Sergey KHAMDOKHOV, our sobkor in Turkey

"We don't need a Turkish coast... "The words from the popular Soviet song of the late 1940s" Migratory birds are flying " took on the opposite meaning for thousands of Russian citizens, for whom Turkey, due to various circumstances of the last 20 years, has become a second homeland.

Turkey Keywords:, Russia, compatriots, Ankara. Association of Russian Culture

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and with the increasing flow of international tourism, Russians learned that the southern neighbor has many tourist attractions, sandy beaches and comfortable hotels, and that high - quality and inexpensive consumer goods are produced here.

In turn, Turkish entrepreneurs, students, and construction workers discovered a new Russia. As a result of this "acquaintance" of two cultures and traditions (despite the fact that the history of relations between our countries lasts for many centuries), many mixed marriages have appeared. According to unofficial data, currently there are about 100 thousand Russians living in the Republic of Turkey, 90% of them are our compatriots who married Turkish citizens.

Since the mid-1990s, the immigration of Russian citizens to Turkey has increased, but there was no need to talk about the formation of a diaspora there at that time. After all, the diaspora implies the existence of an ethnic community outside the Homeland, which forms stable ethnic groups in the country of residence, preserves the main characteristics of the national identity of its people, its culture and language.

The situation began to change dramatically in the early 2000s, when the leadership of the Russian Federation began to attach great importance to providing support to compatriots living abroad. The new state policy has also affected the fate of Russians in Turkey.

In 2004, the Association of Russian Culture (ARC) was founded in Ankara. In 2005, the Russian Society for Education, Cultural and Business Cooperation was registered in Istanbul. In the same year, the Russian Society of Antalya, officially registered in 2010, started functioning in Antalya province. In 2009, the Solzhenitsyn Society for the Study of Russian Language and Literature was founded in Izmir, and the Association of Russian Culture and Education was founded in Alanya. These public organizations carry out their activities with the active assistance of the Russian Embassy in Turkey and the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo*.

In May 2007, the founding conference of organizations of Russian compatriots in Turkey was held in Ankara, where the Coordinating Council of Compatriots (CCC) was established. The main goals of creating this public organization are the implementation of joint tasks of the organizations participating in the KCC, coordination of their activities, and representation of the interests of our compatriots and participating organizations.-

* Federal Agency for SIG Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo).

KCC's nicknames to government and public organizations in Russia and Turkey.

The tasks of the CCC include information and legal support for our compatriots in Turkey, protecting their interests in the process of social adaptation and integration in the country of residence. The Council is also engaged in the preservation and development of the Russian language, providing comprehensive support to educational structures (schools, Russian language courses) and children's educational institutions (kindergartens, art studios, music and dance folklore groups). Other important tasks of the KCC are to promote cultural and business cooperation between Russia and Turkey, as well as support youth associations of our compatriots in this country.

Currently, there are also three societies of Russian compatriots who are not members of the KCC in Istanbul, two in Antalya and one in Alanya. Work is underway to create a similar structure in Mersin province, where Russian specialists have begun preparations for the construction of Turkey's first Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

One of the most active organizations of our compatriots is the Association of Russian Culture in the Turkish capital, where, according to unofficial data, about 5 thousand Russian-speaking citizens live. Experienced teachers of the Association conduct Russian language courses for adults and children of different ages. In the ARC there are art and music schools, vocal and stage art courses, and educational courses for children from 3 years old. There is a library with a large collection of fiction, children's, scientific literature, encyclopedias and dictionaries.

The ARC is headed by Larisa Lutkova Turkkan, concurrently-the chairman of the KCC. Her biography is typical of many Russian women who, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, ended up in Turkey by the will of fate. Larisa was born in Poland, in the family of a Soviet officer, studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Alma-Ata, worked as a part-time translator. The future Turkish husband worked in a construction company. So they met, met for three years, and in 1997 entered into an official marriage in Ankara. Parents initially resisted, but then came to terms with the choice of their daughter.

In the first year of life in a foreign country, Larisa had a hard time - ignorance of the local language, foreign culture and traditions, other people. But over time, she developed friends and hobbies. Larisa mastered the Turkish language and became active in public life. Married to her Turkish husband for 16 years, she has two children who speak both Russian and Turkish well.

