View source for Meskhetian Turks

{{Short description|Ethnic subgroup of Turks}}
{{distinguish|Meskhetians}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Meskhetian Turks
| image            = 
| image_caption    = 
| pop              = 1944 deportee population only: <br /> est. 400,000 in 1990{{sfn|Khazanov|1995|p=202|ps=: "Because of the high birthrates their number is constantly increasing and, according to sources, has already reached 400,000 (Panesh and Ermolov, 1990)... It is true that the last Soviet census of 1989 gives a lower figure - 207,369; however, one should take into account that far from all Meskhetian Turks have been registered as such. For years many were even denied the right to register their nationality in legal documents. Thus, by 1988 in Kazakhstan, only one third of them were recorded as Turks on their passports. The rest had been arbitrarily declared members of other ethnic groups.."}} <br /> (excludes pre-1944 [[muhacirs]] in Turkey) <br /><br /> current deportee population only:<br /> 500,000–600,000<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=1">{{Harvnb|Aydıngün|Harding|Hoover|Kuznetsov|2006|loc=1}}</ref><ref name="Seferov & Akış 2011 loc=393">{{Harvnb|Seferov|Akış|2011|loc=393}}.</ref><ref name="TodaysZaman">{{cite web |author=Today's Zaman |title=Historic Meskhetian Turk documents destroyed |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/news-253866-historic-meskhetian-turk-documents-destroyed.html |work=Today's Zaman |date=15 August 2011 |access-date=21 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="KanbolatTodaysZaman">{{cite web |title=Return of Meskhetian Turks to Georgia delayed |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-171664-return-of-meskhetian-turks-to-georgia-delayed.html |first=Hasan |last=Kanbolat |work=Today's Zaman |date=7 April 2009 |access-date=21 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125164830/http://todayszaman.com/columnist-171664-return-of-meskhetian-turks-to-georgia-delayed.html |archive-date=25 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="ataa">{{cite web |author=Assembly of Turkish American Associations |title=ATAA and ATA-SC Visit Ahiska Turks in Los Angeles |url=http://www.ataa.org/press/prl_020508.html |work=Today's Zaman |date=5 February 2008 |access-date=21 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212082059/http://ataa.org/press/prl_020508.html |archive-date=12 December 2010}}</ref> <br />(excludes descendants of pre-1944 Meskhetian Turks in Turkey)
| region1          = {{flagcountry|Georgia}}
| pop1             = 1,500<ref name="Al Jazeera">{{cite web |author=Al Jazeera |title=Ahıska Türklerinin 70 yıllık sürgünü |url=http://www.aljazeera.com.tr/al-jazeera-ozel/ahiska-turklerinin-70-yillik-surgunu |work=Al Jazeera |date=2014 |access-date=2016-07-05}}</ref><ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=13">{{Harvnb|Aydıngün|Harding|Hoover|Kuznetsov|2006|loc=13}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagcountry|Turkey}}
| pop2             = 100,000–1,500,000 (latter including 19th- and 20th-century [[muhacirs|muhacir]] descendants)<ref name="Karcı2018">{{citation |last=Karcı |first=Durmuş |year=2018 |title=The Effects of Language Characters and Identity of Meskhetian Turkish in Kazakhstan |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1519899 |journal=The Journal of Kesit Academy |volume=4 |issue=13 |pages=301–303}}</ref><ref>{{citation |year=2018 |title=Bursa'da Ahıskalıların vatandaşlık kuyruğu! |url=https://www.bursadabugun.com/haber/bursa-da-ahiskalilarin-vatandaslik-kuyrugu-934666.html |publisher=Bursada Bugün |accessdate=30 August 2021}}</ref>
| region3          = {{flagcountry|Kazakhstan}}
| pop3             = 150,000–250,000<ref name="Al Jazeera"/><ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=13"/><ref name="Karcı2018"/>
| region4          = {{flagcountry|Azerbaijan}}
| pop4             = 90,000–130,000<ref name="Al Jazeera"/><ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=13"/>
| region5          = {{flagcountry|Russia}}
| pop5             = 70,000–100,000<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=13"/><ref name="Al Jazeera"/><ref name="Karcı2018"/>
| region6          = {{flagcountry|Kyrgyzstan}}
| pop6             = 42,000–55,000<ref name="Al Jazeera"/><ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=13"/><ref name="Karcı2018"/>
| region7          = {{flagcountry|Uzbekistan}}
| pop7             = 15,000–38,000<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=14">{{Harvnb|Aydıngün|Harding|Hoover|Kuznetsov|2006|loc=14}}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera"/><ref name="Karcı2018"/>
| region8          = {{flagcountry|Ukraine}}
| pop8             = 8,000–15,000<ref name="Al Jazeera"/><ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=14"/><ref name="Karcı2018"/>
| region9          = {{flagcountry|United States}}
| pop9             = 9,000–16,000<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=14"/><ref name="Al Jazeera"/>
| region10         = {{flagcountry|North Cyprus}}
| pop10            = 180<ref name="Al Jazeera"/>
| languages        = '''[[Turkish dialects#Meskhetian Turkish dialect|Meskhetian Turkish]] dialect'''<br />[[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] {{·}} [[Russian language|Russian]] {{·}} [[Georgian language|Georgian]] {{·}} [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] {{·}} [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]
| religions        = Predominantly [[Sunni Islam]], minority [[Shia Islam]]<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=15">{{Harvnb|Aydıngün|Harding|Hoover|Kuznetsov|2006|loc=15}}</ref><ref name="Me">[https://books.google.com/books?id=CquTz6ps5YgC&dq=meskhetian+shiite+muslims&pg=PA347 An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires].</ref>
| related-c        = [[Georgians]] (especially [[Meskhetians]]), other [[Turkish people|Turks]], [[Karapapakhs]], [[Urums#Tsalka Urums|Tsalka Urums]]
}}
[[File:Ahiska Turks in Karabük, Turkey.jpg|thumb|Meskhetian Turks in Karabük, Turkey]]

'''Meskhetian Turks''', also referred to as '''Turkish Meskhetians''',<ref>{{citation |year=1986 |title=Documents of the Helsinki Monitoring Groups in the U.S.S.R. and Lithuania (1976–1986) |page=97 |publisher=[[U.S. Government Printing Office]]}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Geyer |first1=Michael |last2=Fitzpatrick |first2=Sheila |year=2009 |title=Beyond Totalitarianism: Stalinism and Nazism Compared
|page=222 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521897969}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Hille |first=Charlotte |year=2010 |title=State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus |page=241 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004179011}}</ref> '''Ahiska Turks''', and '''Turkish Ahiskans''',<ref>{{citation| title=Turkish Ahiskan American Foundation |url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/815145260 |publisher=Charity Navigator |accessdate=26 September 2021}}</ref> ({{Langx|tr|Ahıska Türkleri}};<ref>[http://cografya.ege.edu.tr/22_2_kahraman.pdf page78.]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.ahiskalilar.org/portal/index.php |title =ahiskalilar.org (turkish) |access-date =2016-03-31 |archive-date =2011-06-23 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110623052323/http://www.ahiskalilar.org/portal/index.php |url-status =dead }}</ref> {{lang-ka|მესხეთის თურქები}} ''Meskhetis turk'ebi'') are a subgroup of ethnic [[Turkish people|Turkish]] people historically inhabiting the [[Meskheti]] region of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], along the border with [[Turkey]]. The Turkish presence in Meskheti began with the [[Lala Mustafa Pasha's Caucasian campaign|Ottoman military expedition of 1578]],<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=4">{{Harvnb|Aydıngün|Harding|Hoover|Kuznetsov|2006|loc=4}}</ref> although [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] tribes had settled in the region as early as the eleventh and twelfth centuries.<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=4"/>

