ArmInfo.The recent Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States in Istanbul and especially the map shown on its outcome, in general, do not contain anything new in themselves. Senior Researcher of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Orientalist Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
On November 12, at the 8th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States in Istanbul, Erdogan solemnly renamed the Turkic Council into the Organization of Turkic States. Currently, the Organization of Turkic States includes Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Hungary and Turkmenistan are participating in its activities as observers.
"I personally don't see any radical shifts in all this - we are talking about the ambitions of the Turkish society, which has long become commonplace, nurtured on the appropriate ideology. Such maps of "Great Turan" are printed in any Turkish textbook. And on the basis of these maps, children are taught from school that the Turkic world is inhabited exclusively by Turks. It is clear that such maps can be regarded as claims of Ankara to the territory of the Russian Federation. Especially considering that such a policy has enough supporters in Turkey, and it is supported by the country's government, "he stressed. Following the Istanbul Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, Erdogan's coalition partner, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahcheli presented the Turkish president with a "map of the Turkic world", which covered in whole or in part the territories of 15 countries, including Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China.
According to the Orientalist, the idea of building the "Great Turan" originates from the 19th century and includes vast territories that include not only the area of residence of the Turkic-speaking peoples. According to his estimates, "Great Turan" is an empire from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. According to Nadein-Raevsky, it was the Turkish hopes for the implementation of this project, that led the then Ottoman Empire into the First World War, since Kaiser's Germany promised support to the Turks in expansion to the Russian east. The genocide of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and Yezidis took place in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire itself collapsed, which clearly testifies to what usually happens.
"I think everyone knows how all these programs ended. The genocide of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and Yezidis took place in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire itself collapsed, which clearly shows how such ambitious ideas are usually crowned. However, founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal as well, only formally rejected the idea of the "Great Turan", actually warming pan- Turkism on the breast of the Turkish Republic. After that Pan-Turkism began to acquire milder forms, "he stated.
According to the Orientalist, in any case, even today Erdogan's Turkey is promoting its own pan-Turkist course quite actively, evidence of which, in addition to all the latest integration initiatives of Ankara, is the defeat of Armenia in the 44-day war by joint Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem. In his opinion, without the participation of the Turkish military, this would be practically impossible. And as of today the creation of the so-called "Civil Defense Mechanism" under the Organization of the Turkish States is the first step towards the formation of the future Turan army.
"Nevertheless, despite all these quite tangible steps of Turkey in the direction of the Great Turan, I do not see any particular prospects for its successful implementation. Especially in light of the apparent reluctance of the leaders of other states of the potential Turan to share their power with Erdogan. Erdogan. There are serious disagreements with Kazakhstan, while Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan generally prefer to act in the OTS as observer states. Turkey and Erdogan personally, of course, are trying to present themselves as the defenders of all Turkic peoples. But for the implementation of a geopolitical project of such a scale, this is clearly not enough, " summed up the Orientalist.