Çarlık Rusyası’nda Birinci Duma’nın Kapatılışı ve İdil-Ural Türkleri (1906)
Emre ÖzsoyOn dokuzuncu yüzyılın ilk çeyreği, Rusya Türkleri adına siyasi alanda büyük değişimleri barındıran önemli bir zaman dilimini ifade etmektedir. Geçmişe nazaran tecrübesiz ve yenilikçi bir kuşağın bu alanda göstermiş olduğu canlanmada 1905 Rus Devrimi temel nedeni oluşturdu. Devrimin hemen öncesinde başlayan siyasi hareketlilikler, 17 Ekim Manifestosu’nun ilanıyla ivme kazanarak Ekim Devrimi’ne kadar devam etti. Çar II. Nikolay’ın, Duma’nın açılacağı yönündeki kararı, yüzyıllardır siyasi, dinî ve millî alanlarda baskılar gören, idare tarafından ikinci sınıf vatandaş olarak kabul edilen Rusya Türklerini, tam teşekküllü olmasa da hızlı bir şekilde siyasi faaliyetlere yöneltti. Matbuat serbestliğinden de faydalanarak çıkardıkları dergi ve gazeteler aracılığıyla, Rusya Türklerini yönlendiren Ceditçi aydınlar, siyasi alanın da liderleri olarak anayasal düzene olan ihtiyaçlarını dile getirdiler. Kurdukları ittifaklar ve yaptıkları toplantılarla toplumlarını siyasi alanda bilinçlendirdiler ve büyük bir umutla Çarlık Rusya’da Dumalar dönemine hazırladılar. Bununla birlikte Birinci Duma’nın beklentileri karşılayamadan çarın fermanıyla kapatılması, Rusya Türklerinin İkinci Duma’ya ve Rusya’daki anayasal düzene olan bakışlarında kırılmalara yol açtı. Matbuat organlarında Duma’nın kapatılması ve anayasal yönetimin Rusya Türkleri için ne anlama geldiği konusunda görüşler bildirildi, çar ve hükümet doğrudan eleştirildi. Bu çalışmada; Rusya Türklerinin Birinci Duma’nın kapatılmasına yönelik tepkilerinin ne olduğu sorusunun İdil-Ural süreli yayınları üzerinden cevaplandırılmasına ve Rusya Türkleri için anayasal yönetimin ne anlama geldiğinin ortaya konulmasına çalışılacaktır.
Prorogue of the First Duma in Tsarist Russia and the Turks of Idel-Ural (1906)
Emre ÖzsoyThe first quarter of the 19th century represents an important period that involved great changes in the political arena regarding the Russian Turks. The 1905 Russian Revolution was the main reason for the revival of an inexperienced reformist generation in this field. The political movements that started right before the Revolution gained momentum with the declaration of the October 17 Manifesto and continued until the October Revolution. Tsar Nicholas II’s decision to open the Duma prompted Russian Turks, who had been oppressed for centuries regarding political, religious, and national fields and were accepted as second-class citizens by the administration, to express their need for a constitutional order. Thus, the Jadid intellectuals in the political field directed Russian Turks through the magazines and newspapers they published by taking advantage of the freedom of press. With the alliances Russian Turks formed and the meetings they held, they raised their society’s awareness in the political arena, and they prepared with great hope for the Dumas period in Tsarist Russia. However, the closure of the First Duma by the tsar’s edict before being able to meet their expectations led to a break in the Russian Turks view of the future of the Duma and constitutional order in Russia. Opinions were expressed in press organs about the First Duma’s closure and what constitutional administration meant for the Russian Turks, with the tsar and the government being directly criticized. This study aims to answer how Russian Turks had reacted to the closure of the First Duma through the Idel-Ural periodicals and reveal what the constitutional government meant for Russian Turks.
