AZERBAIJAN-TURKEY LITERARY RELATIONS: FROM THE SOVIET ERA TO INDEPENDENCE AUTHORSHIP INTRODUCTION Nurlana Mustafayeva There is a centuries-old history of literary Baku State University, Baku, Azerbaijan. relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4339-3468 works of Azerbaijani writers were spread and E-mail: [email protected] highly valued in Turkey as early as the Middle Received in: Approved in: 2021-04-10 2021-06-26 Ages, and Turkish poets and writers benefited DOI: https://doi.org/10.24115/S2446-622020217Extra-E1157p.24-31 from their high literary and aesthetic ideas, creative forms and features. Azerbaijani literature had a strong influence on Turkish authors. For example, there were many references in Turkish literature to the works of prominent Azerbaijani poets Imadeddin Nasimi and Mohammad Fuzuli (AYDIN, 2002, p. 2). In the new era, Turkish poets and writers wrote articles calling for the liberation of Azerbaijan and other Turkic peoples captured by Tsarist Russia. Such writings were especially popular on the eve of World War I and during the war. For example, back in 1916, Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, one of the classics of modern Turkish poetry, described the tragedy of a Karabakh beauty with heartburn in his poem “Caucasian Girl” dedicated to the Azerbaijani public figure Ahmad Bey Agaoglu (ALIYEVA, 2002, p. 28). Such works contributed to the formation of national consciousness and the spread of ideas of freedom in the Turkic peoples, whose native languages and cultures were constantly oppressed under the colonial oppression of Tsarist Russia. The bringing of a large number of Turkish captives to Azerbaijan during the war and the situation of Turkish refugees became the subject of works by Azerbaijani writers. In May 1917, a number of articles were published in the magazine “Brotherly Help”, published by Azerbaijani writers in Baku. The magazine published articles, poems and prose works by national intellectuals such as prominent Azerbaijani public and literary figures Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, Omar Faig Nemanzadeh, Huseyn Javid, Abdulla Shaig, Mammad Said Ordubadi, Abbas Sahhat, Abdurrahim bek Hagverdiyev, Ali Nazmi, Khalil Ibrahim, Firudin bek Kocharli, Jafar Jabbarli, dedicated to the tragedies of the First World War on the Turkish people. Along with Azerbaijani writers, the magazine also included works by some writers of other Turkic and Muslim nations. 16 of the published works were poems. Huseyn Javid’s “War and Disaster”, “Poor”, Turkmen writer Sabit Marafzadeh’s “In front of a board”, Ali Nazmi’s “Throne forward”, Sabur A. Huseynzadeh’s “Don’t be an Faratkesh”, Ali Razi Yusifzadeh’s “To the Guests”, Abbas Sahhat’s “Evacuation or Refugee”, Salman Turkhan’s “Cilkha Turkish-language composition” and other poems were on this topic (QARDAŞ KÖMƏYİ, 1917). After the Azerbaijani people have escaped from Russia’s colonial oppression and the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, the first democratic republic in the Muslim East, direct literary relations were established with Turkey. In 1918-1920, the works of Turkish poets and writers were published in Azerbaijan, and the works of Azerbaijani poets and writers were published in Turkey. However, this relationship was not systematic and did not last long. Azerbaijani-Turkish literary relations in the Soviet period: What was the main goal? After the occupation of Azerbaijan by Bolshevik Russia in April 1920, the Azerbaijan People’s Republic collapsed and state independence was terminated. Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was formally declared independent, but its domestic and foreign policies were carried out by Moscow. After the occupation, many Azerbaijani political, public and literary figures were forced to emigrate to Turkey. Literary relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which had been weak so far, were suspended by Moscow. After that, the Turkish people had the opportunity to get acquainted with the literature and life of Azerbaijan through the works of representatives of the Azerbaijani emigration - Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, Ali bey Huseynzadeh, Ahmad Agaoglu, Mirza Bala Mammadzadeh, Ahmad Jafaroglu and others who were forced to live in Turkey as a result of Laplage em Revista (International), vol.7, n. Extra E, Aug. 2021, p.24-31 ISSN: 2446-6220 Nurlana Mustafayeva • 25 the Bolshevik occupation. Articles and works written by Azerbaijani emigrant figures on Azerbaijani history and literature were met with interest in Turkey. At the same time, Azerbaijani immigrants were closely involved in the social, literary and scientific environment of Turkey (QASIMLI, 2006, p. 322-338). At a time when Soviet-Turkish relations were good from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s, relations