The Tanin (1922-1925)

Abstract

Tanin is one of the leading papers in the Turkish press history of the 20th century. It was published in three separate periods: 1908-1914, 1922-1925 and 1943-1947. Those years of publishing are important milestones of our history. Next distinctiveness of Tanin comes from the fact that it was issued each period by the same editor. This editor was Hüseyin Cahit (Yalçın), a well- known writer and politician. Hüseyin Cahit (Yalçın), who remained as a journalist for his lifetime (1957) since 1908, made his mark as a prolific, feisty journalist. He occasionally conflicted with the political power of the day and was tried by the Independence Courts (İstiklal Mahkemeleri) as a journalist. Putting aside the differences over the continuation of the Caliphate, Hüseyin Cahit was not at variance with the political power in terms of future foresight. During the building years of the Republic, Tanin and a part of Istanbul press criticized intemperately at times, regardless of the delicacy of the situation. Both Tanin and other opponent part of Istanbul press feared of Mustafa Kemal Pasha to head for dictatorship. Hüseyin Cahit's closeness to the leading figures among ex-Unionists caused the government to be suspicious about him, standing aloof from him and his paper, Tanin as well. In this article, second publication period (1922-1925) of the newspaper Tanin is depicted and also discussed in terms of its approach to political developments of the day -especially the declaration of the Republic and resolution of the removal of the Caliphate- and its relationship with the political power.