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EN
Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991)
Abstract
Traditionally, Soviet attitude to Turkey was governed by strategic concepts as a result of the latter’s possession of the Black Sea Straits, and from its proximity to vital targets in Ukraine and Transcaucasia. Thus, Turco-Soviet enmity has deep roots going back to the struggle between the Russian and the Ottoman Empires, which began in the 15th century with the gradual conquest of the Black Sea, Transcaucasia and Balkans by the Turks. However, during the eighteenth and early twentieth century, Russia enlarged its territory primarily at the expense of the declining Ottoman Empire. It was only with the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, that the Russian irredentist ambition enshrined in the “Warm Waters”, the Russian/Soviet desire to gain access to the Mediterranean, was effectively abandoned. As a result, Turco-Soviet relations reached a peak in the Atatürk era and again later in the 1960s and 1970s. On 19 March 1945, as the war in Europe about to end, the Soviet Government reported to the Turkish Government its decision to put an end to the Turco-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression dated 17 November 1925. The claim was that the Treaty was no longer relevant given the new conditions emerging after the Second World War. On 7 June 1945, Selim Sarper, the Turkish Ambassador to Moscow, in his meeting with Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, stated that Turkey wished to form good relations once again. Molotov, however, wanted bases on the Straits in addition to the Kars-Ardahan region in return for restored relations and the reinstatement of the treaty. Turkey did not accept these demands. As a result, the Soviets decided not to renew the treaty, which was the beginning of strained relations between the Turks and the Soviets which lasted until 1953. After Stalin’s death, the Russians attempted to restore their relations with Turkey to their relatively relaxed pre-war level. The Turks, however, were cautious in their response. Developments in Soviet-American relations in the early 1960s led the Turks to reconsider their dependent relationship with the United States and to take on a less uncompromising approach towards the Soviet Union, resulting in the second period of good Turco-Soviet relations after the Atatürk era.
Keywords
References
- All references to sources prefixed by FO refer to documents held at the UK National Archives, formerly the Public Record Office (PRO). The following files have been consulted:
- FO371/160212; FO371/163832; FO371/169514; FO371/174971; FO371/180150; FO371/185824; FO371/59231/R 17969/6/44; FO371/67305B; FO371/72540/R840; FO371/78661/R1033/1011/44; FO371/87933/RK1011/1; FO371/95267/RK1011/1; FO371/101848/WK1011/1; FO371/107547/WK1011/1; FO371/123999/RK1011/1; FO371/130174/RK1011/1; FO371/136450/RK1011/1; FO371/144739/RK1011/1; FO371/153030/RK1011/1; FO371/160212/RK1011/1; FO371/153030/RK1011/1; FO371/112921/WK1011/1; FCO51/296; FCO51/244; FCO9/614; FCO9/1091; FCO9/1308; FCO9/1466; FCO9/1606; FCO9/1831; FCO9/2112; FCO9/2339; FCO9/2671; FCO9/2768; FCO9/2885; FCO9/3056; FCO9/3317; FCO51/244/RR6/12; FCO51/296/RR6/4; FCO9/RK1011/1
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- Bilge, Suat, Güç Komşuluk, Türkiye-Sovyetler Birliği İlişkileri, 1920-1964, Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası Yayınları, 1992.
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Contemporary Russian History
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
March 31, 2026
Submission Date
October 1, 2025
Acceptance Date
November 19, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 11 Number: 1
APA
Yeşilbursa, B. K. (2026). Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991). Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, 11(1), 866-929. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468
AMA
1.Yeşilbursa BK. Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991). VAKANUVIS. 2026;11(1):866-929. doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468
Chicago
Yeşilbursa, Behçet Kemal. 2026. “Turco-Soviet Relations During the Cold War Era (1945-1991)”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 11 (1): 866-929. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468.
EndNote
Yeşilbursa BK (March 1, 2026) Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991). Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 11 1 866–929.
IEEE
[1]B. K. Yeşilbursa, “Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991)”, VAKANUVIS, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 866–929, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468.
ISNAD
Yeşilbursa, Behçet Kemal. “Turco-Soviet Relations During the Cold War Era (1945-1991)”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 11/1 (March 1, 2026): 866-929. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468.
JAMA
1.Yeşilbursa BK. Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991). VAKANUVIS. 2026;11:866–929.
MLA
Yeşilbursa, Behçet Kemal. “Turco-Soviet Relations During the Cold War Era (1945-1991)”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 11, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 866-29, doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468.
Vancouver
1.Behçet Kemal Yeşilbursa. Turco-Soviet Relations during the Cold War Era (1945-1991). VAKANUVIS. 2026 Mar. 1;11(1):866-929. doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1794468