What is turkism?

Turkism is a political and cultural movement that emphasizes the history, culture, language, and identity of the Turkic people. It emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among intellectuals and activists in the territories inhabited by the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, who sought to reassert and promote their distinct cultural identity and national consciousness.

Turkism was influenced by pan-Turkism, a related movement that advocated the unity and solidarity of all Turkic-speaking peoples, regardless of their political borders and affiliations. Some of the key figures associated with Turkism and pan-Turkism include Ismail Gasprinski, Kemal Ataturk, Mustafa Jemilev, and Alparslan Turkes.

The central themes of Turkism include the promotion of the Turkic languages, literature, folklore, music, and art, as well as the rediscovery and reinterpretation of the ancient Turanian civilization. Turkism has also been associated with political movements that aimed to establish independent Turkic states and resist colonial and imperial domination.

Today, Turkism continues to play an important role in the cultural and political discourse of the Turkic peoples, particularly in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Turkic identity remains a contested and complex issue, however, as it intersects with various other factors such as religion, ethnicity, and regional differences.