SUMMARY
The Meskhetian Turks trace their origins back to the Meskheti region in southern Georgia, close to the Turkish border, today known as the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. During the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish expansion in the region, Turkish settlers moved to Meskheti. Over time, the Meskheti and Turkish populations mixed and were subsequently referred to Meskhetian Turks. Meskhetian Turks are predominantly Sunni Muslims, although a minority of the group living in Azerbaijan are Shia Muslim, the dominant religion in Azerbaijan. They speak an Eastern Anatolian Dialect of Turkish, which is very similar to Azerbaijani.
The historical and ethnic origins of the group are subject of a debate as to what extent the Meskhetian Turks are in fact ethnic Turks or Georgians who converted to Islam. This debate is also visible in the different names for this ethnic group, which in addition to Meskhetian Turks is also referred to as Meskhetians (or Meskhi in Georgian, emphasizing the Georgian origin) or Ahiska Turks (emphasizing the Turkish element of the group’s identity). In the past, the group has also been referred to as Georgian Muslims, Meskhetian Muslim or Soviet Turks. Meskhetian Turks is most commonly used by officials and scholars and was also adopted by the UNHCR.
Today, Meskhetian Turks are dispersed over numerous former republics of the Soviet Union. Large communities can be found in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Smaller numbers of Meskhetian Turks are living in Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Georgia. Outside the former Soviet Union, significant communities can be found in the U.S. and in Turkey. In total, the Meskhetian Turks are estimated to number between 350,000 and 400,000. The reason for this dispersion along the southern rim of the former Soviet Union is to be found in the recent history of the people as the Meskhetian Turks repeatedly faced deportation and discrimination.
In 1944, the Meskhetian Turks, alongside other smaller minority groups, were declared “untrustworthy populations” by the Soviet government. Subsequently, 100,000 Meskhetian Turks were forcibly, and under inhumane conditions, deported from the Georgian Soviet Republic to the Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia. An estimated 15 – 20 % of the Meskhetian Turks died during the deportation and of cold and hunger during the first years in the Central Asian republics, where they were exposed to deprivation and discrimination. Although the situation improved somewhat after the end of Stalin’s regime, Meskhetian Turks were not allowed to move back to Georgia and continued to live in Central Asia. However, the Meskhetian Turks have been campaigning to return to their homelands ever since their deportation.
When nationalist tensions escalated in Uzbekistan in 1989 and almost 100 Meskhetian Turks were killed in a pogrom in Fergana Valley, 17,000 Meskhetian Turks were evacuated to Russia. Up to 70,000 of the 160,000 Meskhetian Turks living in different parts of Uzbekistan subsequently fled to Russia and other parts of the Soviet Union. The majority settled in Azerbaijan, minor groups moved to Ukraine or the neighbouring Soviet Republics of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Also after leaving Uzbekistan, Meskhetian Turks have repeatedly been subject to discrimination, especially in Krasnodar in southern Russia. A small number of Meskhetian Turks remained in Uzbekistan; most of them are living in Samarkand and Fergana.
The Meskhetian Turks have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
