World history has seen many great leaders. Napoleon, Tsar Ivan of Russia, Frederick the German monarch, Mehmet the Conqueror, and many more. All of these leaders, in one way or another, have influenced both the world and their countries. Some of them won great wars; others became famous for domestic issues. Some have ruled their people ruthlessly; some have shown the greatest examples of dictatorship, while others have worked day and night to lead their people and their country forward. In this article, we will talk about a leader who fought for his people until the last drop of his blood and worked day and night in every field: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who closed an era and opened a new one for Turks.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The Turkish nation knows Atatürk’s life and the revolutions in outline. We all know when he lived and roughly what he did. But to give a brief summary, Atatürk played an active role in the Gallipoli War as one of the men who saved the Ottoman Empire from early defeat and then led the Turkish nation out of the difficult situation it was in with the War of Independence and then the Lausanne Peace Treaty. The details of these parts are, of course, the subject of another article.

In this article, we aim to touch upon the legacy Atatürk wanted to leave us and to show how he approached events. Many claims have been made about Atatürk, and many stories have been told. Some describe him as a non-believer; others, as a religious leader. Some say he was a leftist; others, a rightist. So, which of these is Atatürk?

Which Atatürk?

Books have been written to answer this, or at least to show the reasons for these claims. Among these, perhaps the most detailed account of Atatürk and his decisions that could be considered “contradictory” is “Which Atatürk” by Atilla İlhan. So why are some of Atatürk’s decisions thought to be “contradictory”? And are they really so?

This attitude, which may seem contradictory at first glance, is actually the product of a well-intentioned intelligence. Let’s elaborate on this a little more. Atatürk can be read as a very socialist and leftist leader based on his correspondence with the Russians during the War of Independence. In his correspondence with the Russians, he frequently referred to Marx and his values, emphasizing that the new state he would establish would be a socialist state. By giving the message that the Turkish state he would potentially establish would get along well with Soviet Russia, Atatürk showed Lenin’s Russia, which was suffering from diplomatic isolation, that he was a potential ally. Atatürk, who portrayed a socialist image to Russia on the outside, presented a highly nationalist image on the inside. While he talked about establishing a Soviet-like Turkey with the Russians, in domestic politics, he often talked about the Ottoman heritage and the importance of being Turkish.

In such balances, depending on which text you read or whose story you listen to, your view of Atatürk may change. When you analyze each story individually, it may show you a socialist man, a nationalist leader, an atheist or a devout Muslim. All these different perspectives are in fact the result of his efforts to convince the world of his cause by showing the flexibility required by the times and the situation, and his moves to gain the support he would use to clear foreign powers. Therefore, when you read them one by one, these texts may seem “contradictory” to you.

Atatürk’s Purpose

When you put all these texts and stories together, you can look at the big picture and see Atatürk’s purpose. It was to establish the Republic of Turkey, for which he would always strive. As a leader surrounded on all sides by the British, French, Greeks, and, to some extent, Italians, his closeness with the Russians was one of the most logical ways to provide both money and arms to a resistance that had no money. The result, of course, was not a Soviet Turkey. In the face of this situation, some Russians might say things like “promises were broken” or “he did not do what he said he would do”, but to get carried away with this point of view would be to evaluate the event from only one side. In this whole story, Atatürk was only concerned with the future of the Turkish state to be established.

Later on, he had many goals in Turkey, which he succeeded in establishing with his astute mind. We all know his revolutions by their names, but few of us have looked at the meaning of these revolutions or principles.

Just as Atatürk freed the Ottoman Empire from the capitulations that had left it in economic difficulties after the war, he prioritized production in the newly established Turkey and opened factories with non-existent means and aimed to start domestic production. In addition, he abolished the Ashar tax, which was known as the Ashar tax, which took almost all the production of the farmer in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire and gave it to the Ottoman State, which was going through difficult economic times, thus creating great pressure on the farmer. By abolishing this tax, Atatürk relieved the farmers who were already suffering from hard times.

