiving an education in subjects both theoretical and applied. Nâzım’s university papers indicate that he took courses on Leninism and Historical Materialism, in addition to more traditional ones like Geography, Geology, Physics, and Chemistry. Life at KUTV was not all work and no play, however. Students were taken on a variety of excursions in and around Moscow, visiting factories, the Ethnographical Museum, the zoo, and other sites.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">No one received letter or numerical grades. Rather, students were provided with performance evaluations. A short note, often just a word like “good,” “average,” or “weak,” was typically written directly onto the student’s file, next to a list of classes taken. At the end of the semester, students received party references (<span style="font-style: italic;">kharakteristiki</span>) that were one to three sentences in length. A good reference would say something like “an active, disciplined, and fully mature comrade. Mastered coursework in a fully </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">satisfactory manner.” A less enthusiastic one stated “Not very mature with respect to party-oriented relations toward comrades,” or “immature party member, not very active.”</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 133"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The material conditions associated with studying in Moscow at this time could be challenging. Breakfast usually consisted of little more than “boiling water, perhaps with a little sugar,” and later in the day students were provided small allotments of potatoes, soup, and occasionally “a tiny piece of meat or dried fish.” In early 1928, the African Americans Carl Jones and Roy Farmer complained to KUTV authorities about worms in the dessert they’d been given in the cafeteria. Jones and Farmer also bemoaned the state of the school’s “stinking” toilets, which, they noted, were “deplorable beyond description and a menace to the general health of the student body.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In 1927, KUTV created a special division, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Spetsgruppa</span>. This section of the university, unlike others at KUTV, was reserved specifically for “highly qualified party workers” interested in learning how “to apply in practice the methods of Marxism- Leninism in the revolutionary struggle.” Those who completed this training were sent back to their home country pseudonymously to work underground for the party.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Most of the individuals studying at KUTV did not, however, go into such cloak- and-dagger careers. Many, in fact, would end up staying in the Soviet Union, where they found jobs, settled down, and often became Soviet citizens. Turkish alumni of KUTV who remained in the USSR after graduation were usually sent to areas of the country with Turkic-Muslim populations, such as the Volga-Ural region, Central Asia, and, especially, Azerbaijan. Students who were considered promising were groomed by university and Comintern officials to enter leadership positions within their national parties.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This was what the TKP had in mind for Nâzım and his friends.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Children of Trans-Empire</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Who were Nâzım’s classmates at KUTV, and how had they ended up at the university? Nâzım’s fellow Turks at KUTV had typically arrived in Moscow via one of three main </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">channels. Interestingly, all three were based primarily upon connections with Russia that had preceded the October Revolution.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 134"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The largest cohort of Turks at KUTV was made up of former Ottoman soldiers, almost all of whom were ex-POWs who had been held at prison camps in Russia during World War I. Repatriating Ottoman POWs had been important enough for the Ottoman government to send Yusuf Akçura across central Europe and Russia in 1917–18, and the Bolsheviks likewise placed considerable value upon these individuals. Rather than return to Anatolia, many Ottoman POWs had ended up in Baku, where they joined the TKP of Mustafa Suphi. Following the murders of Suphi and the rest of the TKP Central Committee in January 1921, these ex-POWs began making their way to Moscow to study at KUTV.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A fairly typical case was that of Fahri Reşid. A former soldier who began serving in the Ottoman Army in 1916, Fahri was later captured and imprisoned in Russia. Upon being freed by the Bolsheviks, he joined the Red Army and took part in the invasion of the Caucasus. Once the fighting was over, Fahri became a member of Mustafa Suphi’s TKP in Baku. He worked the POW camps as an agitator, giving speeches on behalf of the Bolsheviks in an effort to convince other ex-Ottoman soldiers to sign up with the TKP. In 1922, Fahri Reşid arrived at KUTV, joining a large contingent of former Ottoman POWs at the school.</span></p></div></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiamhqp5Y6PvC6o1CBhcJVGWuJBCa5QS9Su7iD8dFvkzJv9HM-QDm3peXL8iopOsUTjxNcMmgP_iBzABEbHRw7JFQjKdapXmp-Jz3kmt9TOchW5GiEJx13FpMBj8wUVSa1XMGXq28m_9d9HQgcQtbJcwwzC-FmjM_ACRbbl8bmOQYH6sZa8Lp-2GEtNBQ/s1202/Fig.%207%20Fahri%20Res%CC%A7id%20prior%20to%20and%20during%20his%20studies%20in%20Moscow%20p.%20186%20%20%20.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="1202" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiamhqp5Y6PvC6o1CBhcJVGWuJBCa5QS9Su7iD8dFvkzJv9HM-QDm3peXL8iopOsUTjxNcMmgP_iBzABEbHRw7JFQjKdapXmp-Jz3kmt9TOchW5GiEJx13FpMBj8wUVSa1XMGXq28m_9d9HQgcQtbJcwwzC-FmjM_ACRbbl8bmOQYH6sZa8Lp-2GEtNBQ/w416-h302/Fig.%207%20Fahri%20Res%CC%A7id%20prior%20to%20and%20during%20his%20studies%20in%20Moscow%20p.%20186%20%20%20.png" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Fahri Reşid prior to and during <br />his time at KUTV</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="page" title="Page 135"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Noureddin Kadirov was not an ex-POW, but rather an Ottoman deserter with a checkered past. He was born in 1899 in Bursa and orphaned at a young age. When he was thirteen, Noureddin had accidentally shot and killed one of his classmates when playing with his uncle’s gun, but owing to his young age he had spent just two months in prison. In 1916 Noureddin was drafted into the Ottoman Army. Three years later, while posted to Kars, he deserted. Noureddin first headed to Batumi in search of work, then traveled to Baku before returning to Batumi, where he was arrested by Georgian authorities. Noureddin was then liberated by the Bolsheviks when they took Batumi in March 1921, and it was at this time that he signed up with them. In 1922, Noureddin arrived in Moscow to study at KUTV. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While there were numerous ex-soldiers among the ranks of Turkish students at KUTV in the early years, most of them did not stay long. Trapped in the chaos of civil war-era Russia with no means of their own to get back home, many of these individuals had joined the TKP primarily as a means of survival. Although a few would stay on and live out their lives in the USSR, the great majority of the ex-POWs disappeared from KUTV’s classrolls once the fighting had ceased in Anatolia and the Republic of Turkey was created in October 1923.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Another commonly seen trait among TKP students at KUTV was a family background in the Ottoman borderlands. This was particularly the case with respect to the eastern borderlands of the Ottoman Empire, such as the Black Sea cities of Trabzon and Rize, which were in close proximity to the Russian frontier. During the final decades of empire, it had been common for individuals living on one side of the border to have family members or a job on the other. Crossing the frontier for periods both short and long was not an unusual experience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One individual with a background of this sort was Trabzon-born Ali Yazıcı. “Due to some kind of conflict,” explained a later report written by Şefik Hüsnü, Yazıcı “was obliged to escape” to Russia prior to the outbreak of World War I—and there he had stayed. After the war ended, Yazıcı signed up with Mustafa Suphi’s Turkish communists, becoming a party member in Baku in 1920. Two years after that, Yazıcı made his way to Moscow to begin his studies at KUTV.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Fırıncı Ahmet (“Ahmet the Baker”) was born in 1901 in a village outside Hopa, about twenty miles south of Batumi. At the time of Ahmet’s birth, Hopa was part of the Russian Empire. With the region scheduled to be turned over to Kemal’s Ankara government, however, Ahmet had, in 1921, relocated north to Sukhumi, Abkhazia, where he began working with an uncle. In 1923, the Baker returned to Hopa, which by this time had become part of Turkey, and shortly thereafter he was conscripted into the Turkish Army. Following his discharge from the service in 1925, Ahmet once </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">more moved to the USSR, where he again worked for some time in Sukhumi. He then returned to Turkey, this time moving to Istanbul and finding employment in a café in the district of Ortaköy. In 1926, Ahmet the Baker joined the TKP, which sent him once again back to Russia the following year to study in Moscow. While Ahmet’s path to Moscow might seem a rather circuitous one, numerous other individuals had similarly spent their early lives traversing the Russian–Ottoman frontier in this way before moving on to KUTV.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 136"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There were also quite a few TKP members at KUTV who hailed from the western borderlands of the Ottoman Empire. Nâzım and his friends were all in this category, having grown up in Salonica and Istanbul (Nâzım and Vâlâ), Edirne (Şevket Süreyya), Crete (Ahmet Cevat), and İzmir (Leman). While there were not as many TKP members from the western borderlands as from the Russian–Ottoman frontier region to the east, both borderland areas contributed far more TKP members to KUTV than did interior regions like central and eastern Anatolia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A third characteristic that was frequently seen in the backgrounds of early TKP members at KUTV was a personal family history of migrating from Russia to the Ottoman Empire. This was particularly the case among Crimean Tatars. Many Crimean Tatars had, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, left the Crimea for the Ottoman Empire, only to return to their homeland later on as either Ottoman or Russian subjects—or sometimes even both. Whereas this form of return migration had come to an end with the outbreak of World War I, in the early 1920s a new generation of Ottoman-born Crimean Tatar offspring, whose parents had left Russia for the Ottoman Empire years earlier, was now “returning,” as communists, to a Russia they had never before seen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The “return” to Soviet Russia of Ottoman-born Crimean Tatars was a move that at least some individuals within the early Bolshevik state supported. Officials in Moscow had instructed, in late September 1922, that local party directors in the Crimea should “not delay the long-term repatriation of Crimean Tatars who are Turkish citizens” back into the Crimea. During these years immediately following the revolution, the border was open and foreigners were welcome in the USSR.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 137"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This was a policy toward the frontier that attracted people like İbrahim Krimskii. A Crimean Tatar born in Varna, Bulgaria, the 20-year-old Krimskii had made his way from Varna to the Crimea, and then to Moscow, following the conclusion of World War I. İbrahim’s tenure at KUTV would be marked by his repeated efforts, during the years 1923–25, to obtain permission to relocate to the Crimea for purposes relating to both work and rest. At KUTV, İbrahim would encounter several other Ottoman-born Crimean Tatars who had similarly come “home” to the Soviet Union during these years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At a time when men far outnumbered women at the university more generally, there were several Ottoman-born Crimean Tatar women studying at KUTV in the 1920s. The Crimean Tatar Cemile Nevşirvanova, whom Nâzım and Vâlâ had first met at the Orient Hotel in Tbilisi, began studying at KUTV at the same time as Nâzım and Vâlâ. She had come with her husband Zinetullah, who was also studying at the university. Cemile’s goal, at least insofar as she explained it in her student paperwork, was to promote “revolution among the women of the east.” Her younger sister Rahime also came to Moscow at this time, noting in her KUTV paperwork that she wished to “participate in the women’s movement.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Aynühayat Voinova was another Crimean Tatar who, as she stated on her KUTV registration forms, was “born in Turkey.” She too had been part of Ahmet Cevat’s retinue at the Hotel Orient, where she had first met Nâzım and Vâlâ. At age thirty-nine, Aynühayat was without question one of the oldest students at KUTV, and surely stood out as part of a class that was overwhelmingly male and in their early twenties. Like many other Crimean Tatars, Aynühayat had made her way “back” to her ancestral homeland via communism. She had initially found work in the Crimea as an instructor in the <span style="font-style: italic;">zhenotdel</span>, the branch of the Communist Party responsible for recruiting women to the ranks of the Bolsheviks. In 1923, she left for Moscow to begin her studies at KUTV.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Also studying at KUTV at this time was Fevziye Habibova, who was born in Istanbul in 1900. Habibova may or may not have been a Crimean Tatar, </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">but she does appear to have been of Russian Muslim origins. After attending a teacher-training college during the British occupation, Fevziye had set out for Ankara to volunteer for Mustafa Kemal’s forces. She had, according to her Comintern file, worked for some time as a nurse in the war against the Greeks. In Ankara, Fevziye had become involved in the TKP, and in 1922 she had left for Moscow on the recommendation of the party.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8htzRiL3v1JzQBEvNIt3l9QnCQHjHUb_RyUtBYj5dFAbR8OR00FXXr5pTxwgwlT4VLfG-YNH3wp4YPVOcaLMvOEEQB_oekrnSI6F5O76wx6JMNbUqpsPjQ_kxj156VoYeLSgPTJegJ-inbzkZeEF-cALGFBk72Lnm-Wm179fCJ6t0Cg4DmZK4RKcWA/s938/Fig.%208%20Fevziye%20Habibova%20p.%20193.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="850" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8htzRiL3v1JzQBEvNIt3l9QnCQHjHUb_RyUtBYj5dFAbR8OR00FXXr5pTxwgwlT4VLfG-YNH3wp4YPVOcaLMvOEEQB_oekrnSI6F5O76wx6JMNbUqpsPjQ_kxj156VoYeLSgPTJegJ-inbzkZeEF-cALGFBk72Lnm-Wm179fCJ6t0Cg4DmZK4RKcWA/s320/Fig.%208%20Fevziye%20Habibova%20p.%20193.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At around the beginning of April 1924, she became pregnant—party paperwork from December of that year indicates that Fevziye was drawing rations in accordance with her eighth month of pregnancy. In March 1925, Fevziye died in a Moscow hospital. No cause of death is listed, nor is there any indication of what happened to her child.</span><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 138"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Not all of the TKP “returnees” at KUTV were of Turkic-Muslim origins. Alexander Senkevich was the grandson of a Polish soldier—and Russian subject—who had reportedly received sanctuary in the Ottoman Empire after killing a tsarist officer. Alexander’s grandfather had then settled in Istanbul, where he would later marry an Ottoman Greek woman. Their son, Alexander’s father, received Russian subjecthood as a youth through his father.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBg8LBBviZT0_YtE_Qpr85GdjvEYAHLSFWR_wTM8XbmUWob6vtmZAW85CqsLmxTudThg1Sm2yLMLZUyJzu3LVy7VPA2_KzH4JsJyo_4C2uKEU8D02HOZuJPRmutWbbDi9R0xG7LjKsLjpuyrpkJvIqMCnIqMSe-al_dZEB2nfNMSFxViRTRwd9eQe08Q/s954/Fig.%209%20Alexander%20Senkevich%20p.%20194.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="658" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBg8LBBviZT0_YtE_Qpr85GdjvEYAHLSFWR_wTM8XbmUWob6vtmZAW85CqsLmxTudThg1Sm2yLMLZUyJzu3LVy7VPA2_KzH4JsJyo_4C2uKEU8D02HOZuJPRmutWbbDi9R0xG7LjKsLjpuyrpkJvIqMCnIqMSe-al_dZEB2nfNMSFxViRTRwd9eQe08Q/w279-h404/Fig.%209%20Alexander%20Senkevich%20p.%20194.jpg" width="279" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Born in 1907 in the Istanbul suburb of San Stefano, Alexander was similarly a subject of both the Russian and Ottoman empires. He had also benefited from the free education which he was eligible to receive, by dint of his Russian subjecthood, at the Russian School of Istanbul. Classes at the school came to an end, however, with the outbreak of war between the two empires. Only in 1920 was Alexander able to resume his studies at the school, which was now under the control of anti-communist “White” Russians of Istanbul.</span><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 139"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">During his time at the Russian school, “Sasha” Senkevich made friends in the Komsomol, a youth-oriented component of the Communist Party. He took to organ- izing various activities for the group, such as helping to establish their soccer team. Alexander’s diligence eventually caught the attention of Şefik Hüsnü and others in the TKP, and in December 1924 Alexander was sent to Moscow, where he began his studies at KUTV in January of the new year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While it might be tempting to assume that human mobility followed the path of ideology, in many cases the opposite appears to have taken place. Ex-POWs stranded on Russian territory found it practical to join up with the Bolsheviks. So too did indi- viduals who had grown up traveling back and forth between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, or whose parents had previously emigrated from Russia. While their reasons for moving to the USSR were doubtless complex and variegated, it is nevertheless striking how many of these individuals had first arrived in Russia for reasons other </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">than communism, or else had some sort of connection to Russia that preceded the October Revolution.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 140"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In this respect, Nâzım and his friends had something in common with many of their Turkish classmates at KUTV, as their conversion to communism had likewise followed, rather than preceded, their arrival in the USSR. Ahmet Cevat and Şevket Süreyya had arrived in the Caucasus as pan-Turkists, then became communists in the months following the Bolshevik takeover of Azerbaijan. Nâzım and Vâlâ, meanwhile, had been interested in seeing what communism looked like prior to first traveling to Batumi, but had only become communists after the TKP had given them jobs and a place to live.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">None of this means that Nâzım, his friends, or the other students at KUTV were not genuine in their embrace of communism, but it does suggest that ideology was not always the determining factor guiding their decisions. For most of the Turks at KUTV, including Nâzım and his friends, geographical re-location had come first, with their shift toward communism taking place only later. The choices that these women and men made were not always ideological ones, even if they were usually articulated in such terms in their party and Comintern paperwork, or in their later memoirs and reminiscences.</span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like the book? You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy of my first book at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, <i>comme toujours</i>, in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from_2.html" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 2</a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction</span></a></span></p></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Nazim Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Birthdays of Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">New Article Out: The Letters of Munevver Andac to Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazim </span></span><span style="color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-59830030847657768802023-04-02T11:30:00.030-06:002023-04-02T12:50:54.262-06:00Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from Chapter 2<div class="page" title="Page 59"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Sunday, April 2, 2023</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Over the past few days I've posted excerpts from the <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" target="_blank">prologue</a> and <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" target="_blank">introduction</a> of my new book, <i>Red Star over the Black Sea: </i></span><i>Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation</i>. The book, which is published by Oxford University Press, is now on sale in the UK. It will be available for purchase in the United States starting in the first week of June. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVRWOX_dYGfQBACjahVlefQ9P8lnvCRGzCi0tiy9mqrdbdfAX5AdLntRE5Mx2ndfnt2wvhKTMbhFQq-lE1eEe3J8VH9eqHKKsQVbjjzO_ZCtQ5rT7mHQVSHisA2Selo-1pSjFsulDnP2DPh01YeRvk34oywg-q7hx3wE5Auv3GNI2lrBcJolBxG73tEQ/s397/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="288" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVRWOX_dYGfQBACjahVlefQ9P8lnvCRGzCi0tiy9mqrdbdfAX5AdLntRE5Mx2ndfnt2wvhKTMbhFQq-lE1eEe3J8VH9eqHKKsQVbjjzO_ZCtQ5rT7mHQVSHisA2Selo-1pSjFsulDnP2DPh01YeRvk34oywg-q7hx3wE5Auv3GNI2lrBcJolBxG73tEQ/w307-h423/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM.png" width="307" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Below you'll find some excerpts from the book's second chapter. <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Chapter 2: On the Road to Ankara</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Late in the afternoon of December 31, 1920, Nâzım Hikmet met up with Vâlâ Nureddin, his friend from Galatasaray high school. The two had rendezvoused at a tavern next to the Galata Bridge, the legendary crossing over the Golden Horn. Having ordered their refreshments, the boys looked ahead. They were about to take their first steps on the way to Ankara, where Nâzım and Vâlâ planned to join the resistance movement of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk). They were nineteen years old.</span></p><p></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Istanbul opens onto water upon multiple fronts. Between the European side of the city and its Asian suburbs runs the Bosphorus Strait. This waterway con- nects the Black Sea—the mouth of which lies approximately twenty miles north of the city—to the inland Marmara Sea. On the western side of the Marmara Sea the Dardanelle Strait flows into the Aegean Sea. The European side of Istanbul is further divided by the Golden Horn, an inlet separating the palace-and-government quarter of Sultanahmet in the south from the entertainment districts of Taksim and Beyoğlu (or “Pera”) to the north.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For those who have spent much time in Istanbul, the cry of seagulls and the salty smell of the breeze form a common background to one’s daily routine or commute. Water is the means through which many people—like Nâzım’s ancestor Karl Detroit— first arrive in the city.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The waterways surrounding Istanbul can also provide a convenient means of escape. At this time of Istanbul’s occupation by the British, many of the city’s best- known writers and intellectuals, along with a much larger contingent of young women and men looking to somehow assist the Kemalist government, had already set out for Ankara. And it was by water that Nâzım and Vâlâ were now seeking to join their numbers.<span></span></span></p><!--more--><p></p><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Sudden Salvation</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 59"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On a March morning in 1917, Şevket Süreyya (Aydemir) was perched on top of a hill just to the south of Kars. He was sitting at the point where the steppelands of eastern Anatolia begin to give way to the snowy peaks of the Caucasus mountains. Dug into the outcrop of a mountain at an altitude of over 9,000 feet, Şevket Süreyya was commanding a team of machine gunners whose sights were trained upon the Russian soldiers holding tight to the hills across from them.