Perception of Cultural Identity in the Early Period of Azerbaijan Enlightenment

Abstract

In the history of Azerbaijan's political and philosophical ideas enlightenment has, as a paradigm, an important place in national historic literature despite its contradictions and some inconsistencies. The philosophical, scientific and cultural arrangements that Russia has imposed on Azerbaijan since the 19th century have led to the formation of new life. We can say that the activities of A. Bakikhanov, M. Kazim Bay, M. F. Akhundov and H. Zerdabi who are representatives of the educating-humanist worldview, are based on the assumption of setting a new society's lifestyle. Being a form of expression, modernization realized mostly under the influence of West brought a new quality into the life of thought and national-cultural notion in Azerbaijan and it is possible to see the effect almost in all areas of life. Discrimination and irredentist policy of Tsarist Russia against Azerbaijani people is an obvious reflection of political and ideological parallels on national identity. In the period of modernization the central problem of the national culture and identity has been seen to be composed of subjective approaches of views connected with the world. Categorization of socio-political and philosophical ideas on the basis of modernization discourse that express characteristic features on recognition of identity obviously paved the way for new consciousness to come out.