with Turkey were maintained only through Moscow’s strict control of the Center. In general, literary relations depended on the level of political relations. Literary figures from Turkey also took part in the First Turkological Congress held in Baku in 1926. However, since the mid-1930s, Turkey’s rapprochement with the West has been met with outrage by the Soviet leadership. Relations between the two countries have stagnated and cooled. Literary relations, which were already weak, were completely stopped. In addition to severing ties, Stalin carried out ruthless repressions against the intellectuals of the Turkic peoples of the USSR. Poets and writers who supported relations with Turkey and touched on the subject of Turkey in their works fell victim to Stalin’s repressions under the names “Turkist”, “Pan-Turkist” and “Turanian”. Soviet-Turkish relations began to improve again when Nazi Germany invaded the USSR and Turkey declared that would remain neutral. However, there were no literary connections at that time. After the victory of the Soviet troops under Stalingrad, the attitude of the Soviet leader Stalin to Turkey also changed. Relations have been strained by Moscow’s territorial claims against Turkey. As a result of the breakdown of Soviet-Turkish relations in the first years of the Second World War and then in the early years of the Cold War between the two system countries in the face of threats from the Soviet Union, Turkey’s membership in NATO in 1952 brought relations to the brink of hostility. However, after Stalin’s death in 1953, the Soviet leadership acknowledged the mistakes in its policy towards Turkey, the first steps were taken to normalize relations between the USSR and Turkey. The process of normalization of relations since the early 1960s has also had a positive impact on Azerbaijani-Turkish literary relations. This was not accidental. The Soviet leadership gave a certain role to Azerbaijan, which has the same language, history, ethnic and cultural roots as the Turkish people, in the normalization of relations with Turkey. The role given to Azerbaijan in these relations was only the humanitarian and literary spheres. Political relations were within the competence of Moscow only, and Azerbaijan, like other republics, was not allowed close. Relations in the field of literature were a means to achieve the political goals of the Soviet Union. When the process of easing international tensions between the two system countries began in the late 1960s, relevant bilateral documents on cooperation in the field of culture, including literature, were signed between the USSR and Turkey, and a legal framework was established. Although official documents stated that the main goal of relations in the field of culture, including literature, is the free exchange of cultural resources and the mutual enrichment of peoples, in these relations both the USSR and Turkey pursued specific political goals. The Soviet leadership aimed to spread communist ideology in Turkish society, to weaken Turkey, NATO’s southern wing, from within, to separate it from the bloc and turn it into a neutral country, and to reduce Western influence in the country. One of the tools used for this was the annual Izmir International Exhibition Fair. During the fair, Soviet representatives distributed booklets promoting the Soviet way of life and communist ideology to Turks and other visitors to the fair. In accordance with the instructions of the Soviet leadership, which saw the high interest and sympathy of the Turkish nation in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani pavilion was established at the Izmir Exhibition Fair to make the propaganda more effective. Brochures in the Azerbaijani language were presented to the Turks who came to the Azerbaijani pavilion. The propaganda of the Soviet representatives among the Turkish population through books was met with dissatisfaction by the Turkish authorities, and even protests were expressed against these actions. The communist regime in the USSR, a closed society and an “iron curtain” ruled by an administrative command system, did not allow the people of Azerbaijan, along with other republics, to follow the developments in Turkey. The news program of the Central Soviet Television broadcast only the negative aspects of Turkish life, and Turkish society was deliberately disfavored. Thus, a negative opinion was formed about the way of life of the Western bloc countries, including Turkey, and the Soviet system was supposedly superior. Laplage em Revista (International), vol.7, n. Extra E, Aug. 2021, p.24-31 ISSN: 2446-6220 • 26 Azerbaijan-Turkey literary relations: from the soviet era to independence The Soviet leadership did not allow Turkish writers and poets to come to Azerbaijan, and even a small number of visitors was