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMdYJxmZb2wqzKG6U4ywF5g8yfaSk1VjvowmFhmK_jL8zLpUoM_qtbnT3rYrpgsq14djRAkezJ5bn1U_WNKoqvDGL6xdL2iXALXfFfvVQALmxyXS8CDLT2Bnbp07OXAaEIPKVokcPsMpfB2CLdJJHAnz-Q-YvaFpOA2eliFyWz6YEmsUFP5zwI6Jx2A/s4800/Fig.%203%20S%CC%A7evket%20Su%CC%88reyya%20p.67-final-FINAL-sRGB.tif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4800" data-original-width="3230" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMdYJxmZb2wqzKG6U4ywF5g8yfaSk1VjvowmFhmK_jL8zLpUoM_qtbnT3rYrpgsq14djRAkezJ5bn1U_WNKoqvDGL6xdL2iXALXfFfvVQALmxyXS8CDLT2Bnbp07OXAaEIPKVokcPsMpfB2CLdJJHAnz-Q-YvaFpOA2eliFyWz6YEmsUFP5zwI6Jx2A/w333-h496/Fig.%203%20S%CC%A7evket%20Su%CC%88reyya%20p.67-final-FINAL-sRGB.tif" width="333" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A thin, thoughtful, elegant-looking 20-year-old o</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ffi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">cer,</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ş</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">evket was—like Nâzım and Vâlâ—a product of the Ottoman Empire’s western borderlands.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">He was a native of Edirne, the former imperial capital that the Ottomans had managed to reclaim in 1913, and which today is situated just a few miles from the Bulgarian and Greek borders.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ş</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">evket had grown up alongside Muslim refugees from the Balkans, people who had</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fl</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ed to the Ottomans’ last remaining European possessions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An ardent pan-Turkist,</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ş</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">evket Süreyya dreamed of liberating the Turkic-Muslim “prisoner nations” he thought of as “occu- pied” by Russia.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Ş</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">evket had been</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ghting in the Ottoman Army for two years and was currently based not far from where his older brother had perished a couple of years earlier during the course of Enver Pasha’s disastrous Sarıkamı</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ş</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">campaign.</span></span><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 61"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Suddenly, Şevket and his men noticed a fast-growing collection of Russian soldiers assembling on the hill below them. Tempted to sound the order to attack, he nevertheless held back, sensing that something unusual was afoot. The Russians in this procession were yelling loudly, practically cheering, but what Şevket heard did not sound like battle cries. Responsible for the lives of his men, he was just twenty years old and unsure of what to do.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 62"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Şevket called his commanding officers to ask for guidance, but there was no response. A decision had to be made quickly, and Şevket was the one who needed to make it. Jumping out of his foxhole, he beckoned to a sergeant named Halil. The two slowly made their way down the hill to take a closer look at the Russian troops below. Gazing down upon the advancing soldiers, Şevket perceived that they were walking with their arms linked to one another and did not appear to be carrying weapons.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A Russian officer—blond, blue-eyed, perhaps around forty years of age—was among the first to approach the two battle-tested Ottoman soldiers. In the officer’s hands was a large loaf of bread, which he handed to Şevket and Sergeant Halil with a smile. Alongside the bread was a small heap of salt. From a childhood spent in the Ottoman Balkans, Şevket knew enough about Slavic traditions to understand that this was a gesture of peace.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For Şevket, Halil, and tens of thousands of others fighting on the Ottoman–Russian front, sudden salvation had come in the form of events taking place 1,800 miles to the north, in the Russian capital of Petrograd. The revolution had begun on Women’s Day, March 8, 1917. Large numbers of celebrants joined forces with protesters— mostly women—who had been demonstrating against the material privations brought on by the war.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At first, relatively little effort was made to put down the protests with force, as security officials did not consider the women a threat. Over the course of the days that followed, however, the number of marchers ballooned to more than 200,000 workers—one half of the industrial workforce of Petrograd. Eventually, soldiers and police cut the center of the capital off from the rest of the city in order to prevent more protesters from joining. The move backfired, however, as it only contributed to the multiplication of protests outside the city center. Before long, large swaths of Petrograd were out of the government’s control.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On March 16, Nicholas II made the stunning decision to abdicate the throne in his own name and that of his twelve-year-old son Alexei. When the former tsar’s brother, then living in Warsaw, refused to accept the crown, the 304-year history of the Romanov dynasty came to an end—all during the course of just eight days of protest. The Russian Empire would soon be gone, replaced by the Russian Republic.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 73"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Escape to Anatolia</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At the dock in Sirkeci, the policeman that was helping Nâzım, Vâlâ, and their friends sneak out of Istanbul tried to break the news to them gently. “Don’t be alarmed, but there’s some danger. Once you get to Kız Kulesi, officers from the occupation forces are going to board the ship. In recent days the heat has been turning up.”</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 74"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The papers that Nâzım and Vâlâ were carrying identified them as traveling egg merchants. However, the policeman was concerned that, should the boys actually have to talk to the occupation authorities, it would quickly become clear that these two 19-year-old sons of privilege didn’t know the slightest thing about the egg busi- ness. Therefore, their helper advised, it would be better to simply hide somewhere on the boat, such as among the many sacks of cotton that the <span style="font-style: italic;">Yeni Dünya </span>was transporting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım and Vâlâ took the man’s advice. Buried deep under the sacks of cotton, the boys held their breath and listened. In Vâlâ’s later retelling, they heard the footsteps of the occupation-authority police walking by and later disembarking the ship. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Yeni Dünya </span>pulled away, continuing its journey northward toward the Black Sea, and sud- denly Nâzım and Vâlâ realized that they had escaped.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ Nureddin, who would later go by the pen name Vâ-Nû, was Nâzım’s closest friend at this time. His background was, in some ways, quite similar to that of Nâzım. Born in 1901 in Salonica, Vâlâ was the son of an Ottoman civil servant who would later become the governor of Beirut. Skinnier than Nâzım, with floppy short black hair and round-lensed glasses, Vâlâ was also an aspiring poet.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ’s adolescent years had been challenging. His father had died when Vâlâ was twelve years old, and his mother was left nearly penniless with four children to raise on her own. At age sixteen, Vâlâ was sent to Vienna to study banking, the recipient of a government scholarship. After graduating in 1919, he had returned to Istanbul to work in the Ottoman Ministry of Finance, a job that he despised. As Vâlâ would later recall in his memoirs, it was at this time that he began to dream of the freedom that a writing career could afford him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Back in Istanbul after his years in Vienna, Vâlâ had reconnected with Nâzım, his old friend from Galatasaray. The boys soon began spending most of their free time together, writing and reciting verse and becoming fierce partisans of the Syllabist style. Poetry, and the circle of new friends that it brought to Vâlâ, soon formed the heart of his renewed life. Borrowing money from his mother, Vâlâ set up a small poetry journal that featured his own works and those of his friend Nâzım, among others.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The two older boys that Nâzım and Vâlâ were traveling with, Yusuf Ziya and Faruk Nafiz, were twenty-five and twenty-two years old, respectively. They were Nâzım and Vâlâ’s “big brothers” (in Turkish “<span style="font-style: italic;">a</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ğ</span><span style="font-style: italic;">abey</span>” or, colloquially, “<span style="font-style: italic;">abi</span>”), more accomplished as writers and poets than their younger traveling companions. Yusuf and Faruk had been participants in the Young Turk-era intellectual public sphere, writing for news- papers and publishing their poetry, something that likely impressed Nâzım and Vâlâ as well.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 75"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The four poet-travelers reached Zonguldak the day after they had set out from Istanbul. Approaching the city’s docks from the sea, they noticed an assembled group of young people waiting at the pier. A welcoming party had been arranged, coming out to greet the <span style="font-style: italic;">Yeni Dünya </span>on small rowboats. Much to Nâzım and Vâlâ’s surprise, it turned out that this gesture had been prepared on behalf of none other than the four poets themselves. A banquet had even been set up in their honor. The festivities had been organized, the boys would later learn, by one Ragıp Bey, a wealthy local supporter of the Ankara cause.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">That night, after the banquet had ended, a storm hit Zonguldak. The next day’s onward travel to İnebolu, located about 150 miles to the east, would prove a rough ride. Upon arriving in İnebolu, Yusuf Ziya reminded the others to kiss the ground when disembarking, a tradition that had recently become fashionable among the freedom-fighters arriving by boat from Istanbul.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Their affectionate interactions with İnebolu’s shoreline notwithstanding, the four friends were given a somewhat brusque reception. Instead of a welcoming committee in the manner of Zonguldak, their boat was met by a military commissar and two civil officials. The four poets were taken directly to the closest police station. On the way there, the commissar explained, somewhat cryptically, that he was just following “orders from Ankara.” The boys would later learn that there was concern in Kemal’s capital about the possibility of spies and saboteurs infiltrating the movement. Everyone arriving in İnebolu had to be thoroughly vetted before receiving permission to continue onward to Ankara.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While waiting to begin the next leg of their journey, Nâzım, Vâlâ, Yusuf Ziya, and Faruk Nafiz spent their days and nights getting acquainted with İnebolu. There was a teahouse frequented by the town’s younger set, and Nâzım and Vâlâ spent hours there reading newspapers and trading gossip with fellow travelers and locals. In the even- ings, the teahouse grew crowded and intimate. The four visitors took turns reciting their works, helping to break the chill of the town’s blustery winter nights. Despite the somewhat severe treatment they had been given at the harbor, the boys were again fêted in the style of minor celebrities. The most popular of the four poets, according to Vâlâ’s later recollections, was Nâzım, whose fiery nationalistic verse routinely received the most energetic applause.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They waited for fifteen days in İnebolu, but in the end the news they received was disappointing: Yusuf Ziya and Faruk Nafiz were ordered to return to Istanbul. Apparently, the two had been flagged as security risks due to their past associations. Yusuf Ziya had previously worked for the newspaper <span style="font-style: italic;">Alemdar</span>, which had been critical of the erstwhile Young Turks who made up the bulk of Mustafa Kemal’s inner circle. Faruk Nafiz, meanwhile, had once received a medal from Damat Ferit Pasha, a politician who had been the Ottoman signatory to the Treaty of Sèvres. The services of Faruk Nafiz and Yusuf Ziya would therefore not be desired in Ankara.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 77"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım and Vâlâ, on the other hand, were not only given permission to proceed, but were also supplied with money for their expenses. Their happiness at receiving this funding was tempered, however, by the boys’ sadness—perhaps fear—stemming from the loss of their elder companions. Nâzım and Vâlâ, two “Istanbul children,” were totally out of their element in rural Anatolia. They had thought that their two <span style="font-style: italic;">abi</span>s, or “older brothers,” would look after them on this trip, but now Nâzım and Vâlâ were on their own.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The boys walked down to the shoreline and stared out to the west, climbing a hill to get a better look at the departing vessel. Below them was a small cluster of houses not far from the water. In the distance, Vâlâ could hear a donkey braying. They watched the boat for some time longer as it carried their friends away. </span></p><div class="page" title="Page 77"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Walking in the Wind</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the absence of their older traveling companions, Nâzım and Vâlâ rebounded quickly. The very same day that Yusuf Ziya and Faruk Nafiz were shipped back to Istanbul, the boys made friends with a new group of travelers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Having decided to treat themselves by spending some of their road money, Nâzım and Vâlâ walked over to the large coffeehouse next to the pier and bought dinner. While they were eating the boys noticed a group of young men sitting nearby, people they had seen a few times around town. The group was easy to spot because their leader always wore a long red scarf around his thin neck. This was Sadık Ahi.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After his meeting with Nestor Lakoba in Istanbul, Sadık Ahi had made good on his pledge to set off for Ankara. He was traveling alongside a collection of his fellow “German” Spartakists, including Vehbi (Sarıdal) and Nafi Atuf (Kansu), among others. Sadık and his friends had, like Nâzım and Vâlâ, been hanging out in town, waiting to be cleared for onward travel to Ankara. Talking loudly at the teahouse, Ahi and company soon attracted the attention of Nâzım and Vâlâ, who eventually joined the older boys at their table.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 78"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At the time that Nâzım and Vâlâ met Ahi and the other Spartakists, the boys still held, in Vâlâ’s later words, quite nationalistic political views. In his later memoirs from this journey, Vâlâ described Nâzım as having been “a dyed-in-the-wool nationalist” at this time. Their intellectual heroes were Turkists like Ziya Gökalp and Halide Edip, and Nâzım’s earliest poetry had emulated the aggressively nationalistic style that was then in vogue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Eagerly, Nâzım and Vâlâ explained their literary and political interests to Ahi and his companions. To the boys’ embarrassment and dismay, however, Ahi and his friends soon began teasing their younger colleagues about these views. Far from cele- brating the boy-poets in the manner to which they had become accustomed, Ahi and the other Spartakists deemed Nâzım and Vâlâ’s nationalism a sign of naïveté and ignorance. Vâlâ, in his memoirs, remembered the experience as a humiliating one, at least initially.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Rather than get angry or storm out, however, Vâlâ and Nâzım appear to have almost enjoyed the intellectual dressing-down they were receiving. Realizing that the older boys had something to teach them, and perhaps hoping to join forces with their interlocutors for the rest of the way to Ankara, Nâzım and Vâlâ kept coming back to the Spartakists for more punishment in the days to come.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Although the boys were now free to leave town and continue their journey, Nâzım and Vâlâ decided to postpone their departure for a while. After all, what was the hurry? They had plenty of money, and they were now beginning to enjoy themselves again after the hasty dispatch of their older friends. For the next several days, Nâzım and Vâlâ spent nearly all of their time with the Spartakists, drinking tea in the enor- mous but sparsely decorated room that Ahi and his confederates had rented on the edge of town. In Vâlâ’s reminiscences, the boys followed the Spartakists through the streets of İnebolu, over the hills and along the shoreline outside of town, engaging in hours-long conversations amid the relentless gusts of a January Black Sea wind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Eventually, the Spartakists received permission for onward travel to Ankara. They immediately rented a wagon and left town without the boys. Nâzım and Vâlâ, who had hung around İnebolu for as long as the Spartakists were still there, remained in town for two more days. By the time they were ready to leave town, however, snow had begun to fall. The boys were told by locals that the roads would be muddy and unsuitable for wheeled vehicles, and that it would be best for them to travel on foot. They were also warned to not go alone, as there were bandits in the hills. Nâzım and Vâlâ heeded this advice and joined up with a larger party of travelers who were setting out to make the journey together. </span></p><div class="page" title="Page 79"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In Vâlâ’s memoirs, Nâzım is presented as almost childlike, barely capable of looking after himself. Vâlâ wrote that Nâzım had even turned over his money to Vâlâ to hold on his behalf, lest Nâzım lose it or waste it on some trifle. “From that day forward and for years I was his money-manager,” Vâlâ wrote. “In all of our travels...in Anatolia, the Caucasus, in Russia,” Vâlâ would hold the cash.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>When standing in front of a store window, if he really craved a kebab, halva, cake or something like that, he would stand and look at me with a bashful and hesitant expression. I understood. He loved sweets. I’d take him inside and get him something to eat.</i></span></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRGpFVxKWJ5oY00hM_9FRtDZD1RKURrumEPmFbhoEhAEGVQpO-65Cp7pc6UjpIGqVsH3EdJ45K8eNYMWojoKB9iWmbkhpl3OTc_00_r_wOKde57zGDqfgKV9Na9ViO2ofp5XfEVfwwuQ7lWcONuPipn7l8IIYCH0-9W22n3sNzI5gxvxfOoHhznt7tw/s3600/Fig.%205%20Va%CC%82la%CC%82%20and%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%20in%20their%20kalpaks%20p.%2096-final.tiff" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2390" height="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRGpFVxKWJ5oY00hM_9FRtDZD1RKURrumEPmFbhoEhAEGVQpO-65Cp7pc6UjpIGqVsH3EdJ45K8eNYMWojoKB9iWmbkhpl3OTc_00_r_wOKde57zGDqfgKV9Na9ViO2ofp5XfEVfwwuQ7lWcONuPipn7l8IIYCH0-9W22n3sNzI5gxvxfOoHhznt7tw/w291-h439/Fig.%205%20Va%CC%82la%CC%82%20and%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%20in%20their%20kalpaks%20p.%2096-final.tiff" width="291" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Vâlâ’s memoirs, which were written in the late 1950s, gently tease Nâzım on occasion. Such is the case, for example, with Vâlâ’s story about Nâzım setting out to buy a new hat. No longer in temperate Istanbul, the boys needed heavier clothing to make it through the harsh Anatolian winter. Vâlâ, as he would later record, convinced Nâzım to get himself a <span style="font-style: italic;">kalpak</span>, the type of headwear that Mustafa Kemal was making popular at the time. Up until then, Nâzım had always worn a fez, “a rather decadent thing” that was associated primarily with urban life, and therefore unsuitable for the rough country they would now be encountering.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">According to Vâlâ, Nâzım immediately went out and bought a strange-looking <span style="font-style: italic;">kalpak </span>that was as tall “as the headwear worn by whirling dervishes.” This creation was decorated on top with red flowers and silver ribbons, which Nâzım had reluc- tantly shown off to Vâlâ after making the purchase. In response to Vâlâ’s teasing, Nâzım gave his new headwear a solid punch from the inside, producing a momentary flurry of red-and-silver ornamentation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Ankara was 200 miles to the south of İnebolu. It was a hard walk, and mostly uphill at first. Yet in that first day they still managed to cover almost twenty miles. Walking through forests that covered the mountains lying inland from Anatolia’s Black Sea coastline, Nâzım and Vâlâ’s party trekked for hours without encountering any other people or dwellings. Finally, in a barren location on the edge of a cliff, the traveling party came across a small village that had a few places to stay.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The boys were exhausted. At the first place they stopped, Vâlâ sat down briefly on a small bench while Nâzım went inside to ask about finding a place to sleep. There was nothing available, but Nâzım and Vâlâ were told to go try their luck at an inn located just fifty feet down the road. According to Vâlâ’s later recollection of the journey, walking those last fifty feet after having already sat down was harder than anything else he had done that day. Vâlâ felt certain he would not be able to walk the next morning. </span></p><div class="page" title="Page 80"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The boys would surprise themselves, however, with their own fortitude. When the two friends woke up in the morning, they breakfasted on some eggs they bought in the village and found that they had the strength to go forward. Once again, the entire day was spent walking, but the boys noticed that, once this second day of trekking through steep, difficult terrain had passed, they felt less tired than they had the previ- ous evening. And then, on the third day, they were barely tired at all, reaching Kastamonu by nightfall. Distance-wise, Nâzım and Vâlâ had covered just over a quarter of the way between İnebolu and Ankara, but the most topographically challenging part of the trek was now behind them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As Kastamonu was the largest town they would encounter until Ankara, Nâzım and Vâlâ decided to spend a few days resting up before continuing their journey. During the course of their stay, they were befriended by some young locals who gave them moonshine <span style="font-style: italic;">rakı </span>and took them to a brothel on the edge of town. According to Vâlâ’s later account, he and Nâzım drank the <span style="font-style: italic;">rakı </span>but stayed away from the women. The ladies, wrote Vâlâ, invited the boys up to their rooms, but Nâzım and Vâlâ begged off, claiming to be too tired. Ever mindful of not hurting anyone’s feelings, the two young poets promised to come back at their earliest convenience.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 81"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">During the course of the six days they spent walking from Kastamonu to Ankara, Nâzım and Vâlâ saw living conditions that shocked them. On one occasion, the sun was just about to set and the boys were afraid they would find no shelter. Suddenly, they smelled burning dung, a sure sign that they were approaching an inhabited area. Try as they might, however, Nâzım and Vâlâ could not find the source of the smell.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They asked the mule-driver they were traveling with how much farther it would be until they reached the next village.