The Faculty of Oriental Studies of Yerevan State University (YSU) together with Saint Petersburg State University, Moscow State University and Leipzig University is organizing an international conference entitled “The 1925 Soviet-Turkish Treaty and the Armenian Factor: A Look 100 Years Later,” which will take place on November 20-21, 2025, in Yerevan.
The Soviet-Turkish Treaty “On Friendship and Neutrality,” signed in Paris on December 17, 1925, can be considered one of the last episodes of the “contractual phase” of the geopolitical transformations of the 20th century. It outlined the nature and main framework of legal and contractual relations between the USSR and Republican Turkey. After the signing of that treaty, Soviet-Turkish relations went through ups and downs, with positive, normal, competitive, and semi-war periods of relations. Throughout this entire period, Armenia and Armenians have been an integral part of the agenda of these relations of a geopolitical nature.
In the context of the geopolitical realignments taking place after the collapse of the USSR, the nature of the relations between Russia and Turkey has both similarities, parallels, and continuities, as well as distinctive features, with the 1920s and subsequent periods. Therefore, from the point of view of revealing and understanding modern Russian-Turkish relations, it becomes extremely important to once again address the historical events of Soviet-Turkish relations. In this context, it is important for the academic community to reinterpret and address, one hundred years later, the 1925 Soviet-Turkish Treaty, the preceding and succeeding geopolitical context and key processes, the significance of the treaty and subsequent geopolitical processes, as well as their connection with the current developments.
During the conference, the main focus will be on the following topics (other topics and questions are also encouraged):
The 1925 Soviet-Turkish Treaty: solved and unsolved problems
Situational or strategic document?
The “West” and the 1925 Soviet-Turkish Treaty
Reassessment of the 1945-1960 crisis in Soviet-Turkish relations
Soviet-Turkish relations during the Cold War and the role of the 1925 Treaty
The Armenian Question: Soviet Armenia in Soviet-Turkish relations
Soviet-Turkish ideological, linguistic, and cultural relations
The legacy of Soviet-Turkish relations in modern Russian-Turkish relations
Language of the conference: Armenian, English, Russia.
Deadlines for abstracts is September 21st, 2025. Abstracts should be 500-600 words long. Please send your abstracts to orientalconference@ysu.am along with your personal details (name, surname, academic institution, email address and phone number).
Organizing Committee:
Ruben Melkonyan (Yerevan State University, Armenia)
Varuzhan Geghamyan (Yerevan State University, Armenia)
Ruben Safrastyan (RA National Academy of Sciences, Armenia)
Levon Hovsepyan (RA National Academy of Sciences, Armenia)
Vahram Ter-Matevosyan (American University of Armenia, Armenia)
Mikhail Piotrovsky (Saint Petersburg State University, Russia)
Aleksandra Zheveleva (Saint Petersburg State University, Russia)
Alexey Muraviev (Moscow State University, Russia)
Pavel Shlykov (Moscow State University, Russia)
Sebastian Maisel (Leipzig University, Germany)
