The Intellectual Analysis of Azerbaijani National Project in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century (original) (raw)
Related papers
Nation-Building in Southern Caucasus: The Case of Azerbaijan (1900-1920)
Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies, 2019
This article deals with the specificities of Azerbaijani nation-building between 1900 and 1920. To do this, first it explores the rise of nationalism and the main theoretical approaches trying to illuminate this process. Secondly, it investigates the scholarship about the Azerbaijani national movement in the beginning of the XXth century using first and second hand sources. It shows that, backed by the wealthy classes, the Azerbaijanis first looked for the recognition of their particularity in a colonial context to protect their rights and culture and that gradually the movement evolved from a rights-based reformism founded on religious identity to a secular political movement of national autonomy and independence. The article defends also that the success and popularity of the movement was due to its leaders' rich intellectual formation and political experience which enabled them to formulate a strong ideology rooted in the national identity, conditioned by regional political facts and a realistic understanding of western civilization including its modern political institutions.
Kaspy Universite, 2023
An important place in the article is the analysis of the main development paths and the main characteristics of the National Liberation Movement of the people of Azerbaijan. has caught Religious-philosophical (idealist), atheist-Marxist to solve the historical and political problems of this era. (material) education, including education, national democracy and social democracy The essence of political-ideological, social-philological aspects has been studied. The article shows that until the Russian Revolution (1905) and during the years of the revolution, the city of North Azerbaijan It became complex and contradictory as it became ideological and ideological. At the beginning of the last century, especially after the first Russian revolution (1905) in Northern Azerbaijan In the political and ideological life of the Turkish people, they mainly work in three areas: 1) National maa Romanticism (realists, romantics), 2) Nationaldemocratic (Islamic, Turkish, Modernity etc.), 3) Social democracy or Marxism (national revolutionaries, Menshevism, bolshevism, socialist revolutionaries). The author shows that although all three directions played a unique role in the National Liberation Movement of Azerbaijan, national democrats played the main role here. At the same time, the article analyzed the conditions and conditions under which the Republic of Azerbaijan exists, and the factors that put an end to its existence.
Institution Building and Research under Foreign Domination Europe and the Black Sea Region (early 19th – early 20th centuries), 2019
In this article the author made an attempt to analyze the beginning of the architectonic changes in the socio-cultural sphere, caused by the inclusion of Azerbaijan in the beginning of the 19th century into the Russian Empire. A thorough analysis of the essential foundations of the Azerbaijani Enlightenment is given. Firstly, this phenomenon appears as an ideological trend in Azerbaijani public thought, peculiarly reflecting qualitative social changes in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These changes can be designated as the beginning of process of transforming a traditional society into a modern society. Secondly, somewhere in the 30-40s of the 19th century, shifts in the worldview sphere are gradually emerging.
Secular nationalist revolution and the construction of the Azerbaijani identity, nation and state
Nations and Nationalism, 2020
This article traces the emergence and development of Azerbaijani nationalism, identity and the establishment of an independent nation-state, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first Muslim democracy in 1918. Before, the Azerbaijani Turks had lacked a distinct national identity and had been called "Caucasian Muslims" or "Tatars." This study addresses what actors and processes played roles in the construction of the "Azerbaijani" nation and identity and in the establishment of the new nation-state. This article, from a constructivist perspective, argues that the key factor behind this emergence was the secular nationalist revolution of the Azerbaijani nationalist elite. While agreeing with Benedict Anderson on the "imagined" nature of nations, about the links between secularization and nationalism, and about the print media's role in the nationalist imagining, this study departs from his structuralist approach, which neglects or underestimates agency, interests, strategy, resources and power. In explaining the development of the Azerbaijani identity and nation, this study offers a theoretical explanation that moves agency-the secular nationalist Azerbaijani elite-to the foreground and also acknowledges the impact of structural factors.
Religion as Maintenance of National Consciousness : Islam in Soviet Azerbaijan Milli Bilincin
2018
National consciousness emerged among the intelligentsia in Azerbaijan, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the XX century. However, along with Soviet period this process was interrupted and could not spread among the community completely and therefore the “Muslim Identity” continued to survive like a fundamental identity connection for the Azeri society. Along with purge of the intelligentsia and abolition of nationalist symbols and the slogans that they used, Turkish nationalism disappeared as an ideology in Azerbaijan. Politico-ideological nationalism and its slogans were deprived of the chance of keeping the national consciousness alive. In this paper, I will argue that the main factor which sustained national consciousness in Soviet Azerbaijan was Islam and Muslim identity. Despite the fact that the communist regime succeeded in minimizing Islamic intellectual and ideological dimensions, it could not erode its elements that had become a cultural norm and life-sty...
