Turkey Trot

If 2014 and 2015 were the years of Ukraine, when endless Russian television coverage and government rhetoric was dedicated to that neighbor’s economy, diplomacy, and elections, 2016 is shaping up to be about another of Russia’s Black Sea neighbors: Turkey.

After the Turkish air force shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian-Turkish border, Russia’s leadership, followed in lock-step by the well-oiled state media machine, has lashed out at Turkey’s decision and demonized it as a treacherous state sponsor of terrorism.

Inside Russia, Turks were surprised by a wave of deportations, raids and detentions from security services and migration authorities.