Paper short abstract:

This paper examines historical narratives and collective memory of Azerbaijan society in the 1950s-60s to understand how social dissatisfaction and grievances interpreted as nationalism by political establishment of modern Azerbaijan.

Paper long abstract:

Modern Azerbaijan historiography claims that the last two centuries Azerbaijani nation was in struggle against the Russian invasion that brought ethnic and religious tension, especially long-term Azerbaijan-Armenian confrontation, into the region. National narratives argue that oppression of the local Moslem community, which reached its highest-level during Stalin’s repressions, was caused strong anti-Russian sentiments and nationalistic feelings at the Khrushchev Thaw. However, primary sources both written and oral, don’t support these claims and reveal social rather than national nature of main discontent. This paper examines historical narratives and collective memory of Azerbaijan society in the 1950s-60s to understand how social dissatisfaction and grievances interpreted as nationalism by political establishment and national historiography; and how this interpretation strengthens present-day political elite. I argue that political establishment of the soviet Azerbaijan encouraged misinterpretation of social thoughts at least for two reasons: (1) to justify its failed governance in the eyes of the native population; and (2) to demonstrate its importance as a strong intermediator between periphery and center in the eyes of Kremlin. Various types of archival documents historical narratives were applied in this research for assessing the significance of the different sources in shaping collective memory. Interviews and survey conducted with the different social groups of modern Azerbaijan society are proving how effectively political power correcting national memory. The findings demonstrate that political elite of modern Azerbaijan having deep connection with former communist leadership effectively conceptualizes collective memory through official historiography to achieve consensus between power and society.