The Soviet territorial demands from Turkey: 1939-1946

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2010

Öğrenci: REMZİ ÖNER ÖZKAN

Danışman: OKTAY FIRAT TANRISEVER

Özet:

This thesis seeks to explore the Soviet territorial claims on Turkey during the period between 1939-1946. The main argument of this thesis is that the Soviet demands from Turkey during the World War II were expansionist in nature, as opposed to the view that they were defensive. The Soviet leadership formulated these demands before the German invasion of the Soviet territories when the Soviet Union did not have significant security concerns and maintained superiority during the war. This thesis is composed of six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction and the second chapter looks at the historical context of Turkish-Soviet relations. Chapter Three examines the Soviet demands for military bases and territorial concessions from Turkey immediately after the Second World War. The fourth chapter discusses planning of settling Armenians in Turkish territories. This chapter also examines the initial US response to the Soviet demands. Chapter Five analyzes the United States' adoption of a hard-line attitude towards the Soviet Union with respect to these demands and also how the US reaction led to the Soviet withdrawal of demands. The last chapter is the conclusion.