22-3, 2018
National consciousness emerged among the intelligentsia in Azerbaijan, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the XXth century. However, along with Soviet period this process was interrupted and could not spread among the community completely and therefore the “Muslim Identity” continued to survive like a fundamental identity connection for the Azeri society. Along with purge of the intelligentsia and abolition of nationalist symbols and the slogans that they used, Turkish nationalism disappeared as an ideology in Azerbaijan. Politico-ideological nationalism and its slogans were deprived of the chance of keeping the national consciousness alive. In this paper, I will argue that the main factor which sustained national consciousness in Soviet Azerbaijan was Islam and Muslim identity. Despite the fact that the communist regime succeeded in minimizing Islamic intellectual and ideological dimensions, it could not erode its elements that had become a cultural norm and life-style. To be a Muslim in Soviet Azerbaijan was perceived as to be a member of Azeri society and as a devotion to life-style of this society. As a matter of fact, the life-style to which the definition of “Muslim” refers to, was a main factor whereby Azeri society could distinguish itself from the surrounding – Russian, Armenian and Georgian – societies. In this sense, Islam, which refers to common lifestyle and cultural norms, had kept the national consciousness alive by firming the sameness sense of society in Soviet Azerbaijan. Summary This study focuses on the role of Islamic identity and Islamic lifestyle in maintaining national consciousness during the Soviet era. The main claim of the study is that Muslim identity and Islamic life style are effective in maintaining national consciousness. In order to prove the accuracy of this claim, analyses of political, social, demographic and cultural issues in a certain historical period are carried out. In this context, the occupation of Russia, the process of nationalization since the second quarter of the XIXthcentury and the subsequent Sovietization process are discussed in the context of Muslim identity and Islamic lifestyle. This period was discussed and commented on in the light of statistical sources, intelligence reports, propaganda books and academic research on the period. When the present Azerbaijan region, which was under the influence of Iran politically and culturally until the XIXthcentury, was occupied by the Russian Empire, the people of the region came under the rule of the Christian rulers for the first time. The Muslim people in Azerbaijan found themselves surrounded by Christian communities for the first time after the Tsarist administration made Armenian and Russian populations migrate to the region to empower its existence. The Azerbaijani society, which was always a part of the Muslim society, had to redefine its own identity in the midst of Christian communities including Russians, Armenians and Georgians. The Tsar administration’s providing a number of privileges both legally and in practice to the Armenians and the Russians, who were brought to Azerbaijan, caused the Azerbaijani Turks to feel themselves under social, cultural, economic and political pressure of Christians. It has been observed that this pressure and favoritism were more intensely felt in the conflicts that broke out between Azerbaijani Turks and Armenians in the years of 1905 and 1918. All these experiences have allowed Azerbaijani Turks to embrace their identity, namely their Muslim identity, towards non-Muslim communities around them. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the intelligentsia and the bourgeoisie, who not only put efforts to promote the national consciousness of the people to ensure social development but also embraced the Muslim identity, had formed. This process resulted in the establishment of the Republic in Azerbaijan in 1918 with the flag that brought together blue, red and green colors symbolizing the turkization, modernization and Islamization. However, the republic was able to survive for only 23 months, and in 1920, after the Soviet invasion, the nationalist ideology, its ideologists and symbols were completely liquidated and Soviet policies were intensively implemented. Even though nationalism had disappeared in the ideological level during the Soviet era, a number of equipment common to nation-state, which provided homogenization of the people, was provided. A national state apparatus, national borders, national history, and national education system were created, even if they were in the Soviet version. As a result, a nation was formed that shared the same language, the same history consciousness and the same boundaries but lacked a national ideology. A cultural nationalism based on culture and lifestyle developed in Soviet Azerbaijan, where ideological nationalism was a perilous venture. Cultural nationalism has evolved in Soviet Azerbaijan as an attitude defending the people's language, history, and especially the way of life. All of these, namely, cultural characteristics and lifestyle, were the main characteristics of the Azerbaijani society, distinguishing itself from environmental societies- from Russians, Armenians and Georgians. In this sense, to be nationalist and patriotic in the Soviet Azerbaijan meant to embrace the culture and lifestyle of Azerbaijani society. Therefore, cultural nationalism played an important role in maintaining