Nested Nationalism: Making and Unmaking Nations in the Soviet Caucasus

333 Pages·2021·14.153 MB·English

by  Krista A. Goff

NESTED NATIONALISM
Portrait of a w oman and girl in national costume, Astara District, late 1950s–1960s. Courtesy of the
Archive of Atiga Izmailova.
NESTED
NATIONALISM
MAKING AND UNMAKING NATIONS
IN THE SOVIET CAUCASUS
Krista A. Goff
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ithaca and London
Publication of this book was made pos si ble, in part, by
grants from the First Book Subvention Program of the
Association for Slavic, East Eu ro pean, and Eurasian
Studies and from the Office of the Dean in the College
of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami.
Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review,
this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage
House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
Visit our website at cornellpress . cornell . edu.
First published 2020 by Cornell University Press
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Goff, Krista A., author.
Title: Nested nationalism : making and unmaking nations
in the Soviet Caucasus / Krista A. Goff.
Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press,
2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020009681 (print) | LCCN 2020009682
(ebook) | ISBN 9781501753275 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781501753299 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501753282 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Minorities Azerbaijan History
20th  century. | Minorities Caucasus, South History
20th  century. | Nationalism Azerbaijan History
20th  century. | Nationalism Caucasus, South History
20th  century. | Collective memory Azerbaijan History
20th  century. | Collective memory Caucasus, South
History 20th  century. | Azerbaijan Ethnic relations. |
Caucasus, South Ethnic relations.
Classification: LCC DK509 .G64 2020 (print) |
LCC DK509 (ebook) | DDC 323.1475— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020009681
LC ebook rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov
/ 2020009682
Cover image: Zulfugar Ahmedzade at a political meeting
in Zaqatala, seated second from the left at the table
(late 1920s). Photo from private collection.
In memory of my father, Thomas Michael Goff, Sr.,
who inspired me to become a historian

Contents
Abbreviations ix
Explanatory Note xi
Introduction 1
1. Making Minorities and National
Hierarchies 19
2. Territory, War, and Nation- Building
in the South Caucasus 61
Interlude: A fter Stalin: Reform
and Revenge 94
3. Defining the Azerbaijan Soviet
Socialist Republic 106
4. Scholars, Politicians, and the Production
of Soviet Assimilation Narratives 144
5. Minority Activism and Citizenship 179
Conclusion 214
Notes 241
Bibliography 289
Acknowl edgments 309
Index 313

Abbreviations
ADR Azerbaijan Demo cratic Republic
ASSR Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
CPSU (Russ ian initials: KPSS) Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Kavburo Caucasus Bureau of the Russian Commu-
nist Party
Minpros Ministry of Enlightenment (Education)
Narkomindel People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs
Narkompros People’s Commissariat of Enlightenment
(Education)
Narkomzem People’s Commissariat of Agriculture
NKAO Nagorno- Karabakh Autonomous Oblastʹ
NKVD People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs
Politburo Political Bureau of the Central Commit-
tee of the Communist Party
RSFSR Russ ian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic
Sovmin Council of Ministers
Sovnarkom Council of People’s Commissars
SSR Soviet Socialist Republic
TSFSR (Russian initials: ZSFSR) Transcaucasian Socialist Federated Soviet
Republic
Zakkraikom Transcaucasian Regional Committee
ix