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“This is it,” came the reply.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Vâlâ and Nâzım were baffled. No house was in sight.<br />“The village is beneath us,” explained the mule-driver.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Sure enough, the boys discovered that the villagers lived in the caves that ran</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">through the hill that Nâzım and Vâlâ were at that moment standing upon. The mule- driver yelled out below to explain that company had arrived, pushing open a wooden door that led underground. Straight into Nâzım and Vâlâ’s faces came a plume of black smoke. The two friends quickly found a place to lie down and, exhausted, fell right to sleep. They awoke the next morning refreshed, if jarred somewhat by the sight of one another’s soot-smeared expressions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">That day, Nâzım and Vâlâ walked to Çankırı, a final travelers’ outpost located just ninety miles to the northeast of Ankara. There they again encountered the Spartakists, who were resting up and reprovisioning after their own trip down from İnebolu. Nâzım and Vâlâ spent two days hanging out with Ahi and the others in Çankırı, sitting in coffeehouses and picking up their conversations where they had left off. The boys and the Spartakists then traveled together the rest of the way into Ankara.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Only a few weeks had passed, but the boys were arriving in the Kemalist capital in a very different frame of mind from that with which they had departed Istanbul. Already, it felt like they were in a new world entirely.</span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, <i>comme toujours</i>, in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/04/red-star-over-black-sea-excerpts-from.html" target="_blank">Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction</a></span></p></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Nazim Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Birthdays of Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">New Article Out: The Letters of Munevver Andac to Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="color: #6666cc; font-size: large; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazim </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></a></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-16395602859824995052023-04-01T14:06:00.015-06:002023-12-22T09:42:00.405-07:00Red Star over the Black Sea: Excerpts from the Introduction<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, April 1, 2023</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After seven and a half years of working on my biography of </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet, at times it's difficult to believe that the work is finally over. With the exception of teaching days and other times I was momentarily busy with something else, I woke up almost every morning between August of 2014 and February of this year thinking about this book. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLc8Mx5x4zlhoiCmajve6fm_xovnIylNmAYJXEu99ea4E52qbYjRKLv120z3zAH_LDPvGgzID7NvzmmTm4Gi6xVdLEoi3uMgQTbtXtlgBVw3h6ufxAHgqo3ABPmiBMohrN4OnwFe1mwBoQTjqizkNhZUsJX9KiAaw7IzD8DcjxSHR17vmYmtnys6_8w/s864/5ed645f767b0a909e0ff40ae.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="864" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLc8Mx5x4zlhoiCmajve6fm_xovnIylNmAYJXEu99ea4E52qbYjRKLv120z3zAH_LDPvGgzID7NvzmmTm4Gi6xVdLEoi3uMgQTbtXtlgBVw3h6ufxAHgqo3ABPmiBMohrN4OnwFe1mwBoQTjqizkNhZUsJX9KiAaw7IzD8DcjxSHR17vmYmtnys6_8w/w452-h254/5ed645f767b0a909e0ff40ae.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Not only did I wake up thinking about the book, but almost without exception I felt excited and very positive about the project. I hardly e<span><span>ver felt stuck or unsure of what I wanted to do with it. In this respect, </span><i>Red Star over the Black </i><span>was a lot of fun to write. </span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So now what to do? It's hard. I think a lot of people feel a mild touch of postpartum depression after a project they've spent years on has come to an end. I can't say that I feel depressed about the book ending per se, it's just difficult to know what to think about now. I find myself flipping through the book, reading sections of it out loud, then wandering off distractedly to change the record that's playing or write some notes about a new project I'm interested in. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Or posting excerpts from the book to my blog. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Anyway, below you'll find some of the fruits of these labors, excerpts from the book's introduction. It's not the whole intro, but it should give you a good taste of what's there. </span></p><a name='more'></a><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 600;"><u><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Introduction</span></u></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 24"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Border-Crosser</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Back when I was working as an English teacher in Istanbul in the 1990s, a private student of mine named Gökhan, the CEO of a small Turkish bank, was recounting his recent business trip to Moscow. We were sitting in the meeting room adjacent to Gökhan’s office, looking out the windows onto Gezi Park.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I had a personal interest in Russia, having traveled around various parts of the ex- USSR in recent years, and had just begun to study Russian with a private tutor. Always happy to find a way to get my students talking, I began peppering Gökhan with questions about his visit. He told me that it hadn’t been very exciting, as he had spent most of his time stuck inside offices, restaurants, taxis, and his hotel room.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With one exception, however: “Do you know Nâzım Hikmet?” he asked me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />“I know of him,” I replied. Emphasis on the “of.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Gökhan took note of the gentle correction. “You know of him, Jim, yes,” he began.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In his dark, well-tailored suit and relaxed smile, Gökhan was an easy-going guy who looked to be in his early fifties. The bank was taking care of the cost of his lessons, and he was happy enough to sit and chat with me like this.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“I will tell you about Nâzım Hikmet,” he continued. Clearing his throat, Gökhan—a banker who was no friend of communism—proceeded to speak movingly in his upper-intermediate English about Nâzım Hikmet and what the poet-communist still meant to him. Amid all of the meetings he’d attended during the course of his busy stay in Moscow, Gökhan had made one special trip for himself: a visit to Nâzım Hikmet’s tomb in the Russian capital’s famous Novodevichy Cemetery, where Chekhov, Bulgakov, Gogol, and many other well-known Russian and Soviet writers are buried.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Yes, I did know of Nâzım Hikmet. His name had come up in my classes whenever my students were asked to describe their “favorite” something or someone. Everyone knew who Nâzım was. His life story—that of a leftist poet who had resided in the USSR in his early twenties, then returned to celebrity, repression, and imprisonment in Turkey before fleeing back to the USSR in 1951—carried a larger-than-life reputation. There was, it seemed, something about Nâzım that radiated romance, a quality that was attractive even to people who might not otherwise read much, if at all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But it was only when I sat in Gökhan’s office that day, listening to this middle-aged banker wax nostalgically about his university years, that I began to realize something much more important than the highlights from Nâzım’s life that I had often heard </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">before: to a great many people Nâzım Hikmet remains, decades a</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ft</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">er his death, meaningful far beyond the parameters of his writing.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 25"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Ask anyone from Turkey who their country’s most famous poet is, and chances are good that the first name you will hear is “Nâzım Hikmet.” Nâzım, who was born in the Ottoman Empire in 1902 and died in the Soviet Union in 1963, is primarily known as a poet. Yet he also wrote plays, novels, short stories, screenplays, and newspaper col- umns over the course of a publishing career that spanned forty-five years. His most recent set of complete works runs to twenty-six volumes, only eight of which are dedicated to poetry. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">To this day, Nâzım Hikmet remains a subject of fascination in Turkey. Not just one, but two cultural centers in Istanbul bear his name. All of his books are in print, and even new ones have emerged out of the woodwork in recent years, reproductions of his scribblings in long-ignored early notebooks. In traditionally bookstore-heavy districts of Istanbul like Beyoğlu or <span style="font-style: italic;">Saha</span><span style="font-style: italic;">fl</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ar</span>—the famed book bazaar abutting the main campus of Istanbul University in Beyazit—no self-respecting bookseller has less than a shelf devoted to works by and about Turkey’s most famous poet. His verse has been translated into dozens of languages, and he has been a favorite topic for biographers in Turkey and elsewhere. Literally hundreds of books have been published in Turkish relating, in some way, to Nâzım Hikmet’s life story. Only the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has been the subject of more biographical attention.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Something else Nâzım has in common with Atatürk is the degree to which the images of both men have been thoroughly commercialized in Turkey.5 In tourist districts across the country, it is easy to find refrigerator magnets, coffee cups, keychains, tote-bags, and other inexpensive trinkets bearing the communist icon’s visage. To his admirers, Nâzım Hikmet is seen as something of a Turkish Che Guevara, only jollier, and coming in the form of a middle-aged man, a little chubby for his time, bearing what appears to be a cheerful yet thoughtful disposition.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r5kjUEHsryqaYE7lpM32xQzmUEJGZUrF_1KtzSRxVNyiwktpEf1q1uGHkZhxZkqTQSsIkJ0jvo0iNkphPhxEidrdIAbH-ssbfg1cBe6z6ZbkFqoIHa6QpDZTTBEVRo1k2oHXwY4YL-6L5IHruTzENenD8H3YbG1AEkjo949n4ElQAZ402_JPk76o8A/s1070/Fig.%201%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%20Hikmet%20p.%2013.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="616" height="635" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r5kjUEHsryqaYE7lpM32xQzmUEJGZUrF_1KtzSRxVNyiwktpEf1q1uGHkZhxZkqTQSsIkJ0jvo0iNkphPhxEidrdIAbH-ssbfg1cBe6z6ZbkFqoIHa6QpDZTTBEVRo1k2oHXwY4YL-6L5IHruTzENenD8H3YbG1AEkjo949n4ElQAZ402_JPk76o8A/w365-h635/Fig.%201%20Na%CC%82z%C4%B1m%20Hikmet%20p.%2013.png" width="365" /></a></div><div class="page" title="Page 26"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While Nâzım is well-known in Turkey, he is not universally beloved. During the Cold War, liking or disliking Nâzım Hikmet usually depended upon one’s politics. Le</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ft</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ists, in particular, celebrated Nâzım as a brave dissident who spoke truth to power. Nâzım’s critics, meanwhile, pointed to his communism, uncritical embrace of the Soviet Union, and non-participation in the Turkish War of Liberation (1919–23) as reasons to fault him.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the wake of Nâzım’s</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fl</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ight from Turkey in 1951, he was stripped of his Turkish citizenship and treated as an enemy of the state.</span></span></div><div class="page" title="Page 26"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One should not, however, get the impression that everyone in Turkey today is somehow obsessed with a long-deceased poet. In an increasingly post-literate world, Turkey is hardly unique in witnessing a decline in book-reading across the population at large. But even as people read fewer books, they still buy them, alongside postcards, posters, and other items stamped with the faces of their literary icons. Among an urban, bookstore-frequenting population in Turkey, Nâzım remains an enduringly relevant and well-regarded figure.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span><img alt="page27image31722304" height="0.265657" src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/38ab9ccd-63fb-4494-ba12-263109684ba9" style="font-family: georgia;" width="16.205062" /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span><img alt="page27image31721536" height="0.265657" src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/519c83f4-5e54-4636-bbbf-92ce7809cfa8" style="font-family: georgia;" width="16.205062" /></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 27"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Biographies of Nâzım</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Even from beyond the grave, Nâzım continues to exert a formidable level of indirect control over the narratives that have developed regarding his life. One way in which this has occurred is through Nâzım’s own writings. The Turkish humorist Aziz Nesin, who revered Nâzım, once observed that “[t]here are very many fabrications (<span style="font-style: italic;">uydurmalar</span>) in the writings and reminiscences relating to Nâzım. Chief among them are the fabrications of Nâzım himself.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In his later years, Nâzım became increasingly preoccupied with creating his own “official history” regarding his life. This project of self-narration included, but was not limited to, the production of Nâzım’s highly autobiographical “novel” <span style="font-style: italic;">Life’s Good, Brother</span>, which he completed shortly before his death in 1963 at the age of sixty-one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım’s generation of international communists—Turkish or otherwise—was particularly adept at the art of self-narration. They’d certainly had practice. In the 1920s and 1930s, these border-crossing communist internationals were frequently called upon by Moscow to produce self-narratives in the form of “party autobiographies.” This often happened, for example, when an individual arrived in the Soviet Union from abroad, or when someone already living in the USSR was changing jobs or city of residence. Obliging their authors to frame past activities and associations in a par- ticular light, party autobiographies were read by Comintern officials in Moscow, who would place them in an individual’s file for future reference.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">From writing party autobiographies in the 1920s and 1930s, a great number of these communists would eventually graduate, in the 1960s and afterward, to producing books of memoirs. These later autobiographical writings of aging communists constitute a fascinating sub-genre of Cold War-related primary source literature. While such published reminiscences can be useful to biographers—I draw upon them myself in this book—they need to be read in a critically-minded way, something that has not always been the case.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım’s border-crossing has, at times, also presented complications for his biographers, most of whom have researched him only in Turkey. As for his contemporaries, Nâzım moved far too often for anyone to have seen more than one part of </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">his life up close.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Few of his friends from Turkey had</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">rst-hand knowledge about his experiences in the USSR, and hardly any of Nâzım’s acquaintances from his later Soviet days had known him when he lived in Turkey. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">By the same token, most people outside of prison were not familiar with Nâzım’s day-to-day life behind bars, while his prison comrades had limited interactions with him beyond jail.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Th</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">e great majority of Nâzım’s friends and acquaintances knew just one side of his multi-faceted life, and they relied upon Nâzım to</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ll in the blanks about the rest.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Th</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">e stories that Nâzım told them were then uncritically repeated in the memoirs and biographies that these friends would write in relation to Nâzım years later.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">From there, they have since made their way into the biographical literature as well.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 28"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In addition to trying to be more critically-minded with respect to the manner in which I read the available source materials, another difference between this biography and previous ones relates to context. Whereas Nâzım’s other biographers tend to discuss his life in terms of its uniqueness, I am more interested in what Nâzım Hikmet had in common with others from his time. When I first began researching this project in Moscow in 2016, I was struck by the degree to which the border-crossing lives of many Turkish Communist Party (TKP) members, well-known and obscure, resembled that of Nâzım. Gradually, I began to see Nâzım’s biography less as an isolated case, and more like the story of a generation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This book also situates Nâzım within a much more international milieu than is usually the case. Existing works on Nâzım Hikmet can be quite Turkey-centric, and often have little to say about the years Nâzım spent living abroad. The periods 1922–28 and 1951–63 are treated as black holes of a sort, unknowable save for Nâzım’s own publications and a few well-worn anecdotes. Out of the approximately 1,500 pages devoted to Nâzım’s life in Kemal Sülker’s six-volume biography of Nâzım, only nine relate to the years 1951–63. Nâzım’s most recent English-language biography, meanwhile, provides just over five pages for the years 1922–28. In this book, by </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">contrast, Nâzım’s international life and his crossing of borders—including those between freedom and imprisonment—lie at the very heart of the story.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 29"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Something else that is different about this biography of Nâzım relates to my treatment of his writing. This book does not set out specifically to interpret Nâzım’s poetry. Instead, I look more carefully at matters like: changes taking place with respect to style, genre, and approach; his level of productivity; how much he was paid; where his works were published, and other more tangible points that I connect to Nâzım’s ever-changing circles, his surroundings, and the crossing of frontiers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">While in these respects and others my approach and conclusions regarding Nâzım often differ from those of his previous biographers, I owe them a considerable debt of gratitude. Only because of their books was I able to write about Nâzım’s life in the way that I have.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 37"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><div class="page" title="Page 33"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">From Empire to Republic</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In a world of empires, size mattered. This was a fact of late imperial life that impacted both the heterogeneity of states and the nature of their frontiers. From the perspective of the individuals who ran empires, it was much more important to be large than racially, ethnically, or religiously homogeneous. This focus upon geographical breadth and growing populations is an important reason why both the Ottoman and Russian empires were so diverse with respect to religion and ethnicity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">By the end of the nineteenth century, less than 50 percent of Russia’s population was ethnic Russian. According to some estimates, there were more Muslims in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century than there were in either the Ottoman Empire or Iran, the two largest independent Muslim states in the world at the time. While political leaders in Istanbul or St. Petersburg may have preferred, in an ideal world, to rule over more ethnically or religiously homogeneous populations, they did not have much choice in the matter. If they wanted their states to expand, or even just maintain their size, they would have to tolerate the presence of a diverse set of communities within their frontiers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Partly as a result of this diversity, government officials in both late imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire approached the administration of their diverse subjects according to largely pragmatic—rather than ideological or nationalist—terms. This consistent—but not constant—pragmatism could also sometimes lead to discrepancies between the approaches of officials in the capital and those working on the ground in the borderlands.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At a time, for example, when Russian policymakers in St. Petersburg were obsessing over the alleged threats stemming from “pan-Turkism” and “pan-Islamism,” local officials in the Crimea opened the door to Crimean Tatars to return to Russia following their previous immigration to the Ottoman Empire. Such an approach to “return migrants” hardly constituted an expression of fear of an Islamic bogeyman, nor did it represent an isolated case. Ultimately, it was more important to state officials in Russia and the Ottoman Empire to gain taxpayers, craftsmen, food-growers, soldiers, factory-workers, and other useful subjects, and doing so meant finding ways of managing difference, as opposed to resisting it.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 34"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the first two decades of Nâzım Hikmet’s life, merchants, migrants, pilgrims, teachers, students, activists, and other types of border-crossers traversed the frontier on numerous occasions—sometimes even holding the passports of both empires. Others simply jumped the border illegally and found work on the other side. De facto dual subjecthood (or “citizenship”) was a frequent occurrence, with individuals gaining subjecthood in one country without the other’s bureaucracy knowing about it. This was especially the case among Turkic-speaking Muslims, who made up the bulk of Russia’s Muslim populations, and whose settlement in the Ottoman Empire was encouraged by authorities in Istanbul.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Following the end of empire, however, the frontier was no longer seen by state authorities in the Republic of Turkey (established in 1923) or the USSR (1922) as a source of opportunity. Rather, borders—and the people who crossed them—came to be viewed as a menace. This change in attitude could be seen in many ways, including in the choice of capitals for these new countries. The imperial centers of Istanbul and St. Petersburg had been elegant port cities, facing water at various angles and situated not far from the frontier. They were replaced, by the empires’ post-imperial successors, with inward-looking Moscow and Ankara, cities that were chosen precisely because of their relatively long distance from the border.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In looking at border-crossers, I draw upon a wide variety of historical literature that has examined the frontier in different ways. For years, border-crossing between Russia and the Middle East was discussed mainly in terms of state-directed wartime actions, such as the mass expulsions of Muslims from regions like the Balkans, the Crimea, and the north Caucasus. These studies, like those relating to the Armenian </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">deportations and genocide, were concerned primarily with establishing a record of these events and explaining how they unfolded.