Pan-Turkism, Turkey, and the Muslim Peoples of the Former Soviet Union: A Modern Problem in Historical Context

The dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in the creation of six new Muslim nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as increased activism of Muslim peoples within the Russian federation. In all, there are more than 54 million Muslims in the former Soviet Union, more than 90 percent of whom are Turkish, with the remainder being Iranian Tajik and a small number of Caucasians. Little is known about these peoples in the West, but many tout Turkey as a role model for the new Muslim nations to follow. This paper looks at the origins and historical development of the Muslim peoples of the former Soviet Union. It traces the formation of the great Turk and MongolTurkish empires of pre-Russian times, conflict and assimilation by the Russians, the spread of Islam, and the influences of the Soviet era. The paper also reviews the formation and impact of the pan-Islamic, Islamic modernization Jadid, and pan-Turkish movements in Russia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and discusses their relevance to the events occurring in the former Soviet Union today. While many have forecast the formation of a new Turkish empire from the remnants of the Soviet empire, the paper discusses the impracticality of such a vision and the impact history will have on the direction the Muslim peoples of the former Soviet Union will take in the future.