MOSCOW-ISTANBUL – As Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to make Turkish authorities “regret again and again” the downing of a Russian military jet on Nov. 24, it seems that ordinary Turkish people with ties to Russia are the ones bearing the brunt of Putin’s rage.
Russia’s new policy toward Turkish nationals was on full display at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Dec. 6, as migration officials denied entry to at least one Turkish citizen without any explanation. On Jan. 1, Russia’s visa-free regime with Turkey will be cancelled.
So, aside from Russia’s nearly two-year war against Ukraine, the Kremlin seems eager to pick a fight with another Black Sea neighbor.
Some Russian migration officials, eager to serve as cheerleaders for their government, seem to have taken it upon themselves to begin imposing sanctions ahead of schedule.
“No, we cannot grant you entry. Step away from the booth,” a female migration official working at Vnukovo’s passport control booth told a young Turkish man on Dec. 6.
A flight from Istanbul had just arrived at the airport, and many Turkish passengers stood back and watched in dismay as the first passenger was denied entry.
Onur, the young Turkish passenger turned away by migration officials, stepped back from the booth with a confused look on his face while his Russian girlfriend tried to intervene.
“Miss! Step up to the booth right now, it is your turn to go through passport control!” the migration official shouted at her.
“No, I’m with him. I will wait with him,” the young woman responded, while trying to comfort Onur.
Her comment was met with a scoff and a laugh by the female migration official, who said, “well, you’ll be waiting for an awfully long time then.”
Onur, who declined to disclose his surname for fear it would jeopardize further chances of getting into Russia, told the Kyiv Post he had frequently traveled to Moscow in the past with his girlfriend – and never before had he experienced such treatment.
“She talked to me as if I were some kind of criminal. I know that our countries are at odds now, but I didn’t think it would go this far,” he said, adding that he intended to stay in the airport and try to get some sort of explanation.
His girlfriend, Svetlana, was less optimistic. “This is bullshit. All because he is Turkish, as if that’s the only reason they need. I had heard of this happening to other people but I thought maybe it was being blown out of proportion. I guess not,” she said.
A group of Turkish passengers stood huddled at the back of the line in hesitation before asking Onur what had happened. Upon learning of his treatment, they wandered off in search of other passport control booths where they might have better luck.
While Onur and others on that flight seemed taken aback by this new reality, hostility toward Turkish citizens is quickly becoming the new norm in Russia after Turkey downed a Russian jet on Nov. 24, allegedly for violating its airspace – a claim Russia has denied.
Almost immediately after Putin lashed out at Turkish leadership in late November, accusing them of supporting terrorists, Russia’s state-run media began a hate campaign against all things Turkish – all while Putin reassured that most Turkish people are “decent and hard-working.”
TV anchor Dmitry Kiselyov, notorious for his homophobic views and boasting that Russia could turn the U.S. into “radioactive ash,” devoted nearly all his airtime last week to sending the message that all of Turkey is secretly supporting the Islamic State terrorist group. Russia’s health watchdog followed that example in its own particular way, branding Turkish food imports “unsanitary” and quickly banning them.
According to the Turkish Embassy in Moscow, this anti-Turkish campaign has led to widespread discrimination against Turkish citizens in Russia, with many being arbitrarily denied entry at airports, some being deported or facing random inspections at their work places, and others simply fleeing the country out of fear.
Orhan Galigil, the press advisor at the Turkish Embassy, was unavailable for comment on the matter on Dec. 7, but in earlier comments to the Russian press Galigil said almost 100 Turkish nationals had been refused entry to Russia in the first week after the international incident alone.
A request for comment sent to the Federal Migration Service was not immediately answered.
In Istanbul, Russia’s new attitude toward Turks has been met mostly with jokes.
“Well, the Ukrainians were Nazis, so I guess it only makes sense that we’re terrorists,” said Dogan Seker, a student.
“It’s just stupid. First it was Ukraine, now it’s us, but it’s all just politics. Normal people don’t buy into what the Russian leader is saying. And it’s the same for Turks; I know some Turkish people have become very hostile to Russians after hearing of the backlash in Russia, but I think most sane people realize that this is all just a political game and it really has nothing to do with us. Both presidents are acting stupid, ours and Russia’s,” he said.
