The phenomenon of ethnic deportations in the Soviet nationaly policy

The phenomenon of the ethnic and religious deportations in the Soviet Union, which had precedents reaching back more than the half-century, are themselves an important and integral part of the Soviet history, to understand the relationship between minorities and regime and ultimate break-up of the empire. This study, which is concerned specifically with the Ahiska (Meskhetian)* Turks (a little studied group), belongs in that general classification of works dealing with the analysis and documentation of the numerous other ethnic and religious groups in the former USSR that were suffered deportations en masse from the basically European part of the Soviet Union (homeland) to Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan during the Second World War by the Stalinist regime, and within half of the century was incognito for world community.