Photo: geopolitika.ru - featuring Pepe Escobar

MOSCOW – On June 17th, a very interesting conference on the topic of "Modern Russia and the Turkic States" was held in Moscow. The conference was organized by the Euro-Asian Movement and was attended by leading Russian and foreign experts on contemporary Euro-Asian and global geopolitics.

We would like to reiterate that the moderation and opening remarks were delivered by Valerij Mikhailovich Korovin, a world-renowned geopolitical expert and representative of the leadership of the International Euro-Asian Movement (his opening remarks are in the first part - link below the article). Other speakers included: geopolitician Kamran Hasanov, an expert on Latin American geopolitics, chairman of the Fidel Castro Foundation, and editor-in-chief of the geopolitical portal geoplitika.ru Leonid Vladimirovich Savin, academician and historian Leonid Vladimirovich Kuznetsov, expert on Euro-Asian geopolitics Dmitrij Rodionov, journalist Pepe Escobar, geopolitical expert Alexandr Silantiev, also a geopolitical expert Alexandr Igorevich Drogovoz, deputy director of the Institute of International Education at the Kosygina Russian State University, Vladimir Evseev, head of the CIS Department at the Institute of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Doctor of History, Darja Saprynskaja, research fellow at the ISAA of Moscow State University, analyst at the Gorchakov Foundation, Gagik Sergeevich Ohanjanian, a postgraduate student at the Faculty of Global Processes of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Natalja Makejeva, Roman Blaško, director of foreign news from the Czech Republic, and other guests.

The moderator, Valerij Korovin, thanked the speakers for their contributions and highlighted the excellent overview of the activities of our Western opposition forces, whose goal is to disintegrate the vast Eurasian space and Russian statehood through the politicization of ethnic factors, and essentially, by buying off leaders of various political movements by offering them various business projects, i.e., financial involvement, and further politicizing ethnic factors with the aim of breaking up the vast Eurasian space into small fragments, through which one can enter this vast space and, above all, exert influence within it. This is a completely different approach than the one that Russia has been pursuing for centuries, and here there is a deliberate confusion of the concept of an empire, said Korovin, adding that we know that this concept has its land and maritime aspects.

Maritime Civilization vs. Continental Civilization

"A maritime civilization simply seizes and conquers territories by all means, turning them into colonies for the purpose of exploitation, and that is what colonies do not need; they need liberation so that they are not economically drained. Continental empires, as we know, settle in one place, build a center, and then develop their periphery; this is a completely different approach. However, Western non-governmental organizations are imposing on the Turkic peoples the idea that Russia colonized and exploited them, which means that they are imposing their approaches on Russia, while Russia is carrying out integration at the cultural and civilizational level, that is, it is interacting with the Turkic world at the level of symbolic exchange and cultural exchange.

Leonid Kuznetsov: Civilization has broken down into three models: China, the Huns, and the Asin in the Altai region.

Next, Korovin requested that Academician and historian Leonid Vladimirovich Kuznetsov be given the floor. Despite the moderator's reservations, Kuznetsov proceeded to give a brief historical overview. He began by stating that the Altai region itself is the ancestral homeland of the Turkic peoples, and that our great Russian historian, Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov, also devoted considerable attention to this topic in his works. Gumilyov dedicated his life to studying the peoples of the vast steppe, and according to his view, the Hunnic people, when their steppe empire collapsed in the 2nd century, divided into three branches.

"One of these branches migrated south to China and actively participated in the unrest and conflicts in China during the 4th-6th centuries, a period known as the 'Six Dynasties' according to Chinese historians, the Liu-Chao period. Eventually, they were assimilated by the Chinese. Another branch moved westward, and after mixing with some Finno-Ugric peoples, they appeared in Europe under the name 'Huns,' who exerted tremendous pressure on the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire. They were known as the 'Gods' or 'Bech,' particularly Attila, the Kagan. And the third branch migrated to the Altai region, where, under the leadership of the Ashina dynasty or clan, they settled and engaged in successful metallurgy and blacksmithing. For a time, they were subordinate to the Khazar Khaganate, but they eventually rebelled and, within a few decades, created a vast steppe empire, the first Turkic Khaganate, stretching from Mongolia and Manchuria to the northern coast of the Black Sea, northern Crimea, and northern Caucasus."