Today, the Meskhetian Turks are widely dispersed throughout the [[former Soviet Union]] (as well as in Turkey and the United States) due to [[Forced deportation in the Soviet Union|forced deportations]] during World War II. At the time, the [[Soviet Union]] was preparing to launch a pressure campaign against Turkey, and [[Joseph Stalin]] wanted to clear the strategic Turkish population in Meskheti deemed likely to be hostile to Soviet government intentions.<ref name="Bennigsen & Broxup 1983 loc=30">{{Harvnb|Bennigsen|Broxup|1983|loc=30}}.</ref> In 1944, the Meskhetian Turks were accused of smuggling, banditry and espionage in collaboration with their kin across the Turkish border. Expelled by Joseph Stalin from Georgia in 1944, they faced discrimination and human-rights abuses before and after deportation.<ref name="worldbulletin.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/140219/clashes-force-2000-meskhetian-turks-to-flee-ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927174237/http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/140219/clashes-force-2000-meskhetian-turks-to-flee-ukraine |url-status=usurped |archive-date=27 September 2014 |title=Clashes force 2,000 Meskhetian Turks to flee Ukraine - World Bulletin |website=World Bulletin |access-date=2016-02-03}}</ref> Approximately 115,000 Meskhetian Turks were deported to Central Asia and subsequently only a few hundred have been able to return to Georgia as Georgia does not allow repatriation. Those who migrated to Ukraine in 1990 settled in [[shanty-town]]s inhabited by seasonal workers.<ref name="worldbulletin.net"/>

== Genetics ==
Out of the tested DNA samples of Meskhetian Turks, the most common [[Y-chromosomal haplogroup]] among them is [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|Haplogroup J]], in the second place is the Y-chromosomal [[Haplogroup G-M201|haplogroup G]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=FamilyTreeDNA - Ahiska DNA Project (Meskhetia) |url=https://www.familytreedna.com/public/AkhaltsikheAhiskaTurks?iframe=yresults |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=www.familytreedna.com}}</ref>

==Origins and terms==
[[File:Meskhetian Turks with banner.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Meskhetian/Ahıska Turks holding a banner which reads "Osmanlıların Torunları: Ahıskalı Türkler" (The Ottoman Grandchildren: Ahıska Turks)]]

Most Meskhetian Turks identify themselves as having descended from [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] settlers.<ref>Helmut Glück: Metzler Lexikon Sprache, 2005, p. 774</ref> Pro-[[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] historiography has traditionally argued that the Meskhetian Turks, who speak the [[Kars]] dialect of the [[Turkish language]] and belong to the [[Hanafi]] school of [[Sunni Islam]], are simply [[Turkification|Turkified]] [[Meskhetians]] (an ethnographic subgroup of [[Georgians]]) converted to Islam in the period between the sixteenth century and 1829, when the region of [[Samtskhe–Javakheti]] (Historical [[Meskheti]]) was under the rule of the [[Ottoman Empire]], theory of the Georgian historians is supported by the fact Meskhetian Turks genetically are closely related to [[Georgians]].<ref name="Khazanov 1995 loc=195">{{Harvnb|Khazanov|1995|loc=195}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FamilyTreeDNA - Ahiska DNA Project (Meskhetia) |url=https://www.familytreedna.com/public/AkhaltsikheAhiskaTurks?iframe=yresults |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=www.familytreedna.com}}</ref> However, the Russian anthropologist and historian Professor [[Anatoly Khazanov|Anatoly Michailovich Khazanov]] has argued against the pro-Georgian narrative and has said that:

{{blockquote|it is quite possible that the adherents of this [pro-Georgian] view oversimplified the ethnic history of the group, particularly if one compares it with another Muslim Georgian group, the [[Adzhar]], who in spite of their conversion to Islam have retained, not only the [[Georgian language]], but to some extent also the Georgian traditional culture and self-identification. Contrary to this, the traditional culture of Meskhetian Turks, though it contained some Georgian elements, was similar to the Turkish one.<ref name="Khazanov 1995 loc=195"/>}}

However, when making this comparison, Michailovich ignores the period during which the Adjara and Mesheti regions were under Turkish rule. Turkish-Armenian writer [[Sevan Nişanyan|Nişanyan]] explains the loss of the Georgian language by the Meskhetians, although the Adjarians preserved the Georgian language, as follows:

<blockquote>The people of the city of Batumi and the autonomous region of Adjara (and the Borcka-Hopa side of Artvin and the Meydancık valley of Şavşat) are Muslim Georgians, speaking the Adjara dialect. They were subject to Georgia until the 1810s and lived under direct or indirect Christian rule. The people of Ahıska (and Şavşat-Yusufeli, Posof) have lived under Islamic rule for 450 years. They have long spoken Turkish, perhaps intertwined with other elements of Ottoman Islam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nisanyan1.blogspot.com/2018/03/ahska-turkleri.html|title=Ahıska Türkleri|access-date=6 December 2023|date=2018|work=Sevan Nişanyan / En son yazıları|publisher=nisanyan1.blogspot.com|first=Sevan|last=Nişanyan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180159/https://nisanyan1.blogspot.com/2018/03/ahska-turkleri.html|archive-date=7 December 2023}}</ref></blockquote>

The DNA evidence has corroborated the Georgian thesis as it shows that Meskhetian Turks are genetically very close to Georgians.<ref>https://imgur.com/sd0nqLk</ref>

Anthropologist Kathryn Tomlinson has pointed out that in Soviet documents about the 1944 deportations of the Meskhetian Turks, the community were referred to simply as "Turks" because of their faith Islam, not only them but also every Muslim of Georgia was referred as Turks and that it was after their second deportation from [[Uzbekistan]] that the term "Meskhetian Turks" was invented.<ref name="Tomlinson 2005 loc=111">{{Harvnb|Tomlinson|2005|loc=111}}.</ref> According to Ronald Wixman, the term "Meskhetian" only came into use in the late 1950s.<ref name="Wixman 1984 loc=134">{{Harvnb|Wixman|1984|loc=134}}.</ref> Indeed, the majority of the Meskhetian Turks call themselves simply as "Turks" or "Ahiskan Turks" ({{Langx|tr|Ahıska Türkleri}}) referring to the region, meaning "Turks of Ahiska Region". The Meskhetians claim sometimes that the medieval [[Cumans]]-[[Kipchaks]] of Georgia ([[Kipchaks in Georgia]]) may have been one of their possible ancestors.<ref>Yunusov, Arif. ''The Akhiska (Meskhetian Turks): Twice Deported People''. "Central Asia and Caucasus" (Lulea, Sweden), 1999 # 1(2), p. 162-165.</ref> According to historians, it is less likely because part of the Kipchaks left Georgia during the [[Mongol invasions of Georgia|invasion of Mongols]], while others joined [[Mongols]].

== History ==
[[File:Distribution of Meskhetian Turks in Georgia 1926.png|thumb|250px|right|The area of distribution of Meskhetian Turks within [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian SSR]], 1926.]]

===Ottoman conquest===
By the [[Peace of Amasya]] (1555), [[Meskheti]] was divided into two, with the [[Safavid dynasty|Safavids]] keeping the eastern part and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] gaining the western part.{{sfn|Mikaberidze|2015|page=xxxi}} In 1578, the Ottomans [[Lala Mustafa Pasha's Caucasian campaign|attacked]] the [[Safavid Georgia|Safavid possessions in Georgia]], which initiated the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)|Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590]], and by 1582 the Ottomans were in possession of the eastern (Safavid) part of Meskheti.{{sfn|Floor|2001|page=85}} The Safavids regained control over the eastern part of Meskheti in the early 17th century.{{sfn|Floor|2001|page=85}} However, by the [[Treaty of Zuhab]] (1639), all of Meskheti fell under Ottoman control, and it brought an end to Iranian attempts to retake the region.<ref name="Tomlinson 2005 loc=110">{{Harvnb|Tomlinson|2005|loc=110}}.</ref>{{sfn|Floor|2001|page=85}}

===Soviet rule===

====1944 deportation from Georgia to Central Asia====
{{Further|Deportation of the Meskhetian Turks}}

On 15 November 1944, the then [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] of the [[CPSU]], [[Joseph Stalin]], ordered the deportation of over 115,000 Meskhetian Turks from their homeland,<ref name="UNHCR 1999b loc=20">{{Harvnb|UNHCR|1999b|loc=20}}.</ref> who were secretly driven from their homes and herded onto rail cars.<ref name="Minahan 2002 loc=1240">{{Harvnb|Minahan|2002|loc=1240}}.</ref> As many as 30,000 to 50,000 deportees died of hunger, thirst and cold and as a direct result of the deportations and the deprivations suffered in exile.<ref name="Polian 2004 loc=155">{{Harvnb|Polian|2004|loc=155}}.</ref><ref name="Minahan 2002 loc=1240"/> The Soviet guards dumped the Meskhetian Turks at rail sidings across a vast region, often without food, water, or shelter.

According to the [[1989 Soviet Census]], 106,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in Uzbekistan, 50,000 in [[Kazakhstan]], and 21,000 in [[Kyrgyzstan]].<ref name="UNHCR 1999b loc=20"/> As opposed to the other nationalities who had been deported during [[World War II]], no reason was given for the deportation of the Meskhetian Turks, which remained secret until 1968.<ref name="Bennigsen & Broxup 1983 loc=30"/> It was only in 1968 that the Soviet government finally recognised that the Meskhetian Turks had been deported. The reason for the deportation of the Meskhetian Turks was because in 1944 the Soviet Union was preparing to launch a pressure campaign against [[Turkey]].<ref name="Bennigsen & Broxup 1983 loc=30"/> In June 1945 [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], who was then Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented a demand to the Turkish Ambassador in Moscow for the surrender of three Anatolia provinces ([[Kars]], [[Ardahan]] and [[Artvin]]).<ref name="Bennigsen & Broxup 1983 loc=30"/> As Moscow was also preparing to support Armenian claims to several other Anatolian provinces, war against Turkey seemed possible, and Joseph Stalin wanted to clear the strategic Georgian-Turkish border where the Meskhetian Turks were settled and who were likely to be hostile to such Soviet intentions.<ref name="Bennigsen & Broxup 1983 loc=30"/>

Unlike the other deported Muslim groups, the Meskhetians have not been rehabilitated nor permitted to return to their homeland. In April 1970, the leaders of the Turkish Meskhetian national movement applied to the Turkish Embassy in Moscow for permission to emigrate to Turkey as Turkish citizens if the Soviet government persisted its refusal to allow them to resettle in Meskheti. However, the response of the Soviet government was to arrest the Meskhetian leaders.<ref name="Bennigsen & Broxup 1983 loc=31">{{Harvnb|Bennigsen|Broxup|1983|loc=31}}.</ref>
[[File:Ahiska Turk woman and her child.jpg|thumb|Meskhetian Turk woman and her child]]

====1989 deportation from Uzbekistan to other Soviet countries====
{{Main|Fergana massacre}}
In 1989, riots broke out between the Meskhetian Turks who had settled in [[Uzbekistan]] and the native [[Uzbeks]].<ref name="UNHCR 1999b loc=20"/> Nationalist resentments against the Meskhetians who had competed with Uzbeks for resources in the overpopulated [[Fergana Valley]] boiled over. Hundreds of Meskhetian Turks were killed or injured, nearly 1,000 properties were destroyed and thousands of Meskhetian Turks fled into exile.<ref name="UNHCR 1999b loc=20"/> The majority of Meskhetian Turks, about 70,000, went to [[Azerbaijan]], whilst the remainder went to various regions of Russia (especially [[Krasnodar Krai]]), [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]]<ref name="UNHCR 1999b loc=20"/><ref name="UNHCR 1999 loc=21">{{Harvnb|UNHCR|1999b|loc=21}}.</ref> and [[Ukraine]].

=== Khojaly Massacre  ===
Meskhetian Turk refugees who had been persecuted in [[Central Asia]] were forcibly relocated to  [[Azerbaijan]] where they settled in [[Khojaly (town)|Khojaly]] in Nagorno Karabakh before being subsequently massacred along with [[Azerbaijanis]] in 1992.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Human Rights Watch/Helsinki (Organization : U.S.)|url=http://archive.org/details/azerbaijanseveny00huma|title=Azerbaijan : Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh|date=1994|publisher=New York : Human Rights Watch|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-1-56432-142-8}}</ref> According to Thomas de Waal, Khojaly had been the focus of a large resettlement program by the Azerbaijan government in the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref>The Black Garden, Thomas de Waal, {{ISBN|0-8147-1944-9}}, Page 170</ref>

Russian journalist [[Victoria Ivleva]] took photos of the town streets strewn with dead bodies of its inhabitants, including women and children.<ref>Victoria Ivleva. The corpses of people killed during the Armenian attack in the streets of the settlement of Khojaly, Nagorno-Karabakh, February 1992. [http://www.fotosoyuz.ru/ru/catalog/picture/&frnepu=~Q0~98~Q0~92~Q0~9O~Q0~95~Q0~92~Q0~90~20~Q0~92~Q0~O8~Q0~ON~Q1~82~Q0~OR~Q1~80~Q0~O8~Q1~8S~20~Q1~85~Q0~OR~Q0~O4~Q0~O6~Q0~O0~Q0~OO~Q1~8O&cntvat_pheCntr=10&vqFrnepu=33674976?picid=fs-IVLEVAYORK-04/02/411.jpg&cat=&search= Photograph 1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324034747/http://www.fotosoyuz.ru/ru/catalog/picture/%26frnepu%3D~Q0~98~Q0~92~Q0~9O~Q0~95~Q0~92~Q0~90~20~Q0~92~Q0~O8~Q0~ON~Q1~82~Q0~OR~Q1~80~Q0~O8~Q1~8S~20~Q1~85~Q0~OR~Q0~O4~Q0~O6~Q0~O0~Q0~OO~Q1~8O%26cntvat_pheCntr%3D10%26vqFrnepu%3D33674976?picid=fs-IVLEVAYORK-04%2F02%2F411.jpg&cat=&search= |date=24 March 2012 }}, [http://www.fotosoyuz.ru/ru/catalog/picture/&frnepu=~Q0~98~Q0~92~Q0~9O~Q0~95~Q0~92~Q0~90~20~Q0~92~Q0~O8~Q0~ON~Q1~82~Q0~OR~Q1~80~Q0~O8~Q1~8S~20~Q1~85~Q0~OR~Q0~O4~Q0~O6~Q0~O0~Q0~OO~Q1~8O&cntvat_pheCntr=10&vqFrnepu=33674976?picid=fs-IVLEVAYORK-04/02/412.jpg&cat=&search= Photograph 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324034829/http://www.fotosoyuz.ru/ru/catalog/picture/%26frnepu%3D~Q0~98~Q0~92~Q0~9O~Q0~95~Q0~92~Q0~90~20~Q0~92~Q0~O8~Q0~ON~Q1~82~Q0~OR~Q1~80~Q0~O8~Q1~8S~20~Q1~85~Q0~OR~Q0~O4~Q0~O6~Q0~O0~Q0~OO~Q1~8O%26cntvat_pheCntr%3D10%26vqFrnepu%3D33674976?picid=fs-IVLEVAYORK-04%2F02%2F412.jpg&cat=&search= |date=24 March 2012 }}</ref> She described Meskhetian Turks from Khojaly who were captured by [[Armenians|Armenian]] militants. She was hit by an Armenian soldier who took her for one of the captives when she was helping a Meskhetian Turk woman falling behind the crowd with four children, one of which was wounded, and the other one newly born.<ref>{{cite web|date=2013-02-09|title=Дочь войны - Общество - Новая Газета|url=http://www.novayagazeta.ru/society/6845.html|access-date=2022-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209102028/http://www.novayagazeta.ru/society/6845.html|archive-date=2013-02-09}}</ref>

=== Russo-Ukrainian War ===
Around 2,000 Meskhetian Turks have been forced to flee from their homes in [[Ukraine]] since May 2014 amid fighting between [[Armed Forces of Ukraine|government forces]] and pro-Russian separatists. Turkish Meskhetian community representative in the eastern city of Donetsk, Nebican Basatov, said that those who have fled have sought refuge in [[Russia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Turkey]] and different parts of Ukraine.<ref name="worldbulletin.net"/> Over 300 Meskhetian Turks from the Turkish-speaking minority in eastern Ukraine have arrived in eastern Turkey's Erzincan province where they will live under the country's recently adopted asylum measures.<ref>{{cite web|title = Turkey welcomes Meskhetian Turks from east Ukraine - World Bulletin|url = http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/167797/turkey-welcomes-meskhetian-turks-from-east-ukraine|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160407014627/http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/167797/turkey-welcomes-meskhetian-turks-from-east-ukraine|url-status = usurped|archive-date = 7 April 2016|website = World Bulletin|access-date = 2016-02-03}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
[[File:Meskhetian Turks in front of White House (Washington, ABD).jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ahiska Turks outside the [[White House]] in [[Washington D.C.]]]]

