Türk-Sovyet Kültürel İlişkilerinde Muhsin Ertuğrul
Muhsin Ertugrul in Turk-Soviet Cultural Relations

Summary/Abstract: Political, military, economic and cultural relations were well established between Turkey and Soviet Russia, which allied against Western European countries like Britain, France, and Italy in the 1920s. Turkish-Soviet cultural relations carried out by the Soviet organization VOKS continued intensively until the beginning of World War II. Moreover, artist exchanges, concerts, and exhibitions in areas such cinema, theater, music and painting frequently took place. Turkish playwright and actor Muhsin Ertugrul visited the Soviet Union during that period, observed its art scene, filmed there, and worked with important Soviet artists such as Stanislavski, Meyerhold, and Eisenstein. Upon returning to Turkey, he staged Russian classics such Gogol’s Marriage, The Government Inspector, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Dostovevski’s The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov, and Crime and Punishment. Even though Ertuğrul’s artistic endeavors were sometimes criticized in Turkey for their instilling communism, he rejected these claims, to which he refuted the Soviet art was of the highest level of quality. Moreover, it was through him and his experiences that Soviet art ultimately a key role in shaping the evolution of Turkish cinema and theater.

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