A deep-seated Russian anxiety over Turkish influence in its traditional sphere of interest has been thrust into the spotlight, fueled by a new documentary-style film produced by a controversial Duma deputy. The film alleges a UK-backed Pan-Turkist conspiracy, led by Turkey, aimed at fragmenting the Russian Federation by stirring dissent among its Turkic and Muslim populations. The narrative, pushed by lawmaker Andrey Lugovoy, reflects a historical Russian phobia of a unified Turkic world that challenges Moscow's regional hegemony.
Lugovoy, a former KGB agent best known for being the prime suspect in the 2006 polonium poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London, presents a narrative that portrays Turkey as a tool of Western interests. According to an analysis by Turkish news outlet T24, Lugovoy's film claims that while Mustafa Kemal Atatürk abandoned Pan-Turkism in favor of friendly relations with the Soviet Union, the ideology was revived after Turkey joined NATO in 1952. The film directly implicates the United Kingdom as the driving force, citing the British education of prominent Turkish figures, such as former President Abdullah Gül, current Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, as evidence of this deep-rooted influence.
The film, titled "Turkish World," argues that this supposed agenda is being promoted through cultural organizations like Türksoy and is designed to influence not only independent Turkic republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus but also regions within Russia itself. It names explicitly Tatarstan and Crimea as targets of this Turkish "soft power" campaign, ultimately accusing Ankara of harbouring ambitions to divide Russia from within. This message is not confined to fringe media; reports indicate the narrative is being strategically disseminated through various regional Russian news outlets, suggesting a coordinated effort to shape public opinion.
This official promotion of suspicion comes as Russia is actively trying to create a counter-narrative. In recent years, Moscow has organized its own "Slav-Turk Brotherhood" conferences in regions like the Altai Republic in Siberia—a historically significant area for Turkic peoples. These events are viewed as an attempt by the Kremlin to co-opt the concept of Turkic unity within a Russian-led framework, thereby neutralizing Ankara's growing cultural and political influence in the region.
While Moscow and Ankara maintain a complex partnership on many fronts, from Syria to energy, this underlying ideological friction persists. Lugovoy's film serves as a stark reminder of the Kremlin's enduring fear that Turkey's cultural and linguistic ties to millions across the former Soviet space could one day translate into a geopolitical bloc that permanently diminishes Russian power. As Turkey continues to expand its influence through diplomacy, trade, and popular culture, like its globally successful television series, this historical Russian phobia of Pan-Turkism is likely to remain a significant source of tension.
Photo: Gemini AI