Ahiska, located on the Türkiye-Georgia border, was ceded to Russia after the 1828-1829 Ottoman-Russian War through a treaty.
Ahiska came under the rule of the Russian Empire. The oppression and persecution of the Ahiska Turks continued during the Soviet Union (USSR) period, which had started during the Russian Empire era.
Especially during the Stalin era, these oppressions increased gradually.
The leading intellectuals of the Ahiska Turks were either arrested and killed or deported under various pretexts.
The Turks' surnames were changed, and thousands of soldiers were deployed to Ahiska and its surroundings under the pretext of "border protection."
Upon receiving news that came suddenly one night under Stalin's orders, the Ahiska Turks, who were forced to leave their homeland where they were born and raised, were packed into animal wagons called the "death trains" and embarked on an unknown journey.
Numbering 86,000, the Turks were exiled from Ahiska to various regions of Central Asia.
The arduous journey of the Ahiska Turks, piled on top of each other in the wagons, lasted for over a month. During the journey, approximately 17,000 people lost their lives due to hunger, cold, and disease.
A rule was established that they must not leave their places without permission. Ahiska Turks who violated this rule were punished by being sent to Siberia for 25 years of exile along with their relatives.
Nearly 650,000 Ahiska Turks are living around the world, longing for their homeland. The Ahiska Turks are the only group among the Caucasus peoples deported in 1944 who have not been able to return to their homeland in any way.
When Georgia was admitted to the Council of Europe, it committed to resettling the Ahiska Turks in their homeland, but so far, these promises have not been fulfilled, partly due to opposition reactions.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Türkiye was the first country to recognize the independence declarations of the republics in Central Asia in 1991.
The Ahiska Turks living in Central Asia have also begun to visit Anatolian lands, which they have known as their homeland for 162 years, thanks to the independence of their country.