According to the [[1989 Soviet Census]], there were 207,502 Turks living in the Soviet Union.<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=1"/> However, Soviet authorities recorded many Meskhetian Turks as belonging to other nationalities such as "[[Azerbaijani people|Azeri]]", "[[Kazakhs|Kazakh]]", "[[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]]", and "[[Uzbeks|Uzbek]]".<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=1"/> Hence, official censuses do not necessarily show a true reflection of the real population of the Meskhetian Turks; for example, according to the 2009 Azerbaijani census, there were 38,000 Turks living in the country; however, no distinction is made in the census between Meskhetian Turks and Turks from Turkey who have become Azerbaijani citizens, as both groups are classified in the official census as "Turks" or "Azerbaijani".<ref name=census>{{cite web|author=The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan |title=Population by ethnic groups |url=http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/AP_/1_5.xls |access-date=2012-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130101713/http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/AP_/1_5.xls |archive-date=2012-11-30 }}</ref> According to the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] report published in 1999, that 100,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in Azerbaijan and the defunct Baku Institute of Peace and Democracy stated, in 2001, that between 90,000 and 110,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in Azerbaijan,<ref name="UNHCR 1999 loc=14"/><ref name=NATOPA>{{cite web|author=NATO Parliamentary Assembly|title=Minorities in the South Caucasus: Factor of Instability?|url=http://www.nato-pa.int/default.asp?SHORTCUT=683|access-date=2012-01-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308133627/http://www.nato-pa.int/Default.asp?SHORTCUT=683|archive-date=2012-03-08}}</ref> similarly, academic estimates have also suggested that the Turkish Meskhetian community of Azerbaijan numbers 90,000 to 110,000.<ref name="UNHCR 1999 loc=14">{{Harvnb|UNHCR|1999a|loc=14}}.</ref>
 
More recently, some Meskhetian Turks in Russia, especially those in [[Krasnodar]], have faced hostility from the local population. The Krasnodar Meskhetian Turks have suffered significant human rights violations, including the deprivation of their citizenship. They are deprived of civil, political and social rights and are prohibited from owning property and employment.<ref>{{Harvnb|Barton|Heffernan|Armstrong|2002|loc=9}}</ref> Thus, since 2004, many Turks have left the [[Krasnodar Krai|Krasnodar region]] for the [[United States]] as refugees. A large number of them, comprising nearly 1300 individuals, is in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. They are still barred from full repatriation to Georgia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Coşkun|2009|loc=5}}.</ref> Apart from that, in Georgia, racism against Meskheti Turks is still prevalent due to differences in beliefs and ethnic tensions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://minorityrights.org/minorities/meskhetian-turks/|title=Meskhetian Turks - Minority Rights Group|work=Minority Rights Group|access-date=2017-07-25|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Culture ==
[[File:Mosque Ahmedie in the Rabati Fortress.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The former Ahmediye Mosque near the [[Akhaltsikhe Castle]] was built by the Ottomans in 1749.]]

===Religion===
Most Meskhetian Turks are Sunni Muslims and a minority are Shiite Muslims.<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=15"/><ref name="Me"/>

===Language===
{{Infobox language
| name             = Meskhetian Turkish
| familycolor      = altaic
| fam1             = [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| fam2             = [[Common Turkic languages|Common Turkic]]
| fam3             = [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]]
| fam4             = [[Oghuz languages|Western]]
| fam5             = [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
| region           = former [[Soviet Union]], [[Turkey]]
| ethnicity        = Meskhetian Turks
| speakers         = {{circa|4,500}}
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Ахыскинский язык {{!}} Малые языки России |url=https://minlang.iling-ran.ru/lang/akhyskinskiy-yazyk |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=minlang.iling-ran.ru}}</ref>
| altname          = Ahiska
| script           = [[Cyrillic script]]
}}

The Meskhetian Turks speak an [[Eastern Anatolia Region|Eastern Anatolian]] dialect of [[Turkish language|Turkish]], which hails from the regions of [[Kars Province|Kars]], [[Ardahan]], [[Igdir]] and [[Artvin]].<ref name="Aydıngün 2006 loc=23">{{Harvnb|Aydıngün|Harding|Hoover|Kuznetsov|2006|loc=23}}</ref> The Turkish Meskhetian dialect has also borrowed from other languages (including [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], [[Georgian language|Georgian]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]], [[Russian language|Russian]], and [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]) which the Meskhetian Turks have been in contact with during the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] rule.<ref>{{Citation|title=Sürgünün 75. Yılında Ahıska Türkleri Belgeseli| date=10 December 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHjDxo71Rk0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/uHjDxo71Rk0| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-03-28}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It is commonly written using the [[Cyrillic script]].<ref>{{cite book|author=В. И. Рассадин |date=2011 |location=Элиста |publisher=Калмыцкий гос. университет |title=Краткий турецко-месхтинско-русский словарь}}<!-- auto-translated from Russian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite book|isbn=978-605-302-478-1 |last1=А. Уйсал |location=Истанбул |title=Абдас-ғусул-намаз ўграниерим |url=http://www.islamicpublishing.org/KAYNAKLAR/Dokumanlar/KITAPLAR/meskhetian%20turkish/ahiska-turkcesi-abdest-gusul-namaz-ogreniyorum.pdf |year=2019}}</ref>

=== Wedding ===
[[File:Meskhetian Turk bride.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Meskhetian bride in traditional attire.]]
Meskhetian Turks' [[wedding]]s consist of a traditional proposal from the groom's parents and if the bride's parents accept the proposal, an [[engagement]] party, or ''Nişan'', is done. Everyone at the ''Nişan'' is given a ceremonial sweet drink, called ''[[Sharbat (beverage)|Sharbat]]''. The actual wedding lasts for two days. On the first day the bride leaves her house and on the second day is when the marriage happens. Before the bride enters her husband's house she uses the heel on her shoe to break two plates with her foot and applies honey on the doorway. This tradition serves the purpose of wishing happiness upon the new bride and groom in their marriage. At the end of the wedding, a dance ensues with the men and women dancing separately. Finally, the newlyweds have their last dance which is called the ‘[[Waltz]]’ and that completes the wedding.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Meskhetian Turks: An Introduction to their History, Culture and Resettlement Experiences|publisher=the Center for Applied Linguistics|year=2006|editor-last=Ranard|editor-first=Donald|location=Washington, DC|pages=18–19}}</ref>

=== Circumcision ===
The [[religious male circumcision]] ceremony of the Ahiska Turks, is hold in a big way of dance, music, guests, recitation of the Koran and a special '''Kirve''' ([[Sandek]]).<ref>{{cite journal |author=Erol Sakallı |title=Ahıskalı Türklerde Sünnet Geleneği |journal=Folklor Akademi Dergisi |date=2020 |volume=3 |issue=2 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/folklor/issue/56607/762107|language=tr}}</ref>

==Notable people==
[[File:Omurbek Babanov, October 2011.jpeg|thumb|100px|right|[[Ömürbek Babanov]], Billionaire and former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan (2011-12).]]
[[File:Temur Kapadze.jpg|thumb|100px|right|[[Timur Kapadze]], football player and manager of the [[Uzbekistan national football team]].]]
[[File:Omar Faig Nemanzadeh.jpg|thumb|100px|right|[[Omar Faig Nemanzadeh]], writer in Azerbaijan.]]