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 35"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More recently, historians of Russia and the Middle East have begun looking at border-crossing in new ways. These works tend to be less state-centric, looking not only at government actions but also at the stories of border-crossers themselves. Rather than treating “migration” as if it were a simple, unidirectional act, these historians follow their subjects across the frontier, back and forth, often drawing from multiple archives in more than one country, examining issues like reverse migration, dual subjecthood, and extra-territorial sovereignty. Others have looked at the construction of borders or non-human border-crossers, such as disease. Today, the late imperial border is discussed in ways that would not have been imaginable just two decades ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This book takes these discussions about borders and border-crossers deep into the twentieth century. Existing works on late imperial border-crossers end with World War I. Biography, however, enables one to evade such traditional historical timelines. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Beginning with the final decades of empire and going all the way up to the last years of the Cold War, I tell a story about Nâzım Hikmet and his generation that transcends both borders and eras.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 36"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Communist Internationals</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">How did foreign nationals end up living as communists in the Soviet Union? For a long time, studies relating to international communism focused mainly upon ideology and institutions like the Comintern or the various national parties. In more recent years, however, a number of books and articles have been produced which look more closely at the human side of communist internationalism. These works combine personal stories with broader analysis to explore larger questions relating to the Soviet Union, international communist movements, and networks of “communist internationals,” i.e., communists who had crossed borders and lived abroad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Earlier histories focusing more specifically on the Turkish Communist Party likewise tended to look most closely at matters pertaining to institutions and ideology, rather than people. When individuals have been discussed in this literature, it has usually </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">been in the context of their party activities.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">By looking more at communists—and less at communism per se—I aim to examine the complex lives of these individuals on a more human scale, one that also tells us something about the eras in which they lived.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Th</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">e women and men of the TKP were far more than simple repositories of ideology. As best I can, I have tried to reconstruct their vanished world.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 37"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Long before Stalinism or the party’s eventual domination in Eastern Europe by grumpy old bureaucrats, communism was sexy. And so was Nâzım Hikmet. In seeking to rescue Nâzım “from the dreary bondage of myth, from the oppressive after- shock of cultural significance,” my goal has been to breathe life back into a figure who has often been treated in one-dimensional terms. The brash young poet who once endeavored to tear down the idols of Turkey’s literary establishment has himself been transformed into one.</span></p></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The first step in moving beyond this monument is to see how Nâzım fit in. </span></p></div></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YN19GGCPFJZ0&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677369626&s=books&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Cstripbooks%2C214&sr=1-1" target="_blank">purchase your own copy of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i> here</a>. </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="st" style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span></span></div></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">***<br /><span class="st" style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, <i>comme toujours</i>, in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/03/prologue-tears-of-joy.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Prologue: Tears of Joy</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</span></a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Nazim Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Catching up in the 'Grade</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Birthdays of Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">New Article Out: The Letters of Munevver Andac to Nazim Hikmet</span></a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazim </span></span><span style="color: #6666cc; font-family: georgia; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></span></a></div></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-3340025687209166472023-03-27T12:14:00.008-06:002023-03-27T15:11:03.267-06:00Prologue: Tears of Joy<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Monday, March 27, 2023</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This morning I was minding my business as usual at the Borderlands Lodge when, fresh from emerging from a mid-morning sauna I happened to notice the snowy residue of footprints on my front walk. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, who could that be? I wondered. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-OTvNbjfGvjZTQ14hDGVQUrrA9MX_CEMkjPhUKR7OdCB5o3nHwroTGL-qtkYv_3HIy28OxV9Y6Q3p2-VVckaH8Eeji4Ep0P9JQ3cEnJzogY0KCkowf2tIqlqTy9U8xyMdvKWf2TC7kn_8FGa0qv4WZq7-uQNy9Xxs3svsZzW1de9g7QXYLUowT9HfQ/s4608/20230327_113720.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2072" data-original-width="4608" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-OTvNbjfGvjZTQ14hDGVQUrrA9MX_CEMkjPhUKR7OdCB5o3nHwroTGL-qtkYv_3HIy28OxV9Y6Q3p2-VVckaH8Eeji4Ep0P9JQ3cEnJzogY0KCkowf2tIqlqTy9U8xyMdvKWf2TC7kn_8FGa0qv4WZq7-uQNy9Xxs3svsZzW1de9g7QXYLUowT9HfQ/w524-h236/20230327_113720.jpg" width="524" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It feels great to see this baby in print</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">It turned out to be the delivery of the author copies of my book, </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Red Star over the Black Sea. </i>The book, which is published by Oxford University Press, goes on sale in the UK next week. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19X0EI0XJ1VV7&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1679939799&sprefix=%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-1" target="_blank">It'll be available in the US at the beginning of June</a>. </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After seven and a half years of <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Nâzım%20Hikmet" target="_blank">working on this project</a>, it's pretty amazing to finally hold the book in my hands. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And what about you? Any interest in getting a copy of your own? If you're still on the fence, maybe checking out the prologue (<i>sans </i>footnotes) below will help you decide. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the meantime, please forgive these tears of joy...</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: georgia;"><span></span><span></span></i></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Prologue</span></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 21"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Tears of Joy</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was an early Sunday morning—June 17, 1951—and Nâzım Hikmet was awakening into darkness. Turkey’s best-known poet was fleeing his country, heading north to Bulgaria. At forty-nine years of age, Nâzım was making one more reach beyond his grasp, seeking to escape from the prison that Turkey had become for him. His once reddish-blond locks were showing hints of grey and Nâzım’s face was now creased with age, but still he was seeking to add chapters to his life. Nâzım Hikmet would remain trapped inside no longer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As he would later recount to his debriefers in Romania, Nâzım had started this day well before dawn. Creeping out of his home on the Anatolian (or “Asian”) side of Istanbul, he had walked down to the main road and flagged a taxi. Arriving at the pre- arranged spot, he exited the car and made his way down to the Bosphorus, the turquoise saltwater strait that divides Istanbul—and Turkey—between continental Europe and Asia.2 The Bosphorus would this morning serve as the highway that Nâzım would take in his escape, just as he had done when he had fled British-occupied Istanbul at the age of nineteen. This time, Nâzım’s brother-in-law Refik was spiriting him out of the country on a small Chris-Craft motorboat.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On the face of it, their plan was insane. The Black Sea is notorious for its rough waves and strong current. Yet Nâzım and Refik, the husband of Nâzım’s younger half- sister Melda, were proposing something even more challenging than just riding the potentially treacherous seas on such a small craft. They were also hoping to somehow make their way past the patrols of Turkish navy and coast guard vessels and enter the territorial waters of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, some 130 miles away. The idea was for them to do an end-around past the Iron Curtain, enabling Nâzım to go and live as a free man, he hoped, in the USSR or elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It wasn’t going to be easy. In recent years, the Turkish–Bulgarian border had emerged as a potential Cold War flash point, with the two countries positioned in opposite camps across a burgeoning superpower divide. The frontier between Turkey and Bulgaria was now a death-zone for those attempting to cross illegally. For an idea </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">of what could go wrong, Nâzım needed to look no further than at the example of his fellow le</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ft</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ist writer Sabahattin Ali. In March of 1948 the author </span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">of</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;">Madonna in a Fur Coat </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">pa</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">id a guide to lead him from Kırklareli, Turkey to Burgaz, Bulgaria. Weeks passed, however, and Ali never showed up on the Bulgarian side of the border. On April 16, a Turkish shepherd discovered his decomposing body near the frontier. Someone had rained down blows upon the bespectacled novelist’s head, crushing Sabahattin Ali’s skull with a bat.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 22"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Riding the choppy tide of the Black Sea toward Bulgaria, Nâzım and Refik noticed that a ship had appeared in the distance. Getting closer, the brothers-in-law could see that it was a Romanian cargo vessel called the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plekhanov</span>. As was the case with Bulgaria, Romania was an ally of the USSR, which meant that boarding the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plekhanov </span>could conceivably be just as useful to Nâzım as traveling all the way into Bulgarian waters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After a brief conversation, Nâzım and Refik decided to audible. Refik changed course and the Chris-Craft slowly approached the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plekhanov</span>, with the brothers-in- law now waving excitedly at the ship’s surprised crewmembers. Refik endeavored to steer closer to the ship while Nâzım shouted up several more times to the crew in Russian and French. The little motorboat was pummeled by the waves that were churned up by the much larger vessel.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They began to perceive signs of progress. The ship’s crewmembers cut the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plekhanov</span>’s engines, making it easier for them to hear what Nâzım was saying. But meanwhile, time was passing. If the ship’s crew didn’t take Nâzım, the brothers-in-law would still have a long journey ahead of them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But Nâzım was in luck, if that’s how it can be described. The previous year, he had been the subject of an international, and largely Eastern Bloc-driven, campaign demanding his release from prison in Turkey. For this reason, Nâzım was relatively well-known in Eastern Europe. The crew of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plekhanov </span>recognized him, eventually, and came to realize what he wanted from them. After an extended delay while the ship’s captain radioed back to Bucharest to explain that someone claiming to be the famous communist poet Nâzım Hikmet was asking to be let on board, at last a rope ladder was lowered down to the motorboat.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım turned to Refik and kissed him farewell on both cheeks, Turkish-style. The 49-year-old poet climbed the ladder up toward the deck of the cargo ship looming far above. Refik turned the Chris-Craft around and headed back toward Istanbul. He would never see his brother-in-law again.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Th</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">e next several days were busy ones for Nâzım. First, the</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;"><span>Plekhanov </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">transported him to the Black Sea port of Constan</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ț</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">a, Romania. A</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ft</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">er two days in Constan</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ț</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">a, Nâzım was taken to Bucharest, where he was visited by a doctor and</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">nally given some fresh clothing to wear. He had only brought what he had been wearing during the escape, not wishing to attract extra attention should he and Re</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fi</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">k be stopped by Turkish authorities.</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 23"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım’s handlers in Bucharest could not help but notice that the Turkish poet had been deeply affected by the tumultuous events of the previous few days. He had left his wife, infant son, and all of his close friends and family behind in Istanbul, along with his in-progress writings. The new life that he was escaping into, moreover, was at this time still difficult to predict. Despite the fact that he had spent more than fourteen years in Turkish prisons, Nâzım’s reputation in Moscow was far from sterling. His plight underscored the potential lethality of Cold War-era border-crossing. Could it be that Nâzım had escaped from a Turkish frying pan only to jump into a Stalinist fire?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In Bucharest, the officers responsible for looking after Nâzım had noticed their charge’s anxiety. “His nerves are always tense,” read one report to Moscow, “and due to his agitation he is unable to hold back his tears.” Nâzım, however, told his minders not to worry. The uncontrolled rivulets streaming down his cheeks were nothing more, he assured them, than “tears of joy.”</span></p><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">***</span></span></span><br /><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">More photos, commentary, and links can be found, <i>comme toujours</i>, in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Meyers-Borderlands/106417406111331" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Borderlands Lounge</a>. </span></span></span><br /><br /><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="st"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">*** </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? Order your copy at <a href="http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198725145.do" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the OUP website</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Turks-Across-Empires-Russian-Ottoman-Borderlands/dp/0198725140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399669225&sr=8-1&keywords=JAmes+Meyer+turks" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></span>. </span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">***</span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Also see: </span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2023/02/regrouping-in-belgrade-n-p.html" target="_blank">Re-grouping in Belgrade N & P</a></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" target="_blank">Nazim Hikmet Book Talk in Texas</a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/catching-up-in-grade.html" target="_blank">Catching up in the 'Grade</a></span></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" target="_blank">The Birthdays of Nazim Hikmet</a></span></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="column"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2020/05/new-article-out-letters-of-munevver.html" target="_blank">New Article Out: The Letters of Munevver Andac to Nazim Hikmet</a></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazim </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hikmet</span></span></a></div><div class="column" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><br /></div></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-60637661592120173842023-02-25T14:46:00.021-07:002023-02-27T09:35:33.782-07:00Regrouping in Belgrade N & P<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, February 25, 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I've been away from the blog for a while, mainly because I was finishing up my book on </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım Hikmet. I finally did send up the final proofs a couple of weeks ago. I've been told the book will come out first in the UK (the publisher is Oxford University Press) on April 2. Apparently, it will be available in the US starting June 2. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, I've been holing up at the Borderlands Lodge. </span></p><p></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTISmL8VcpTnXPcKq9WWh2dyXoGJEPtg8-aBCak3r4a57gRzbhSAIzljlurx_ZDx3F_5v83hJYsORrk7tWjarkZPUvNqUcbvpDkyLj-mHwqqoskvitKZzi_ZHaUTN2Oka_MQ3SyE_Ik99Y7t96sFQOWoplBbs8o1ZxbbpQiDhc1M3EsxyntwoHnxAlw/s1236/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="895" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTISmL8VcpTnXPcKq9WWh2dyXoGJEPtg8-aBCak3r4a57gRzbhSAIzljlurx_ZDx3F_5v83hJYsORrk7tWjarkZPUvNqUcbvpDkyLj-mHwqqoskvitKZzi_ZHaUTN2Oka_MQ3SyE_Ik99Y7t96sFQOWoplBbs8o1ZxbbpQiDhc1M3EsxyntwoHnxAlw/w288-h397/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-25%20at%203.24.18%20PM.png" width="288" /></a></div>The book has been a long time coming. As I recount <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/10/nazm-hikmet-in-texas.html" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>, I came up with the idea of working on Nâzım in the summer of 2015, and started reading up on him in earnest in the fall and spring of 2015-2016. The years to follow took me on multiple trips to archives in Moscow, Istanbul, Amsterdam, and Washington, D.C. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was a great experience. I loved the research, and especially working in the archives. Researching in Moscow, especially, was thrilling, mainly because none of that material had ever appeared in books on </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nâzım before. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the writing process was also quite interesting. When the pandemic began, I was in a position to shift entirely to writing. So, that's what I did every day. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are obviously much bigger things going on in the world right now. This is one little book in a universe of suffering that's taking place in Turkey, Syria, and Ukraine, alongside many other locations on this planet. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On the other hand, this is what I've been doing for the past seven and a half years. I hope people enjoy it. </span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Russia-Ukraine</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I gave a talk about the Russia-Ukraine war at the Belgrade Community Library <a href="https://www.msuaf.org/s/1584/index.aspx?sid=1584&gid=1&pgid=5954&cid=10930&ecid=10930&crid=0&calpgid=371&calcid=8335" target="_blank">a couple of weeks ago</a>. It was a really nice experience. There was a good crowd, and people asked a lot of good questions. I managed to chat with a number of people after the event had ended. I also met some of my neighbors, as the library is located a short distance from my house. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX92I7-WxDubs8aDg72tG3iGAG0j_KbeoAeBWw2M5dNrqeEoWIgED4S8oq5dcNCn3V1Ie0z7LKkwif41KulYWLFD-Np_wgW9lElAgWvvbrScJIZHoYyrsx27P1wH9GBl3rO8HIwgz9OWd4_JgsnJ9zm26z1T8g3UXRjmSN9DIcZFhDgSJWTHEpTXZsgg/s2200/Document.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="2200" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX92I7-WxDubs8aDg72tG3iGAG0j_KbeoAeBWw2M5dNrqeEoWIgED4S8oq5dcNCn3V1Ie0z7LKkwif41KulYWLFD-Np_wgW9lElAgWvvbrScJIZHoYyrsx27P1wH9GBl3rO8HIwgz9OWd4_JgsnJ9zm26z1T8g3UXRjmSN9DIcZFhDgSJWTHEpTXZsgg/w466-h148/Document.jpeg" width="466" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">To be honest, I hadn't really been thinking much about the war lately. At least not as much as last year, <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" target="_blank">when I wrote quite a bit</a>. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Part of the reason for this was no doubt related to the fact that, between September 2022 and February 2023 I was reading and re-reading my manuscript to the point of pukedom. But also, I felt like I hadn't really changed my mind regarding what I had written earlier, and had little to add for the time being. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Reading through my old posts in preparation for the library talk, I found myself generally agreeing with what I'd written in late 2021 and 2022 regarding the war. I still think it makes much more sense to keep Russia occupied in Eastern Ukraine. Putin could get everything he wanted tomorrow, and within a year or two we would just be going through the same cycle of threats and drama again, only further to the west. </span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLo55rNj1BOyXpt34Gq1T_iR5Eb5Nnj_8CJxlKBmKIqJuLG2yRO68Pc3AygZYp5pjxm8ao3Yebsetnx3KhzBDCRfVx7JllNOLuz_77hHpPfb3cjJhFqXszIBIsYwKdYFs27FmbhZiW6GfIi_a8gfPTpv4TbNUJHHn9l_yRyTcf8NgzDRmmCdcxTKtrCQ/s1110/36176643_906.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="1110" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLo55rNj1BOyXpt34Gq1T_iR5Eb5Nnj_8CJxlKBmKIqJuLG2yRO68Pc3AygZYp5pjxm8ao3Yebsetnx3KhzBDCRfVx7JllNOLuz_77hHpPfb3cjJhFqXszIBIsYwKdYFs27FmbhZiW6GfIi_a8gfPTpv4TbNUJHHn9l_yRyTcf8NgzDRmmCdcxTKtrCQ/w373-h210/36176643_906.png" width="373" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/24/moldova-dismisses-russia-claims-of-ukraine-plot-to-invade-transnistria-region " target="_blank">Such as in Moldova</a>, for example? Who knows? Normally I'd say it would make little sense for Russia to open up a second front at this particular moment, but then again I felt the same way about invading Ukraine. That made no sense to me, either, other than <i>кому-то это надо. </i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But maybe Putin thinks it makes sense to create multiple crises in multiple places (look out, Georgia) as a means of establishing leverage that he doesn't have right now because he's losing the war in Ukraine. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">That's assuming, of course, that a move would go well in Moldova, and that there wouldn't be the unexpected resistance Russia has encountered in Ukraine. