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The role of Mustafa Kemal Attaturk in the recent history of Turkey

The role of Mustafa Kemal Attaturk in the recent history of Turkey

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The Role of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the

Recent History of Turkey

The defeat of Germany, on the side of which the Ottoman Empire fought, in the First World

War, the military setbacks, and discontent in the country, and, finally, the surrender of

Turkey in October 1918 put an end to the power of the Young Turks, who defended the

integrity of the empire. The Allies annexed all of its external possessions. The question

arose what post-war Turkey should be. In these difficult days, the Turkish people, led by

new leaders, whose main goal was the independence of all Turkey, took over the decision

of the issue. On the wave of national-patriotic upsurge in April 1920, in Ankara, a new

Majlis was elected - the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The chairman of the

Assembly was Mustafa Kemal Pasha (known as Ataturk), who proclaimed the new body

the only legitimate authority in Turkey.

The problem of the role of Kemal Ataturk in the recent history of Turkey has long attracted

the attention of orientalists by its relevance, complexity, and versatility. However, it is

especially noteworthy that, at a critical stage in the development of the Turkish state,

Kemal Ataturk found the strength, courage, and talent to re-evaluate the role of his

country in the world history, lead the struggle for national liberation and independent

development of Turkey. Thanks to this, Ataturk eliminated the caliphate, was the first

among the Turks who turn views towards civilizational Europe, and, taking advantage of

the fact that the country is fighting for national liberation, ended the Sharia, the sultanate,

and the caliphate, intensified the policy of Westernization, managed to convince the Turks

that the secular nature of the state with a careful attitude to the traditions of Islam is the

guarantee of the country's further well-being. He is regarded as a person who sought to

turn Turkey to Western culture. Thanks to him, Turkey has become the only Islamic

country that has embarked on the path of democratic development and acceptance of the

values of Western civilization.

Turkey is a unique country. Unlike its Arab neighbors, the Turks managed to build a

secular state. The main contribution to it was made by Mustafa Kemal, later called

Ataturk, i.e., ‘father of the Turkish people.’ Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is one of the most

colorful and significant characters of world history of modern times. The role of Ataturk in

the history of Turkey was especially pronounced and acute in connection with the realities

of today, when the process of reviewing unilateral assessments of the most important

events in world history is under way.

In the new and modern history of Turkey, there is no historical personality comparable to

the personality of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the creator and first president of the Turkish

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Republic. A lot of scientific works and works of art, which reflect the life and work of this

talented commander, politician, and statesman, are devoted to him.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the great Ottoman Empire came very close to its

decline. Its disappearance from the map of the world was only a matter of time. What will

happen next, few people imagined in the empire itself, and in the rest of the world.

[1]

The

appearance of modern Turkey, such as we know it, on the ruins of the empire was due to

the activities of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, better known namely as Mustafa Kemal

Ataturk. At birth, he received the name Mustafa; the nickname Kemal (“Perfection”) he

received in the military school for mathematical abilities; the name Ataturk (“Father of the

Turks”) was conferred on him by the Great National Assembly of Turkey in 1934. He did not

create a monarchical state but a republic. The person of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk causes

fierce controversy among Muslims. Some believe that he is the savior of the Turkish

nation while others accuse him of the collapse of the caliphate and the struggle against

Islam.

The path of a young ambitious officer a small official, born in the family of a small officer,

in the highest command of the Sultan's army, was possible thanks to personal courage,

determination, mastery of the art of political intrigue, and the talent of a leader capable of

rallying like-minded people, confronting the opposition, and leading a national

movement.

It can be said that the appearance of such a person in the history of Turkey was due to the

world processes of the early 20th century. The empires disintegrated - Austro-

Hungarian, Russian, Ottoman, and national states appeared on the map. The lost

territories of the Ottoman Empire and the metropolis itself became the objects of the

attacks by the imperialist governments of European countries. Just like Soviet Russia and

Turkey, since 1918, it has been intervened. In the west, entire regions were almost

simultaneously occupied by France, England, Italy, and Greece. A complex situation

developed on the Transcaucasian front, as well as in the southeast of Asia Minor occupied

by the French, and in the former provinces of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East,

where the British actively supported the antiOttoman armed actions of the Arab tribal

chiefs.

Turkey could disappear from the map of the world if the country's military and political

forces were not consolidated as an alternative to the helpless Sultan's court and the

government of the High Porte, dependent on the interventionists. Moreover, the

peculiarity of the situation in the Ottoman Turkey was the status of the Sultan-Caliph - not

only as head of state, but also as spiritual leader of Muslims. Therefore, the leader who

headed the national liberation movement should, in his activity, in no less extent than to

the armed resistance to the interventionists and political opponents, pay attention to the

education of his people, and explain the reasons why the Sultan Caliph will not be able to

provide independence for his country. Perhaps, namely, the combination of these two

strategic directions in the activity of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which led to the expulsion of

the invaders from the country and the creation of a secular Turkish Republic, became the

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The Role of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the Recent History of Turkey The defeat of Germany, on the side of which the Ottoman Empire fought, in the First World War, the military setbacks, and discontent in the country, and, finally, the surrender of Turkey in October 1918 put an end to the power of the Young Turks, who defended the integrity of the empire. The Allies annexed all of its external possessions. The question arose what post-war Turkey should be. In these difficult days, the Turkish people, led by new leaders, whose main goal was the independence of all Turkey, took over the decision of the issue. On the wave of national-patriotic upsurge in April 1920, in Ankara, a new Majlis was elected - the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The chairman of the Assembly was Mustafa Kemal Pasha (known as Ataturk), who proclaimed the new body the only legitimate authority in Turkey. The problem of the role of Kemal Ataturk in the recent history of Turkey has long attracted the attention of orientalists by its relevance, complexity, and versatility. However, it is especially noteworthy that, at a critical stage in the development of the Turkish state, Kemal Ataturk found the strength, courage, and talent to re-evaluate the role of his country in the world history, lead the struggle for national liberation and independent development of Turkey. Thanks to this, Ataturk eliminated the caliphate, was the first among the Turks who turn views towards civilizational Europe, and, taking advan ...
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