{{alumni|residents|date=September 2022}}
The following is list of people of Turkish Meshetian origin:

*{{Interlanguage link|Sima Ağayeva|az|Sima Ağayeva}}, Azerbaijani artist 
*[[Fatih Ahıskalı]], Turkish musician<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2010|title=Fatih AHISKALI ile Röportaj|url=http://www.ahiskapress.com/?p=2907|publisher=Ahiska Press|quote=  O an çok gururlandım Ahıskalı olduğum için.|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Taner Akçam]], Turkish historian<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2010|title=Taner Akçam'la "soykırım" üzerine|url=http://bizimanadolu.com/archives/haber/haber357.htm|publisher=Bizim Anadolu|quote=(Gülerek) Herkes etnik kökenine bakıyor. Vallahi ben çok safkan bir Türküm. Ahıska Türkleri derler bize Kars'ta. Ve, bizim sülalemizden birilerinin Ermeni çeteleri tarafından öldürülmüş olabileceği ihtimali de oldukça kuvvetli. Ama bu tür şeyler benim için hiç önemli değil. Ben sonuçta bir akademisyenim ve bilim adamı olarak konuyu araştırıyorum.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Celal Al]], Turkish actor in ''[[Diriliş: Ertuğrul]]'' and ''[[Kuruluş: Osman]]''<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2020|title=DATÜB Gençlik Kolları, Ahıskalı oyuncularla bir araya geldi|url=https://gencdatub.org/detay/331/datub-genclik-kollari-ahiskali-oyuncularla-bir-araya-geldi/|publisher=DATÜB Gençlik Kolları|quote=  Ahıska Türkü oyuncular Celal Al ve Ladibek Fatih Osmanlı, Kazakistan’dan gelen Ahıskalı Muhammed Mustafayev, Mevlüt Karimov ve DATÜB Gençlik Kolları Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi İskender Ziyaoğlu ile bir araya geldi.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link|Osman Server Atabek|tr|Osman Server Atabek}}, Turkish politician<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2011|title=Zeynep Atabekoğlu ile Babası Osman Server Atabek Üzerine Konuşma|url=http://www.ahiska.org.tr/wp_pdf/sayi15/parcali/22_sayi_15.pdf|publisher=Bizim Ahıska|quote=Canımdan çok sevdiğim, hiçbir zaman unutamadığım rahmetli babam Osman Server Atabek, 20 Ağustos 1886’da Ahıska’da dünyaya gelmiştir.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Aslan Atem]], Turkish wrestler<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2016|title=Ahıska Türkü: Aslan Atem dünya ikincisi|url=http://www.ajansahiska.com/haber/ahiska-turku-aslan-atem-dunya-ikincisi_h562.html|publisher=Ajans Ahıska|quote=Dünya Grekoromen Güreş Şampiyonası'nda 80 kiloda mücadele eden milli sporcu ahıska Türkü  Aslan Atem, finalde Rus güreşçi Ramazan Abacharaev'e 3-1 yenilerek dünya 2'incisi olarak gümüş madalya kazandı.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Tevfik Arif]], Kazakh-Turkish billionaire, real estate developer and investor residing in the US<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2010|title=Gözaltındaki milyarder işadamı|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/gozaltindaki-milyarder-isadami-1021428/|publisher=Radikal|quote=milyarderi Kazak kökenli işadamı Tevfik Arif’in ailesi Ahıska Türklerinden. Tevfik Arif,...|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2009|title=Ne şanslı adam diyorlar ya...|url=https://www.sabah.com.tr/ekonomi/2009/08/02/ne_sansli_adam_diyorlar_ya|publisher=[[Sabah (newspaper)|Sabah]]|quote= Tevfik Arif Bey Ahıska Türkü. Doğma büyüme Kazakistanlı. ABD'de yaşıyor.|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Refik Arif]], Kazakh businessman 
*{{Interlanguage link|Ali Fuat Azgur|tr|Fuat Azgur}}, Turkish poet<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2011|title=Fuat Azgur'la Mülakat|url=http://www.ahiska.org.tr/?p=289|publisher=Bizim Ahıska|quote=Ailemiz Posof’a 1921 yılında gelmiş. Öyle anlaşılıyor ki, 16 Mart 1921 tarihinde imzalanan Moskova Antlaşması’yla Ahıska’nın ötede kalması kesinleşince, ailemiz Türkiye’ye göç etmiş ve Posof’a yerleşmiş.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Isgender Aznaurov]], Uzbek-born [[National Hero of Azerbaijan]] who fought in the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]]<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=|title=Kassanov'dan Ahıskalı Türklerin Milli Kahramanı İskender Aznaurov'un Annesine Ziyaret|url=https://www.datub.eu/kassanov-dan-ahiskali-turklerin-milli-kahramani-iskender-aznaurov-un-annesine-ziyaret-425|publisher=Dünya Ahıska Türkleri Birliği|quote=|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2020|title=Şehit Aznaurov'un annesi Türkiye'ye getirildi|url=https://www.ekovitrin.com/istanbul/sehit-aznaurovun-annesi-turkiyeye-getirildi-h86690.html|publisher=Ekovitrin Haber|quote=Ahıska Türklerinin milli kahramanı Şehit İskender Aznaurov’un Moskova’da yaşayan 84 yaşındaki annesi Kamile Mustafayeva, Dünya Ahıska Türkleri Birliği’nin (DATÜB) girişimleri ile Türkiye’ye getirildi.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2020|title=Ahıskalı Türkler Savaşa Hazırdır|url=https://ahiskagenclik.com/ahiskali-turkler-savasa-hazirdir|publisher=Ahıska Gençlik |quote=Onlardan biri de Azerbaycan’ Milli Kahramanı Ahıskalı Türk İskender Aznaurov’dur (Topçu İskender) |access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Ömürbek Babanov]], Kyrgyz billionaire and politician who served as Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan (2011-2012)<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2017|title=Kırgızistan'da cumhurbaşkanlığı seçim yarışında iki eski başbakan öne çıkıyor|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/kirgizistanda-cumhurbaskanligi-secim-yarisinda-iki-eski-basbakan-one-cikiyor/931490|publisher=[[Anadolu Agency]]|quote= Babanov'un annesinin Kırgız olmamasını zaman zaman siyasi malzeme olarak kullanıyor. Babanov da durumu "Rahmetli annem, İkinci Dünya Savaşı döneminde Gürcistan'ın Batum şehrinden Kırgızistan'a sürüldü. Uzun tren yolculuğu sırasında anne ve babasını kaybeden küçük kıza bir Kırgız ailesi sahip çıktı. Ben Kırgız ailesinde büyüdüm. Annem Ahıska Türkü'dür babam da Kırgız" sözleriyle açıklıyor.|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Yusuf Rıza Bey]], Ottoman soldier in the ''[[Special Organization (Ottoman Empire)|Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa]]'' special forces
*{{Interlanguage link|Ali Sami Boyar|tr|Ali Sami Boyar}}, Turkish painter and museologist 
*{{Interlanguage link|Erdoğan Çakıcı|tr|Erdoğan Çakıcı}}, Turkish actor<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2015|title=FATMA GİRİK VE TÜRKAN ŞORAY'I SİNEMAMIZA KAZANDIRAN AHISKA KÖKENLİ Erdoğan Çakıcı|url=http://www.ajansahiska.com/haber/fatma-girik-ve-turkan-sorayi-sinemamiza-kazandiran-ahiska-kokenli-erdogan-cakici-h87.html|publisher=Ajans Ahiska|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link|Adil Efendiyev|az|Adil Əfəndiyev (tərcüməçi)}}, Azerbaijani literary critic<ref>{{citation|last=Gasimov|first=Zaur|year=2017|title=Historical Dictionary of Azerbaijan|page=86|quote=Efendiyev, Adil (1907-1973). Azerbaijani poet, translator, and intellectual Efendiyev was born into a family of Ahiska Turkish teachers.|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1538110423}}</ref><ref name="AN"/> 
