Nevruz and the Grey Wolf: from one revisionism to another

The subject of this article is problematic historical revisionism in the context of (pan)turkism. This ideology experienced a renaissance in the 1990s with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of five Turkic-speaking republics: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. In Turkey, (pan)Turkist activists and intellectuals, generally from the far right, advocate for a union with Turkish speaking states and peoples, while opposing the country’s non-Turkish-speaking minorities. What is problematic historical revisionism? We will consider several criteria for defining this concept, focusing on two case studies. The appropriation by the Turkish far right of the Nevruz festival, which has symbolized Kurdish autonomist demands since the 1980s, can be seen as an attempt at historical revisionism. On the other hand, the way in which European media deals with the Turkish far right, lumping together different groups under the label of the grey wolves, is also problematic and can resemble revisionism. This article is based on the analysis of various documentary sources such as activity reports from transnational cooperation organizations, books by Turkish far-right authors, a French legal decree and press articles.