Turkey TV channel plays Soviet Union anthem in broadcast for iftar timings

A mainstream Turkish television channel broadcast the timings for breaking fast throughout the country this week, but played the anthem of the former Soviet Union in the background.

As is usual for many channels in Muslim-majority countries during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Habertürk news channel broadcasts its bulletin of iftar timings – breaking fast at sunset – for different cities throughout the country.

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The peculiarity about this broadcast, however, was that it played the anthem of the Soviet Union in the background, alerting viewers and sparking a number of social media reactions.

One such social media user, the journalist, Berkant Gültekin, posted the video of the broadcast on Twitter and stated that “Habertürk is broadcasting the iftar times with the Soviet Union anthem again. It was like this last year, too. It is like a summary of ideological clashes in the country.”

Habertürk iftar saatlerini yine Sovyetler Birliği marşıyla veriyor. Geçen yıl da böyleydi. Memleketteki ideoloji karmaşasının özeti gibi… pic.twitter.com/IGxOujTEk6

— Berkant Gültekin (@GultekinBerkant) April 4, 2022