Learning about Bolshevism: The Anatolian Government and Bolshevik Russia in 1920-21

• In Event: Comintern Stories: Internationalism and Intrigue in the USSR and Beyond

Abstract

Bolshevism had an ideological appeal for the leaders of the liberation movement in Anatolia due to its anti-imperialist nature especially during 1920-21. In the historiography, the rapprochement between the Bolshevik Russia and the Anatolian government in these years is presented mostly as a pragmatist move for both parties. Based on intelligence reports presented to Ankara, I will argue that pragmatism does not fully explain the Bolshevik tendencies of the Anatolian movement in 1920-1921. In need of a mobilizing ideology, The Ankara government tried to understand the nature and appeal of Bolshevism in Russia, in the Caucasus and among the Russian refugees in Turkey.

Author

• Halit Dundar Akarca, Nazarbayev U (Kazakhstan)