Turkish and Soviet Revolutionaries, 1919–22: Cooperation on the Basis of Common Interests

Abstract

The wars of the 1910s (Italo-Ottoman, Balkan, First World) gave clear signs that the Ottoman Empire would not last for long faced with the belligerent hostility of the Great Powers and its former subjects. The question was whether or not a consensus could be reached as to its division in accordance with each belligerent’s interests. After Russia’s pulling out of the First World War due to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the new government appeared to be quite enthusiastic to develop friendly relations with the Ottomans first and the Turkish nationalists later, giving them political and financial support throughout the Turkish National Struggle (1919–22). For both sides establishing good relations was of cardinal importance for a variety of reasons that pushed them towards a ‘marriage of convenience’. This article seeks to explain the reasons for this brief Turkish-Bolshevik alliance and why it could not last.