According to Kuznetsov, this Khaganate existed for 150 years and posed a threat to such powerful civilizations as China and Iran. However, it eventually declined politically. Nevertheless, the spread of the Turkic language as a common language across the vast steppe led to the incorporation of a large number of peoples into this Khaganate, some of whom may not have originally been Turkic. Furthermore, the ancient Rus', our ancestors, began interacting with the Turks as early as the 10th century AD. As Solzhenitsyn wrote in his book about Russians and Jews, they lived together for 200 years, and a similar story could be written about Russians and Turks, spanning a thousand years. The first of these peoples were the Pechenegs, Polovtsians, Kipchaks, and others. It appears that these, and others, were initially not Turkic, but were descendants of the Sarmatians, Indo-European nomadic peoples of the vast steppe, who had become Turkicized. Again, Gumilyov, in his work "Ancient Rus' and the Great Steppe," writes that these relationships were not always balanced or peaceful, but generally characterized by symbiosis.

This can be seen in the relationship between Rus' and the Kipchaks. Many of us, at least those of my generation, have studied the work "The Tale of Igor's Campaign," where Prince Igor Svyatoslavich fought against the Kipchaks, initiated a military conflict, and was captured. It's often forgotten that the person who helped him escape from captivity was the Polovtsian Avlucha or Lavrin, and Igor Svyatoslavich's mother was a Polovtsian woman, as interethnic marriages with the Polovtsians were very common. Later, when the Mongols began their conquest of Rus', the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 was a very bloody and tragic event for the Russian principalities. However, it was the Polovtsian prince Katyan Sutoevich, who was the son-in-law of Prince Svyatoslav Svyatoslavich of Donuv, who urged the Russian princes to take action against the Mongols. He said, "If we don't defeat them now, they will defeat us later." The political alliance with these Turkic-Kovci was so strong that the ancient Rus' eventually came to their aid.

As Kuznets stated, the period of Mongol conquest began. The first 50 years were very detrimental to Russia, marked by the destruction of cities and a decline in culture. However, a period of symbiosis followed, as the Golden Horde adopted Islam under Khan Uzbek in 1316, and much of the Mongol nobility was destroyed. The Golden Horde turned to the Turkic world, as its base was comprised of Kipchaks and Volga Bulgarians. This was followed by a period of complex interaction, and some historians even believe that it was beneficial for Russia in some ways, because without this Tatar overlordship, Russian principalities would likely have simply destroyed each other. Eventually, Russia outgrew this union, and Muscovite Russia adopted many things from the Golden Horde. In fact, the process reversed, with Russia expanding eastward. As Nikolai Sergeyevich Trubetskoy, one of the founders of Eurasianism, a linguist, historian, and researcher of Turkic peoples, wrote, without this eastward expansion, without the Volga, the Urals, and Siberia, Russia would not have become Russia. All of these were lands of the former Golden and Blue Hordes, and they were conquered in a remarkably short time, so the local populations did not put up much resistance to the Russian armies. In a way, we were our own conquerors. Then came the period of Romanov Russia and Soviet Russia, when Russia was generally united in one state, and then, in a new historical turn, the process of these nations gaining independence began. This was a natural historical development; perhaps the imperial framework was simply too restrictive for them.

Kuznets: "And of course, when we talk about an organization like the Organization of Turkic States, Russia should not only join it, but in my opinion, it should lead this movement, because Turkey cannot lead the Turkic world with its potential, its resources, and its history. Who are modern Turks? The Turkic language is just a language; culturally and civilizationaly, Turks are much closer to Europe and the Middle East. This is generally a very complex issue. Our esteemed Georgian brother is sitting here, and there's Erdogan, who is, in a sense, Georgian, because the Turks took the ancient Georgian territory of Sam-saatbabu and Islamized the local population. The Turkic element in Turks, well, let's say 10%, probably less. The rest are Greeks, Slavs, descendants of the Inachians, Georgians, and so on. And the Ottoman Empire never even attempted to unite the Turkic world around itself, because one vector pointed towards the Middle East, and another towards Europe. They repeatedly tried to conquer Vienna and enter the heart of Europe, but they never particularly sought to control the Central Asian steppes. If we look at modern Turkey, I would say that the main vector of Turkish foreign policy has not been defined."

Kuznets continued by saying that over the past twenty years, the direction has changed three times. Initially, it was a European vector, and when the Justice and Development Party came to power, Erdogan's goal was the European integration of Turkey. Around 2009-2010, he realized that this integration would not happen. France, Germany, and the main powers of the European Union were strongly opposed to Turkey's inclusion in the EU. In 2009, when this issue was being discussed, Escobar was in Spain at a political conference of right-wing forces, and those people protested so vehemently against Turkey's acceptance into the EU that it was unbelievable.

Kuznetsov also stated that: "I saw it myself and participated in it, albeit involuntarily, of course. And then, when Turkey concluded that European integration would not happen, the focus shifted to the Middle East, supporting what are known as the Arab revolutions, the Arab Spring, so that Turkey could become the hegemon of the Arab world. All of this was linked to the support for the Muslim Brotherhood movement. This project also failed. The Muslim Brotherhood failed to gain power and control political life anywhere. In Egypt, their general Sisi, in Syria, they were not tolerated, and in Yemen, the Islah party ultimately collapsed. And now, perhaps this Turkish vector is developing as an alternative, but from the perspective of Turkey's own interests, it is quite questionable, because Turkey's main interest is the defense of Turkish national security, which includes northern Syria, northern Iraq, North Africa, Libya, energy security, and the Aegean Sea. Central Asia, however, does not fit into these interests in any way. Moreover, Turkey does not have the resources to simultaneously pursue an active policy in the Middle East and, say, in Central Asia."

He continued by saying that this means that Turkey can only be an intermediary for a certain Western influence in Central Asia. Therefore, Russia's task is that, during the Erdogan era, while Erdogan remains in power and some residual phenomena persist, there is still a desire to support the Muslim Brotherhood, something that is still being pursued in the Middle East. But if Erdogan's party leaves power and the Republican People's Party, the Kemalists, come to power, they will implement this, in Escobar's view, Turkic expansion. Therefore, Escobar said, it is the task of Russia to gather the Turkic peoples around itself and offer them a civilizational alternative, a symbolic alternative. In his opinion, in the 20th century, the main material values were paramount, but in the 21st century, the main values will be symbolic, and these will be the most attractive to the nations. So far, the West has placed the Turkic and Central Asian nations in the position of a tool for promoting its political goals. He added that:

"Well, first of all, we all remember the so-called war on terror in 2001, the events of September 11th, al-Qaeda. And generally, from my point of view, the very term 'war on terror' is absolutely absurd. Terrorism is one of the ways of unconventional warfare. To declare war on terrorism is to declare war on war itself. That is absurd. And the nations of Central Asia were seen as a platform for waging the war on terror in Afghanistan, against the very terrible Taliban, which we are now hosting as a result of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, with whom we are actively trading, having already transferred over a billion dollars, and so on. Furthermore, when this narrative of the 'war on terror' ends, it will become clear that now it is about access to critical resources. It is about rare earth metals, basic metals, energy resources, and central locations. So, once again, these nations in the region are functioning as a tool. Russia's task is to offer them a completely different, attractive symbolic vision, say, of the Turks as the central, core nation of Eurasia. And indeed, historically, the Turks have been the creators of most Eurasian empires."

In Western Europe, the Germans created an empire. In Central Asia and the Middle East, there were the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire in Iran, founded by Azerbaijani khans, and the Great Mughals in India, including Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane, and Tamerlane himself. This suggests that we should create a non-conflicting cultural image that would be very attractive to Turkic peoples and contribute to our further alliance. Following this, the moderator, Valerij Korovin, took the floor again and thanked everyone for this excellent historical overview, which, he added, is precisely what this conference aims to address. According to Korovin, the approach mentioned by Kuznetzov is very important and deserves close attention, because modern-day Turkey is a nation-state, a civic-political entity, where ethnic factors should be overcome and have no significance, especially if the nation-state is to be realized in its intended form. In this case, the Turkish identity is essentially eroded.

Korovin:

Korovin then gave the floor to Pepe Escobar to share his thoughts and presentation.

