Socialist Kurds (1917-1937 Revolution, Construction, Exile)

For the Kurds who have lived in the Caucasus for centuries, 1917 was undoubtedly an "annus mirabilist." In other words, he created the image of a magnificent year. It was a turning point, especially for the Kurdish section who suffered from "gıllet". As in a proverb often used by Russians, a truck full of cookies headed towards the Kurds' street. As a people crushed under the iron heel of Tsarism, they welcomed the October Revolution with joy. The revolution was a "relief" in the eyes of the poor Kurdish peasants and workers, as it was for every individual.

Kurds, who became more hopeful with the right of nations to self-determination and strengthened their "connection" with the revolution, began to enjoy the cookies that came to their streets in the 1920s. The magic word of this period was "korenizatsiya", that is, "indigenization". With this policy, the Soviet administration tried to create a "sense of belonging" in different ethnicities. The "perfect" citizen of the Tsarist period seemed to be replaced by the "decent" citizen. The Latinization policy, which was also initiated in these years, further stimulated the sense of belonging of ethnic identities.

The 1930s turned into a completely different scene. Weeds began to accumulate inside the regularly ringing bell. "Apparatus" was about to lose track of the revolution. The hallmark of this period was "Russification". The Latinization of the 1920s was replaced by the policy of "Cyrillization". Lenin's aphorism "If there is a state, there is no freedom" occupied people's minds a lot in these years. This whole paradigm change undoubtedly deeply affected the Kurdish people. In this study, the achievements of the Kurds during the socialist construction process (1917-1937), the difficulties they faced and the experiences they experienced are analyzed mostly in the light of Russian sources.