The 1968 Political Generation in Turkey: Memory and (Re)imagining of Icons from International Leftist Movements

Abstract This study examines the memory of Turkey’s 1968 political generation by exploring their perceptions of the international left, particularly focusing on influential icons or heroes of socialist movements. Through interviews with participants in the 1968 protests, the research reveals a predominant reverence for the Soviet icons, despite their acknowledged flaws. This idealization of Soviet figures aligns with a broader pattern in which collective memory in Turkey connects with global revolutionary narratives that emphasize universal ideals of revolutionary movements, solidarity, and social justice, independent of national contexts. However, in Turkey, these global narratives are often centered around the Soviet Union, which is framed as an “evil ideology” within official history. The study further explores how ideological divisions within the global left—such as between Soviet and Maoist communism—shaped local memory practices.