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Meskhetian Turks
Turks of the Akhaltsikhe (Samtskhe-Javakheti) region of Georgia. Deported to Central Asia in 1944, they now live scattered across dozens of countries.
Meskhetian Turks are a Turkic people of the Oghuz branch. Their historic homeland is the Akhaltsikhe area and its surroundings in south-western Georgia. Their language is close to the eastern dialects of Turkish.
On 15 November 1944 the Meskhetian Turks were deported en masse to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Denied the right to return home, they now live in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan and the United States. Censuses often count them simply as "Turks".
Updated: September 28, 2026