Today's Zaman
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
MUSA KASIMLI
Azerbaijan is completing its 20th year since gaining independence. In order to understand the true tenor of the years that have passed since the country’s independence, which came on Oct.18, 1991, it is very important that one take a close look at recent history to get a perspective on the politics, history and learning of Azerbaijan.
The foundations of independence
The first Republic of Azerbaijan was formed in May 1918 by the Azeri people, and it brought with it not only the lofty ideals of a republic for a Muslim state, but also firm leadership. This independent republic, however, was destroyed with the spread of Bolshevism into Azerbaijan in April 1920. In the place of the first independent Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was instead formed, and thus the critical characteristics that define independent statehood began to be systematically destroyed.
In the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s, Azerbaijan became more and more tied to Moscow in the name of building a Soviet state. At the same time, nationalist literature and any pan-Turkic intellectuals of the state were eliminated through either deportation or drastic Russianizing policies. And while there was a visible softening in the country following the death of Soviet leader Stalin, benefits from this softening were not strong enough to pave the way towards finding solutions to national problems, and once again, Azerbaijan began to fall under pressure.
When Haydar Aliyev came to power in Azerbaijan in 1969, interest in this republic began to change little by little. The primary financial and intangible conditions necessary for Azerbaijan’s future freedom began to mature within the Soviet system. The monetary bases necessary for independence began to be strengthened. Particular attention was paid to economic and socio-cultural developments. For these reasons, the foreign press at the time noted that only two of the republics that helped form the Soviet Union were prepared to live independently from an economic perspective. These were Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Some steps were taken on the road towards independence that helped create the necessary foundations of ideas and emotions for the state. Azeri citizens who now lived abroad and were fierce protectors of the idea of independence were frequently invited to come and visit the country. In putting together various national cadres and appointments to ruling organs, preference was given to those who the Azeri, rather than Russian.
At the same time, intellectuals, poets, writers and journalists who had been closely followed in years before due to the prominence of the ideal of independence were allowed to breathe and work more freely. Particular importance was placed on preserving Azerbaijan’s legacy of history, culture and literature. In those years, the number of works written in Azeri, as well as works concerning Azeri history directly increased. The state distributed awards to these works and thus the national spirit was bolstered and the people gained self-confidence.
It was in the 1970s that the Azeris were once again able to stroll the byways of their cities with their heads held high for the first time since Baku was rescued from enemies by the Caucuses Muslim Army in 1918. These were all critical historical events for the people of the country. In one speech given by Haydar Aliyev, he said: “It is true, 22 years ago we did not know that Azerbaijan was going to be an independent state. However at that very time, I was living with the idea of Azerbaijan’s freedom.”
The 1982 appointment of Aliyev to an important posting in Moscow can be explained by his significant standing with the Soviet empire as a whole, his high intellectual level, his capabilities as a state leader and his desire to see Soviet power boosted in the Muslim world, where it had lost much standing in the wake of the Afghanistan intervention. On the other hand, as was written in the foreign press, it could have been the Soviet’s desire to distance Aliyev from Azerbaijan and bring him under closer control at the center, in Moscow. Because during the years when Aliyev was in power, Azerbaijan’s preparations for complete independence could even be felt in Moscow. Keeping him under close scrutiny in Moscow was a way of placing barriers on the road to independence.
As for the Azeri leaders who followed in Aliyev’s footsteps, they were unable to bring Azerbaijan any further along down the road, and in fact, Azerbaijan began to slip backwards. Michael Gorbachov, who came to power in the Soviet Union, was of the belief that the Muslim Turkish societies of the USSR had gone far enough towards independence under the term of Leonid Brezhnev, and thus decided to take some of the leaders away from their posts at the helm of society, thus punishing the people of these countries.
It was in this way then that Aliyev was removed from his duties. What awaited Azerbaijan after this change was difficult days. Armenia’s baseless land claims led to intervention in Azerbaijan’s domestic business, as well as military attacks. Azeris who had been living on their historic homelands in Armenia were forced out and became immigrants. This in turn became a piece of Armenia’s general anti-Turkishness. Azerbaijan did not possess the power or dominance to transcend all of these factors. In such situations, a country needs strong state leaders.
