81 YEARS ON: STALIN’S DEPORTATION OF AHISKA TURKS REMEMBERED AS DIASPORA REBUILDS ACROSS TÜRKİYE, CENTRAL ASIA AND THE U.S.

Daily Sabah marks the Nov. 14, 1944 forced deportation of Ahıska (Meskhetian) Turks from Soviet Georgia under Stalin, describing rushed removals, transport in freight wagons, and an estimated 17,000 deaths. Survivors were dispersed across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan under strict controls, with later waves of displacement and discrimination. Turkish government initiatives and international resettlement, including 13,000 moved to the U.S. in 2004–05, have supported community rebuilding across Türkiye, Central Asia, Russia, Azerbaijan, and the U.S.