Araştırma Makalesi

“Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s

Sayı: Özel Sayı/Special Issue 14 Şubat 2026
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“Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s

Öz

This article aims to explore the Soviet way of dealing with the so called “woman of the East” and to find out how much it is possible to speak about Orientalism with respect to early Soviet cultural and educational production. I explore how the “woman of the East” was constructed in different materials in Russian language focusing on the emancipation of women in the Caucasus and, particularly, in Azerbaijan from the 1920s-1930s. I am also interested in how the information about the “docile Muslim women” and women’s emancipation in the Caucasus and particularly in Azerbaijan was spread abroad. In order to do it I analyze Soviet publications and films dedicated to women in Caucasus and Azerbaijan. The study shows that in spite of critique of the colonial politics of the tsarist regime, the Soviet cultural production preserves many orientalist clichés and tropes. The presentation of women in Azerbaijan as “dominated, “slaves” and “shadows” helped constructing the Russians as a whole and the Russian women in particular, as freer and more modern. According to Said, “identifying ‘us’ Europeans as against “those’ non-Europeans” (1996, 7) is an important mechanism for producing the “west”. The analyzed materials suggest that the narrative on the “backward woman” in the Caucasus was important not only for convincing the Soviet people in the important emancipatory mission of the Soviet state, but also for improving the state’s image in the “West” and the “East”. Indeed, the Soviet emancipators were described in the publications of the “Soviet friends” as those fighting against colonialism and, at the same time, carrying out the civilizing mission similar to that of the “Western” countries.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynakça

  1. Altstadt, Audrey. 2016. The Politics of Culture in Soviet Azerbaijan, 1920-1940. London&New York: Routledge.
  2. David-Fox, Michael. 2012. Showcasing the Great Experiment. Cultural Diplomacy and Western Visitors to the Soviet Union, 1921-1941. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  3. Dzabbarov, Farhad. 2012. O roli svetskoi zhenskoi shkoly G. Z. Tagieva v razvitii azerbaijanskoi zhenshchiny. 10. 08. 12. https://1news. az/news/farhad-dzhabbarov-o-roli-svetskoy-zhenskoy-shkoly-g-z-tagieva-v-razvitii-azerbaydzhanskoy-zhenschiny---foto#page999
  4. Gradskova, Yulia. 2020. Opening the (Muslim) Woman’s Space – the Soviet Politics of Emancipation in the 1920s-1930s. Ethnicities, 20(4): 667-684.
  5. Gradskova, Yulia. Soviet Politics of Emancipation of Ethnic Minority Woman. Natsionalka. Springer, 2018.
  6. Gradskova, Yulia. 2013. “Speaking for Those “Backward”: Gender and Ethnic Minorities in Soviet Silent Films, ” Region 2 (2) : 1-20.
  7. Iman-Zade, Saida. 1954. Osvobozhdenie azerbaidzhanki – odno iz vazhneishikh zavoevanii velikoi oktiabrskoi sotsialisticheskoi revolutsii. Baku: Azerbaidzhanskii gosuniversitet (Avt. dissert. ).
  8. Halle, Fannina W. 1933. Woman in Soviet Russia. London: Routledge.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Kafkas Dilleri, Edebiyatları ve Kültürleri

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Erken Görünüm Tarihi

16 Aralık 2025

Yayımlanma Tarihi

14 Şubat 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

6 Şubat 2019

Kabul Tarihi

11 Kasım 2020

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Sayı: Özel Sayı/Special Issue

Kaynak Göster

APA
Gradskova, Y. (2026). “Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s. Kafkasya Çalışmaları, Özel Sayı/Special Issue, 1-22. https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS
AMA
1.Gradskova Y. “Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s. JOCAS. 2026;(Özel Sayı/Special Issue):1-22. https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS
Chicago
Gradskova, Yulia. 2026. ““Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the ‘emancipation’ of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s”. Kafkasya Çalışmaları, sy Özel Sayı/Special Issue: 1-22. https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS.
EndNote
Gradskova Y (01 Şubat 2026) “Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s. Kafkasya Çalışmaları Özel Sayı/Special Issue 1–22.
IEEE
[1]Y. Gradskova, ““Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the ‘emancipation’ of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s”, JOCAS, sy Özel Sayı/Special Issue, ss. 1–22, Şub. 2026, [çevrimiçi]. Erişim adresi: https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS
ISNAD
Gradskova, Yulia. ““Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the ‘emancipation’ of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s”. Kafkasya Çalışmaları. Özel Sayı/Special Issue (01 Şubat 2026): 1-22. https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS.
JAMA
1.Gradskova Y. “Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s. JOCAS. 2026;:1–22.
MLA
Gradskova, Yulia. ““Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the ‘emancipation’ of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s”. Kafkasya Çalışmaları, sy Özel Sayı/Special Issue, Şubat 2026, ss. 1-22, https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS.
Vancouver
1.Yulia Gradskova. “Woman of the East” and Soviet Orientalism: Reviewing the Soviet story on the “emancipation” of women in Azerbaijan in the 1920s-1930s. JOCAS [Internet]. 01 Şubat 2026;(Özel Sayı/Special Issue):1-22. Erişim adresi: https://izlik.org/JA36NF39TS
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