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I also wonder what such a move would have on European and US opinion regarding aid. Could aiding Moldova turn into an issue of debate? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/01/31/as-russian-invasion-nears-one-year-mark-partisans-grow-further-apart-on-u-s-support-for-ukraine/" target="_blank">At the end of January, a Pew Research poll </a>said that </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: times;"></span></span></p><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: courier;">a<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42);">bout a quarter (26%) now say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine, while 31% say it is giving the right amount and 20% would like to see the U.S. give Ukraine additional assistance.</span></span></span></blockquote></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">More recent polls have reflected <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/3869829-americans-divided-on-who-will-win-ukraine-war-poll/" target="_blank">higher levels of support and sympathy for Ukraine</a>, but the support <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/ukraine/poll-us-support-softens-ukraine-war/103-d1421cf8-f836-4314-a65f-90ee7f149ccc" target="_blank">does seem to be softening</a> to some degree. <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" target="_blank">Borderland readers</a>, of course, won't be surprised to hear this. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If the proper arguments are made, I think Americans are capable of understanding, over a sustained period of time, why it makes sense to support Ukraine. But especially in the part of the country where I live, it's important to emphasize that, as far as dealing with Russia is concerned, it's a question of now or later. And if we wait until later, it'll end up being a lot messier and difficult. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></p><!--more--><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Turkey/Syria Quake</b></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRTsw5AY_zMTcby6iw2X_kazsJ28vyqmyexKyRTpv9NA0jKvKk59aQMIfhbtnPODiBDekPQW_2_ZeayFNtbujcxLtws_MxLXhgp6mHgtyUvJdSzxFWK0uWBlD0l4PRMcLGCZJRz3LU0acG8t4C7rcxUPuXlHqRCH6w4M_Am_rBCX8XbPIzHsYiQe8Ew/s2901/deadly_earthquake_in_turkey%20areas_0.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2901" data-original-width="2707" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRTsw5AY_zMTcby6iw2X_kazsJ28vyqmyexKyRTpv9NA0jKvKk59aQMIfhbtnPODiBDekPQW_2_ZeayFNtbujcxLtws_MxLXhgp6mHgtyUvJdSzxFWK0uWBlD0l4PRMcLGCZJRz3LU0acG8t4C7rcxUPuXlHqRCH6w4M_Am_rBCX8XbPIzHsYiQe8Ew/w348-h372/deadly_earthquake_in_turkey%20areas_0.png" width="348" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As of now, reports are of an estimated 50, 000 dead. 50,000 dead! My goodness. The big one that hit outside Istanbul in August 1999 was 7.6 on the Richter scale, a bit smaller than this recent quake (7.8). Nearly 20,000 people died in 1999. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Huge aftershocks are still taking place in Turkey, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/02/23/turkey-earthquake-aftershock-risks-seismologists/" target="_blank">some of which would constitute major catastrophes in their own right</a> were it not for the fact that everything has already been destroyed. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I've been to most of the cities affected by the quake and have friends who have lost loved ones. As far as I know, no one that I know personally was killed, but we'll see what happens. Not that it matters, but this is one of my favorite parts of Turkey. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJCi0KziQbj8_qEwLpSKcKSh4VZ_bJ-U7ADLhy1F5hdA1f86TKWp73AMVfEIlWZTCabsg4yApolIBDN6pHVYj1sd4xw73klULziW49JvE_VQwHv5XtC9WQ8mFpfK1hdI_ojww280N3OAOKSkfrJcbgR7jF_O5KyMQLSivEYnabfTJGYA5i2PJ-grxRQ/s960/El6Qkw_WoAA2pY7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="960" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJCi0KziQbj8_qEwLpSKcKSh4VZ_bJ-U7ADLhy1F5hdA1f86TKWp73AMVfEIlWZTCabsg4yApolIBDN6pHVYj1sd4xw73klULziW49JvE_VQwHv5XtC9WQ8mFpfK1hdI_ojww280N3OAOKSkfrJcbgR7jF_O5KyMQLSivEYnabfTJGYA5i2PJ-grxRQ/s320/El6Qkw_WoAA2pY7.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The 1999 earthquake, and what was perceived as the pathetic response of the government to the crisis, is often credited with helping Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AKP win the elections of 2002--and they've been in power ever since. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Today, we're hearing the same complaints: too much corruption allowing shoddy buildings to be constructed; too slow a reaction to the earthquake; not enough assistance is being provided to the survivors, etc. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Once again, people are saying "things will never be the same again." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It will be interesting to see if the AKP's time in power ends up bookended by seismic catastrophes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Sports Update</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Spring training games started today, as the Detroit Tigers' inevitable march toward world championship glory begins, yet again. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Seriously, though, I am optimistic. Our scandal-tainted manager is gonna teach the boys how to cheat the right way. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0WDoeQC7mEGIJ0dc-QXolFRAp1ymP4A6g7Bri29OxPQ1XSpjyZbqszKMmJh1xQprm-JfUdgJnZUJbWliuOQLpDqx30gimVZD36by92Y29Ja4arxeqRw_xx0uN-TfmUyWNDzAR27BAxcVSM-2J9RyOzrt96XAcSh3VcJWp3N9Q4J7SE24Wn7LC7i8Fg/s640/detroit-tigers-win-1984-world-series-tiger-stadium.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="640" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0WDoeQC7mEGIJ0dc-QXolFRAp1ymP4A6g7Bri29OxPQ1XSpjyZbqszKMmJh1xQprm-JfUdgJnZUJbWliuOQLpDqx30gimVZD36by92Y29Ja4arxeqRw_xx0uN-TfmUyWNDzAR27BAxcVSM-2J9RyOzrt96XAcSh3VcJWp3N9Q4J7SE24Wn7LC7i8Fg/w400-h188/detroit-tigers-win-1984-world-series-tiger-stadium.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I was also very glad to see (well, hear) the radio broadcast team of Dan Dickerson and Jim Price again. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Listening to baseball via the online radio broadcasts is one of the last redeeming characteristics of the internet. I especially enjoy listening to "afternoon" games, which start at 11:05 am Mountain time. Who knows how many innings of baseball I listened to during the course of <i>Red Star over the Black Sea</i>'s creation. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One thing that's great about listening to baseball while writing is that, if I suddenly need to concentrate on something I can mute the broadcast and then, even if I forgot for two hours that I have a game on, I can unmute my computer and still have a puncher's chance of catching the end of the game. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Baseball: it lasts forever! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is threatened, of course, by the recent efforts of Major League Baseball to speed things up. This afternoon's Tigers-Phillies matchup, for example, lasted only two hours and seventeen minutes. Sure, it's just a spring training game, but the addition this season of a pitch clock is likely going to have an effect on things. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocUBpiXzpMk3lJ5DuPO8BzIkX4YRso-XxrG2SAyYY4Z6lY6NvcIAelwBe3Z8nncobFTIRQEcw7I6BFEpfklbFdIT-drnOOKPst1D9Kcjw5oI6jsbLW1jhht9dHO7_SVyL0BMtwluoyxzjEsWdM4vQw0p60qrcGq7cyKMlfyMAPYaoE0DudWJibEGhug/s475/oly2012950main.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="475" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocUBpiXzpMk3lJ5DuPO8BzIkX4YRso-XxrG2SAyYY4Z6lY6NvcIAelwBe3Z8nncobFTIRQEcw7I6BFEpfklbFdIT-drnOOKPst1D9Kcjw5oI6jsbLW1jhht9dHO7_SVyL0BMtwluoyxzjEsWdM4vQw0p60qrcGq7cyKMlfyMAPYaoE0DudWJibEGhug/w370-h278/oly2012950main.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>I know I'm just a cranky old man at this point, but I'm fine with slow baseball. It's a leisurely game. I don't have much experience going to Tiger games in person, but when I was in college I went to a lot of Expo games at Olympic Stadium. It cost a buck to get into the bleachers. I </span><span>whiled away many an afternoon there drinking beer, reading the ne</span><span>wspaper, and smoking the occasional joint. I considered it a splendid way to spend my time. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And this was in gross, cavernous, cigarette-smoke filled Olympic Stadium. Imagine if the games had been outside? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So who needs less of that? We get angry at "shrinkflation" when it takes place in supermarkets, why are we happy with this when it comes to sports? Are we supposed to ask for only three quarters of a football game now? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Anyway, this is what's going on at the Borderlands Lodge these days. Now that my work on the book is over, I'm slowly starting to sift through all of the other tasks I've been ignoring for the past several months. In particular, it's nice to read books for pleasure again. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After seven and a half years, I'm super-happy to be finished. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Or perhaps you're a red star over the Black Sea? If so, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-over-Black-Sea/dp/019287117X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MSK6YK4BYSO&keywords=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meyer&qid=1677362622&sprefix=red+star+over+the+black+sea+meye%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1" target="_blank">you can pre-order the book here</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span> </span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-33584486328895384712022-10-02T12:11:00.024-06:002023-12-22T13:27:15.150-07:00Russia-Ukraine Notes: Early October Edition<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">October 2, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After almost eight months of fighting, it feels like developments have been shifting in the Russia-Ukraine war in recent weeks, doesn't it? </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2WhFSIrBT-1TOjeLPmq47quEA58_JTImk8hktRA79A7EiFMrrn8DjunuJlIu_UOPF5ZX8E8KyDjBr200JvCXpVwiBQfzU8hKEuRB9WGdZ-8kwEaMsUbXIy8tN4NWnmh7Qpg8DPloVRBS20ugFPYyLSrrMIsd-eT_24GjkUie-U1cwFZr9KkTht-ioA/s1639/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-02%20at%209.59.00%20AM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="1639" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2WhFSIrBT-1TOjeLPmq47quEA58_JTImk8hktRA79A7EiFMrrn8DjunuJlIu_UOPF5ZX8E8KyDjBr200JvCXpVwiBQfzU8hKEuRB9WGdZ-8kwEaMsUbXIy8tN4NWnmh7Qpg8DPloVRBS20ugFPYyLSrrMIsd-eT_24GjkUie-U1cwFZr9KkTht-ioA/w511-h168/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-02%20at%209.59.00%20AM.png" width="511" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Separated at birth?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the face of things, there is worrying news. The prospect of Russia using nuclear weapons is particularly frightening, without question. It is unclear what the US or NATO response would be to something like that, but at the same time I don't know how Putin's making these threats should change Washington's behavior right now. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nuclear blackmail, once successfully employed, would become a component of international relations, ultimately making the world more dangerous. If you don't like the idea of Russia of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, how would you like the possibility of Moscow making the same threat a year from now toward Georgia or NATO? Or how about from China toward Taiwan or North Korea vis-a-vis Japan? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>A Faux Nationalist in a Multinational Country</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It has also been interesting to watch Vladimir Putin attempt to transform himself into a populist sort of nationalist leader, something that has never been a convincing part of his repertoire. As I've discu</span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ssed </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/re-russia-ukraine-changes-coming.html" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">elsewhere</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">, this kind of taking-it-to-the-streets politics has not typically been in this guy's wheelhouse, to put it mildly. Instead, Putin has usually been most comfortable working behind the scenes. The selling point of h</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">is administration, at least insofar as Russians are concerned, has always been his competence, rather than his ability to sway large numbers of people through his rhetoric or theater. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vv-RFMhuC4AWVXUEl1fcg0fz6KvnwYdTMNGolfWCthkzRJFA_8Mh01EWcRPFB2QiAzO7G3WiYSzKJOoEA6mBGAxVKSzzVszhR7zadWAycPWFEhk_UqIZQX4Ezfi8EGe05qozcDUIsR-AETGQF-hqPykdb_Q9nI89Or6JxkWjShAKmARLiNds8NfJgA/s400/550px-Russian-regions-3.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="400" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vv-RFMhuC4AWVXUEl1fcg0fz6KvnwYdTMNGolfWCthkzRJFA_8Mh01EWcRPFB2QiAzO7G3WiYSzKJOoEA6mBGAxVKSzzVszhR7zadWAycPWFEhk_UqIZQX4Ezfi8EGe05qozcDUIsR-AETGQF-hqPykdb_Q9nI89Or6JxkWjShAKmARLiNds8NfJgA/w402-h283/550px-Russian-regions-3.png" width="402" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's a dangerous move. One point t</span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">hat </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">I brought up last December</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> is that, for a federated republic like Russi</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">a, waging war in the name of "self-determination of peoples" involves some real risks. Yet this is precisely what the Russian leader is attempting to do. Look at the <a href="https://www.miragenews.com/full-text-of-putins-speech-at-annexation-866383/" target="_blank">transcript</a> of his speech from last week. While Putin is still careful to speak more in terms of "Russia" than "Russians," this war is transforming his position from one of caretaker over a multi-ethnic and multi-religious Russian Federation into that of a would-be leader of ethnic Russians more specifically. </span></span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And how does that work, exactly, when you're the leader of a country in which roughly 10-15% of the population is Muslim? And where dozens of other nationalities live in republics, <i>krai</i>s, <i>oblast</i>s, and other forms of territorially-defined districts? At what point do the populations in these regions start repeating the Kremlin line that yes, indeed, this is a war that is being fought on behalf of Russians? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_4UXNwRtnpvlFOSJTcWV1pK2O7JvN0BuiroAf3x2G7-tw-5GRVmr2Z7GtK_uPpTanB4hjx0aB-xcsajrDQNYeO-oj1GZyE2u6LpouToYF0W09R9GKwvYnNh_7yHU1n7u-I7j0-SA9DT0ceZN44WVjxcpgqPedHZR922neG-L1-8RQKqLDmq3RsVZow/s1280/Fd26RBkXEAEgKCH.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="905" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_4UXNwRtnpvlFOSJTcWV1pK2O7JvN0BuiroAf3x2G7-tw-5GRVmr2Z7GtK_uPpTanB4hjx0aB-xcsajrDQNYeO-oj1GZyE2u6LpouToYF0W09R9GKwvYnNh_7yHU1n7u-I7j0-SA9DT0ceZN44WVjxcpgqPedHZR922neG-L1-8RQKqLDmq3RsVZow/s320/Fd26RBkXEAEgKCH.jpeg" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Well, it appears to be already happening, especially as most of the Russian casualties in the fighting have, it seems, been <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/09/23/russia-partial-military-mobilization-ethnic-minorities/" target="_blank">drawn from the non-ethnic Russian populations of the country</a>--especially the North Caucasus and Buryatia. While there is definitely a strong whiff of wishful thinking in a lot of the American media coverage of the war, it does seem like anti-war protests are a real part of the landscape now in Russia, not only in places like St. Petersburg and Moscow, <a href="https://jamestown.org/program/anti-mobilization-protests-in-dagestan-becoming-a-maidan-in-the-north-caucasus/" target="_blank">but also in, say, Dagestan</a>. Notably, the protests in Makhachkala <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhGEYL0c5kA" target="_blank">featured large numbers of women</a>. There have been a number of small <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Kazan+protests+war&newwindow=1&client=safari&rls=en&sxsrf=ALiCzsb44xW6WvhsWsIzyyTJRpWme8EGxg:1664732320171&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:m&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjP2duUi8L6AhU7HTQIHSAcDyAQpwV6BAgBEBk&biw=1324&bih=734&dpr=2" target="_blank">protests this month in Kazan</a> as well. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfQcEwXozIuOI7ylml9h1U218mDV86cKObYVkHCMz6fxTphaF14MeBHnKsfrr0zlICXp0NNGQK7ixJ_JoDuHVrRfHgnNZdeHxDxkwNnC_50FboeqwvzKVb9rVvh7Y5TzmKeM-QvHIdsd8SUlNcJQ240TTs0LNFTzyXfXXvG81z29UJvEeLkc8cNOrvA/s762/INTERACTIVE-Which-Ukrainian-regions-is-Russia-annexing-.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="762" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfQcEwXozIuOI7ylml9h1U218mDV86cKObYVkHCMz6fxTphaF14MeBHnKsfrr0zlICXp0NNGQK7ixJ_JoDuHVrRfHgnNZdeHxDxkwNnC_50FboeqwvzKVb9rVvh7Y5TzmKeM-QvHIdsd8SUlNcJQ240TTs0LNFTzyXfXXvG81z29UJvEeLkc8cNOrvA/s320/INTERACTIVE-Which-Ukrainian-regions-is-Russia-annexing-.png" width="320" /></a></div>Meanwhile, Moscow has announced that it has "annexed" four regions of Eastern Ukraine: </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. Interesting move. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/russia-ukraine-war-secret-expenses-kremlin-funds-war-moscow-putin-2022-9" target="_blank">You spend billions in fighting</a>, lose thousands of soldiers in the process, and you end up with what? Four poor post-industrial regions of eastern Ukraine that no one in Russia wanted in the first place. <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html" target="_blank">As I noted back in January</a>, it's a far cry from the annexation of the Crimea, which was accomplished without a shot being fired. More importantly, the Crimea was a region of Ukraine that many Russians actually liked the idea of annexing. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">These four regions, by contrast, were of much more use to Moscow as unstable parts of Ukraine than they will ever be as destroyed regions of Russia. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">It would be like going from San Diego to Youngstown, Ohio, only if San Diego were a thousand times cooler and Youngstown had been flattened. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>The News from Kyiv</b></span></span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the government of Ukraine <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-ukraine-applying-nato-membership-2022-09-30/" target="_blank">has officially applied to join NATO</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Well, as everyone in academia knows, just because you apply for something, that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get it. In fact, this isn't even the first time that Ukraine has applied to join the alliance. Their first application was in 2008. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5eYOgS2m8yJNd7JwV1MBgSO1X0sK0E0_HUO3iXkGyIRSvhuR15wVMHFuWvyM1Wdq3mmFtJwToWsPLlLMbVqd86J8lRVLanXV26x7drMJdS1aWhzYg1ZdZqlUaIOllMsxYSbef39cE1ecP_wb2Kk4L8Dm65YcVYlddNWvOTDEHNMv-J-rh77tLHjIng/s1260/107062156-1652781127591-Nato_Members_2022_02.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1260" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5eYOgS2m8yJNd7JwV1MBgSO1X0sK0E0_HUO3iXkGyIRSvhuR15wVMHFuWvyM1Wdq3mmFtJwToWsPLlLMbVqd86J8lRVLanXV26x7drMJdS1aWhzYg1ZdZqlUaIOllMsxYSbef39cE1ecP_wb2Kk4L8Dm65YcVYlddNWvOTDEHNMv-J-rh77tLHjIng/s320/107062156-1652781127591-Nato_Members_2022_02.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I don't think there is any way that Ukraine will join NATO for as long as they're at war with Russia. Indeed, the word from Turkey this week is that Turkish President Tayyip <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-erdogan-renews-threat-to-block-nato-bids-by-sweden-finland/6771840.html" target="_blank">Erdoğan has renewed his threat</a> to block the accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance. In Erdoğan's case, I think this is mostly bluster, but it serves as a reminder that decisions on admitting new members are made according to unanimous vote in NATO. Every country has a veto, an increasingly complicated rule now that the alliance has 30 members. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOpgCmOT4SpY8Xlx-vKxysR-7Zm9fK_B9NtGcP040NpOJsD9h5yA1xmjsdgGQRZ1PD6pnTIlUDiGROfuZO0Pep3LEvm4krieLY9H4_TM94BLCnwiPCo7e44E44i98-MbHmpG6T1LZLGj5C7_vvVmtVo7GZc3DRsKIMw7q5F86xMWGhe6w-aEzufEPlA/s1352/dc7bfddaf9d63400bb557267898f77db.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1352" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOpgCmOT4SpY8Xlx-vKxysR-7Zm9fK_B9NtGcP040NpOJsD9h5yA1xmjsdgGQRZ1PD6pnTIlUDiGROfuZO0Pep3LEvm4krieLY9H4_TM94BLCnwiPCo7e44E44i98-MbHmpG6T1LZLGj5C7_vvVmtVo7GZc3DRsKIMw7q5F86xMWGhe6w-aEzufEPlA/s320/dc7bfddaf9d63400bb557267898f77db.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In my opinion, the biggest risk that could stem from Ukraine's application would be this: let's say the Ukraine-Russia war ends with Russia occupying Ukrainian territory, and then Ukraine joins NATO. That would create an ambiguous situation. Would Ukraine be able to invoke Article 5 on the basis of occupation, rather than invasion? Because even if Ukraine manages to re-conquer all of its territory in the east, there would still be the matter of the Crimea to contend with. For as long as Russia is controlling any Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea, admitting Ukraine to NATO would risk a serious escalation with Russia. This would apply to Georgia as well, by the way. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9ZtNLlD3N0fGmFJmtzkXkgkuCdPUbnlWp9-RuFUmd0i9RxvVcpBrBbAIaV3RYeJJFTVBbph-u9HzLOEARSGCvhIy6VaDEg8GbaMNQSJWY5r4_UOdrYHzfSRo2NeugSkk4Zm0IJWhPSxX2o2z8iVaukLFCsN5kX0iRQ_9jkcKK2Iw6uC1CJ_5tyNUug/s480/18iht-retrospective-Khrushchev-blog480.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9ZtNLlD3N0fGmFJmtzkXkgkuCdPUbnlWp9-RuFUmd0i9RxvVcpBrBbAIaV3RYeJJFTVBbph-u9HzLOEARSGCvhIy6VaDEg8GbaMNQSJWY5r4_UOdrYHzfSRo2NeugSkk4Zm0IJWhPSxX2o2z8iVaukLFCsN5kX0iRQ_9jkcKK2Iw6uC1CJ_5tyNUug/s320/18iht-retrospective-Khrushchev-blog480.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Something else interesting coming out of Kyiv this week: Zelensky has announced that, post-referenda, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/kyiv-wont-negotiate-with-moscow-after-referendums-zelensky-tells-un-101664311704696.html" target="_blank">he won't negotiate with Putin</a>. Well, maybe he's hoping that someone in the Kremlin will take care of this problem for him. It's not as if there's no precedent in Russia for declaring a medical emergency and moving on. Especially after a "hare-brained scheme" like the one we've been witnessing since February. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Ex-Soviet Space</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPf3_moPabfDHCldpYHrcfn0z4Nyj4z4mf3LPONJS8X82dW1VYYOGjou-tH8TgW90TxBNjI8f8G4vEXs8bR1BsD8QOLR2_2GUD0HWTHRClv6Ifrr9YUEctGfg9wjTXiunhllejLCFwZdV77_mh-yyShzxzcVRI6Xq8h4PFGDiZWnqHIHSCJRpE_EKEhQ/s1000/shutterstock_1856692081.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1000" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPf3_moPabfDHCldpYHrcfn0z4Nyj4z4mf3LPONJS8X82dW1VYYOGjou-tH8TgW90TxBNjI8f8G4vEXs8bR1BsD8QOLR2_2GUD0HWTHRClv6Ifrr9YUEctGfg9wjTXiunhllejLCFwZdV77_mh-yyShzxzcVRI6Xq8h4PFGDiZWnqHIHSCJRpE_EKEhQ/w360-h253/shutterstock_1856692081.jpg" width="360" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Finally, news from the Caucasus and Central Asia in the last two weeks serves as a reminder that this war has direct reverberations on other regions of the former USSR as well. Azerbaijan <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62888891" target="_blank">has taken this opportunity to reclaim more of its territory</a> from Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/kyrgyzstan-says-death-toll-border-conflict-rises-36-2022-09-18/" target="_blank">Fighting on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border</a> has also resumed. