Sovyet sonrası Başkurdistan Cumhuriyeti elit yönetiminde “Rus Oryantalizmi”nin etkilerini anlamak

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 37 - 55, 30.06.2020

Melih Demirtaş

https://doi.org/10.38154/cjas.28

Abstract

“Rusya’nın Doğusu” terimi, Rusya ve Avrasya ile ilgilenen alan çalışmaları uzmanlarının ve siyasi analistlerin popüler konularından biridir. Benzer şekilde, bu çalışmadaki temel amacım özellikle Rusya'nın geniş coğrafyasında söz konusu “Doğu” kavramının derinliklerine inmek olacaktır. Bu bağlamda, Rusya Federasyonu'nun devasa mekânsal alanında, şu anki resmi adı Başkurdistan Cumhuriyeti üzerine dikkat çekici olduğunu düşündüğüm bir vaka çalışması yardımıyla Rusya'nın “ötekileştirme” sürecine vurgu yapılacaktır. Başkurdistan'ın şu anki durumu hakkında şu genel soruyu soracağım: Anılan Federatif Cumhuriyetteki siyasal elit yönetim sürecini Rus liderliğindeki Oryantalist bir projenin başarılı bir parçası olarak nasıl anlayabiliriz? Bu soruya cevap bulmaya çalışırken post-Sovyet sonrası Rus devlet anlayışı, imparatorluk yıllarında başladığı ve Sovyet merkezileştirilmiş totaliterciliğinde devam ettiği gibi, nüfusunun büyük ve çeşitli kesimlerini “yörüngesine” dahil etmede bir tür “başarı öyküsü” olarak kabul edilecektir.

Keywords

Oryantalizm, Rus Oryantalizmi, Başkurdistan, Başkurt kimliği, Siyasi Elitler, Hamitov

Understanding impacts of “Russian Orientalism” on post-Soviet elite-management in the Republic of Bashkortostan

Abstract

The “Russian Orient” has as emerged as a popular area of study for specialists and political analysts with a predominant interest in Russia and Eurasia-related affairs. My primary aim in this work will be specifically to look deeper into this concept of the “Orient” inside Russia’s vast geography. Simultaneously, I will place emphasis on the Russian “otherization” process within this huge spatial realm, drawing upon a remarkable case study on Bashkiria, or to use its current official name, the Republic of Bashkortostan, in the Russian Federation. I will pose one general question to garner information on the current situation in Bashkortostan, being “How can we understand the political elite management process in this Federative Republic as a successful part of a general Russian-led Orientalist project?” In trying to find an answer to this question throughout the work, like in the imperial era, and as observed in the Soviet centralized totalitarianism, the post-Soviet state understanding in Russia will be treated as a kind of a “success story” in terms of its incorporation of large and varied segments of its population into its “orbit”.

Keywords

Orientalism, Russian Orientalism, Bashkortostan, Bashkir identity, political elites, Khamitov

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