*[[Ata Demirer]], Turkish filmmaker and comedian<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2010|title= "Ben bunu yemeeem" diyen kadın beni yorar- Kadın yemekten zevk almazsa suçluluk hissederim|url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/pazar/ben-bunu-yemeeem-diyen-kadin-beni-yorar-kadin-yemekten-zevk-almazsa-sucluluk-hissederim-1201787|publisher=[[Milliyet]]|quote=  Benim annem güzel mantı yapar. Ahıska Türklerinden bizim sülale. Bizim oraların mantısına hingel denir.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2011|title= Roman değilim olsam gururla söylerdim|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kelebek/roman-degilim-olsam-gururla-soylerdim-16783939|publisher=[[Hürriyet]]|quote=Roman değilim, olsam gururla söylerdim. Annem Ahıska Türkleri’nden, babam ise Arnavut...|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link|Şefika Şeyhzade-Efendizade|az|Şəfiqə Əfəndizadə}}, one of the first female journalists, educators, writers and philanthropists in Azerbaijan<ref>{{citation|last=Agezova|first=Sevilya|year=2019|title=Sürgün Öncesinde Ahıska Türkleri İçerisinde Eğitim Anlayışı: Şefika Şeyhzade-Efendizade ve Fürget Hocazade Örneğinde|url=https://www.ulusam.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/S%C3%BCrg%C3%BCnden-%C3%96nce-Ah%C4%B1skada-E%C4%9Fitim.pdf|publisher=ULUSAM}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Memmedli|first=Şureddin|year=2012|title=ŞEFİKA ŞEYHZADE-EFENDİZADE|page=13|url=http://www.ahiska.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/DERG%C4%B0-27-SON_4.pdf|quote=Bizim Ahıska’mızın okuyucularıyla paylaştığımız Ahıskalı kadın aydınımız Şefika Şeyhzade-Efendizade’dir. Övüncümüzün kaynağı, onun birkaç yönden ilk ve öncü olmasıdır. Azerbaycan ve genellikle Türk dünyası eğitim, kültür, edebiyat tarihinde önemli yer tutan Şefika Şeyhzade-Efendizade, ilk kadın öğretmen, ilk kadın eğitimci-pedagog, ilk kadın gazeteci, ilk kadın yazar olmak gibi şeref payelerine sahiptir|publisher=Bizim Ahıska}}</ref><ref name="AN"/>
*{{Interlanguage link|Muharrem Ergin|tr|Muharrem Ergin}}, Turkish linguist and Turkologist<ref>{{citation|last=Gasimov|first=Zaur|year=2019|chapter="The Turkish Wall": Turkey as an Anti-communist and Anti-Russian Bulwark in the Twentieth Century|title=Rampart Nations: Bulwark Myths of East European Multiconfessional Societies in the Age of Nationalism|page=|quote=At that time, Muharrem Ergin (1923-1995) was one of the leading Turkish philologists and an expert in ancient Turkish literature. Ergin was the descendant of an emigrant family from the Ahiska region of Georgia and studied philology at Istanbul University under the exiled Azerbaijani professor Ahmet Caferoğlu |publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1789201482}}</ref> 
*{{Interlanguage link|Cabbar Faiqov|az|Cabbar Faiqov}}, Azerbaijani military doctor
*{{Interlanguage link|Aşıq Feydayi|az|Aşıq Feydayi}}, Azerbaijani ''[[ashik]]'' 
*{{Interlanguage link|Abdurrahman Gulahmadov|az|Əbdürrəhman Güləhmədov}}, Azerbaijani scientist
*{{Interlanguage link|Khalis Gulahmadov|az|Xalis Güləhmədov}}, Azerbaijani scientist 
*{{Interlanguage link|Asif Hacılı|az|Asif Hacılı}}, Azerbaijani literary critic 
*{{Interlanguage link|Ahıskalı Ali Haydar|tr|Ahıskalı Ali Haydar}}, lawyer and mystic 
*[[Niyaz Ilyasov]], Russian judoka; medalists in the 2018 and 2019 [[World Judo Championships]]
*[[Elvira Kamaloğlu]], Ukrainian-born Turkish female wrestler<ref>{{citation|last=Bakar|first=Yakup|year=2017|title=Ahıskalı Elvira'dan ay-yıldızlı mayoyla Balkan şampiyonluğu|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunyadan-spor/ahiskali-elviradan-ay-yildizli-mayoyla-balkan-sampiyonlugu/959258|publisher=[[Anadolu Agency]]|quote=Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın talimatı, Başbakanlık koordinasyonuyla Ukrayna'dan Türkiye'ye getirilerek Erzincan'ın Üzümlü ilçesine yerleştirilen Ahıska Türklerinden 16 yaşındaki Elvira, Slovenya'da 3-5 Kasım'da düzenlenen Yıldızlar Balkan Şampiyonası'nda kızlar 46 kiloda şampiyonluğa ulaştı.|access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link|Takhir Kapadze|ru|Кападзе, Тахир Вейсалович}}, Uzbek football coach 
*[[Timur Kapadze]], Uzbek football player<ref>{{citation|last=Meşedihasanlı|first=Ramiz|year=2013|title=Ahıskalı Türkü Kazakistan'da En İyi Futbolcu Seçildi|url=http://www.ahiskapress.com/?p=15688|publisher=Ahıska Press|quote=Kazakistan’ın Aktobe takımında top koşturan Özbekistan vatandaşı Ahıskalı Türkü Timur Kapadze, Haziran ayının en iyi futbolcusu seçildi.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Handan Musaoğlu Kasa]], Turkish presenter on [[TBMM TV]]<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2018|title=Handan Musaoğlu Kasa ile medya ve spikerlik üzerine|url=http://www.ajansahiska.com/roportaj/handan-musaoglu-kasa-ile-medya-ve-spikerlik-uzerine-r6.html|publisher=Ajans Ahiska|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Mediha Kayra]], Ottoman-Turkish writer and teacher<ref>{{citation|last=Herzog|first=Christoph|year=2014|chapter=The Urban Experience in Women's Memoirs: Mediha Kayra's World War I Notebook |title=Women and the City, Women in the City: A Gendered Perspective on Ottoman Urban History|chapter-url=http://www.ajansahiska.com/haber/ahiskali-bahram-muzaffer-1avrupa-oyunlarinda-2turda_h38.html|quote=Mediha Kayra was born in 1902 in Trabzon and died 2003 in Kadıköy, Istanbul, when she was 101 years old. Her father was the merchant (tüccar) Ali Lütfi Dihkanzade (1869–1931). His family originated from Azerbaijan. Her mother, Kadriye Salihoğlu, originated from Akhaltsikhe (türk. Ahıska) in southwest Georgia. The families had emigrated to Trabzon following the wars with Russia in 1878 and 1828.|page=154|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1782384120}}</ref>
*[[Abubekir Kurşumov]], Russian architect and owner of the KavkazStroyGrupp construction company<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2020|title=ABUBEKİR KURŞUMOV Avrupa'nın En Büyük Cami'sini İnşa Ediyor.|work=HABER PARS|url=https://www.haberpars.com/abubekir-kursumov-avrupa-nin-en-buyuk-cami-sini-insa-ediyor/413/|access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref>
*[[Movlud Miraliyev]], Uzbek-born Azerbaijani judoka<ref>{{citation|year=2018|title=Tebrik|quote=Azerbaycan'ın önde gelen Sporcularından, Judo dalında Olimpiyat Oyunları ve Dünya birincisi, ayrıca Sambo dalında Dünya ve Avrupa Şampiyonu, emektar Spor ustası, aslen Ahıska Türkü olan hamşehrimiz, Azerbaycan'ın emektar Anrenörü Mevlüd Miraliyev Göygöl Olimpiyat Kompleksinin Mudürü vazifesine tayın edildi.|publisher=Ahıskanın Sesi}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Arif|first=Bayram|year=2020|title=Ahıskalı Türklerinin Gururu|quote=Azerbaycan’ın önde gelen sporcularından Mevlüd Miraliyev, 27 Şubat 1974 Özbekistan doğumlu. Aslen Ahıska Türklerindendir. |publisher=Kuzuk}}</ref>