the ethnic borders with the surrounding peoples and keeping the national consciousness alive. The point that should be emphasized in terms of our research subject is that a significant part of life style and culture in Azerbaijani society is closely related to Islam and Islamic traditions. Although Sovietization policies were largely successful in eliminating the intellectual and ideological dimension of Islam, its cultural norms and elements, which became lifestyles, continued their existence strongly. The failure of the Soviet regime was that they could not offer an alternative culture and lifestyle to the Muslim societies they ruled. Even though, in the Soviet era, the concrete symbols of Islam such as mosques and headscarves etc. were destroyed, the elements that appeared in interpersonal relations, social structure and family relations continued to exist. All these were important cultural elements of the Azerbaijani society to distinguish itself from the ethnic identities surrounding it, from the Russians, Armenians and Georgians, and to maintain its national identity. Life cycle rituals such as kebin(Islamic marriage), circumcision, funeral and mourning ceremonies were perceived as very important indicators of being an Azeri. In many of the research carried out by the Soviet atheist ideologues and intelligence reports, it was stated that the people, including the communist party executives, continued their life-cycle rituals as they were national customs. Even the atheists were performing these rituals with the concern that they would be accused of opposing national customs and would be excluded from the society if they did not comply with the life-cycle rituals. Just because kebinwas only allowed for Muslim couples and marriages without religious ceremony were not welcomed in the society, the rates of marriage with the Russians, Armenians and Georgians were very low. Circumcision of a male child was perceived as making him a member of the Azeri community and as a means of providing a feature that distinguished him from the members of other societies. The burial of a deceased person according to Islamic methods was a sign that the funeral belonged to an Azeri, not to a Russian, Armenian or Georgian. Hence, setting boundaries with the surrounding ethnic groups, the life-cycle rituals from the Islamic culture also kept national and ethnic consciousness alive. Thus, the Islamic culture and lifestyle became one of the most important antidote of the Soviet Regime’s Homo Sovieticusproject, which aimed to create a new type of human and society beyond the national and ethnic identities.
Oxford, UK, 8th International Conference on Social Science, Humanities and Education, 2023
This study aims to articulate the historical background of nation building in Azerbaijan that laid the foundation for the subsequent formation of national identity at the turn of XIX-XX centuries, and its outreach through literary and publicist texts. The Azerbaijan periodicals played a vital role in unraveling the essence of the Azerbaijan Turkic identity, stimulating the development of self-awareness both of the individuals, and the ethnic community as a whole through a modus of national identity. I argue that the colonial expansion of the Russian Empire in the region in the early 19th century interrupted the processes of political unification of the country and the processes of ethnic consolidation of the Azerbaijani Turks preceding their formation as a distinctive nation. To address these concerns, the research embarks on a comprehensive examination of the periodical literature having enrolled in the enlightenment of the people, revealing the realities of political, social and cultural character in the country and abroad. My basic claim is that the producer and driving force of nation building and forging national identity was the European-educated Azerbaijani intelligentsia, developed by the Russian government itself for the needs of colonial administration of the region. The study will encompass a hard mission of the Azerbaijani intellectuals in shaping public discourse, establishing early periodicals serving as platforms to express intentional and subconscious manifestations of the authors' creativity, and respond to the internal and external challenges. In the paper, varieties of narratives, intertwined into cultural and political texts, are proposed. Essays, short stories, critical and satiric articles, theater reviews have been structured around the issues of the establishment of a common language, high culture, administration and education, as well as a national identity, capable of suppressing regional differences or, in extreme cases, tolerate them in a subordinate status.
Azerbaijani National Identity: Historical and Contemporary Context
2010
Present study investigates the historical and contemporary trends in the development of Azerbaijani national identity. The primary focus here is on the ethnic component which formed the foundation of a distinct national identity of Azerbaijanis. Both natural and situational circumstances affect the development of any ethnicity. The natural circumstances in formation of Azerbaijani ethnic identity were analyzed mainly in ancient and medieval contexts, while the situational circumstances appear in contemporary context, also defining the cause of a modern Azerbaijani statehood. a Dr. Huseynov is a co-founder and general director of Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC);