Azerbaijani nationalism
Azerbaijani nationalism is characterized by irredentism directed at Iran, Nagorno-Karabakh, and portions of Armenia, particularly the Syunik Province.
The belief that Azerbaijanis have been and continue to be victims of Iranians and Armenians is planted in children through state-sponsored propaganda and brainwashing in schools.
[2] The concept of "Whole Azerbaijan," which claims significant portions of both Armenian and Iranian territory, has been state policy since the September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes.
The people who lived in the present-day country of Azerbaijan identified as either Muslims of the ummah (community), or Turks, who shared a language family spread out throughout a considerable portion of Central Asia, or as Persians.
The region never formed a distinct, unified state before the Russians finished conquering it in 1828, and even when Iran ruled the area, the eastern part of the South Caucasus was composed of numerous feudal khanates.
The local populace was frequently included under terms such as Türk milleti and Qafqaziya müsalman Xalqi ("the Muslim people of the Caucasus").
[8][13] Before the Soviet Union established its rule over Azerbaijan, there was no distinguishing Azerbaijani nationalism as a political and social force.
[8][14] Modern Azerbaijani nationalism has its origins in Soviet-era historiography, with the exception of the Pan-Turkist agenda expressed during the October Revolution.
[16] The Iranian Azerbaijanis exhibit stronger pro-Iranian and integrationist nationalist feelings and activities in contrast to the forceful nationalism seen in Azerbaijan.
Commenting on this, Mamedov states that "Considering that Iran fought two devastating wars with Russia (1803–1813 and 1824–1828), the idea of a Russo-Iranian conspiracy against Azerbaijan is totally absurd."
[22] The Pan-Turkists' appeal to the unity of the Azerbaijani people was exploited by the Soviet authorities during World War II to weaken Iran.
Soviet Azerbaijanis, particularly intellectuals from Baku, managed the Red Army's Chief Administration for Political Propaganda.
It was here that the concepts to destabilize Iran were defined in two Soviet-sponsored publications, Vatan Yolunda ("On the Road to the Homeland") and Azärbayjan.
[23] The Azerbaijan People's Government collapsed in November 1946 as a result of the Soviet Union's (hesitant) departure from Iran, widespread local protests, and Iranian military intervention.
This association, together with the Azerbaijan Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, met together in December 1947 and discussed Iranian Azerbaijani literature.
Poetry, drama, and fiction lamented that the Aras river, which marked the border between the Soviet Union and Iran, and kept the Azerbaijanis apart from one another.
"[28] From 1950 to 1979, when the Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran, historical discussions concerning the identity, geography, and language of the Azerbaijanis gained prominence in Soviet Azerbaijan.
[29] Any form of cooperation with Iran was extremely challenging for Soviet Azerbaijan, partly because of mutual mistrust and strict monitoring of phone and mail correspondence.
For example, in June 1981, Heydar Aliyev, then the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party, spoke at the Seventh Congress of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers;[29] Comrades!
Abulfaz Elchibey, the leader of the Azerbaijan Popular Front, made a statement about his pan-Turkist and anti-Russian views during his speech at the organization's first congress in July 1991, saying that "The reason why Iran is most frightened today is the idea of Turkism coming from the North."
[31] The pan-Turkist zeal was slightly reduced after Heydar Aliyev returned to power in June 1993 and Elchibey resigned as president.
The idea of "uniting" "northern" and "southern Azerbaijan", and Ataturkist secularism are among the other tenets of APF philosophy that persist under the Aliyevs, albeit to differing degrees.
[35] Another fundamental component of Azerbaijani nationalism is anti-Armenian sentiment, which has its roots in past historical events and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijan has also accused Armenia of genocide for death of several hundred Azerbaijanis in the town of Khojaly at the end of February 1992.
However, in reality the reason for this relocation was due to a joint request made to Joseph Stalin on 3 December 1947 by Mir Jafar Baghirov and Grigory Arutinov, the leaders of the Communist parties in Azerbaijan and Armenia, respectively.
This resettlement was intended to provide land in Armenia for thousands of diasporan returning employees while simultaneously advancing cotton production in the Mingachevir area of Azerbaijan, where there was a lack of workers.
[44] Laurence Broers, the Caucasus program director at Conciliation Resources explains replication of dynamics previously characterizing the line of contact around Nagorno-Karabakh along the internationally recognized Armenian-Azerbaijani borders in the political context of Azerbaijan's effort to enforce peace on its terms after its victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, imposing a set of territorial claims articulated with increasing intensity since May 2021.
