Putin, bears and beautiful women: what Turkey thinks about Russians
Turkey is one of those countries of the world that are most closely associated with Russia. For several centuries, the Ottoman Empire fought with Russia, but over the centuries of war and blood, the Russian and Turkish peoples even managed to become closely related - the Cossacks exported Turkish women, many people with Slavic roots live in Turkey.
Soviet Russia played one of the key roles in the first stage of the establishment of post-Ottoman Turkish statehood: Lenin helped Ataturk in his time. But almost the entire twentieth century, Turkey and the USSR had a very difficult relationship: Ankara reoriented to the United States and became one of Washington’s key NATO partners. Now Russia and Turkey are coming economic partners. Trade between countries did not stop completely even after Moscow introduced anti-Turkish sanctions, which were then lifted. It is clear that policy pursue their goals, businessmen are preoccupied with profit, but how do ordinary Turks feel about Russia and Russians?
In Turkey, it is customary to distinguish between attitudes towards the state and its people. The attitude to Russia as a state in Turkey is ambiguous. Many conservative-minded Turks cannot forget Russia and the Crimean Khanate conquered at the end of the XNUMXth century, the events in the Caucasus, and the Russian-Turkish wars. On the other hand, in Turkey there are a lot of secular Turks sympathizing with the left forces. For them, Russia is the heir to the Soviet Union and the only alternative to the United States and NATO. Since in Turkey many people negatively assess American policy in the Middle East, the tougher Russia holds in relation to the United States, the more its authority grows in the eyes of ordinary Turks.
If we talk about the attitude towards ordinary Russians, then it is generally friendly. Russian tourists bring a lot of money to Turkey. In fact, it is they who hold a significant segment of the tourism industry, local residents get the opportunity to do business, get jobs in hotels or catering establishments. Naturally, the flow of Russian tourists for the Turks is beneficial. And in general, the Turks, as eastern people, are very hospitable.
Many Turks retain a very specific attitude towards Russian women. They are considered easily accessible, which, however, contributes to the behavior of the tourists themselves. However, now there are a lot of Russian-Turkish marriages, the vast majority of which are between Turkish men and Russian women, although there are cases when Turkish women marry Russian citizens, especially Caucasians or Tatars.
The Turks retain a very respectful attitude towards Russian culture and literature. Russian classics are still in great demand in Turkish bookstores, the works of major Russian writers have long been translated into Turkish. What can I say, if one of the most prominent poets of Turkey of the twentieth century, Nazim Hikmet lived for a long time in Moscow, where he died. Of the political figures of modern Russia, the greatest respect among the Turks is Vladimir Putin - in the East, strong leaders are respected. As for the stereotypical “symbols” of Russia in Turkey, this is the beauty of women, vodka, nesting dolls and, of course, the Russian bear.
Soviet Russia played one of the key roles in the first stage of the establishment of post-Ottoman Turkish statehood: Lenin helped Ataturk in his time. But almost the entire twentieth century, Turkey and the USSR had a very difficult relationship: Ankara reoriented to the United States and became one of Washington’s key NATO partners. Now Russia and Turkey are coming economic partners. Trade between countries did not stop completely even after Moscow introduced anti-Turkish sanctions, which were then lifted. It is clear that policy pursue their goals, businessmen are preoccupied with profit, but how do ordinary Turks feel about Russia and Russians?
In Turkey, it is customary to distinguish between attitudes towards the state and its people. The attitude to Russia as a state in Turkey is ambiguous. Many conservative-minded Turks cannot forget Russia and the Crimean Khanate conquered at the end of the XNUMXth century, the events in the Caucasus, and the Russian-Turkish wars. On the other hand, in Turkey there are a lot of secular Turks sympathizing with the left forces. For them, Russia is the heir to the Soviet Union and the only alternative to the United States and NATO. Since in Turkey many people negatively assess American policy in the Middle East, the tougher Russia holds in relation to the United States, the more its authority grows in the eyes of ordinary Turks.
If we talk about the attitude towards ordinary Russians, then it is generally friendly. Russian tourists bring a lot of money to Turkey. In fact, it is they who hold a significant segment of the tourism industry, local residents get the opportunity to do business, get jobs in hotels or catering establishments. Naturally, the flow of Russian tourists for the Turks is beneficial. And in general, the Turks, as eastern people, are very hospitable.
Many Turks retain a very specific attitude towards Russian women. They are considered easily accessible, which, however, contributes to the behavior of the tourists themselves. However, now there are a lot of Russian-Turkish marriages, the vast majority of which are between Turkish men and Russian women, although there are cases when Turkish women marry Russian citizens, especially Caucasians or Tatars.
The Turks retain a very respectful attitude towards Russian culture and literature. Russian classics are still in great demand in Turkish bookstores, the works of major Russian writers have long been translated into Turkish. What can I say, if one of the most prominent poets of Turkey of the twentieth century, Nazim Hikmet lived for a long time in Moscow, where he died. Of the political figures of modern Russia, the greatest respect among the Turks is Vladimir Putin - in the East, strong leaders are respected. As for the stereotypical “symbols” of Russia in Turkey, this is the beauty of women, vodka, nesting dolls and, of course, the Russian bear.
Information