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Most interesting of all, perhaps: Kazakh President </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/kazakhstan-russia-and-secular-national.html" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;" target="_blank">whose regime was shored up by Putin at a critical moment</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> in January of this year, appears to be distancing himself from Putin. Noting that "a lot of people from Russia have come [to Kazakhstan] over the past few days," <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/27/kazakhstan-to-ensure-safety-of-russians-fleeing-draft" target="_blank">Tokayev observ</a></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/27/kazakhstan-to-ensure-safety-of-russians-fleeing-draft" target="_blank">ed that</a> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“Most of them are forced to leave because of the hopeless situation. We must take care of them and ensure their safety.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">*</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcjvonjCHVYXhf4OBchm9DZyHTwN5KxqgHeq-5KReftHfiNuXV2MXLEbI_RZXVyB_lCn722YH8QRH9mAB_PEmJ6LbTSNdvaAg5Dui18CuW35MDnu-ENMdwCpkWTDU5BpSkKNza0rl6cXzYHqyJ9h3tzwYatbODR-YuXoxIb2tc-oNlscaAABgYILMuA/s500/artworks-FyOKI2YVTO2CmpZd-qA8I9Q-t500x500.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcjvonjCHVYXhf4OBchm9DZyHTwN5KxqgHeq-5KReftHfiNuXV2MXLEbI_RZXVyB_lCn722YH8QRH9mAB_PEmJ6LbTSNdvaAg5Dui18CuW35MDnu-ENMdwCpkWTDU5BpSkKNza0rl6cXzYHqyJ9h3tzwYatbODR-YuXoxIb2tc-oNlscaAABgYILMuA/w107-h107/artworks-FyOKI2YVTO2CmpZd-qA8I9Q-t500x500.jpg" width="107" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">All in all, it's a hairy situation--enough to make you regret putting down the glue bottle. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">***</span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span> </span></p></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">***</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Also see:</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">All Crimea/Ukraine posts since 2008</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/09/re-russia-ukraine-changes-coming.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Re Russia-Ukraine: Changes Coming?</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/04/back-and-forth.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Back and Forth in the Quagmire</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/a-mission-accomplished-moment.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/one-week-in.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This past week...</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/re-ukraine-less-thumb-sucking-more.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">More Thoughts Re Ukraine and NATO</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The USA: NATO's Weakest Link?</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/brown-trouser-time.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Brown Trouser Time</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/Looking%20at%20the%20Long-Term%20re%20Putin's%20Moves" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Looking for the Long-Term in Putin's Moves</span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/moscow-recognizes-two-breakaway-regions.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Moscow Recognizes Two Breakaway Republics: Why do this?</span></a></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/bungling-toward-kyiv.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Bungling toward Kyiv </span></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/the-monroe-doctrine-putin-and-post.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Monroe Doctrine, Putin, and Post-Soviet Space: Don't Muddy the Waters</span></a></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html#more" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Russia, Ukraine, and NATO</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/the-second-biden-putin-skype-summit.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Hold me Back! The Second Biden-Putin Skype Summit</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">What Would Happen if Russia Invaded Ukraine?</span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/why-would-russia-invade-ukraine.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Why Would Russia Invade Ukraine?</span></a></div><div><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/crimea-river-water-and-russian.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Crimea River: Water and Russian-Ukrainian Relations</span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Rattling Kyiv's Cage</span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Not-So-Great Game: The US and Russia in Post-Soviet Space</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bad Idea Jeans: Ukraine Edition</a> </span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/crimea-and-eastern-ukraine-things-can.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Crimea and eastern Ukraine: Things Can Always Get Worse</span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/05/crimea-tough-options.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tough Options</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/04/russia-and-the-politics-of-citizenship.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Russia and the Politics of Citizenship</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/02/the-crimea-more-than-just-a-war.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Crimea: More Than Just a War</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/09/12/trouble-in-ukraine.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trouble in Ukraine</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> </span></p></div></div></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/08/south-ossetia-and-fate-of-mini-republics.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">South Ossetia and the Fate of the 'Mini-Republics'</a> (from 2008)</span></p></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-80796762242594439512022-10-01T12:47:00.046-06:002023-12-08T15:09:39.297-07:00Nâzım Hikmet Book Talk in Texas<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, October 1, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">This past week I spent a few days in Austin talking about a book of mine that'll be coming out next year. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv3QXpOKqdgo5BJktgiIyPUfoJHNwI2aL4b-TMWdz73dnH2KFBqaYIDFe41v0gKPLDzDylzpgS_xrQEsLCsI6lkzF0W-Ip8OPdLdzPkz7B-s22wgMu_9_Hq214gu4BZjUWOMwyma76O-2U0OXyLv1P4dMO1ZK_-lNew2rXZ42jD5sSPI9jfIf6sFbaQ/s464/DefenselessHarshIndigowingedparrot-mobile.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="464" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv3QXpOKqdgo5BJktgiIyPUfoJHNwI2aL4b-TMWdz73dnH2KFBqaYIDFe41v0gKPLDzDylzpgS_xrQEsLCsI6lkzF0W-Ip8OPdLdzPkz7B-s22wgMu_9_Hq214gu4BZjUWOMwyma76O-2U0OXyLv1P4dMO1ZK_-lNew2rXZ42jD5sSPI9jfIf6sFbaQ/w465-h369/DefenselessHarshIndigowingedparrot-mobile.jpg" width="465" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red; font-family: arial;">I gave a book talk for <br />the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zm6HzN5YVI" style="color: #3244ff; font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Longhorn anti-Leninists of Texas</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); color: red; font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was a really grea</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;">t trip. Over the summer when I was in Istanbul I'd received an invitation to</span><span style="color: #333333;"> discuss the book on Nâzım Hikmet th</span><span style="color: #333333;">at I've been working on. The book, called </span><i style="color: #333333;">Red Star over the Black Sea: </i><i style="color: #333333;">Nâzım Hikmet and his Generation, </i><span style="color: #333333;">isn't finished yet--I'm going through the cop</span><span style="color: #333333;">y-edited draft right now--but it's supposed to come out</span><span style="color: #333333;"> (through Oxford University Press) in March of 2</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">023.</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span></span></span></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkucnJ8OLkXF1IZ-At7YD8fD1c2XAwQ4DcR4FKqq-VzOQFXV6qKQSj7brniEDCL1RQ6MXoTUxK2BJ78LWisHROpasQo9C44gjjv0uyY8IIWK02dT7X-OsWsN2WMReTSz6OjQzWyMzgrtXh642tH1bILdKXQWez8E_I6DbdanG3oNFkxu8EPVyV0gK0yA/s450/meyer%203-3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkucnJ8OLkXF1IZ-At7YD8fD1c2XAwQ4DcR4FKqq-VzOQFXV6qKQSj7brniEDCL1RQ6MXoTUxK2BJ78LWisHROpasQo9C44gjjv0uyY8IIWK02dT7X-OsWsN2WMReTSz6OjQzWyMzgrtXh642tH1bILdKXQWez8E_I6DbdanG3oNFkxu8EPVyV0gK0yA/s320/meyer%203-3.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>I've been working on the book for about seven years. During the summer of 2015, I took a two month vacation through </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Road%20to%20Russia" target="_blank">Russia</a><span style="color: #333333;"> and </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Anatolian%20Express" target="_blank">Turkey</a><span style="color: #333333;"> as a way of celebrating the publication of my first book, </span><i style="color: #333333;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198725140/ref=olp-opf-redir?aod=1&ie=UTF8&condition=all" target="_blank">Turks Across Empires</a>. </i></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'd just received tenure and had, with my promotion to associate professor, gotten a small raise. Not really knowing what I wanted to do next, I decided to just travel over the summer--no research--and re-kindle my relationship, in a way, with the countries that I work on professionally. </span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was a good idea, one that I would recommend to anyone just finishing a project. Rather than diving straight back into research, I traveled to areas of Turkey and Russia that I had always been interested in but had never visited. So, I checked out places like <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2015/06/week-4-in-russia-yekaterinburg-tula-leo.html" target="_blank">Leo Tolstoy's estate</a> outside Tula, <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2015/06/week-3-in-russia-kazan-ulyanovsk-samara.html" target="_blank">Yusuf Akçura's hometown</a> of Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk), and <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/05/anatolian-express-ix-urfa.html" target="_blank">Urfa</a> & <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/05/anatolian-express-xi-amazing-mardin.html" target="_blank">Mardin</a> in southeastern Turkey. Now that the book was finished, I wanted to just travel and think about my surroundings without trying too hard to immediately find a new research topic right away. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIurwxmZIxJdotAxNZIDd_5EyTMX7l3EZ7GJGBX_1xkFf4HfquQbcojjutSfqpxRtQm_lOsvYC2gewuY0ifxvc1kRks6sF9odpp6C0OT98GNqM01XyZ5ngns8_9vZg1OSq3bT0CIsdR-W6a_0JrVlak8KKDSAwkxPtIee7G-2UU54YGQcAugtrHHQLw/s1464/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-01%20at%2010.56.01%20AM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="1464" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIurwxmZIxJdotAxNZIDd_5EyTMX7l3EZ7GJGBX_1xkFf4HfquQbcojjutSfqpxRtQm_lOsvYC2gewuY0ifxvc1kRks6sF9odpp6C0OT98GNqM01XyZ5ngns8_9vZg1OSq3bT0CIsdR-W6a_0JrVlak8KKDSAwkxPtIee7G-2UU54YGQcAugtrHHQLw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-01%20at%2010.56.01%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One day, I was in a bookstore in the Istanbul district of Beşiktaş looking for something in Turkish that I could take to the beach in Bodrum. I just wanted to read something in Turkish--fiction or non-fiction, and didn't really care what it was. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">On a shelf I saw a book about </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet's travels in Azerbaijan and ended up buying it. The book itself wasn't so amazing, but it did get me thinking: has anyone ever written a biography of </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> using materials from not only Turkey, but also Russia?</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Upon further investigation, I learned that there were literally hundreds of books about </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım Hikmet, mostly in Turkish but also in dozens of other languages. Indeed, after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, I would wager that </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım is the most written-about figure in modern Turkish history. </span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3glyriVTYn4N5b261ph08Y6IsSAVnTBJ5oz5E7w0SiXLXlyPfJapkCrio5RUoSiurAXrJlZ-pbOA_YFNowRiox_YPGae9j_DXbTjTCbRdsHQn9AMptrqWSmuQbVXYhDhNlIAxHsjRTRbY7Cd258rafYHvbKf2_eiUuF-VX01_J9cNnZgQHdToZ0IPA/s280/images-15.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="180" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3glyriVTYn4N5b261ph08Y6IsSAVnTBJ5oz5E7w0SiXLXlyPfJapkCrio5RUoSiurAXrJlZ-pbOA_YFNowRiox_YPGae9j_DXbTjTCbRdsHQn9AMptrqWSmuQbVXYhDhNlIAxHsjRTRbY7Cd258rafYHvbKf2_eiUuF-VX01_J9cNnZgQHdToZ0IPA/w228-h355/images-15.jpeg" width="228" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But while there have been lots of books written about <span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Nâzım, no one had ever used Russian sources, or archival materials from anywhere, really, in telling his story. So, over the</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> course of a <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Sabbatical%20Stories" target="_blank">year-long sabbatical in Russia</a> during the 2016-17 academic year and later research trips, I worked in archives not only in Moscow, but also Istanbul, Amsterdam, and Washington, DC. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">More importantly, I felt like I had an angle in writing about </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım that others hadn't seen. Whereas most of the books written about </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım focus mainly on his poetry or his politics, I was more interested in looking at him as a "border-crosser," i.e. someone whose life had been significantly affected by the fact that he'd crossed a border and lived abroad. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım spent about six years living in Moscow in the 1920s when he was still a young man. Later, of course, he would make his famous escape by motorboat to the Eastern Bloc in 1951. </span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXj-By6lUvncbg_K_18xPvf-eM6TPOxEl3smGURX-muzwj3gnmSwXgoXrEZokao74IQDfFhq0ps328Vp8i1zENGWOT6APZTAfsiG66ES7QoYVl6zEAmnCEIpyx6g0NxmvlA2f5Xy4pOj7JKfQQqMjXyRmJsEmSHX3tWT9Ahyqr9ZGPSnDten7sfUG8Q/s2459/IMG_20190604_114431289.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2459" data-original-width="1877" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXj-By6lUvncbg_K_18xPvf-eM6TPOxEl3smGURX-muzwj3gnmSwXgoXrEZokao74IQDfFhq0ps328Vp8i1zENGWOT6APZTAfsiG66ES7QoYVl6zEAmnCEIpyx6g0NxmvlA2f5Xy4pOj7JKfQQqMjXyRmJsEmSHX3tWT9Ahyqr9ZGPSnDten7sfUG8Q/w244-h320/IMG_20190604_114431289.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Turkish communist Sabiha <br />Mesrure, code-named Rosa <br /> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Once I actually started researching in Russia, I realized that </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım's story was not such a unique one. Looking through files outlining the life stories of more than 150 other Turkish communists who had lived in the USSR, I saw that there were a lot of parallels between their lives and that of </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım. Sure, they hadn't gone on to become a famous poet like </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım, but in many ways their experiences resembled his for decades to come. <span style="font-family: georgia;">While </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nâzım died in 1963, the final chapter of my book traces the lives of the friends and acquaintances who survived him up through to the final years of the Cold War in the late 1980s. </span> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">As an historian, I was ultimately more interested in seeing what </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım had in common with others from his generation--people who, like him, had been born at the turn of the 20th century and came of age in the early 1920s. What, collectively, does this generation's story tell us about the eras in which they lived? So, rather than treat </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım's life as an exceptional case in the style of most of his biographers, I began to explore the ways in which his life resembled those of other Turkish communists.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87Z51nsqdSx_AMN1bD0LovkytxcEWMsTl3PLBP8gbgYs93mxHspKYVky_zs-Q9Z7ZNwhnNKzLGiLGLFL7Dt2ReEEmmkkWZIpvpH9NbxU9P8EvutwwLAZ6HIfZROlhP6PjlxwBiJgbCvjofgoEuqSE7DrSZ0Yga_FaeMZRh7fPeXUG29NJ_7mby8v9Cw/s3276/IMG_20190604_114757617.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3276" data-original-width="2411" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87Z51nsqdSx_AMN1bD0LovkytxcEWMsTl3PLBP8gbgYs93mxHspKYVky_zs-Q9Z7ZNwhnNKzLGiLGLFL7Dt2ReEEmmkkWZIpvpH9NbxU9P8EvutwwLAZ6HIfZROlhP6PjlxwBiJgbCvjofgoEuqSE7DrSZ0Yga_FaeMZRh7fPeXUG29NJ_7mby8v9Cw/s320/IMG_20190604_114757617.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What happens when a generation grows up in an era of relatively porous borders, only to find the doors closing behind them once they begin to approach middle age? This was the fate of <span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Nâzım's generation, people who first made their way to the Soviet U</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">nion at a relatively young age, where they were embraced as "easterners" interested in communism. What happens to people like this once attitudes toward the frontiers--and the people who cross them--change? </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBsZo9if5cfo0GXe1Not07Gvukb58VAS2pUUzdWyBA1FRwDjdT8OFJVUO56BzHXiWgBww3h2jnPwWK1sHEi4ZnRxf-nbdyJZG86dj1uZp4YYAQQAb_awzyWoMPfs-bClx6QJKyhgjM1o27I7SArNZxJ_Kky9IOVwQmyuurTCVVoORdEUEO1sh946wTw/s2278/IMG_20190604_114746329.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2278" data-original-width="1715" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBsZo9if5cfo0GXe1Not07Gvukb58VAS2pUUzdWyBA1FRwDjdT8OFJVUO56BzHXiWgBww3h2jnPwWK1sHEi4ZnRxf-nbdyJZG86dj1uZp4YYAQQAb_awzyWoMPfs-bClx6QJKyhgjM1o27I7SArNZxJ_Kky9IOVwQmyuurTCVVoORdEUEO1sh946wTw/s320/IMG_20190604_114746329.jpg" width="241" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">This is, after all, the story of our own present age as well. People from my generation, who grew up during the Cold War, came of age during a time when walls were being torn down. Now we're living</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> through a time in which many are calling for re-building those walls. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><i>Red Star over the Black Sea </i>describes<i> </i>the ways in which </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Nâzım Hikmet and others from his generation maneuvered their ways through changing conditions of this sort. </span></span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">While </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım is at the center of the story, my book isn't just a biography, but also a work of world history. The point isn't to show how unique </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Nâzım's experiences was, but rather to place them within the context of his generation. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQo-urTCjaOFbb2TRr97RrC87msF0Xpp71FSTGFUl8JP7WSpWS8o_FFGbVVDjI3zv0IGRetnXTt_Ni3ajvo8zLzcpAFrWWNzSUV62YvZXGvygyve4hdfb0Z5DIF65GzVpDNlRPGSS_OCs72W78n1wq6YBezZivuVK-eKRldNxzWy3DTWp09p8Kcoj91A/s4608/20220928_112631.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2072" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQo-urTCjaOFbb2TRr97RrC87msF0Xpp71FSTGFUl8JP7WSpWS8o_FFGbVVDjI3zv0IGRetnXTt_Ni3ajvo8zLzcpAFrWWNzSUV62YvZXGvygyve4hdfb0Z5DIF65GzVpDNlRPGSS_OCs72W78n1wq6YBezZivuVK-eKRldNxzWy3DTWp09p8Kcoj91A/w139-h310/20220928_112631.jpg" width="139" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And the trip to Texas? It was just super. I met with a group of undergraduates studying Turkish history and culture, had lunch with graduate students, and really enjoyed meeting the faculty and others who came to my talk in the afternoon. Afterward, we had a nice dinner. I'd never been to Austin before, and thought it was a really cool place. </span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I'll be honest with you, sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have a job like this, where I get to fly to Texas and talk about a book I've written. I remain very indebted to the folks at the University of Texas for inviting and hosting me. </span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Also see: </span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2018/12/children-of-trans-empire-new-article-re.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Children of Trans-Empire: New Article re Nazım Hikmet</span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Nâzım%20Hikmet" target="_blank">New Article Out: The Letters of Münevver Andaç to Nazım Hikmet</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/01/nazm-hikmet-birthday.html" target="_blank">The Birthdays of Nazım Hikmet</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library.</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span></span></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-49211638045762186672022-09-22T00:39:00.016-06:002023-11-18T11:57:22.289-07:00Re Russia-Ukraine: Changes Coming?<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thursday, September 22, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">After a flurry of <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" target="_blank">posts regarding Russia-Ukraine</a> in the winter and spring, I haven't had much to say in recent months. <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" target="_blank">As I'd expected</a>, invading Ukraine proper proved to be a much messier and difficult affair than the annexation of the Crimea. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLP2tPFGqL0l9x90lI9953mYrPiA1g1fMe9Fg_0L22p243eeeQxmML85cYYPbqg7Pb5s_Ep1JPRS-glxngUWxkC1gLJK5kP-u-N4rL_bGiQJ-MAu_Wz8366LYH70fyYUNC1GvGMfCxlRi3N2I9NbD_szccHYpAZI86ijLSiwToKJGKmlESBsQaQyl2A/s1440/1440x810_cmsv2_70d5a0dc-8987-5acf-9617-af166c409654-7032972.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLP2tPFGqL0l9x90lI9953mYrPiA1g1fMe9Fg_0L22p243eeeQxmML85cYYPbqg7Pb5s_Ep1JPRS-glxngUWxkC1gLJK5kP-u-N4rL_bGiQJ-MAu_Wz8366LYH70fyYUNC1GvGMfCxlRi3N2I9NbD_szccHYpAZI86ijLSiwToKJGKmlESBsQaQyl2A/w456-h256/1440x810_cmsv2_70d5a0dc-8987-5acf-9617-af166c409654-7032972.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, with Russia planning hastily-organized referenda in Eastern Ukraine and </span><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/21/russian-protesters-take-to-the-streets-over-putins-mobilisation-order" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">more public criticism of the war</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> emerging in Russia following the announcement that Moscow will call up as many as 300,000 reservists, it feels like there could be some changes coming. </span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's interesting the way Putin frames things. He's continually presented the "special military operation" as an ultimately defensive measure, something designed to protect Russians threatened by "nazis" in Ukraine. That's what he's doing with the proposed referenda, too--by making them part of "Russian" territory, at least rhetorically, future battles with Ukraine in those regions become actions undertaken to defend Russia. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Is this a sign that Russia has already given up on conquering any territory further west or south? Probably not. And the referenda could also be a means of attempting to shore up support among separatists who have been fighting on behalf of Russia for years. They don't want to be left in the cold if Russian forces end up retreating. Anything that looks like a more secure commitment to stay and defend those territories will help keep Russia's local allies in Eastern Ukraine on board.