The moment of return
As the Soviet Union was in a state of collapse, Azerbaijan was not doing very well. Armenia’s attacks continued, as did the reign of chaos within Azerbaijan. The Soviet leadership, as punishment against the people of Azerbaijan, carried out a massacre against the civilians of Baku and other cities on Jan. 20, 1990. This massacre was aimed at cutting off Azerbaijan’s road to independence and doing away with further thoughts of freedom by the people. It was in the midst of all this that Heydar Aliyev, not bearing any official identity, took his place alongside the people of the nation. Despite the fact that his actions and movements were scrutinized very closely by the Soviets, Aliyev went immediately to the Azeri Embassy in Moscow after the bloody events of Jan. 20, 1990 to register his personal condemnation of the events. This act in itself stood as an example for hundreds of thousands of people. It was in the wake of the events of Jan. 20, 1990 that the Azeri people reached the firm conclusion that the time had arrived to part ways with Moscow. This was a true turning point. There was no longer any alternative left for the Azeri people other than to declare independence.
Heydar Aliyev returned to Azerbaijan because of the increasing difficulties of living under Soviet pressures in Moscow. First he lived in Baku, but then he was forced to live in Nakhchivan. His declaration of personal resignation from the Communist Party dealt a heavy blow to the Communist system in Azerbaijan. At the time, in order to see Nakhchivan saved -- as it was under siege by Armenia -- the people elected Aliyev as a deputy, after which he was then selected as the president of the national parliament. In the end, not only did he put a stop to the Armenian attacks on the ancient Turkic lands of Nakhchivan, but he also oversaw great steps towards the development of Azerbaijan statehood. Traditional Soviet trappings (armorial bearings, blazonry, coats of arms, etc.) were abandoned in Nakhchivan, and at the same time, recommendations were made to the leadership of Azerbaijan to get rid of the Soviet flag, armorial bearings and national march. Thus it was that in Nakhchivan that protection, strengthening and development of Azeri statehood was focused on. There can be little question that the regaining of independence by Azerbaijan on Oct.18, 1991 was one of the most important events in all of Azerbaijan’s history. The duties and responsibilities that faced the people of Azerbaijan following the collapse of the Soviet Union were these: promoting and protecting Azeri independence, stopping the invasion of Armenia and transitioning from a planned economy into a free market economy.
But the series of Azeri leaders who were to come were not able to carry out the above duties, and a chasm began to develop between the leadership of the country and the people of the country. Differences in opinion within the ranks of the leadership began to increase. The country’s domestic and international politics began to slip further, leading to various dead ends. And what’s more, countries and people opposed to the idea of Azerbaijan’s independence moved into action. There was an uprising amongst military ranks in Gence in 1993, in an atmosphere when the Armenian occupation was still ongoing. The leadership was unable to quell the uprising, and in fact lost total control of the events taking place in the country. Separatist movements in the north and south of the country, supported from abroad, gained in strength. And suddenly, the country was facing the threat of division. Azerbaijan’s independence was slipping away. Hopelessness was pervasive among the people of the country, who were now psychologically damaged. There was great searching at hand for some sort of road towards salvation. In just a short time, the leadership of the country, which did not appear to possess sufficient state leadership skills or the intellectual level necessary, lost the support of the Azeris. At the same time, the country was isolated on the international platform. While all this was happening, leaders at the very top of the state began to resign one after the other, in order to relieve themselves from their responsibilities. What the people of Azerbaijan now needed was a strong leader who would prevent the state from completely collapsing.
A national leader to save the people and the state
It was in the midst of this chaotic situation that the people of Azerbaijan turned to Nakhchivan, and thus Heydar Aliyev. Aliyev was invited to Baku according to the wishes of the people of the nation, who wanted to see him first at the helm of the Azeri parliament, and then perhaps as president. It was popularly believed at that point that only Aliyev could rescue the Azerbaijan state from collapse and the national psychology from ruin. At the same time, people believed that it was only Aliyev who could stop the ongoing occupation of Azeri lands by Armenia, and only Aliyev who could restructure foreign policy upon new foundations. Once back in Baku, Aliyev wasted no time in visiting Gence, the site of the military uprising. Stability began to return to Gence.
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