countries, many Ingush were recorded under the ethnonym Circassians. The first scientific and ethnographic studies of the Ingush diaspora in Turkey and the countries of the Middle East were carried out in the 1990s by the Ingush philologist, Turkologist and journalist M. A. Yalkharoeva. In 2014, the "Days of Culture of the Republic of Ingushetia in the Republic of Turkey" were held in Turkey. Representatives of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Istanbul, the Government of the Republic of Ingushetia and the Ingush diaspora in Turkey took part in the joint Ingush-Turkish cultural project. In 2017, with the participation of the Ingush diaspora, Turkey and Ingushetia signed a number of agreements on economic cooperation. Diaspora representatives Salih Polatkan (Khamatkhanov) - army general, military attache in Yugoslavia (1950-1952); Salim Polotkan (Khamatkhanov) - Turkish officer, athlete, champion of Central Europe, participant in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin; Suleiman Sirr Koydemir (Beshtoev) - Turkish statesman, first mayor of Beysehir; Hasan-Basri Gekkaya (Bekov) - Turkish journalist, editor-in-chief of the Meram newspaper; Ekrem Gekkaya (Bekov) - Turkish film actor; Maksharif Beshtav (Akhriev) - Doctor of Historical Sciences; Atila Tachoi (Tochiev) - Doctor of Medical Sciences; Ferdi Aydamir (Tumgoev) is a Turkish writer. Mekki Sharif Bashtav (tur. Mekki Sherif Bashtav, Ingush. Beshtoy Maksherif) (born 1913, in Beyshehir, Konya province, Turkey - died in 2010, Turkey) - Ingush and Turkish writer, medieval historian and Turkologist. As well as a number of representatives of the Ingush diaspora who became heroes of Turkey and were awarded the Turkish Istiklal Medal (“Medal of Independence” or “Medal of Freedom”, tour. İstiklal Madalyası), including Mehmet Ketey (Magomed Kotiev), Abdul-Mezhid Koydemir (Beshtoev), Ismail Tashkoy (Torshkhoev) and others. One of those presented for the award, Osman Timurziev, refused the medal due to the difficult economic situation in Turkey (the medal was made of pure gold). See also Ingush diaspora Ingushes in Europe Ingushes in Syria Ingushes in Jordan References Bibliography