As L. Lutkova Turkkan told the author, it is rather difficult for our compatriots to adapt to the living conditions in Turkey. They often face domestic difficulties, legal and social issues. Most of them try to instill Russian culture and traditions in their children from mixed marriages, but there are not enough books in Russian and educational materials. Therefore, one of the tasks of the ARC is to create conditions for the painless adaptation and integration into Turkish society of Russians and Russian-speaking CIS citizens who have come to Turkey for permanent residence, as well as to support and develop the "Russian principle" in children from mixed marriages.

For this purpose, the Association regularly holds various cultural and educational events. For example, in 2009, Ankara State University hosted a conference dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the great Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. It was attended by the director of the Museum-Apartment of N. V. Gogol in Moscow, V. Vikulova, who presented during her speech unique materials about the life and work of the writer, as well as materials about the creation of his museum in the Russian capital.

In 2010 The Association of Russian Culture received a grant for two years under the European Grundtvig program (permanent adult education program). With her support, the international seminar "Russian Cultural Heritage in Turkey" was held in the Turkish capital in 2012.

In 2011, with the support of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the ARC held an international seminar on "New pedagogical Trends and methods of teaching Russian as a Foreign Language"in Ankara. The event was attended by teachers of the Russian language at Turkish universities and teachers ' training centers.-

gogs of public organizations that are members of the Coordination Council.

Children who study at the Russian language courses at the Association, as well as all interested compatriots, take part in the annual international children's drawing contest "Nevsky Rainbow", following which an exhibition is being held in St. Petersburg in the Mikhailovsky Castle of the State Russian Museum.

The Association actively participates in organizing and holding various cultural events of urban significance: New Year's holidays in cooperation with the Russian school at the Embassy of the Russian Federation, literary events for Turkish children studying Russian in Ankara colleges. The Turkish authorities provide partial financial assistance in organizing such events and provide facilities for their holding.

One of the main tasks of our compatriots ' organizations is to provide professional legal support to Russian citizens living in the Republic of Turkey, inform them about the legal system of Turkey, as well as about the rights and obligations of Russian compatriots.

The first step in providing such assistance was to hold the first Conference on topical issues of legal support for our compatriots in Turkey in Ankara in December 2012. It was attended by "Ankara" Russians, employees of the Russian Embassy and Rossotrudnichestvo, Russian and Turkish lawyers, psychologists, representatives of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies of the Turkish capital.

Reports on the following topics were read out at the conference: "The property regime of spouses", "The Law of Turkey" On Protection of Women and Families against violence", "Problems arising in obtaining a residence permit and Turkish citizenship", "Marriage and divorce with Turkish citizens, international legal norms and obligations arising in this regard", " Legalization of decisions of the Turkish court in the Russian Federation", "Divorce and child custody", as well as "The impact of divorce on the child's psyche".

As a result of the event, the participants unanimously adopted a resolution, which, in particular, outlined plans to improve information work in the field of legal protection of Russian compatriots in Turkey. It was decided to develop and publish methodological materials and recommendations on the protection of our citizens in the Republic of Turkey, to interest local and Russian media in more extensive coverage of the problems of legal support for compatriots in Turkey.

According to L. Lutkova Turkkan, for more effective legal protection of our compatriots in Turkey and abroad in general, it is necessary to develop an appropriate international regulatory framework. In addition, it is necessary to develop a specific mechanism for providing legal assistance, which will be supported financially and provided by professionals. "To solve these problems," Larisa told me, " AR K is developing a project of a law center in Ankara, whose activities, as we expect, will contribute to a more professional protection of the rights of our compatriots in Turkey."

In conclusion, I would like to quote Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's statement during his official visit to Moscow in January 2012. Having positively assessed the potential of Russian-Turkish relations, he stated that an increase in the number of mixed marriages is important for their development: "I am in favor of increasing the number of Russian brides in Turkey. Turkish family culture is very similar to Russian, so Russian brides are very suitable for Turkish families." He said that this opinion is shared by his wife, who treats many Russian patients, and cited the example of his adviser who married a Russian: "This is a very good example, and they are happily married."*

Taking into account the positive approach of the Turkish leadership to mixed marriages between citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, as well as actively developing contacts between our countries at various levels, we can assume that there will be no less work for organizations of Russian compatriots in Turkey in the near future.

* Davutoflu: Rus gelinlerin sayisi artsin // Haberrus.com (27.01.2012) - http://haber-rus.com/blog/fikret-bila/2012/01/27/davutoglu-rus-gelinlerin-sayisi-artsin.html

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