To say that Russian Turks had been engaged in political activities until the first years of the 20th century is difficult. In this regard, the 1905 Revolution and the October 17 Manifesto were important developments that pushed to the political arena the Russian Turks who had been unable to make any attempt against the administration other than concerning their religious and national wishes. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest benefits of the revolution and what followed was the environment of limited freedom that was introduced into the field of the press. Although this situation caught the 1905 Revolution unprepared politically, the revival of Russian Turks in the field of the press was quite remarkable. In this sense, that generation who had educated themselves under the influence of the Jadid school of thought that had emerged in the 19th century needed to act in line with the requirements of modern times. They tried to direct their society in this direction and suddenly emerged with magazines and newspapers published in their native language. Having experienced a period of great freedom compared to their previous periods, the intellectuals organized successive local and large-scale meetings and took responsibility for determining which path to follow in Russia’s new political atmosphere. Periodicals were these leaders’ greatest tools in this regard.
Russian Turks viewed the 1905 Revolution and the proclamation of constitutional rule as the solution for ridding themselves of their long-standing position as second-class citizens. In addition to their demands for freedom and equality with Russians in all areas, they demanded the ability to regulate their own national and religious life, which had been protecting them from the Russification and Christianization policy of the Tsarist administration for a long time. In order to meet these demands and represent their opposition to regime, they supported a constitutional administration and the opening of the Duma. This explains their disappointment when the First State Duma was prorogue. Using press organs, they expressed their disappointment that had emerged as a result of the past Tsarist policies to which they’d been exposed and in this way tried to direct their society politically through the press.
The Russian Turks’ reactions toward the proroguing of the First Duma appear to be able to be followed through the press. In this sense, to say that the Idel-Ural press had a unique position would not be wrong, and this was related to the position the region had acquired in the modernization movements. This was due to the Idel-Ural region being at the center of Jadid school of thought, which had emerged with the idea of reform in the religious field in the first years of the 19th century and gradually entered all areas of life. The experience that was gained from this, the national bourgeois class that formed in the region, and the social developments that were supported by it, all in combination with the 1905 Revolution caused a great revival in the field of printing. Thus, the Idel-Ural geography became the center of media activities during the revolution in comparison to Turkestan, Crimea, and the Caucasus. At the same time, this geography turned into a lively area for Russian Turks after the 1905 Revolution. The physical proximity of the region to central Russia was also an important feature. Therefore, periodicals published in the Idel-Ural area not only remained local but were also turned into tools for defending the rights of Russian Turks in other regions.
This study will attempt to reveal the thoughts of Russian Turks regarding the closing of the First State Duma through the Idel-Ural press. In this context, the study will investigate what the Duma meant to Russian Turks, what issues were emphasized in the publications, and the reasons why a constitutional government was seen as a means of solving problems. In order to achieve these goals, the study will benefit from publications that had been published in the Idel-Ural area after the 1905 Revolution and that discussed what happened during the period of the First Duma. In this context, the study has preferred publications that closely followed the political developments and frequently included which actors were influential in the political line of Russian Turks, such as the Muslim Alliance and the Kadet Party, examining such publications as Vakit, Yıldız, Kazan Muhbiri, Musulmanskii Mir, Ulfet, and Nur. In addition, this study will present how the ideological differences among Russian Turks all met the closure of the Duma by benefitting from the important periodical Tan Yıldızı, which followed a different political orientation.
After the closure of the First Duma, harsh criticisms of the government and the tsar were seen to occur in periodicals. This shows that after the 1905 Revolution, the administration had made concessions from its oppressive administration. However, the short-term survival of the First Duma shows that Russia was still not ready for the transition to a constitutional order. The fact that the Second Duma was closed after a short time was also an indicator of this. Another issue was the confidence Russian Turks had in the constitutional government and their open statements in their periodicals. This was quite remarkable for a society that was burgeoning in the political arena. One important point that draws attention is that uniting on the grounds of a constitutional government had been possible, despite Russian Turks following different ideological lines. This feature signaled the need for freedom and equality in a society that had been oppressed for many years. Finally, the closure of the Duma damaged the trust Russian Turks had in the Second Duma and the government, but this did not cause them to demand the constitutional government disappear.
