Yusuf Akçura (; ; 2 December 1876 – 11 March 1935) was a prominent Turkish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, writer and ideologist of ethnic Tatar origin. He developed into a prominent ideologue and advocate of

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

during the early republican period, whose writings became widely read and who became one of the leading university professors in Istanbul.

Biography

He was born in Simbirsk,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

to a Tatar family and lived there until he and his mother emigrated to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

when he was seven. He received primary and secondary education in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and entered the Harbiye Mektebi (Military College) in 1895. He took up a post in the Erkân-i Harbiye (General Staff Course), a prestigious training programme for the Ottoman military. But in 1896 he was accused of belonging to the Young Turk movement and was exiled to Trablusgarb in

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...

, Ottoman Libya. He escaped exile in 1899 and made his way to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he began to emerge as a staunch advocate of

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...

and

. There he contributed to '' Meşveret'', a periodical published by the exiled members of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

. He returned to Russia in 1903, settling in Zöyebașı beside Simbirsk and began to write extensively on the topic. He garnered most attention for his 1904 work ''Üç Tarz-ı Siyaset'' (Three Types of Policy), which was originally printed in the

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

-based magazine '' Türk''. The work encouraged the formation of an Ottoman Nation with a citizenship based on Islam and compared such a nation with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

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which according to him had also emerged from different races. Further on, he demanded to abandon the multi-ethnic concept of the Ottoman Empire and to focus on the assimilation of the non-Turks. He was one of the co-founders of the Ittifaq al-Muslimin, a Muslim party in Russia. In 1908 he returned to Istanbul where his ideas began to gain more interest after the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

and the proclamation of the

Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...

. In 1911 he founded the Türk Yurdu Association together with Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Ali Hüseynzade and others. In November 1911 The association began to publish a magazine bearing its name, '' Türk Yurdu'', which sought to become the intellectual force behind Turkish nationalism.Ada Holly Shissler. ''Between Two Empires: Ahmet Agaoglu and the New Turkey'', I.B.Tauris, 2003, p. 158 In June 1911, he became a leading force within the Turkish Hearths, acting as their Vice-President. In 1915 he founded again with Ahmet Ağaoğlu and Ali Hüseynzade the Turco-Tatar Committee (TTC) in Istanbul which had the aim to defend the rights of the Turco-Tatar Muslims in Russia. In June 1916 the TTC sent a delegation to the Conference of Nationalities, but it could not present a united resolution. Every delegate had to represent his nation. Akçura therefore spoke for the Tatars and demanded the same civil, politic and religious rights as the Russian Orthodox and the right to teach in their native tongue. In July 1916 he visited

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and made contact with

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. He wanted to know what the fate of the Turkic peoples would await from the leader of the revolutionaries. In Summer 1917 he was given the task to negotiate the liberation of the Ottoman prisoners in Russia by the Ottoman

Red Crescent The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human ...

. He therefore first travelled to Denmark, Sweden and stayed about one year in Russia. After having accomplished his mission for the Ottoman Red Crescent, he returned to Turkey and joined the newly founded party ''Milli Türk Fırkası'' in October 1919. Differing from the regime somewhat, he defined the Turkish identity in purely

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

terms and came to look outside the borders of the country for a kinship with other

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

. He also called for creation of a national economy and a move away from

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic values (an area in which he clashed with Ziya Gökalp, as Akçura wanted a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Turkey, fearing that

Pan-Islamism Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...

would hinder nationalist development), meaning that he was largely sympathetic to Kemal Atatürk. In 1923 he was elected MP for Istanbul, which he stayed until 1934, when he was elected MP for

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

. In 1932 he became president of the

Turkish Historical Society The Turkish Historical Society (; TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been described as "the Ke ...

. He died in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 1935. He was laid to rest at the

Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery The Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery (), one of the largest burial grounds of Istanbul, Turkey, is located in the neighborhood of Edirnekapı of Eyüp district, in the European part of the city. It consists of an old, historical part and a mode ...

in Istanbul.

References

External links

*
Uc Tarz-i Siyaset (Three Policies), Yusuf Akcura (1876-1935)

İlk düşünsel kaynaklar, Semih Gümüş, ''Radikal Newspaper'', November 2, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akcura, Yusuf 1876 births 1935 deaths People from Ulyanovsk Tatar people from the Russian Empire Turkish people of Tatar descent Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Istanbul Turkish-language writers Young Turks Pan-Turkists Turanists Turkish expatriates in France Ottoman Military Academy alumni Burials at Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery Turkish nationalists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Muslims from the Russian Empire

Biography

See also

References

External links