Turks in the former Soviet Union
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Turks in the former Soviet Union were a relatively small minority within the Soviet Union when excluding Turks of Azerbaijan, Oguz Turks and other Turkish groups. However, their presence is considered important within Turkology due to the deportation of thousands of Turks from their home countries.[citation needed] Under the Ottoman Empire, Samtskhe-Javakheti was heavily Islamised producing a Turkish ethnicity within the southwestern region of Georgia. In November 1944, up to 120,000 of these Turks were deported to Central Asia under the rule of Joseph Stalin.