EUH Paper Two

docx

School

Florida State University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

4242

Subject

History

Date

Oct 30, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by MegaMask12426

Paper Two The events of the second half of the 20 th Century, including World War II, the Cold War, and the Fall of the Soviet Union heavily influenced not only all minority groups, but also the world as we know it today. Throughout this paper I will discuss and explore the Fall of the Soviet Union and how it has affected Meskhetian Turks in the Krasnodar region during this time. Specifically, I will discuss the causes and effects of their deportation, under the hands of Stalin and how the Meskhetian Turks struggled with their civil, social, economic, and political rights after the Fall of the Soviet Union, ending with how the Fall of the Soviet Union affected them and continues to affect them today. The Fall of the Soviet Union began when the United States pulled the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties, which revised nuclear strategies for both the U.S.S.R and the United States, after the treaties overlapped with the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan prompted a ten-year war which ended up destroying the already wounded economy of the Soviet Union and belittling their governmental abilities. After this, Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party and acknowledged the destroyed economic and political climate of the Soviet Union. From this, he enacted the government reforms, Glasnost and Perestroika. Glasnost was “a right asserted from below, analogous to freedom of speech and publication.” 1 It focused more on “freedom of speech and government transparency,” while Perestroika focused more on “restructuring and modernizing 1 Seigelbaum, Louis. “Perestroika and Glasnost.” Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. Michigan State University, October 5, 2015. https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1985- 2/perestroika-and-glasnost/.

the Soviet economy.” Glasnost and Perestroika did not end up working as well as Gorbachev had intended; he initially believed that Glasnost would promote Perestroika, according to Louis Seigelbaum’s essay on the two subjects, but overall, it ended up a lack of confidence from Soviet citizens in Gorbachev’s ability to guide the Soviet Union to prosperity. A few years later in 1990, the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic voted to leave the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and declare Russian sovereignty, leading to the election of Boris Yeltsin. In an attempt to safeguard the country, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union organized a coup, taking Gorbachev into custody before their efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. December 24, 1991, marks the Fall of the Soviet Union, after Russia replaced the Soviet Union at the United Nations and Gorbachev resigned, passing on leadership to Yeltsin. During the Fall of the Soviet Union, one minority group that heavily suffered was the Meskhetian Turks in the Krasnodar region, also known as Ahiska Turks. The Meskhetian Turks originally resided in Georgia, which was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union during World War I in 1922. Because of the Fall of the Soviet Union bringing on political instability and conflicts in multiple different regions throughout Europe, Meskhetian Turks suffered many hardships, becoming main targets for discrimination and violence, subsequent to their deportation under Stalin. According to a journal article by Steve Swerdlow, “The Meskhetian Turks survived a mass deportation from Georgia, interethnic pogroms in Uzbekistan, and ethnic cleansing in Southern Russia.” 2 The Meskhetian Turks who weren’t vehemently deported were forced to seek refuge in other regions. After the Fall of the Soviet Union and because of their 2 Swerdlow, Steve. “Understanding Post-Soviet Ethnic Discrimination and the Effective Use of U.S. Refugee Resettlement: The Case of the Meskhetian Turks of Krasnodar Krai.” California Law Review 94, no. 6 (2006): 1827. https://doi.org/10.2307/20439082.

deportation, Meskhetian Turks were not recognized as Russian citizens and were refused residence registration, ultimately depriving them of civil, political, economic, and social rights, according to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Eventually, Meskhetian Turks began focusing on resettlement, integration, and asylum in 2004, looking to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Executive Committee for help. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Executive Committee (UNHCR) looked at multiple different solutions for the Meskhetian Turks, including Integration, which “involves the long-term or permanent settlement of refugees in the country of first asylum, ” Repatriation, the “voluntary return of refugees to their country of origin,” and Resettlement, “transfer of a refugee from the country of first asylum to a third country that agrees to provide the refugees with protection,” as defined by Swerdlow 3 . Repatriation landed in the hands of the Georgian Government and their legal responsibilities. Initially, the Georgian Government denied the Meskhetian Turks citizenship and refused them recognition as an ethnic group. In 1999, the country of Georgia began working towards their admittance to the Council of Europe. Conditionally, “Georgia’s accession to the Council of Europe in 1999, one of the commitments undertaken by this country included the adoption, within two years of a legal framework permitting the repatriation and integration of Meskhetian Turks, including the right to Georgian nationality, the launch of a repatriation process within three years and its completion within twelve years.” 4 Georgia had several false starts of repatriation between 1999 and 2007, causing many Meskhetian Turks to seek refuge and immigrate West. 5 Today, there are far less Meskhetian Turks residing in Georgia 3 Swerdlow, Steve. “Understanding Post-Soviet Ethnic Discrimination and the Effective Use of U.S. Refugee Resettlement: The Case of the Meskhetian Turks of Krasnodar Krai.” California Law Review 94, no. 6 (2006): 1827. https://doi.org/10.2307/20439082. 4 “Parliamentary Assembly.” PACE website. Accessed May 2, 2023. https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref- XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=17312&lang=en. 5 Rimple, Paul. “Georgia: Parliament Considers Meskhetian Turk Repatriation Plan.” Refworld. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, June 28, 2007. https://www.refworld.org/docid/46a4850a8.html.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

compared to the population prior to their deportation. As for resettlement, many Meskhetian Turks were successfully resettled in the United States. Integration was proved as an unreliable solution due to a “quasi-apartheid system,” as per, Swerdlow. In conclusion, the Fall of the Soviet Union has created several hardships for the Meskhetian Turks of the Krasnodar region. After facing deportation from of their home country and continuing to have issues finding refuge, specifically repatriation with the country of Georgia, Meskhetian Turks have prospered in different regions throughout the world and proven to the United Nations that resettlement can be a successful solution for not only themselves, but also to other ethnic minority groups facing similar discrimination and persecution. Works Cited

“Parliamentary Assembly.” PACE website. Accessed May 2, 2023. https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=17312&lang=en. Rimple, Paul. “Georgia: Parliament Considers Meskhetian Turk Repatriation Plan.” Refworld. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, June 28, 2007. https://www.refworld.org/docid/46a4850a8.html. Seigelbaum, Louis. “Perestroika and Glasnost.” Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. Michigan State University, October 5, 2015. https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1985-2/perestroika-and- glasnost/. Swerdlow, Steve. “Understanding Post-Soviet Ethnic Discrimination and the Effective Use of U.S. Refugee Resettlement: The Case of the Meskhetian Turks of Krasnodar Krai.” California Law Review 94, no. 6 (2006): 1827. https://doi.org/10.2307/20439082 . “The Fall of the Soviet Union.” CES at UNC. Accessed May 2, 2023. https://europe.unc.edu/iron-curtain/history/the-fall-of-the-soviet-union/.