*[[Mukhtar Mukhtarov]], Kazakh football player 
*[[Bahram Muzaffer]], Uzbek boxer<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2015|title=Ahıska'lı Bahram Muzaffer 1.Avrupa Oyunları'nda 2.Turda|url=http://www.ajansahiska.com/haber/ahiskali-bahram-muzaffer-1avrupa-oyunlarinda-2turda_h38.html|publisher=Ajans Ahiska|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Omar Faig Nemanzadeh|Ömer Faik Nemanzade]], Azerbaijani journalist<ref>{{Harvnb|Piriyeva|2005|loc=6}}.</ref><ref name="AN">{{citation|last=Meşedihasanlı|first=Ramiz|year=2010|title=BUGÜN|url=http://www.ahiskapress.com/?p=2974|publisher=Ahıska Press|quote=Bunlar; Ömer Faik Nemanzade, Osman Server Atabek, Hafız Efendi, Şefika Hanım Efendi Zade, Prof. Cerrah Fuat Efendiyev, Adil Efendiyev, Ahmet Bey Pepinov, Enver Odabaşev (Odabaş), Yusuf Serverov, (Serveroğlu), Cevat Koçiyev, Saadat Gülahmedova ve saymakla sonu gelmeyen nice şahıslarımız olmuştur. |access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref> 
*{{Interlanguage link|Mamedov Minur İsa Oğlu|ru|Мамедов, Минур Иса оглы}}, Russian war hero during the [[Great Patriotic War]]<ref>{{citation|last=Bogacheva|first=Irina|year=2018|title=Культурный центр турок-месхетинцев «Ватан Ёлунда|url=http://gazeta.kbpravda.ru/node/23066|publisher=Kabardino-Balkarskaya Pravda|quote=С началом Великой Отечественной войны было мобилизовано практически всё взрослое мужское турецкое население (более 40 тыс. человек, 26 тыс. из них погибли), восемь человек  стали Героями Советского Союза, трое – полными кавалерами орденов Славы. Тремя орденами Славы был награждён Минур Иса оглы Мамедов, который последний период жизни провёл в Кабардино-Балкарии, в городе Нарткале.|access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref>
*[[Emrah Ormanoğlu]], Ukrainian-born Turkish freestyle wrestler<ref>{{citation|last=Özdemir|first=Kemal|year=2022|title=Çiftçilik yaparken keşfedilen Ahıskalı Emrah'ın milli takıma uzanan başarı öyküsü|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/yasam/ciftcilik-yaparken-kesfedilen-ahiskali-emrahin-milli-takima-uzanan-basari-oykusu/2473740|publisher=[[Anadolu Agency]]|quote=Sovyetler Birliği'nce 14 Kasım 1944'de Gürcistan'ın Ahıska bölgesinden sürgün edilen Ahıska Türkü ailelerinden Emrah Ormanoğlu, Ukrayna'daki iç karışıklık dolayısıyla zor şartlarda başladığı güreşi, çok sevmesine rağmen devam ettiremedi.|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref> 
*[[Fatih Osmanlı]], Kazakh-born actor in the Turkish historical drama ''[[Kuruluş: Osman]]''<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2020|title=Fatih AHISKALI ile Röportaj|url=https://www.guneydoguguncel.com/ahiskali-alp-atasinin-izinde/3758/|publisher=Güneydoğu Güncel Haber Gazetesi|quote=Fatih Osmanlı; 11 Eylül 1979 Almatı Kazakistan doğumlu aslen Ahıska Türkü'dür. 2017 yılında Vatanı Türkiye’ye yerleşip temel oyunculuk dersleri alıp hayal ettiği oyunculuk kariyerine başladı. Kuruluş dizisinde başarılı oyunculuk performansı ile dikkatleri çekmeyi başardı.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Buğra Öner]], Turkish professional boxer<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2016|title=Boxing becomes a bridge between Ahiska Turks, Americans in Ohio's Dayton|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2016/02/19/boxing-becomes-a-bridge-between-ahiska-turks-americans-in-ohios-dayton|publisher=[[Daily Sabah]]|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Alptuğ Öner]], Turkish professional boxer<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2016|title=Buğra Öner ve Altuğ Öner'e silahlı saldırı düzenlenen an |url=https://www.tgrthaber.com.tr/editorun-sectikleri/bugra-oner-ve-altug-onere-silahli-saldiri-153611|publisher=[[TGRT Haber]]|quote=Anne tarafı selanik muhaciri, Babası Ahıska Türk'üdür.|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Cüneyt Özdemir]], Turkish journalist<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2010|title=Başörtülü annenin evlâdı|url=https://www.sabah.com.tr/yazarlar/ilicak/2010/10/26/basortulu_annenin_evldi|publisher=Sabah|quote=Ah benim öz be öz Ahıska Türkü annem.|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link|Silahdar İbrahim Paşa|tr|Silahdar İbrahim Paşa}}, Ottoman statesman 
*[[Ahmad bey Pepinov]], Azerbaijani Minister of Agriculture<ref>{{citation |last=Piriyeva |first=Sevil |title=Ahıska Türkləri Azərbaycanda tarixi sosial medeni heyati |page=60 |year=2005 |trans-title=Ahiska Turks Historical, social and cultural life in Azerbaijan |url=https://issuu.com/lalemis/docs/ahiska_turkleri_azerbaycanda_tarixi |publisher=Elm |isbn=}}</ref><ref name="AN"/>
*[[Mikail Suleymanov]], Uzbek actor, copywriter and film director<ref>{{citation|last=Aliyev|first=Nezir|year=2018|title=Dünyanın ilk ve tek Ahıska tiyatro ekibi 20 yıldır sahnede|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/dunyanin-ilk-ve-tek-ahiska-tiyatro-ekibi-20-yildir-sahnede/1128454|publisher=[[Anadolu Agency]]|access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Ravil Tagir]], Kazakh-born Turkish football player<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2020|title=Altınordu'nun genç yıldızı Avrupa devlerini peşine taktı|url=https://www.milligazete.com.tr/haber/4368014/altinordunun-genc-yildizi-avrupa-devlerini-pesine-takti|publisher=Milli Gazete|quote=1944'te Sovyetler Birliği döneminde Kazakistan'a sürgüne gönderilen Ahıska Türkleri'nden olan Tagir ailesinin kaderi, Ravil'in teyzesi Maygül Hanım'ın evlenip Bursa'ya yerleşmesiyle değişiyor.|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Fırat Tanış]], Turkish actor<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2016|title=Fırat Tanış Kimdir?|url=https://www.sabah.com.tr/firat-tanis-kimdir|publisher=Sabah|quote=Fırat Tanış, 5 Mayıs 1975 tarihinde İstanbul, Kadıköy'de doğmuştur. Tam adı Nuri Fırat Tanış'dır. Gürcistan; Ahıska kökenli ve annesi babası terzi olan Fırat Tanış ailenin en küçük çocuğudur.|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*[[Yalçın Topçu]], Turkish politician and former [[Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey)|Ministry of Culture and Tourism]]<ref>{{citation|last=|first=|year=2019|title=Kazakistan Cumhurbaşkanı Nazarbayev'den Yalçın Topçu'ya Madalya|url=https://www.haber7.com/guncel/haber/2838100-kazakistan-cumhurbaskani-nazarbayevden-yalcin-topcuya-madalya|quote=esepsiyonda konuşan Topçu minnettarlıklarını belirterek  “ben bir Ahıska Türk’ü ailenin çocuğuyum. Yıllar önce akrabalarımı bağırlarına bastıkları için Kazakistan halkına minnettarım. |publisher=Haber7|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link|Malik Mukhlis Ugli|ru|Малик Мухлис Угли}}, Uzbek-Russian educator

