| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 9,180 (2001 census)[a][1] 15,000 Meskhetian Turks (2018 estimate)[2] plus 20,000 Turkish nationals (pre-2022 Russian invasion)[3] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Kherson Oblast | 3,736 |
 Donetsk Oblast | 1,791 |
 Crimea | 969 |
 Mykolaiv Oblast | 758 |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlySunni Islam MinorityAlevism, Other religions andIrreligious | |
^ a: In the 2001 Ukrainian census 8,844 people were recorded as "Turks" and 336 were recorded as "Meskhetian Turks".[1] | |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
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Traditional Areas of Turkish Settlement Turkish majorities:
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Turks in Ukraine (Turkish:Ukrayna'daki Türkler) are people ofTurkish ethnicity living inUkraine. The first Turkish settlement started during theOttoman rule of Ukraine. In addition, there has been modern migration to the country largely formed ofMeskhetian Turks, followed by immigrants fromTurkey and Turkish communities from other post-Ottoman territories, such asTurkish Cypriots fromNorthern Cyprus.[4]
TheFirst All-Union Census of the Soviet Union in 1926 recorded 8,570Ottoman Turks living in theSoviet Union. The Ottoman Turks are no longer listed separately in the census, it is presumed that those who were living in Ukraine have either been assimilated into Ukrainian society or have left the country.[5]
The majority ofTurkish Meskhetians arrived in the eastern region of Ukraine in 1989-90 as persecuted refugees who had experienced two deportations; the first fromGeorgia in 1944, and thenUzbekistan in 1989-90.[6] Initially, they were forced to leave their homeland in theMeskheti region of Georgia when theSoviet Union was preparing to launch a pressure campaign againstTurkey.[7][8] Nationalistic policies at the time encouraged the slogan: "Georgia for Georgians" and that the Meskhetian Turks should be sent toTurkey "where they belong".[9][10]Joseph Stalin deported the majority of Meskhetian Turks toUzbekistan, thousands dying en route in cattle-trucks,[11] however, in 1989, the Meskhetian Turks in Uzbekistan became the victims ofriots by the ethnicUzbeks.[12] Thus, the majority of the Turkish Meskhetian community were deported for a second time, many coming to Ukraine during 1989-1990 following ethnic persecution in theFerghana Valley. Others followed later to re-unite with their relatives.[13] The majority mostly settled inCrimea,Donetsk,Kherson, andMykolaiv. A few live inKyiv. In 1991, they were granted Ukrainian citizenship.
Ukraine has witnessed increasing numbers of immigrants fromTurkey. By 2009, 5,394 Turkish citizens were living in Ukraine.[14] Prior to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the number of Turkish citizens had increased to around 20,000.[3]
In the twenty-first century,Turkish Cypriots have arrived in Ukraine both as temporary and permanent residents.[4]
According to the2001 Ukrainian Census, 8,844 were recorded as "Turks" and 336 people were recorded as "Meskhetian Turks".[1] Of those who were recorded only as "Turks", the majority lived inKherson (3,736),Donetsk (1,791),Crimea (969) andMykolaiv Oblast (758).[1]
In 2018, the number of Meskhetian Turks alone numbered approximately 15,000.[2]
| Census | Recorded as "Turks" only | Recorded as "Meskhetian Turks" only |
|---|---|---|
| 1939[15] | 853 | N/A |
| 1959[16] | 284 | N/A |
| 1970[17] | 226 | N/A |
| 1979[18] | 257 | N/A |
| 1989[19] | 262 | N/A |
| 2001[1] | 8,844 | 336 |
Opened in 2005, theSultan Suleiman Mosque was also built inMariupol and named after the Ottoman sultanSuleiman the Magnificent. It was built by a Turkish Businessman (Salih Cihan). Five times prayers along with theFriday Prayers are offered at the mosque. During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least 300 Turks, and hundreds more family members (without Turkish citizenship), were trapped inMariupol; at least 150 people took refuge in the Sultan Suleiman Mosque. The mosque is run by Turkey’sDirectorate of Religious Affairs.[20]
TheSimferopol International School opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in theAutonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine has been listed the top school in the list of the country’s best 100 schools.Turkish,English,Crimean Tatar, andFrench are taught at the school. In the third year since its establishment, the school has achieved several successes in the Olympics held in the city and across the country. The Turkish school also won a bronze medal in the International Environmental Project Olympics (INEPO) held inTurkey.[21]
The Turkish Maarif Foundation plans to open a school inKyiv. This was announced by the Ambassador of Ukraine Ahmet Guldere and the President of the Foundation Dr. Birol Akgun.[22][23]
Upon the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, nearly 9,000 Turks with Turkish citizenship were reported to have evacuated the country by 3rd March, having arrived inTurkey withTurkish Airlines flights fromWarsaw andBucharest.[3]
On February 25, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofNorthern Cyprus strongly recommended all Turkish Cypriot citizens to leave Ukraine. Assistance was provided at the TRNC Representative Office inBudapest.[4]
On March 17, 2022, the Turkish Foreign Minister,Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, announced that Turkey had evacuated 15,196 Turkish citizens since the start of the war.[6] Among them were Meskhetian Turks who had already acquired Turkish citizenship, having previously settled in the Üzümlü district ofErzincan in 2015 due to the 2014Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Some of these Meskhetian Turks from Erzincan had later returned to Ukraine; thus, the 2022 evacuation back to Turkey has meant that "some of them have seen three deportations in their lifetime."[6]
It is known that the territories of modern Southern Ukraine were part of the Ottoman Empire. Sultans of theOttoman Empire,Selim II andMeghmed IV, were halfUkrainians. Because their mothers were Ukrainian.
Ottoman architecture inUkraine
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Babası Türk annesi Ukraynalı olan Miray Akay, Balıkve Kelebeğin Rüyası gibi başarılı sinama filmlerinde rol aldı...2000 yılında Ukrayna'da dünyaya gelen Miray Akay...
Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın talimatı, Başbakanlık koordinasyonuyla Ukrayna'dan Türkiye'ye getirilerek Erzincan'ın Üzümlü ilçesine yerleştirilen Ahıska Türklerinden 16 yaşındaki Elvira, Slovenya'da 3-5 Kasım'da düzenlenen Yıldızlar Balkan Şampiyonası'nda kızlar 46 kiloda şampiyonluğa ulaştı.
D. Vasily Vasilievich Kapnist (1758-1823): The fourth and longest-lived poet of the Lvov circle was Vasily Vasilievich... there is a family tradition that his own mother was, like Zhukovsky's, a captive Turkish woman...
Я сам турок, родился в Стамбуле и жил там до семи лет.
17-річний Емре має турецьке походження і народився в Стамбулі, але виріс і проживає в Чернівцях.
Sovyetler Birliği'nce 14 Kasım 1944'de Gürcistan'ın Ahıska bölgesinden sürgün edilen Ahıska Türkü ailelerinden Emrah Ormanoğlu, Ukrayna'daki iç karışıklık dolayısıyla zor şartlarda başladığı güreşi, çok sevmesine rağmen devam ettiremedi.
Irma St. Paule was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Her father was Turkish and her mother was Russian. The family moved to New York and, after she married, Ms. St. Paule followed her new husband to Chicago.
