After meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky announced that the Turkish president considers Crimea “Ukrainian.” Western media were touched by the “firm position” of the Turkish leader and his support for the “collective democratic West” in opposing the Russian invasion.
Thus the “collective West,” like Zelensky, has once again demonstrated that they understand absolutely nothing: neither the very nature of Eurasian regimes, nor Erdogan’s true intentions.
Because Erdogan does not consider Crimea to be either “Russian” or “Ukrainian.” He considers it Turkish exclusively.
For at least 15 years, maps of the Neo-Ottoman Empire have been published in Turkey.
In 2021, for example, the TGRT TV channel, which is close to Erdogan, showed a map with Crimea and Donbass in Turkey’s sphere of influence. The Turkish “sphere of influence” included also Armenia, Georgia, Greece, the southern regions of Russia, some territories of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and all of the Middle East. This map also appeared in other Turkish mass media, the Takvim daily newspaper and the Haber TV channel.
Crimea occupies a special place in these plans.
In Erdogan’s eyes, Crimea is a territory illegally taken by Russia from the Ottoman Empire in the late 18th century, which must be returned to its successor, modern Turkey.
From the middle of the 15th century, there was an influential Crimean Khanate, a loyal vassal of the powerful Ottoman Porte. From here, swift and brutal raids were carried out on southeastern Europe, including not only the territory of today’s Ukraine, but also Moldova, Russia itself and Poland. These raids were accompanied by the burning of cities and villages and the capture of masses of the Slavic population, which were sent to slave markets throughout the empire. However, after a series of defeats of the Ottoman Empire by Russia, in 1783 the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Catherine the Great and proclaimed the “Tauride Governorate.”
Crimean Tatars (now 12-13% of the population of Crimea), who survived persecution in the Russian Empire and especially the monstrous mass deportations under Stalin, are today closely connected with Turkey. Since the 1990s, Muslim Brothers and Salafis have been gaining ground here, such as Tablighi Jamaat and Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Every fifth representative of the community has a positive attitude towards the idea of creating a Sharia state. Crimean Tatars were the only major ethnic group to boycott the 2014 referendum on Crimea’s accession to Russia.
Erdogan supports the religious nationalism of the Crimean Tatars in every possible way, providing them with financial and political support through Turkish companies, investment projects, Islamic centers, cultural organizations, human rights societies. This is a Trojan horse that Erdogan believes will allow him to return Crimea to the future Neo-Ottoman Empire.
Turkey itself is home to 7-8 million Crimean Tatars who fled there beginning in the early 19th century, and they are also being used by Erdogan for the covert conquest of Crimea.
The leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, is a frequent and honored guest in Turkey: he is called Kyrym-oglu, or “son of Crimea.” He likes to talk about the repatriation of all Crimean Tatars to their historical homeland.
Ankara constantly states that “Türkiye will not recognize the annexation of Crimea.” So said the speaker of the Turkish Parliament, Mustafa Şentop, in October 2022.
Erdogan, a master of political demagogy and intrigue, is well aware of the balance of power around the peninsula. The future of both Ukraine and Russia is more than unclear, but Ukraine, weak, torn apart by war, economically bled dry and not yet formed as a strong centralized state, is much more vulnerable. This means that in the long term, it will be much easier to take Crimea away from Ukraine than from Russia, still a superpower that has repeatedly defeated the Ottomans.
And, as was said above, we are talking not only about Crimea, but also about almost all the states and lands that were once part of the Ottoman Porte.
The West, led by the US, with its short-term deals and “peace agreements” at any price and immediately, has catastrophically forgotten how to understand and calculate the nature of Asian nations. Western countries think in terms of “here and now.” But the Asian tyrannies, from China, Russia, Iran, and Turkey to the “Muslim Brotherhood” and Hamas, think in terms of land, religion, blood and eternity. And they see right through the West.
Alexander Maistrovoy is the author of Agony of Hercules or a Farewell to Democracy (Notes of a Stranger), available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
GE says
My compliments, Mr. Maistrovoy.
.
Excellent insight into the machinations of the snake Erdogan. The Turk has his fingers in other pies as well, such as backing the bullying of Armenia into concessions to broker peace with his pals the Azeris, and his designs on the rest of Cyprus, Greece, Balkans, etc.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Since Erdogan is such a champion of the Turkic race, I’d like to see him stand up to Beijing and demand the release of “East Turkistan” aka Xinjiang and vacating historic Turkic cities like Qashqar. They were Turkic way longer than Crimea was
Also, that Crimean Khanate wasn’t just the Crimean peninsula, but the entire Black Sea coast of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania & Bulgaria, until they bordered the Ottoman sultanate. Ultimately, if both Russia & Ukraine are burnt out fighting each other, it’ll be easier for Turkey to try & re-Tatarfy that entire coast and reclaim it as its own, Putin might want to consider whether he wants to end up w/ a legacy similar to Leonid Brezhnev
Wellington says
A fine article accurately detailing the big picture when seen from a multi-century perspective.
Too bad it isn’t all of the Christian sphere of mankind against the Islamic world. How useless ultimately for Ukraine and Russia to be fighting each other when both nations are looked upon, per Islamthink, as detritus political entities that should be destroyed so that the dar al-Islam can expand at the expense of the dar al-harb.
