The birth of anti-Soviet image in the Turkish press following the Second World War and its reflections after the death of Stalin (1953-1964)

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the construction of the anti-Soviet sentiment in the Turkish press at the beginning of the Cold War, and its evolution during the period from the death of Stalin in 1953 until the ouster of Khrushchev in 1964. After an assessment of the antagonism towards Russia in the Turkish public before 1945, the immense rise of anti-Sovietism in the Turkish press during the Straits of the Crisis between the Soviet Union and Turkey will be analyzed. The long term influence of anti-Soviet stance during the crisis, which was also reflected to the quarrel between Tan and Tanin newspapers in 1945, over the period 1953–1964 will be examined. Three main issues will be analyzed: The iv influence of the Turkish governments over the press in terms of the construction of a negative Soviet image will be questioned. The anti-Soviet stance among the Turkish journalists apart from the state influence will be assessed. The reasons for the relaxation of anti-Sovietism up to 1960s will be analyzed. In this context, the general tendency of the Turkish press will be examined with regard to the examples from the anti-Soviet content from eight prominent newspapers of that period. Primarily Ulus, as the official press organ of the Republican People’s Party; and Zafer, as the semi-official press organ of the Democratic Party; and six independent newspapers, Akşam, Cumhuriyet, Dünya, Hürriyet, Milliyet, and Vatan will be surveyed in terms of their anti-Soviet content. The prominent journalists in these newspapers will be also emphasized to observe the individual anti-Soviet perspectives in the press. The changing attitudes in the press will be assessed with regard to the developments in the Cold War.