A video of National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief İbrahim Kalın singing the Plevna March spread online again on Sunday, drawing renewed attention. The footage shows Kalın, in a white shirt, sitting at a table and singing the march.
The recording is not new. It was filmed in Belgrade in October 2017, during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Serbia, when Kalın was serving as presidential spokesman. The video was first posted at the time on Hamza Yerlikaya's Instagram account and attracted attention.

A march of the Plevna defense

The Plevna March tells of the months-long resistance of Ottoman soldiers under the command of Gazi Osman Pasha at Plevna, in present-day Bulgaria, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Known for its lyric "The Danube says it will not flow," the march has been handed down from generation to generation and survives to this day.
Kalın's interest in music is also well known. In 2020, he performed a folk song in memory of the folk poet Âşık Veysel. Kalın, who served as presidential spokesman from 2014 to 2023, has headed MIT since June 2023.