Pepe Escobar: National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Another contributor to the discussion, Pepe Escobar, visited the organization's headquarters in Istanbul in March 2022. Shortly after Boris Johnson, who played a role in the near-collapse of the Istanbul agreements between Russia and Ukraine. However, the opportunity to speak with people who lead the organization in Turkey was fascinating, according to Escobar.

"I went to a beautiful hotel in Istanbul, I spoke with them, I was very well treated. And my journalistic instincts were overwhelmed. When I was at the organization's headquarters in Turkey, I spoke with its leading representatives. I asked them directly about their plans, what goals are embedded in the mission statement of this organization. Is it economics? Is it geopolitics? Is it culture? I simply asked them to explain it to me in a way that I could understand. And I was surprised that they simply didn't have, or at least they didn't give me any answers to my questions. They were very specific. Basically, they said: we are an organization that is starting from scratch. We need more facilities with our partners from Kalkos to Central Asia. But they didn't get into specifics. And when I spoke with some of my academic colleagues in Istanbul, they said more or less the same thing. It's something that appeared out of nowhere, and they don't really know what they're doing. But to my fairly specific questions about what they plan to do, they really couldn't tell me anything concrete. I received the most vague possible answers, like we're just at the very beginning, we're doing some general coordination, and so on," said Pepe Escobar.

"I visited Turkestan and declared it the cultural capital of the Turkic peoples. Erdogan visited Turkestan and officially declared it the cultural capital of the Turkic peoples. However, when he made this declaration, he didn't mention anything about culture. He essentially said that Turkestan, in northern Kazakhstan, is the capital of the Turkic peoples. But when he made this declaration, he didn't mention anything about culture. He essentially said that Turkestan, in northern Kazakhstan, is the capital of the Turkic peoples. He was emphasizing that it is the center of Turania. But it's clear that this is not the case. Erdogan doesn't read anything because he thinks he knows everything and can answer everything. It's no surprise that he has such superficial knowledge of very serious matters. Therefore, Turkestan raises the question of what the Organization of Turkic States is all about.

Escobar believes that the organization is trying to rewrite history to align it with the narrative of a Turkic cultural space, from Azerbaijan to Xinjiang. He said that a group known as the "Group of Five" is profiting from this, referring to five large construction companies linked to the AKP party and Erdogan. According to him, both Azerbaijan and Turkestan are part of the "Group of Five," which he describes as the five most influential Turkish construction companies that control many processes in Turkey. While the "Group of Five" has a very narrow business and commercial focus, it is a reality, and it aligns with how Erdogan thinks. Therefore, Russia should not be afraid that this will stabilize Northern Asia, although the impact is very limited.According to Escobar's view, the main goal of this organization is undoubtedly to expand Turkey's influence, and it cannot be compared to China's global initiatives or Russia's Euro-Asian integration. This is quite different, and it's evident in various aspects, including language; Turkish does not have the same significance or influence in countries like Pakistan or Uzbekistan. People there speak their own languages or Russian. This in itself is telling. What should concern Russia and all of us is that it is not part of the Turkish sphere of influence, which is supported by Turkish military intellectuals and extremism, ranging from Syria to Sinjar. >Escobar added: "But if you look closely, you'll find organizations like ISIS, al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, ISIS-K, all sorts of extremist groups that operate freely, even living in Istanbul, then going to Gaziantep, crossing borders, and returning. It's all very, very easy. The danger is that these Uyghur separatist groups have their main centers in Istanbul, and everyone knows it. That's the danger. But it has nothing to do with the Turkish sphere of influence. It's essentially a breeding ground for terrorists and terrorist organizations. Many of them have their headquarters right in Istanbul. They move freely throughout the country. They are organizations and structures like ISIS. They are everywhere in Turkey. You can find them in Istanbul, and also in places like Gaziantep. They move freely." He further stated that they have a very strong presence in the country. These are preliminary observations, a characteristic moment that Escobar observed in Tashkent. According to him, it's colossal, like an American shopping center. The Chinese arrived and saw this shopping center, and they reportedly announced that they would build one twice as large on the same site. And they actually built it. As for the Russian influence, which, as he stated to those present, is clearly present everywhere. And the Turkish influence, he says, is barely noticeable, or even completely absent. (The third part of the conference continues on July 1st.) (Source: gnews.cz-jav)