== See also ==
* [[Turkish communities and minorities in the former Ottoman Empire]]
* [[Turks in the former Soviet Union]]
* [[Meskhetians]]
* [[Meskheti]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{citation |last1=Aydıngün|first1=Ayşegül|last2=Harding|first2=Çiğdem Balım|last3=Hoover|first3=Matthew|last4=Kuznetsov|first4=Igor|last5=Swerdlow|first5=Steve|year=2006|title=Meskhetian Turks: An Introduction to their History, Culture, and Resettelment Experiences|url=http://www.culturalorientation.net/content/download/1341/7837/version/2/file/Meskhetian+Turks.pdf|publisher=Cultural Orientation Resource (COR) Center}}
* {{citation|last1=Barton|first1=Frederick D.|last2=Heffernan|first2=John|last3=Armstrong|first3=Andrea|year=2002|title=Being Recognised as Citizens|url=http://www.humansecurity-chs.org/activities/research/citizenship_Barton.pdf|website=www.humansecurity-chs.org|publisher=Commission on Human Security|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717080922/http://www.humansecurity-chs.org/activities/research/citizenship_Barton.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-17}}
* {{citation |last1=Bennigsen|first1=Alexandre|last2=Broxup|first2=Marie|year=1983|title= The Islamic threat to the Soviet State|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=0-7099-0619-6}}.
* {{citation|last=Blacklock |first=Denika |year=2005 |title=Finding Durable Solutions for the Meskhetians |url=http://www.ecmi.de/download/Report_56.pdf |publisher=European Centre for Minority Issues |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602192035/http://www.ecmi.de/download/Report_56.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-02 }}
* {{citation|last=Coşkun |first=Ufuk |year=2009 |title=Ahiska/Meskhetian Turks in Tucson: An Examination of Ethnic Identity |url=http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ufukc/UfukCoskun_2009%20Ahiska(Meskhetian)_Turks_in_Tucson-Edited.pdf |publisher=University of Arizona |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111175901/http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ufukc/UfukCoskun_2009%20Ahiska%28Meskhetian%29_Turks_in_Tucson-Edited.pdf |archive-date=2012-01-11 }}
* {{citation |last=Cornell|first=Svante E.|year=2001|title= Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus
|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-7007-1162-7}}.
* {{citation |last=Council of Europe|year=2006|title=Documents: working papers, 2005 ordinary session (second part), 25–29 April 2005, Vol. 3: Documents 10407, 10449-10533|publisher=Council of Europe|isbn=92-871-5754-5}}.
* {{citation |last1=Drobizheva|first1=Leokadia|last2=Gottemoeller|first2=Rose|last3=Kelleher|first3=Catherine McArdle|year=1998|title= Ethnic Conflict in the Post-Soviet World: Case Studies and Analysis|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=1-56324-741-0}}.
* {{citation |last=Elbaqidze|first=Marina|year=2005|chapter=Multiculturalism in Georgia: Unclaimed Asset or Threat to the State?|title=A Handbook of Dialogue: Trust and Identity|editor1-last=Czyzewski|editor1-first=Krzystof|editor2-last=Kulas|editor2-first=Joanna|editor3-last=Golubiewski|editor3-first=Mikolaj}}.
* {{citation |last=Enwall|first=Joakim|year=2010|chapter=Turkish texts in Georgian script: Sociolinguistic and ethno-linguistic aspects|title=Turcology in Mainz|editor1-last=Boeschoten|editor1-first=Hendrik|editor2-last=Rentzsch|editor2-first=Julian|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-06113-1}}.
* {{cite book|last1=Floor|first1=Willem|title=Safavid Government Institutions|date=2001|publisher=Mazda Publishers|location=Costa Mesa, California|isbn=978-1568591353}}
* {{citation |last=Khazanov|first=Anatoly Michailovich|year=1995|chapter=People with Nowhere To Go: The Plight of the Meskhetian Turks|title=After the USSR: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Politics in the Commonwealth of Independent States
| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LhtWbiXOzLcC&q=turkified&pg=PA192 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=0-299-14894-7}}.
* {{citation|last1=Kurbanov|first1=Rafik Osman-Ogly|last2=Kurbanov|first2=Erjan Rafik-Ogly|year=1995|chapter=Religion and Politics in the Caucasus|title=The Politics of Religion in Russia and the New States of Eurasia|editor-last=Bourdeaux|editor-first=Michael|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=1-56324-357-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofreligi0000unse}}.
* {{cite book|last1=Mikaberidze|first1=Alexander|title=Historical Dictionary of Georgia|date=2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1442241466|edition=2}}
* {{citation |last=Minahan|first=James|year=2002|title=Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: L-R|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-32111-6}}.
* {{citation |last=Pepinov|first=Fuad|year=2008|chapter=The Role of Political Caricature in the Cultural Development of the Meskhetian (Ahiska) Turks|title=Islamic Art and Architecture in the European Periphery: Crimea, Caucasus, and the Volga-Ural Region|editor1-last=Kellner-Heinkele|editor1-first=Barbara|editor2-last=Gierlichs|editor2-first=Joachim|editor3-last=Heuer|editor3-first=Brigitte|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05753-0}}
* {{citation |last=Polian|first=Pavel|year=2004|title=Against Their will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=963-9241-68-7}}.
* {{citation |last1=Rasuly-Paleczek|first1=Gabriele|last2=Katschnig|first2=Julia|year=2005|title=Central Asia on Display: Proceedings of the VIIth Conference of the European Society for Central Asian Studies|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=3-8258-8309-4}}.
* {{citation |last=Rywkin|first=Michael|year=1994|title= Moscow's Lost Empire|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=1-56324-237-0}}.
* {{citation|last1=Seferov|first1=Rehman|last2=Akış|first2=Ayhan|year=2011|title=Sovyet Döneminden Günümüze Ahıska Türklerinin Yasadıkları Cografyaya Göçlerle Birlikte Genel Bir Bakıs|url=http://www.turkiyat.selcuk.edu.tr/pdfdergi/s24/seferov.pdf|publisher=Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi|access-date=2012-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927013237/http://www.turkiyat.selcuk.edu.tr/pdfdergi/s24/seferov.pdf|archive-date=2013-09-27|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation |last=Tomlinson|first=Kathryn|year=2005|chapter=Living Yesterday in Today and Tomorrow: Meskhetian Turks in Southern Russia|title=Writing History, Constructing Religion|editor1-last=Crossley|editor1-first=James G.|editor2-last=Karner|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=0-7546-5183-5}}.
* {{citation |last=UNHCR|year=1999a|title=Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Azerbaijan|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a6590.html|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees}}
* {{citation |last=UNHCR|year=1999b|title= Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Georgia|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a6590.html|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees}}
* {{citation |last=Wixman|first=Ronald|year=1984|title=The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=0-87332-506-0}}.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Daniloff, Caleb. “The Exile of the Meskheti Turks: Still Homesick Half a Century Later”. [https://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/51_folder/51_articles/51_meskheti.html AZER.com at ''Azerbaijan International'', Vol. 5:1 (Spring 1997), pp. 12-16, 88]
* {{cite journal |last1=Dogan |first1=Hulya |title=Homeland-Making among Cultural and Ethnic Kin: Ahıska Turks in Turkey |journal=Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism |date=2020 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=169–187 |doi=10.1111/sena.12318|s2cid=219410349 }}
* [[Robert Conquest]], ''The Nation Killers: The Soviet Deportation of Nationalities'' (London: Macmillan, 1970) ({{ISBN|0-333-10575-3}})
* S. Enders Wimbush and Ronald Wixman, "The Meskhetian Turks: A New Voice in Central Asia," ''Canadian Slavonic Papers'' 27, Nos. 2 and 3 (Summer and Fall, 1975): 320-340
* [[Alexander Nekrich]], ''The Punished Peoples: The Deportation and Fate of Soviet Minorities at the End of the Second World War'' (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978) ({{ISBN|0-393-00068-0}}).
* Emma Kh. Panesh and L. B. Ermolov (Translated by [[Kevin Tuite]]). [http://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Meskhetians.html Meskhetians]. ''World Culture Encyclopedia''. Accessed on September 1, 2007.
{{refend}}

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