MK says
Alexander Maistrovoy is the author, has opened the history that I never knew. Thank you so much. I believe, Muslims are very cunning in bribing western leaders and use our democracy to meet their long term goals. People please be alert
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Thank you, Mr Maistrovoy, for highlighting one of the least covered aspects of both Turkey and Crimea
The Crimean Tatar khanate that existed in the mid 15th century was a breakoff from the main Tatar khanate in today’s Tatarstan – based in Astrakhan and later Kazan. That khanate, contrary to propaganda, used to terrorize the Tsardom of Muscovy and in fact burned down Moscow in 1571. The sob stories we read about the Crimean Tatars being victims is about as authentic as the sob stories about the “Palestinians”
I’m no fan of Stalin, but he did a great thing by “deporting” all the Crimean Tatars to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. They should remain there: it’s not like these countries have an overpopulation problem. Kazakhstan indeed has an underpopulation problem, and could use all the Tatars it can find
Finally, I know that President Putin’s options are limited, but as an intel buff, it should be obvious to him what President Erdogan wants. Ukraine ain’t gonna get back Crimea (which was never Ukrainian in the first place) and neither is Turkey. Putin should play hardball w/ Trump and force the latter to end his love affair w/ Turkey, and work w/ US to undermine Turkey, so that the Marmara passage b/w the Mediterranean and Black Seas are permanently opened to Russia. No more using them as choke points to strangle Russian trade westwards
Bhadresh Shah says
Mr. Erdogan of Turkiye 🇹🇷 assumes himself to be the modern day Caliph (of a larger global Islamic conglomerate of lands and converted people under the sword) of a Caliphate his brain cells have constructed for his own imagination
He is also active against the ancient civilisational nation of BHARAT a.k.a INDIA of ‘Santana Dharma’ by being a backer of the Islamist terror hub known as Pakistan 🇵🇰 that is an artificially curved out country for the political ambitions of a converted Muslim (from Hindus) named Mohammad Ali Jinnah
All this even while Erdogan and all of his ilk and ancestry aren’t even the indigenous people of what is now known as Turkiye ☪ !
GE says
+💯
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Erdogan celebrates 16 Turkic empires – 8 pre-islamic, 8 islamic. Three of the latter 8 are 3 that invaded India and did a genocide of Hindus, Jains and Buddhists: the Ghaznavis, the Timurides and the Baburides/Mughals
There is no reason for India, as a civilization, to consider any Turkic country a friend. Although the -stans are still reasonably secular despite now being 30+ years of post communist rule
Larry says
That slave raiding by the Crimean Tartars was so extensive, and went on for so long, that it gave us the word “slave” derived from the fact that the victims were Slavs.
aum says
Insightful – thanks.
It shows why Erdogan is so Involved in so called dialogue of peace.
memi says
Excellent article: “Western leaders were touched by the firm position” of the Turkish leader and his support for the “collective democratic West” in opposing the Russian invasion….”
Officially-genocidal Turkey is the biggest danger, next to Qatar, Azerbaijan (Turkey’s proxy) and Pakistan, that faces the somnambulist Western “leaders”–but they are seduced by his demagoguery and duplicity and even support him in doing the unthinkable: The EU “leaders” (aka ‘sheep’) are allowing Turkey in its ridiculour 850B Re-ARM EU SAFE project. Out of the 850B, Turkey(!) a non-member EU country will be able to dig into 150B euros of hte pockets of the EU citizens to “cooperate” in building an Army and weapons industry for….EU!
Who would imagine Turkey being the Defence Contractor of EU? With maps published every month contaiing regions of Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Greece–and Cyprus which is an EU country but occupied by 50,000 Turkish troops. A “small Ukraine” that the EU forgets as they forget that Crimea is part of Russia and Catherine the Great had given the barbaric Ottoman Empire what it deserved!
Erdogan is the dangerous Islamofascist Trojan Horse of the “West” which still believes in Ottoman fairytales and the slave bazaars of Slavs, Armenians and Greeks that have taken place after every one of their invasions on European soil.
Hitler said “My greatest teacher was Kemal Ataturk” and Turkey still “teaches” in Jihadist beaher-header Jolani’s Syria when recently Turk=supported Jihadist barbarians slaughtered 2000 Alwaites and Christians and are persecuting Druzes and Kurds daily.
Turkey is the “New Iran” and its new border with Israel poses an existential danger. Azerbaijan (Turkey’s genocidal proxy that exterminated 150,000 Artskah Armenians last year) is Turkey’s proxy and now is having meetings with Israeli and Turkish officials acting as Peacemaker between Israeil & “peacemaker” Turkey! Israel should not be dependent on Azerbaijan oil but look to other partnerships in the East Med area. Turkey’s Islamofascists have inflitrated EU and Africa and, even though bankrupt, seeks to make its money by using the EU sheep’s “NATO”. Good Luck to Europe!
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Someone here on Jihadwatch noted here some years ago that Erdogan is Khamenei in a suit, and the only differences b/w them is that one is sunni and the other is shi’a. Otherwise, there are no differences b/w them
Scary thing is that unlike Iran, who screams “death to America” like a buffoon, Turkey does a great job in pretending to be an ally while carving out its own power base in the region and beyond