Past, Present, Future, and Postcolonial Discourse in Modern Azerbaijani Literature

Abstract

gards the expression of their indigenous national identity. In their experience of colonialism and their resistance to it, Azerbaijanis have much in common with other colonized peoples who have been dominated by European empires. Under the guise of narratives of equality, the Soviet regime continued the colonial relationships that had existed within the czarist empire. If the Russians were masters during the czarist period, in the new regime of federal states the Russians were, in George Orwell's words, more equal than the others. In the name of civilization and modernization, Soviet Russia secured its political, economic, and cultural dominance over the backward peripheries, including Azerbaijan. After recovering (with military might) territories lost to the czarist empire, the new Soviet regime offered enticements, such as formal self-governments, for the new republics; however, the policies that were carried out with such narratives, using such slogans as equality among nations and friendship of peoples, were in fact unchanged. Russia assumed its dominance over these other nationalities, who were compelled to give up their independence once the Soviet empire consolidated its power.1 The narratives of the Soviet empire, however, did not go completely unchallenged. Despite the restraints of censorship and the control of communication, some Azerbaijani writers found ways of presenting a critical view of social conditions, challenging the Soviet narratives in their works as well as engaging in postcolonial discourse. The work of these writers shares much with that of other writers who have experienced colonial domination and whose works reflect expressions of cultural resistance.