A Music-Oriented Analysis of the Cultural Relations between Türkiye and the USSR

Özkan Koç E., Saraç H.

RECENT PERIOD TURKISH STUDIES-YAKIN DONEM TURKIYE ARASTIRMALARI, cilt.2024, sa.45, ss.401-424, 2024 (ESCI, Scopus)

Özet

Cultural interactions are as significant as political relations in fostering proximity between nations. Many states utilize cultural events to serve their own aims, ideologies, and interests due to their broad appeal and lasting impact. The 1930s marked a period when relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and T & uuml;rkiye were culturally diverse and numerous. The present study aims to analyze the relations between the two countries, with a special focus on the art of music in its cultural dimension. The cultural relations between T & uuml;rkiye and the USSR in the 1930s, and the VOKS organization, through which the USSR conducted cultural diplomacy activities with foreign countries, are outlined, and the mobility in the field of music between both countries are analyzed. This study seeks to answer questions such as how the USSR and T & uuml;rkiye incorporated music into their foreign policies and the impact of these efforts on political relations. The study employed sources such as the Ulus newspaper, formerly known as H & acirc;kimiyet-i Milliye until 1934, the State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of T & uuml;rkiye, and contemporary sources from Russia and T & uuml;rkiye.