Yalçın Küçük, a sociologist and author known for his Kemalist-socialist views, died today, at age 87 after a period of health issues.
His early work included roles at the State Planning Organization and Middle East Technical University starting in 1966, where he wrote for leftist publications like Yön, Emek, and Ant advocating socialist revolution.
Küçük advanced to docent in 1971 but was dismissed after the 1971 coup; he later managed Cumhuriyet newspaper's economics section from 1973-1976 and participated in the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) revival.
He served as a reserve officer in the 1974 Cyprus war.
Post-1980 coup, he taught at Ankara and Gazi Universities until retirement in 1994, while editing socialist outlets like Yürüyüş, Sosyalist İktidar, Toplumsal Kurtuluş, and Hep İleri. In 1993, he interviewed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, later serving two years for related propaganda charges.
Küçük authored dozens of books on Ottoman history, Soviet economics, crypto-Judaism in Turkey, and critiques of modern politics, including multi-volume series like Türkiye Üzerine Tezler (Theses on Turkey) and Kürtler Üzerine Tezler (Theses on Kurds). His works often explored Marxist perspectives and conspiracy theories.
In the Ergenekon trials, he was arrested multiple times (2009, 2011) and sentenced to 22.5 years in 2013 for alleged leadership in the "Ergenekon" organization, but released in 2014 after exceeding detention limits.
Küçük was born on July 1, 1938, in İskenderun, Turkey. He graduated first in his class from Ankara University's Faculty of Political Sciences in 1960 and became active in student movements, including Fikir Kulüpleri Federasyonu. (VK)
