Paul Goble
Staunton, Oct. 9 – Turkey’s Ministry of National Education has directed schools in that country to replace the term “Central Asia” with “Turkistan” in their curriculums, reviving a pre-Soviet and even pre-Russian term with one that underscores the close links of the peoples of that region to the Turkish world.
The Turkish announcement (trthaber.com/haber/gundem/meb-mufredatinda-koklu-degisiklik-orta-asya-degil-turkistan-881189.html) has already attracted the attention of media in the region (news.az/news/-why-turkiye-replaced-central-asia-with-turkestan-expert-opinions and anhor.uz/world/otkazyvaetsja-ot-termina/) and in Russia (trtrussian.com/novosti/turciya-menyaet-termin-centralnaya-aziya-na-turkestan-18217862).
While some in the region welcome this change in nomenclature, others in Russia are alarmed just as they were when a map circulating in Turkey two years ago showed the Turkish world extending far to the east. At that time, they argued diversity within this world would preclude unity (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/01/greater-turan-will-never-include.html).
This is just the start of what is likely to become a serious political debate, and already it is clear that the judgment of Azerbaijani commentators is just. They say that “Türkiye's decision to reintroduce the term "Turkistan" is more than just a historical restoration; it reflects broader geopolitical ambitions, aiming to unite the Turkic world culturally, economically, and potentially politically” (news.az/news/-why-turkiye-replaced-central-asia-with-turkestan-expert-opinions).
And they conclude that “while the move is unlikely to pose an immediate threat to major powers, it may set the stage for long-term shifts in regional dynamics.” As such, such changes are a reminder that not only are individual nations “imagined communities” but so too are larger groups of peoples as well.
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