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSfySyECFvsp6S8RgSGTQyTM0yOtFDhq9EDriCW2ThjRMB8cO45mSu_Sj3DM10521DCeP88Zyo4IM-UWwlPyZaEXrAVYjfN9Ah1yNcZEh9pIFYkPgbf_P6DpBYNzgwANDy0Aey1IhQy3VNAFB4vcNQPolm_N-TkeNBol2-3Hx-IM6pi0MYDz_8EgbBQ/s2560/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-22%20at%2012.28.03%20AM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="2560" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSfySyECFvsp6S8RgSGTQyTM0yOtFDhq9EDriCW2ThjRMB8cO45mSu_Sj3DM10521DCeP88Zyo4IM-UWwlPyZaEXrAVYjfN9Ah1yNcZEh9pIFYkPgbf_P6DpBYNzgwANDy0Aey1IhQy3VNAFB4vcNQPolm_N-TkeNBol2-3Hx-IM6pi0MYDz_8EgbBQ/w408-h232/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-22%20at%2012.28.03%20AM.png" width="408" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Now the line from the Kremlin is that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/21/putin-speech-annexation-ukraine-russia/" target="_blank">the West seeks to break up Russia</a>, just as the USSR was broken up. It's an interesting claim, one that does have some resonance. For years, I've listened to Tatar-language </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://pressroom.rferl.org/rferl-tatar-bashkir-service-radio-azatliq" target="_blank">Radio<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(77, 81, 86);"> Azatliq</span></a>, which is operated by Radio Free Europe. In Tatar "azatliq" means "freedom," and is a term associated with the independence movement that was popular among some Tatars in the 1990s. And the prospect of the Russian Federation itself breaking up was very much a possibility at that time, with republics from Tatarstan to Tuva taking as much power for themselves as they could--never mind the fact that Moscow had effectively lost control of Chechnya for years. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, the prospect of a Western-backed Russian breakup, or at least a breakup of some sort, is not an eventuality that is entirely without possibility in the eyes of even people who aren't Putinite Kool-Ade drinkers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmceP-dnaDwkC7fBUWseIslvdYP7NmTY0YSJwWDaAoacwjxuIgQKcadRyrezWwexJLXkAqrlZlld6BGnCfAHrMLzyArVk2G05MJOPhXbnpGCNQY3dYrGnIn1K2GwI8k6livd8droBTlAY63nB-jCho7FTP-hsqseIug7ATu1rYK8n7fy23OAV647jkPA/s850/5fec9f7515e9f92ac614c1ed.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="850" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmceP-dnaDwkC7fBUWseIslvdYP7NmTY0YSJwWDaAoacwjxuIgQKcadRyrezWwexJLXkAqrlZlld6BGnCfAHrMLzyArVk2G05MJOPhXbnpGCNQY3dYrGnIn1K2GwI8k6livd8droBTlAY63nB-jCho7FTP-hsqseIug7ATu1rYK8n7fy23OAV647jkPA/s320/5fec9f7515e9f92ac614c1ed.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On the other hand, Putin himself is creating risks for not only himself and his regime, but also the Russian Federation, which is clearly under some stress. Putin has never been a populist or a nationalist. Rather, he sees himself as a re-builder of Russia. He's a behind-the-scenes guy who stakes his reputation on protecting Russians through his competence--like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_(1997_film)" target="_blank">Danila Bagrov</a> in the <i>Brat </i>movies.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But when that competence no longer delivers, what happens? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVjqt3VIdk5pMMfQIet_kQqlKnyIpNO--QBDOURdi-U3S6OBS2hbtt4c_EaS2e69mwLj9nX9434RkJpFN7-atZJmnS-hWg7zC2OOydRXV_68G7UTx7UyGW55K5OE9SKK689ONFrBpghZoJPP6BqfB2LqAJX1EyPMda2Iu1j6CGd1LDrhA3wybgXc_7A/s1200/1200px-Prokudin-Gorskii-23.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1200" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVjqt3VIdk5pMMfQIet_kQqlKnyIpNO--QBDOURdi-U3S6OBS2hbtt4c_EaS2e69mwLj9nX9434RkJpFN7-atZJmnS-hWg7zC2OOydRXV_68G7UTx7UyGW55K5OE9SKK689ONFrBpghZoJPP6BqfB2LqAJX1EyPMda2Iu1j6CGd1LDrhA3wybgXc_7A/w435-h385/1200px-Prokudin-Gorskii-23.jpg" width="435" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There's certainly a history in Russia of even the most stable-looking leader suddenly and spectacularly being swept away. The Revolution of 1905 is typically associated with Russia's crushing defeat against Japan, but of even more importance was all of the economic and social change that had been taking place in Russia over the previous fifty years. But in the earliest years of the 20th century, Nicholas II had appeared as one of the most secure monarchs around. While the tsar managed to reconsolidate power from 1907 onward, ultimately crushing the forces with whom he had compromised two years earlier, 1905 was just the first shoe to drop, with the other coming twelve years later, with Nicholas' abdication coming within just a matter of days after demonstrations against him began. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggl71UZcdy5BCV6DjMFrynHvlr4QbCSXYXWYdty23WlqKRbAIzNFgbxISfqUY3ngB7YRNW-buz8K2F2x_u2hxn1Ph3gGX3kDzjVWRndaja7SC5Kf0sb9h7TDusNfupScduZyT0ZMtiFMwvLmkUcS21XXUKKbB6TQILrd1fT39miatNENpBbjIZOHngA/s460/Boris-Yeltsin-right-with--007.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggl71UZcdy5BCV6DjMFrynHvlr4QbCSXYXWYdty23WlqKRbAIzNFgbxISfqUY3ngB7YRNW-buz8K2F2x_u2hxn1Ph3gGX3kDzjVWRndaja7SC5Kf0sb9h7TDusNfupScduZyT0ZMtiFMwvLmkUcS21XXUKKbB6TQILrd1fT39miatNENpBbjIZOHngA/s320/Boris-Yeltsin-right-with--007.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The collapse of the Soviet Union is the other classic example of a leader--and a whole system--falling apart much more dramatically and suddenly than anyone had expected. In the immediate aftermath of the coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev of August 1991 being overturned, it became clear that Gorbachev would still have to go. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What did the Russian Empire of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the USSR have in common? In both cases, there was a concerted and consistent effort to modernize the country in every way but one--politically. Russia in its immediate post-serfdom decades became one of the hottest spots for foreign investment in Europe, industrializing at a pace that was outdistanced only by the United States. Yet the thinking was that Russian subjects would simply be grateful that they were now better educated, more worldly, and more mobile and urban. Instead, these consequences of Russia's economic growth and growing sophistication in the late 19th century contributed to the revolutions that would come in the early 20th century. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Uflm5Hd7wh5p5Wq1lwAJnmly0b-UO8ovmrvzAWJQxNPKuKuds_svTCMKkz-BF9Jn-zLKvaaK35kj1J46WGo44d24iC_7JUkN5dTkXYhVECFuBXOLUjcbNaFL_LrCcDeTqbh_O3Hy1npO_4FgaJ7sAOxk7UOzgiwGbWgqSEpQl9bqrFgz93OogJTnvg/s1024/20246u.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1024" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Uflm5Hd7wh5p5Wq1lwAJnmly0b-UO8ovmrvzAWJQxNPKuKuds_svTCMKkz-BF9Jn-zLKvaaK35kj1J46WGo44d24iC_7JUkN5dTkXYhVECFuBXOLUjcbNaFL_LrCcDeTqbh_O3Hy1npO_4FgaJ7sAOxk7UOzgiwGbWgqSEpQl9bqrFgz93OogJTnvg/w450-h301/20246u.jpg" width="450" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">These incidences of sudden collapse in the Russian Empire and the USSR remind me a bit of Iran, where there was a similar effort, under the Shah, to modernize in every way but one. But there, too, people didn't just thank the Shah for building more hospitals and schools, or sending students to universities in France and the US to study engineering. Rather, these people went back to Iran with more demands to make of the government. The Shah had created his own opposition. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Russia under Putin is likewise a regime that is attempting to modernize its society in every way but one. <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">News agencies in the West have been giving a lot of play to the cracks in the security-enforced silence regarding the war in Russia. <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-lawmakers-putin-resignation-petition/32029958.html" target="_blank">A petition among municipal government officials demanding Putin's resignation</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/shaunwalker7/status/1569085348176592898" target="_blank">Denunciation of government policy on evening television</a>. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-entertainment-music-8c2e7638c3691accac33da56c8a8e83f" target="_blank">Alla Pugacheva's Instagram post</a>. And now the return of protests against the war for the first time since the invasion's earliest days. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Sure, people get hopeful every time there are protests against Putin. That doesn't mean he'll go. He could be around for years yet. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But if people start thinking that with Putin "there is no there there," what will there be--other than the security forces--to keep people in line? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/17/opinion/queen-elizabeth-putin-legitimacy.html" target="_blank">He's not a monarch</a>. There's no ideology associated with Putin. He's just a calculating man in a suit whose bargain with the Russian population is that he'll make their lives better and bring more stability if only they leave him alone. If he isn't delivering, then there's nothing to save him other than brute power. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's not like there is no precedent for a sudden collapse. And what would happen then? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">My guess is that it wouldn't necessarily get a lot better. There's no reason to assume that the successor to Putinism would be Jeffersonian democracy. However, given the current conditions--with Putin threatening to use nuclear weapons and his army apparently targeting Ukrainian nuclear reactors--it's hard to imagine a leadership situation in Moscow that could be much worse than what we have now. </span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span> </span></span></p></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also see:</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">All Crimea/Ukraine posts since 2008</span></a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/04/back-and-forth.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back and Forth in the Quagmire</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/a-mission-accomplished-moment.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/03/one-week-in.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This past week...</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/re-ukraine-less-thumb-sucking-more.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">More Thoughts Re Ukraine and NATO</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/natos-weakest-link-usa.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The USA: NATO's Weakest Link?</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/brown-trouser-time.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brown Trouser Time</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/Looking%20at%20the%20Long-Term%20re%20Putin's%20Moves" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for the Long-Term in Putin's Moves</span></span></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/moscow-recognizes-two-breakaway-regions.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moscow Recognizes Two Breakaway Republics: Why do this?</span></span></a></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/02/bungling-toward-kyiv.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bungling toward Kyiv </span></span></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/the-monroe-doctrine-putin-and-post.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Monroe Doctrine, Putin, and Post-Soviet Space: Don't Muddy the Waters</span></span></a></p><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/01/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-russia.html#more" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Russia, Ukraine, and NATO</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/the-second-biden-putin-skype-summit.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hold me Back! The Second Biden-Putin Skype Summit</span></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/what-would-happen-if-russia-invaded.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">What Would Happen if Russia Invaded Ukraine?</span></span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/why-would-russia-invade-ukraine.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why Would Russia Invade Ukraine?</span></span></a></div><div><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/crimea-river-water-and-russian.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea River: Water and Russian-Ukrainian Relations</span></span></a></span></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2021/12/rattling-kyivs-cage.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rattling Kyiv's Cage</span></span></a></p><p><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Not-So-Great Game: The US and Russia in Post-Soviet Space</span></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/search/label/Crimea%2FUkraine" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bad Idea Jeans: Ukraine Edition</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #6666cc;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/crimea-and-eastern-ukraine-things-can.html" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Crimea and eastern Ukraine: Things Can Always Get Worse</span></span></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/05/crimea-tough-options.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tough Options</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/04/russia-and-the-politics-of-citizenship.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Russia and the Politics of Citizenship</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2014/03/02/the-crimea-more-than-just-a-war.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Crimea: More Than Just a War</a><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/09/12/trouble-in-ukraine.aspx" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trouble in Ukraine</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span> </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></p></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2008/08/south-ossetia-and-fate-of-mini-republics.html" target="_blank">South Ossetia and the Fate of the 'Mini-Republics'</a> (from 2008)</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-75131102855405995402022-09-17T17:28:00.043-06:002022-09-24T08:25:11.731-06:00Catching up in the 'Grade<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Saturday, September 17, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Today we had the Fall Festival parade in Belgrade. I'd forgotten about the event, but while Zooming with my parents and brother this morning I noticed the large numbers of people parking in front of my house and pedestrians walking up the street. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76apjBCDe0TiQScVnywrjKVGzdj2sI9L1ZmFz0bQseUXPska66S-R3tAgHZxtK2OGP4CAX0JwSu59bIxaVm0CvqddPXglgERahj9l5e2OtB_LsSX-Za5Suvbhzu2KlD2LvHQHvW5wNCTgdVQHwMmWR6QpxcoEfKxQ2RH7CELKpLVJ1xHkyHzJYNAtzg/s4608/20220917_102654.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2072" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76apjBCDe0TiQScVnywrjKVGzdj2sI9L1ZmFz0bQseUXPska66S-R3tAgHZxtK2OGP4CAX0JwSu59bIxaVm0CvqddPXglgERahj9l5e2OtB_LsSX-Za5Suvbhzu2KlD2LvHQHvW5wNCTgdVQHwMmWR6QpxcoEfKxQ2RH7CELKpLVJ1xHkyHzJYNAtzg/w534-h240/20220917_102654.jpg" width="534" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Time to grab your fez and head to Belgrade</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">But that's how things go when you're living in the tenderloin district of B</span><span style="font-size: large;">elgrade, Montana. Whether it's the <a href="https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Belgrade/BelgradeJingleJog" target="_blank">Jingle Jog</a>, the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/video/convoy-trucks-spreads-christmas-cheer-81913181" target="_blank">Christmas Convoy</a>, or the <a href="https://bozemanmagazine.com/events/2022/09/17/105750-belgrade-fall-festival-2022" target="_blank">Fall Festival</a>, some form of all</span><span style="font-size: large;">iterative amusement is always on the agenda. </span></div></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Paris </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Since <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/06/the-return-part-iii-land-of-my-youth.html" target="_blank">my last post from Istanbul</a>, things have been pretty good. I've been doing a fair bit of things, but my schedule has been pretty steady and by no means crazy. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9gHSvbkrOUFVWByk_A_Kj5WBh4vD-T8ORbkMWJkiTjfW_hCSziV_p1i9lOcc1TN0VdjJbTto8F1InOAKhoDLY_4QWdUMagC4DZvsyRGM7FIeQ-IqU0_PxtjqlaDxlET4uVTskrpKSHsPXAp2zw5Z8ZywohxZHJXm1vW0LLpBOoQnQ34YJJx1gpv_hg/s2648/20220703_162423.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="2648" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9gHSvbkrOUFVWByk_A_Kj5WBh4vD-T8ORbkMWJkiTjfW_hCSziV_p1i9lOcc1TN0VdjJbTto8F1InOAKhoDLY_4QWdUMagC4DZvsyRGM7FIeQ-IqU0_PxtjqlaDxlET4uVTskrpKSHsPXAp2zw5Z8ZywohxZHJXm1vW0LLpBOoQnQ34YJJx1gpv_hg/w554-h249/20220703_162423.jpg" width="554" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I loved this place<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfJUHYlSxJ1k0ko2T26y8hh4CNT0MoCBHdISvANdfmly5vknPoLBEUSypm9ZfmKa7TxxLwboKb4JmCa-Se6vQK3-NfjpJ7c2p0BxCK86_jDNi6JWnT1gLyuEKAbMIX2nCXT_3z1DrvGf2x7jjGp-kOW6I3ChxZyJqMs7Rf0RKyLfpC86_08OPU_zrQQ/s2560/20220703_160226.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfJUHYlSxJ1k0ko2T26y8hh4CNT0MoCBHdISvANdfmly5vknPoLBEUSypm9ZfmKa7TxxLwboKb4JmCa-Se6vQK3-NfjpJ7c2p0BxCK86_jDNi6JWnT1gLyuEKAbMIX2nCXT_3z1DrvGf2x7jjGp-kOW6I3ChxZyJqMs7Rf0RKyLfpC86_08OPU_zrQQ/s320/20220703_160226.jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Our old building </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">From Istanbul I went to Paris. I wasn't doing any research, just taking some personal time at the end of my Amsterdam-Istanbul research trip. I wasn't planning on doing much other than walking around, speaking French, and reflecting on life. I'd booked four nights at a hotel located just a few blocks from the apartment where my parents and I lived in 1983. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The flight was uneventful. I sat next to a Turkish fifteen year-old who, along with about forty other kids from his high school (St. Michel), was going to be spending a month with a French family. In this kid's case, the family was in a suburb of Rouen. I told him that I, too, had spent a month with a French family in a suburb of Rouen the summer that I turned sixteen. We both marveled at this coincidence, before lapsing into silence. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2x3FQEqvSzVdKgJtsX8pYgnCd650mcxkhvLxwsXuUQKaKlNRV_h-oEkSC61VnbQ7jZG8KAPkrsrE4mWQXHAM4lf966kY20KpZCZbbcqmK_aaB_4jOjNrw-z7fOnKy1eLvypxAIrD1hpRVNnlJ9Ou733oBt_XOjHUh63z66Jvfr-9Cs9XpQX86ZPVUg/s2560/20220703_160407.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2560" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2x3FQEqvSzVdKgJtsX8pYgnCd650mcxkhvLxwsXuUQKaKlNRV_h-oEkSC61VnbQ7jZG8KAPkrsrE4mWQXHAM4lf966kY20KpZCZbbcqmK_aaB_4jOjNrw-z7fOnKy1eLvypxAIrD1hpRVNnlJ9Ou733oBt_XOjHUh63z66Jvfr-9Cs9XpQX86ZPVUg/w539-h242/20220703_160407.jpg" width="539" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Unfortunately for him and everyone else on the plane, I started to feel vaguely ill that evening. I had, after all, gotten up at 5 am that day, and had spent an extra two hours hanging out in the airport waiting for my delayed plane to depart. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The next morning I felt okay but then, after breakfast, I suddenly felt quite tired and mucousy. I self-tested and saw that it was Covid. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68i4Lgiar82iQKTSPmmjnQKH375ECfWvjY1WoW_QKYPrju_iPIbdrPBBHZZc-b7jyhhRi2yug5eK2uuzOe7sK_hPNRBDkO9YPwqD1HMh2daraa2A8sz5MGrDCZm4X8G_kDKmNTzZks0btXPX00wJxbXo216nEfwMYPmHL1po2Gafck59C5vKmJknQ9Q/s2560/20220629_171532.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2560" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68i4Lgiar82iQKTSPmmjnQKH375ECfWvjY1WoW_QKYPrju_iPIbdrPBBHZZc-b7jyhhRi2yug5eK2uuzOe7sK_hPNRBDkO9YPwqD1HMh2daraa2A8sz5MGrDCZm4X8G_kDKmNTzZks0btXPX00wJxbXo216nEfwMYPmHL1po2Gafck59C5vKmJknQ9Q/w475-h214/20220629_171532.jpg" width="475" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">definitely a bummer and made me regretful of some of my actions. I'd been feeling bulletproof during the trip, having received a second booster just before departing Belgrade at the </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">end of May. Then, in Amsterdam, I saw that no one was wearing masks, and I eventually followed suit. Same with Istanbul, although the number of mask-wearers was higher there. It was one thing to go maskless while walking around outside or eating at an outdoor cafe, but I still probably could have done a better job on public transportation or when researching inside libraries and archives. It shouldn't have to be all or nothing at all. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWyNbErNVG9QMeyeP2eoA5m4hIVmwS3sge_X4JO35Ob6k8_LRaiWvCVTH36lgBUqshO-2I80zgkrTTo6Fz6Yyd1ONiB9YfJ7_hVpDVrX6jbXx9KJJlXCs_GqnDRtSGKbzhVgeIVAQyj2VrRJyNwShaIKtCRySTebQCqNouK-iFuC79Liey8bGvn3Yyw/s2560/20220701_175859.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2560" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWyNbErNVG9QMeyeP2eoA5m4hIVmwS3sge_X4JO35Ob6k8_LRaiWvCVTH36lgBUqshO-2I80zgkrTTo6Fz6Yyd1ONiB9YfJ7_hVpDVrX6jbXx9KJJlXCs_GqnDRtSGKbzhVgeIVAQyj2VrRJyNwShaIKtCRySTebQCqNouK-iFuC79Liey8bGvn3Yyw/w476-h215/20220701_175859.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I spent about $1200 on airline fees and extra days in the hotel, postponing my departure. I still ended up walking around quite a bit, although I avoided the Metro until the final days. I was mainly outside, which is pretty close to what I had been planning to do anyway. The weather was gorgeous. I spent the mornings going over my </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Hikmet manuscript, usually until about 1.30 or so. Then I'd go out and walk for several hours. At around 3.30 or so I'd go to a sidewalk restaurant, as they were usually totally deserted at that hour. I sat outside and tried to be as responsible as possible, but no--I didn't stay inside by hotel room for days on end. </span></span><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Yin64EnR747BTOwc8v21_CmOjABnKvTuWshd_vXr7eCJecCCrvGHE0YvzMK9EAhcSR8ErtLfrGR2Ul7QlLedpE3LO8y2Sw28r8jlWl98PqU1ruAZGP_5lJn2zgH_9bwFb8njUeIqWl9zLuU8cIDwCmF1GR3MvWvUGZT8TORBQ_uiDB_NepXzuVJslA/s503/20220628_150955.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="503" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Yin64EnR747BTOwc8v21_CmOjABnKvTuWshd_vXr7eCJecCCrvGHE0YvzMK9EAhcSR8ErtLfrGR2Ul7QlLedpE3LO8y2Sw28r8jlWl98PqU1ruAZGP_5lJn2zgH_9bwFb8njUeIqWl9zLuU8cIDwCmF1GR3MvWvUGZT8TORBQ_uiDB_NepXzuVJslA/w498-h224/20220628_150955.jpg" width="498" /></a></div>Covid slowed down the rest of my schedule as well. One reason why I ended up spending so much on airline fees was that I also changed my Detroit-Belgrade flight, as I was going to spend several days with my parents as well. By the time I got back to the 'Grade, it was the second week of July. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Back in the 'Grade</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For the rest of the summer, I was back at the Borderlands Lodge. A critical miscalculation on my part had led to a devastatingly dry lawn in front of my house, and the death of one tree. I felt sick about it, and spent a fair bit of time this summer trying to reverse the damage. I never thought I would be one of those homeowners striving to establish a carpet-like lush-green lawn in front of his house. But hey--I didn't choose to have a lawn. It came with the house. So, since I've got one, I try to keep it healthy-looking.</span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SCzCxeihWlGD92JIwtTAGbfs7NyHvJtpeJxI9JVJsR7iwFml8PsYuP53q-YYC17CxvXeYU9Yh_TsPB3Osm55xMQ5BPLR2_n85fAFGIjDZbux65qnuzKw9BJB6UeK-nkXcm30O7xivcr9KybbpW4aDzNGocZZSt9cI1tkY34bXk2qTjoKDDq9R-CR8g/s1285/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-17%20at%205.20.16%20PM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="1285" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SCzCxeihWlGD92JIwtTAGbfs7NyHvJtpeJxI9JVJsR7iwFml8PsYuP53q-YYC17CxvXeYU9Yh_TsPB3Osm55xMQ5BPLR2_n85fAFGIjDZbux65qnuzKw9BJB6UeK-nkXcm30O7xivcr9KybbpW4aDzNGocZZSt9cI1tkY34bXk2qTjoKDDq9R-CR8g/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-17%20at%205.20.16%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The photo makes it look as if I was working <br />hard on my manuscript, but I was actually<br />about to order food at a restaurant in <br />Istanbul. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I spent a lot of time this summer working on the final revisions of my book about </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nâzım</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Hikmet</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">. I had originally been asked to turn in a final version in April, which I did. But immediately after I had submitted what I considered to be the final pre-proofs draft, I was asked by my editor to do a number of things that would end up taking time before the manuscript could be sent to a copy-editor. Not all of this work--such as getting the images to a publishable quality--was in my hands. So, while I waited for this other stuff to be taken care of, I went back to my manuscript. I didn't change the book's argument or what I understand to be its value by one iota. I did, however, tighten the style of the writing considerably. Ultimately, I was glad to have the extra time. I ended up putting literally hundreds of hours of work into it just between April and August. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's nice to have turned it in, even though I'll still have to go through the proofs later this year. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Apparently, the book will be coming out sometime in March of next year. In a couple of weeks, </span><a href="https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/mes/events/red-star-over-the-black-sea-nazim-hikmet-and-his-generation-with-dr-james-meyer-montana-state-university" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">I'll be giving a talk about it at the University of Texas</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>30 years ago</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAHvE2ec7eTWLSkjGkLWbJixpxNdCq9ZIOMJrVzzx4vXiy_bF-aSs_chdFrgq4jD_JolHT1Xz3ZOlVF3pA_1ILhvq5keMv1p9ZK01NMwiCY5cRdY9ZPXR5QF70w5kXyFydw5Wky8koZlcbABWSOfmnZYICzBb_Uhp5WCVkeM9Mmv9bcLjysvA2V2lkw/s200/scan0008-5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="200" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAHvE2ec7eTWLSkjGkLWbJixpxNdCq9ZIOMJrVzzx4vXiy_bF-aSs_chdFrgq4jD_JolHT1Xz3ZOlVF3pA_1ILhvq5keMv1p9ZK01NMwiCY5cRdY9ZPXR5QF70w5kXyFydw5Wky8koZlcbABWSOfmnZYICzBb_Uhp5WCVkeM9Mmv9bcLjysvA2V2lkw/w343-h273/scan0008-5.jpg" width="343" /></a></div>On September 22, 1992, I flew from Detroit Metro Airport to Istanbul to start a new job working as a teacher of English as a second language. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I ended up living in Turkey for seven years before returning to the US to begin graduate school in 1999. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Going into academia was the absolute last thing on my mind when I first arrived in Istanbul. Instead, I wanted to write a novel and see something of the world. While I never finished the novel, at least I gave myself the chance to try writing it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In the meantime, I learned a lot about Russia and the Middle East, and even more about myself. By the time I decided to apply to graduate school, I had already become proficient in Turkish and halfway decent in Russian, had published a number of articles about politics in Turkey and the Balkans, and had traveled extensively through Russia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, among other places. More importantly, the interest I had developed in the parts of the world in which I would go on to specialize was an organic one. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">By the time I did begin graduate school, this background gave me a huge advantage, and I feel like it still does. Not because I necessarily learned certain facts during these years that I wouldn't have known otherwise, but rather because my pre-grad school experiences would later give me staying power during my studies and beyond. I knew why I was in graduate school and what kind of research I wanted to do because I'd learned something about myself in the meantime. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">***</span></div><div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library. </span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span> </span></span></p></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-68268111852916695732022-06-30T05:44:00.005-06:002023-11-29T11:51:32.035-07:00The Return: Part IV, Istanbul<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thursday, June 30, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">It had been three years since I'd been in Istanbul, and even that had been a short, week-long trip <a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2019/06/searching-for-lost-youth-in-istanbul.html" target="_blank">back in 2019</a>. After living in Turkey between 1992 and 1999, I'd returned to the US to begin graduate school. But, given the fact that I work on Turkey professionally, I return frequently. From 1999 until 2020 there had been only one calendar year, 2002, when I hadn't gone to Turkey. And now, three years had passed. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLt1upsU-28Ke7uAjZ9DFXsDrjGX_25GmyedJMEUR2Y3e6326eLyfvE5GC0NGpC7GEsH74-mK5wa5nPqLKdwyBypSFwJub8juZeSCbrzNqRFy3SV9Dyn_lxsingUEk2UKym4wW_XHb15msibMJDXYzrBrSsQEFlVxh6HCss_oakN7V62f2wLjt3cR4yQ/s1366/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-27%20at%2011.16.31%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="1018" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLt1upsU-28Ke7uAjZ9DFXsDrjGX_25GmyedJMEUR2Y3e6326eLyfvE5GC0NGpC7GEsH74-mK5wa5nPqLKdwyBypSFwJub8juZeSCbrzNqRFy3SV9Dyn_lxsingUEk2UKym4wW_XHb15msibMJDXYzrBrSsQEFlVxh6HCss_oakN7V62f2wLjt3cR4yQ/w345-h464/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-27%20at%2011.16.31%20PM.png" width="345" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">I was supposed to be in Kazan, Russia this summer. That obviously didn't work out, but I was able to switch to researching in </span><a href="https://blog2.jhmeyer.net/2022/06/the-return-part-i-amsterdam.html#more" style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Amsterdam</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> and Istanbul instead. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeIGm8NnsbFH9dwCamHZYuFG8DGqDQ_bHbvEH0sDxZ3pmUzDKkGdczJXsDNmJPbkscyOFAvYMy2iH571MEp6Lo8x2hgX5tn10WHzGpJuyc21VbGWVvgW3BShU50jTST5pMDJ6MauoKbHtx5AW-m7I0_xZUP7P8OsDoNWS9W1T09rtg8MSz9ofYNBEfg/s448/scan0001-3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="308" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeIGm8NnsbFH9dwCamHZYuFG8DGqDQ_bHbvEH0sDxZ3pmUzDKkGdczJXsDNmJPbkscyOFAvYMy2iH571MEp6Lo8x2hgX5tn10WHzGpJuyc21VbGWVvgW3BShU50jTST5pMDJ6MauoKbHtx5AW-m7I0_xZUP7P8OsDoNWS9W1T09rtg8MSz9ofYNBEfg/w332-h483/scan0001-3.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>It was good to be back in the land of my youth. I call it that because I'd first arrived in Istanbul in 1992 as a callous <i>terbiyesiz</i> 23 year-old, then left to pursue a graduate education as a considerably more polished, but no less <i>terbiyesiz </i>30 year-old. For anyone, that can be a pretty important period of one's life. The first apartment I rented on my own was there, my first serious post-college girlfriends, travels to lots of countries, a whole bunch of foreign-language instruction, and this: I left in 1999 with something that was wholly lacking when I'd arrived: an idea of what I wanted to do professionally. </span></span><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">S</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">o, that's what I associate mainly with Istanbul: growing up somewhat, figuring things out about myself, learning how to behave. Not that I'm perfect now, or that I will ever be, but I learned something in this city. A lot, actually. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></div><div><div><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XokCo8QdogFCoEearl_w4BcyeHkxbODJ5m1f7fJ_5sinyk2sgzsMP7mtKcojknA4iOOeX3EqJyf9yhIpSBLC8XhoWgpmB-R3uACGfxJjx-uqe8rtALBDuCrkmu9GHW7xcjbGT4jwetzMKh19pVYGCz4s_469RmK0HE4IY5KerpD_CXoap5_IdPrzCQ/s1600/CIMG2122.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XokCo8QdogFCoEearl_w4BcyeHkxbODJ5m1f7fJ_5sinyk2sgzsMP7mtKcojknA4iOOeX3EqJyf9yhIpSBLC8XhoWgpmB-R3uACGfxJjx-uqe8rtALBDuCrkmu9GHW7xcjbGT4jwetzMKh19pVYGCz4s_469RmK0HE4IY5KerpD_CXoap5_IdPrzCQ/w404-h303/CIMG2122.JPG" width="404" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: georgia;">Coming back as a graduate student was different, of course. In 2004-2005 I'd been an ARIT fellow, and had shared an apartment with a Turkish girl in Maçka, but otherwise I typically stayed at the ARIT guest how in Arnavutköy during those years. With the exception of a couple of stretches when I stayed of 7 months, most of my research trips to Turkey over the past 23 years have ranged between a few weeks and a few months. Such was the case this time as well. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Being in the archive again was nice. When I first started working in the Ottoman archives, they were located in Sultanahmet. ARIT, where I often used to stay as a graduate student, was in Arnavutköy, and it was possible to travel between the two locations by boat. I remember finishing up at the archives, heading down the hill to Eminönü, then drinking tea on the boat as I watched thousands of cars locked in traffic to my left. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjap_MbTBph6vaAFw0GQ0Bv-M8KtEN0uoU_wJ5T0eOHq1VkIFPkYj_GaUh2xRTRMehQ9sHMydK9fqyP3BvUGoR_GEk8miy9ewgfepN6ziaulaSE85qrdxAKw1VfDXUGi2QBtqPUJBjqOCQfijlLLzLohJsKoZEM2dK3NRQbwdhGpZRK1zrkonI-ztpg/s870/archive.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="870" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjap_MbTBph6vaAFw0GQ0Bv-M8KtEN0uoU_wJ5T0eOHq1VkIFPkYj_GaUh2xRTRMehQ9sHMydK9fqyP3BvUGoR_GEk8miy9ewgfepN6ziaulaSE85qrdxAKw1VfDXUGi2QBtqPUJBjqOCQfijlLLzLohJsKoZEM2dK3NRQbwdhGpZRK1zrkonI-ztpg/w400-h225/archive.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The new archive is not in anywhere nearly as charming a location, and yeah, <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/02/turkey-ottoman-archives-undermine-akp.html" target="_blank">concerns have been raised</a> about the building and its construction. But still, it's a nice place to work. It's big, and as always the staff was extremely helpful this somewhere. Out of the 20 or so archives where I've done research over the course of my career, this is easily one of the best. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Good Times</b></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was nice to ride the ferries again. Traveling by boat is one of the nicest things about living in Istanbul. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSBZuKum9i3eq6_2mERMItkiOXbDuAvN8jxmPhzbTtFJzYTR7E3pe53TqvD7GHgnXG3NVWMIBysYGxSTXgZWyrdWC6J8rcALqQVoKdxxE80S-v5B0mw3vQnqwiDs4FuTKDrt_xFqg18-zdG6AUZeGr6--VG9FVzlmcdzmqcMwsuDI3MjwbcjwifCUQA/s1600/CIMG2109.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSBZuKum9i3eq6_2mERMItkiOXbDuAvN8jxmPhzbTtFJzYTR7E3pe53TqvD7GHgnXG3NVWMIBysYGxSTXgZWyrdWC6J8rcALqQVoKdxxE80S-v5B0mw3vQnqwiDs4FuTKDrt_xFqg18-zdG6AUZeGr6--VG9FVzlmcdzmqcMwsuDI3MjwbcjwifCUQA/w442-h332/CIMG2109.JPG" width="442" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Prior to moving to Montana, I'd always been a water person--I grew up spending my summers on Lake Michigan, and afterward had lived in Montreal, Istanbul, New Jersey, Providence, and NYC. But only in Istanbul did I regularly travel over water. During my second year in Istanbul, 1992-93 (even then I thought of the year in academic terms--I was a teacher, after all), I lived on the European side and worked on the Asian part of the city, and therefore traveled between continents eight times a week for work. </span></p></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0_-oJ_OIsqtR2Tj0KbzMkx9TTFyTsc27LDPgTcw-X1K4bu4J1bBOAqnGlJWEzuWc3C75F9OsAJ5h1hWI1B2hGrudrN4LTiG9Nh1tvDzKp3ujkqsoD1yd_zwEvxiCyYpU5ieEWJ56qk7BNodBlSHyGBgiSbQ191Rc0jxbRik3H55DbUqi_uwyMVJvVQ/s1024/XXL.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0_-oJ_OIsqtR2Tj0KbzMkx9TTFyTsc27LDPgTcw-X1K4bu4J1bBOAqnGlJWEzuWc3C75F9OsAJ5h1hWI1B2hGrudrN4LTiG9Nh1tvDzKp3ujkqsoD1yd_zwEvxiCyYpU5ieEWJ56qk7BNodBlSHyGBgiSbQ191Rc0jxbRik3H55DbUqi_uwyMVJvVQ/w287-h383/XXL.jpeg" width="287" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This time I did so to meet friends and to buy a kilim. The first kilim I'd ever bought was shortly after moving into my old apartment in Muradiye. Later I moved this into my apartment in Bozeman. After buying a few more kilims, however, I moved this one to my office at MSU. Then, after buying a house last year, I reclaimed the old kilim and brought it home. I still have plenty of bare floorspace in Belgrade, so picking up a new rug was high on my list of priorities. But it's not easy finding a good place anymore. I wasn't particularly eager to head to the Grand Bazaar, but the old shop I used to go to in Beşiktaş had disappeared. Everything is turning into cafes and restaurants. Anyway, I found a place that I liked in Kadıköy--Şirvan. The next time I'm looking for a </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">kilim (I almost bought two this time--thank goodness I didn't, given the absolute lack of room in my backpack), I'll most likely head there first. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyUdxo83FuP_hg6VvixyjNZnF7RKE8uAygYTLfdZ2Jdt0OehAktMCUlNza3CDeOvY8S8aRCpXK8iNJ3r3uylUOH6c-Mj8gLMJzd6-qfq5bZws2c6LKJ97gRGh79bobeddBqEJoWkWjUAqJGq4ghcuT_WYRk7qnMKsdxfVN3C5JHHc3fdUFHWI9qDaaQ/s400/imparatorluklar-arasi-turkler-2.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyUdxo83FuP_hg6VvixyjNZnF7RKE8uAygYTLfdZ2Jdt0OehAktMCUlNza3CDeOvY8S8aRCpXK8iNJ3r3uylUOH6c-Mj8gLMJzd6-qfq5bZws2c6LKJ97gRGh79bobeddBqEJoWkWjUAqJGq4ghcuT_WYRk7qnMKsdxfVN3C5JHHc3fdUFHWI9qDaaQ/w257-h384/imparatorluklar-arasi-turkler-2.png" width="257" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Something else that was fun was walking into a bookstore and finding the Turkish translation of <i>Turks Across Empires </i>on sale. The English-language version, as far as I know, is only available online, so this was something of a novelty for me. I wasn't even going to buy it--it's not like I'm going to read it or anything--I just wanted to see if it was on the shelf. But then I opened it up and saw that it had its own "İmparatorluklar Arası Türkler" bookmark, and I couldn't leave without that. So I shelled out 31 TL for the book (bookmark free of charge with purchase). This worked out to slightly less than $2. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Most of all, it's been nice being back on the road again. I started off this trip feeling a lot of trepidation. I'm not sure how much of this was necessarily due to Covid. Rather, I'd just gotten out of the habit of leaving my little castle in the Grade of Bel. By the end of my stay, I had already begun dreaming up new places to go next year. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But I still had one stop to make before heading back to the US. <br /></span><div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">***</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span> </span></p></div></div></div>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921432690434863348.post-60583317425520625872022-06-24T11:48:00.009-06:002023-11-29T11:57:42.679-07:00The Return, Part III: Blaming NATO, again<p><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thursday, June 24, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I was at a hippish-type of place in Çukurcuma, not far from the AirBnB I'd rented in Cihangir. A friend of mine runs an art gallery there and she'd invited me to a soiree. It was a nice evening. I'd always despised Cihangir, which is lousy with youngish western foreigners, but </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Çukurcuma is alright. A DJ was playing cool- sounding music that was dribbling in the background, and we were all sipping red wine and talking about the paintings on the walls. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rs0e8d6m2y95LxoELDSfrEGme2ITgOPpyfH2uQu8JEpHKLqH_oCUvKNCXcr_c_5I3zxUlUelqbp1Wf-NeMDltaZWAZCu3b9JMInPUn0otWAutEG_DvjVnBuWCuT6cHuyuNep7b5818Jns6rtLu7lLq3UTjtOtwxdgC4Y6ompgJW-dKBCzF5dRSr6ZQ/s4160/IMG_20220619_205536448.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rs0e8d6m2y95LxoELDSfrEGme2ITgOPpyfH2uQu8JEpHKLqH_oCUvKNCXcr_c_5I3zxUlUelqbp1Wf-NeMDltaZWAZCu3b9JMInPUn0otWAutEG_DvjVnBuWCuT6cHuyuNep7b5818Jns6rtLu7lLq3UTjtOtwxdgC4Y6ompgJW-dKBCzF5dRSr6ZQ/w300-h400/IMG_20220619_205536448.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's good to be back</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A couple of dudes, old-school Turkish leftist types, started chatting me up. It turned out we had some friends in common, people I'd known from the various times of my life that I've lived in this city. Talk turned to politics and the Russia-Ukraine war, and they asked me what I thought. I deflected, half-knowing what would come next. Of course they blamed the US for everything. <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Followers of contemporary Turkish politics are likely familiar with the objections that have recently been made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo</span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">ğan to NATO’s proposed expansion to include Sweden and Finland, as well as Ankara’s efforts to avoid antagonizing Moscow in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yet it is not only </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Erdo</span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">ğan and his government which have exhibited a lack of enthusiasm for backing up Washington’s response to the Ukraine war. Turkish public opinion, too, has demonstrated a clear tendency to hold the United States and NATO, rather than Moscow, as responsible for the conflict. A poll conducted in March indicated that </span><a href="https://www.diken.com.tr/metropollden-ukrayna-rusya-anketi-yuzde-48-abd-nato-sorumlu-dedi/" style="color: #954f72; font-family: georgia;"><span lang="TR">more than 48 percent of respondents blamed NATO and the United States for the conflict,</span></a><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;"> with only 34 percent viewing Russia as the primary culprit. Later polls have <a href="https://twitter.com/hermanmostafa/status/1537098656242974720/photo/1" target="_blank">borne similar results</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIIDNFZX0yE4RhFz7_GDXBKfDdRKAlgV8zEU3Wy6i-qbXppkQUutXdAjdr51WccHRHpVX3bS-TIJtnOp11AqlrcNmT2J8hGKNZMZJb2_a3Sgwdfo4LXM4gqUmjcYtsI3Jjvb85MVZjWuAJyLPU_9mn4T6GKWLxvJoIF3YXpJoQ7It6jrvTB4QSsyZ2w/s1111/FPFnUJTX0AQx0Ov.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="885" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIIDNFZX0yE4RhFz7_GDXBKfDdRKAlgV8zEU3Wy6i-qbXppkQUutXdAjdr51WccHRHpVX3bS-TIJtnOp11AqlrcNmT2J8hGKNZMZJb2_a3Sgwdfo4LXM4gqUmjcYtsI3Jjvb85MVZjWuAJyLPU_9mn4T6GKWLxvJoIF3YXpJoQ7It6jrvTB4QSsyZ2w/w319-h400/FPFnUJTX0AQx0Ov.jpeg" width="319" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">Even more notable is the fact that these numbers were largely consistent across the spectrum of Turkey’s fractured political landscape, with supporters of </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Erdo</span><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">ğan’s Justice and Development Party and the main opposition Republican People’s Party similarly viewing Turkey’s NATO allies, rather than Russia, as principally to blame for the war--<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine" target="_blank">a position that people in other countries, including the United States</a>, have also taken. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">I get it: the US caused all of this by needlessly expanding NATO into Eastern Europe, blah, blah, blah. Of course, it might be a good idea to ask why people in all of those former Warsaw Pact countries were so desperate to join NATO in the first place. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="TR" style="font-family: georgia;">Going back even further, you could also ask the same question with respect to Turkey itself. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IAaWCns7y709FKmHgiNVzPVSayEqfmkan7yKcTjE3bVc-bWytHIl6E31x7APwzUrO2bXrIWft0DVQl90_N84Aht5K5PbfmqgvJnJyhjM4JyuuAMRx9YnsKefTtY-6c8isiPbKTR0yw-cNxTphh2elBAhn9YN40vX-3ssk7QnyLs1CkTDjK7fRaohFQ/s656/xxxx.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="656" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IAaWCns7y709FKmHgiNVzPVSayEqfmkan7yKcTjE3bVc-bWytHIl6E31x7APwzUrO2bXrIWft0DVQl90_N84Aht5K5PbfmqgvJnJyhjM4JyuuAMRx9YnsKefTtY-6c8isiPbKTR0yw-cNxTphh2elBAhn9YN40vX-3ssk7QnyLs1CkTDjK7fRaohFQ/s320/xxxx.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The June 28, 194</span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">5</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><i>New York Times </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">article bore a port</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">entous message: “Turks Said to Get 4 Soviet Demands.” With World War II winding down in the aftermath of Germany’s surrender the previous month, officials in Turkey—which had been neutral throughout the course of the war—had been given an ultimatum from their powerful neighbor to the north. Moscow was insisting, as part of a new treaty it wished to sign with Ankara, upon the return of two of Turkey’s eastern provinces—Kars and Ardahan—which had been transferred to Turkey in the aftermath of the First World War.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYWFEEdGn_mdiC8Ym9N6hxPuicQeAAd-VaBfMgnOmjDjIWbvpHuz_U3_5lWeGhYPNBRF6RWAQfjWnyHUMZoXLsRtINW3ag5aT-prVMPKL4Bw10lODD0_kHs6HpBZpHBC1_pHQRXb1qH6MFxXt-G2vQ8TxYvWlsLCbnv093sPFUm8iP94N-rtXdjs7RA/s499/NYT%20p%201%20August%207%201945.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="435" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYWFEEdGn_mdiC8Ym9N6hxPuicQeAAd-VaBfMgnOmjDjIWbvpHuz_U3_5lWeGhYPNBRF6RWAQfjWnyHUMZoXLsRtINW3ag5aT-prVMPKL4Bw10lODD0_kHs6HpBZpHBC1_pHQRXb1qH6MFxXt-G2vQ8TxYvWlsLCbnv093sPFUm8iP94N-rtXdjs7RA/w315-h361/NYT%20p%201%20August%207%201945.png" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sound familiar? NYT p. 1, <br />August 7, 1945</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>This demand—which had been presented alongside other stipulations, including the opening of Soviet military bases in Turkey—prompted officials in Turkey to take an unprecedented move. Taking their first steps toward abandoning the policy of neutrality that the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, had embraced with Turkey’s creation in 1923, Prime Minister İsmet İnönü sent a delegation to London within days of receiving Moscow’s letter. </div></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigA73V9DksUbUp2h6LiEX9rm4gkrMKALaZxfWdkEC0GH5ySG-cIZUior6An5JIzRhtXALnrdoBq-aTdHMBRL5qC4tUtSBJpXMr7ri-IADSz7vRkMYd_pRbjNHwLzgmW_ljakM--k0fp3wLqrryDQ5-8ONtrYjRI2kq-lP1xpamkS5si_XXnEygtG7lw/s786/1%20Front%20page%20Dec%2021%201945%20.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="786" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigA73V9DksUbUp2h6LiEX9rm4gkrMKALaZxfWdkEC0GH5ySG-cIZUior6An5JIzRhtXALnrdoBq-aTdHMBRL5qC4tUtSBJpXMr7ri-IADSz7vRkMYd_pRbjNHwLzgmW_ljakM--k0fp3wLqrryDQ5-8ONtrYjRI2kq-lP1xpamkS5si_XXnEygtG7lw/w447-h341/1%20Front%20page%20Dec%2021%201945%20.png" width="447" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">NYT, p1, December 21, 1945</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">These meetings, initiated by Turkey’s Republican People’s Party government, would lead to Ankara’s gradual integration with western European, and eventually American, diplomatic and military institutions. In 1949, Turkey became one of the founding members of the Council of Europe. Following the victory of the opposition Democrat Party in 1950, Turkey volunteered to send troops to fight in Korea on behalf of the US-led UN coalition. In all, Ankara would dispatch 15,000 troops in the war, suffering more than 900 casualties. In 1952, Turkey and Greece simultaneously joined NATO. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But yeah, I guess this too was just another example of Washington's war-mongering.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">***</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are <i>you</i> a Turk across empires? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0198725140/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Order a copy</a> today, then get another one for your library. </span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">More commentary, photos, and links can be found in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBorderlandsLounge/?ref=tn_tnmn" style="color: #6666cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Borderlands Lounge</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> <span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> </span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p>Jim Meyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18362698311097051532noreply@blogger.com0