“I send you as a spark, you must return as flames.”

He was so committed to science that he sent students abroad to get a good education at a time when he needed young people the most. In this way, the young people who went as sparks returned as flames. He took the phrase “peace at home, peace in the world ” so seriously that after a blood-for-blood struggle in the War of Independence, relations with Greece became better than ever. The reason for this is that Atatürk, after clearing Anatolia of the enemy, sought peace instead of making a move to take his hometown of Thessaloniki. The most important fact to know about Atatürk here is that he did not act for his own sake and was completely devoted to the good of the Turkish nation. While pursuing peace, he carefully constructed all the treaty processes without compromising his quest for independence.

Throughout his life, he tried many times to introduce a multi-party regime as a necessity of democracy, but these attempts ended with the fear of a bigger blow to democracy. As mentioned earlier, when we read the individual stories, there are issues where we can find faults and criticize Atatürk. The problems he had with İsmet İnönü, the end of the multi-party regime, and many other events… However, when we look at all these events from the outside, we will see a man who walked in line with a single purpose and was free from contradictions. He pursued a future-oriented policy in every step he took and every goal he set.

Atatürk was extremely peaceful in his dealings with the world. Many aggressive powers, including Hitler and Mussolini, got along well with Atatürk and Turkey. Ataturk was also sensitive in his relations with the outside world and sought to establish good relations with the United States by opening some of the first schools in Turkey as American Schools. Ataturk was already in close communication with US President Roosevelt, because he believed that without close communication with the world, the world war he had seen the first of would continue, and it did. A war in which many more people would die young when Atatürk was dying was fought precisely for the reasons that Atatürk had foreseen.

“How happy is the one who says I am a Turk!”

Atatürk showed his farsightedness not only in the Gallipoli War. He took a series of steps that many countries would only begin to follow 20 years later. He adopted a nationalist but not fascist policy. He established a regime in which calling oneself a “Turk” was not a matter of blood but of belonging. He did not see any blood, color, or gender in the word “I am a Turk” in our oath. It is suggested that everyone living in this homeland should feel the same belonging. He was hostile to only one group, and that was those who wanted to touch the republic and democracy. After all, while everyone wanted him to be the sultan and have superior rights to everyone else, Atatürk valued human beings and embraced the republic, which would put him on an equal footing with everyone else.

While before him the sultan was the owner of everyone, Atatürk emphasized to his people that they were all individuals and that each one of them was important. While he emphasized property ownership, he saw the problems of complete privatization and prioritized statism. He recognized women as individuals, something that had almost never been done before him. By giving women the right to vote and be elected, he gave them the opportunity to determine and even become rulers. Some of what we today call the most modern countries in Europe recognized and accepted these rights after Atatürk.

He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the president of Greece, a country we fought with bayonets only 15 years ago, for managing to be balanced in almost every issue. Atatürk’s perseverance and intelligence were appreciated by many statesmen, such as Lloyd George, the former British President, who said that Atatürk was a genius who came to the world once every 100 years.

The Republic of Turkey celebrated its 100th anniversary in line with the steps taken by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for secularism, equality, justice, peace, and independence.

Unfortunately, this great leader passed away 85 years ago today. He left behind a nation that admired him and a republic that is now entering its second century with millions of people walking on the path he paved.

References and Further Reading

Jones, J. Graham, “The Lloyd George War Memoirs”, Cercles 21, http://www.cercles.com/n21/jones.pdf

Ortaylı, İlber, Near History’s Realities, Istanbul, 2012.

Atam. (2021, February 17). Lausanne Peace Treaty – Atatürk Encyclopedia. Atatürk Encyclopedia. https://ataturkansiklopedisi.gov.tr/bilgi/lozan-baris-antlasmasi/

32.Gün. (2021, October 28). Which Atatürk? [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh5bmzBM49A

İlhan, Attila, Which Atatürk, Istanbul, 2008

İlgazi, A. “An Unknown Letter of Atatürk”. Journal of Atatürk Research Center 17 (2001 ): 81-89