Page 20 - DIVA_2_2018

and was the first creation in the opera genre not only in literature etc. was done by Soviet citizens. The political
Azerbaijan, but also in the whole Muslim world. The first system of the Soviet Union was very different from what
ballet was also in Baku, in the same theatre. In those days, other people in Switzerland and other countries in Europe
women were not allowed to perform in a theater, so, all were enjoying, but that's another story.
the female roles were played by men. The first university
in Azerbaijan was established in Baku in 1919. It is still However, I cannot say that we were oppressed to the extent
functioning, the Baku State University. that we did not have education - that is not right, and that
would be distorting reality. We had schools, universities
Azerbaijan also introduced the Latin alphabet in 1918 etc. I went to Soviet type schools and university, and it
for our language. In 1939 we were obliged to shift to the just happened that I witnessed the collapse of the Soviet
Russian Cyrillic Alphabet, and one of the first things we Union. Of course, there were some difficulties - in
did just after the restoration of independence was to shift particular going to foreign countries to get education.
back to the Latin alphabet in 1992. Now all schools and
universities are functioning with that alphabet, although One of the difficulties was religion. There were mosques
this is not without certain difficulties. A lot of our of course, but their number was limited, and they existed
manuscripts and the basis of our national literature, dating in a controlled manner. Azerbaijan historically has been,
back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, were written and continues to be, a multi-confessional and multi-
in the Arabic alphabet, which means that if you want to ethnic country.
look at our literature, you will find poems, manuscripts
all in the Azerbaijani language but written partly in the Q: Are young people still learning Russian in Azerbaijan?
Arabic alphabet, partly in the Cyrillic alphabet and partly Yes, they are, but Russian is becoming more like a foreign
in the Latin alphabet. language. The official language is Azerbaijani, but we also
take into account that we have a lot of different national
Q: You were under Soviet rule for 70 years. How did you ethnic groups groups living in Azerbaijan, who have
manage to preserve your culture? theatres, cinema, literature and most importantly schools
I have been asked this question by many people. Of course, in their languages. Being bilingual or even trilingual is
when we look into history, we have to be objective. With all common in Azerbaijan.
the negative attitude that one might have towards the Soviet
Union, it would not be right and fair to paint everything in Q: It seems like you have a very vibrant artistic
black. I cannot speak for the 14 other republics that were environment in Azerbaijan.
incorporated into the Soviet Union and mostly in a very It is moving a lot, today. First of all I have to say that
violent way. I can only speak for my country. During these nothing is strange. As I said earlier, Azerbaijan is a multi-
70 years, there was of course a development of literature, art, ethnic and multi-confessional environment. This has
sculpture. Brilliant pieces of art were produced at that time. always been the case, and I hope it will continue to be
The people were Soviet citizens, but still the development so. So, that is one of the sources of creativity. Secondly,
of the nation continued. it is historical. Azerbaijan, as you might know, was on
the historic Silk Road, which started in Italy and went
I cannot say that everything was crushed or destroyed - all the way to China. This means that in those days
that would be far from reality. The only thing was that art, there were hundreds of caravans moving from the East

18 DIVA - INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT