The Vatan Partisi has deep ties to networks that support Russian disinformation campaigns and procurement efforts to aid the war in Ukraine.
Founded in 1992 as the Workers' Party (İşçi Partisi), it was rebranded as Vatan Partisi (Patriotic Party) in 2015. The party is known for its staunch anti-Western stance, and advocates for closer relations with Russia, China, and Iran, aligning itself with what it perceives as anti-imperialist forces.
Vatan Partisi is led by Doğu Perinçek, a vocal critic of NATO who has consistently advocated for closer ties between Türkiye and Russia. Perinçek supports Russian foreign policy, including controversial positions such as endorsing Russia’s annexation of Crimea. His association with sanctioned Russian propagandist Aleksandr Dugin dates back to the 1990s, according to a 2017 interview with Dugin republished by Vatan Partisi.
In a post on X, Perinçek celebrated Monday’s attack as “a challenge” to U.S. and Israeli government policies, and as a response to the recent death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
Foundation Connections
The party’s involvement in Russia’s disinformation efforts is evident by its financial backing of the Gorev Foundation, a Turkish organization that controls United World International (UWI), an Istanbul-based media outlet sanctioned by the United States for its role in Russia’s propaganda machine. Until her death in 2022, UWI’s chief editor was Darya Dugin, the daughter of Alexander Dugin.
U.S. Sanctions Against Aleksandr Dugin and United World International:
• Dugin was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2015 and later by the European Union in 2022 for his involvement with Russian nationalist and separatist movements that supported the annexation of Crimea, as well as for his influential role in promoting ideologies aligned with Russian expansionism.
• UWI was sanctioned in March 2022 as part of a broader package aimed at countering Russian disinformation efforts following the invasion of Ukraine.
Mehmet Akrifat, a senior international relations official within Vatan Partisi, is also involved in these efforts. He serves as an "expert" for UWI and is a director at Pergamon Ilac Ve Dogal Urunler Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS, a Turkish trading company partially owned by the Gorev Foundation.
Additionally, Mustafa Cankat Aytek, another director of Pergamon, was sanctioned by the U.S. in December for being a senior executive of a company that “has supplied Russia-based companies with shipments of common high-priority electronic components,” according to the U.S. Department of State.
Aytek also co-owns a second trading company with the Vatan Partisi-financed Gorev Foundation.
As the U.S., EU, and other governments intensify their efforts to combat Russia's sanctions evasion, networks like those involving Vatan Partisi have come under increased scrutiny. The party’s connections to Russian procurement agents underscore a broader network of exporters and facilitators that play a crucial role in supplying Russia’s military-industrial base.
