AKRA Kültür Sanat ve Edebiyat Dergisi

Öz

Turkish theme was one of the topics of great interest in the Azerbaijani press in the Soviet era. This article provides factual evidence that there were quite a lot of comprehensive writings about Turkey and Turkism, though the articles and news published in most popular press media of the time in the early years of the Soviet government were savored with envy and jealousy towards Turkism. Also the article brings to attention the role of the “Kommunist” newspaper as an important tool in the implementation of the alphabetic reform, conducting of information and propaganda work of the Eastern peoples and Turkic congresses. It is shown that in the years when the Academy of Sciences, literary-artistic organizations have not yet been formed, the newspaper editorial has played the role of a spiritual center, which has gathered national forces around itself. But at the same time it should not be forgotten that the newspaper was founded to carry out the policy of and published by means of the resources of the governing organization, which it was a body of. Nevertheless, the newspaper has never abandoned its national affiliation, always sought to protect the national identity in numerous articles, and has been punished for such a stance from time to time. The articles published in the “Kommunist” newspaper in the 1920s were building confidence in Turkish-Soviet friendship and the future of relations with Turkey. Unfortunately, it became clear later on that it was a plan stemming from domestic and foreign policies of the Soviet government to bring Turkey to the communist path. Needless to say that repression was unleashed when this plan did not work, and the newspaper was not spared as well. Prosecution of the authors has been initiated on the grounds of “nationalism”, “Turkism”. There have been cases of tough measures taken repeatedly at a very high level to disperse the “nationalist nest” in the “Kommunist” newspaper.