On the Genesis and Authorship of the Newspaper “Millet” (1917–1920): Identifying Lesser-Known Contributors

This study offers a comprehensive historical and functional analysis of the newspaper “Millet” (“The Nation”), the official organ of the First Crimean Tatar Kurultai, situating it within the broader context of the Crimean Tatar national-democratic movement of the early 20th century. It particularly emphasizes its pivotal role as a catalyst for national identity formation and as a crucial platform for articulating and advancing the principles of self-determination amid the profound revolutionary upheavals in Crimea. A core component of this research involves the biographical reconstruction and in-depth intellectual assessment of “Millet”’s less-examined contributors, including Ya. Bayburtlı, I. Akki, F. Altug, A. Abiyev, E. Feyzi, M. Kurti, M. İlmi, Ya. Kermenchikli, M. Rifatov, K. Cemaleddinov, S. Esadov, S. Turupchi, A. Shukri, S. Shemi, I. Kalaiji, B. Kabajanov, among others. Their multifaceted journalistic, educational, and cultural endeavors spanned a wide spectrum of issues, from socio-political and economic discussions to educational and social reforms, encompassing women’s emancipation and linguistic standardization. This collective output underscores their definitive contribution to the national revival. This study also foregrounds the tragic destinies of many of these figures, who subsequently succumbed to the political repressions of the 1920s and 1930s. The methodological underpinning of this investigation rests upon the meticulous examination of extensive archival holdings. This investigation drew primary sources from the newspaper collections of the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea (SARC), the V. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, alongside significant international repositories, notably Keio University and the Berlin State Library. This research not only integrates but also substantially augments the seminal works of leading scholars in Crimean Tatar print history, literature, linguistics, education, and culture, by introducing previously unexamined archival data into scholarly discourse. The emergent findings significantly enrich the historiography of the Crimean Tatar national-democratic movement, offering a more profound appreciation of the national press’s indispensable role as a key engine of intellectual and cultural resurgence. Ultimately, this work illuminates new avenues for future inquiry into the historical memory of the Crimean Tatar intelligentsia and their enduring impact on national culture.