THE POLITICS OF A LITERARY LANGUAGE AND THE RISE OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN RUSSIAN AZERBAIJAN BEFORE 1920

This article focuses on three interconnected issues: the question of a literary language of a people lacking political independence; the rise of modern communications in a traditional society; and the growth of national identity in the Muslim community of Russian Azerbaijan. The chronological scop covers the period from the beginning of intellectual modernization that came in the mid-nineteenth century in the wake of the Russian conquest, to the establishment of the Soviet Azerbaijani Republic in 1920. The discussion includes the language policies of the Russian government, as well as the views on the literary language of the national movements of the period, pan- Turkism and Azerbaijanism. The issue is viewed in the context of comparable debates among other Turkic-speaking peoples in Russia and in Turkey. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.