It must be noted that parallels between Armenians were drawn not to “hail Armenians as superior” to Muslims. On the contrary, such parallels were acrimonious along these lines: “we are unlike them”, “we should resemble them”, and “we do nothing to become more educated and civilized like them”.
Mirza Alakbar Sabir
Thank God, we are not Armenians, to send our boy to school.
There, look at our praised beanpole of the son-in-law who was a swat at school, and what is there to gain from him?
No, I won’t allow my baby boy to be schooled! He is still a tot!
Let my boy continue swearing, he is just but a little one!
25 August, 190868
This backfired as phobias in respect of Armenians did not abate; instead, they were heated up and intensified. Considering the illiteracy factor of the population, it can be rightfully claimed that there was virtually no direct link between ‘the people and the intellectual elite’, and all communication was mediated through the clergy or a state authority which protected the interests of the business and had a stake in maintaining the ignorance and therefore their ability to control the masses and sought to eliminate their Armenian competitors.
During my stay in Baku I was extremely surprised by the vehement acrimony of foreigners against Armenians; apart from a couple of isolated cases, their sympathies were entirely in favor of Tatars. I must confess that I was impressed by this unanimity. I came to Caucasus without any biased judgment; however, I was inclined to believe that the sufferings of Armenians were greatly exaggerated by the European press which blackwashed Tatars. Agayev to whom I paid a visit convincingly proved the righteousness of Tatars, while the English, Russian and other disinterested observers were almost unanimous in their condemnation of Armenians. Even plain Russian soldiers and policemen who were asked to give their opinion on who was responsible for the unrest responded without the slightest doubt: Armenians. Where racial and religious hatred was white hot, it was hard to weigh all pros and cons at once. I had no choice but to rely on statements of those who knew well this land and seemed neutral. But I gradually came to the conclusion that foreigners were not as unswayed in their judgments as it seemed at first. Let along the Muslim skill of impressing, the position of foreign financial and business circles was influenced by their competition with Armenians. But for Armenians, foreigners could lay their hands on the entire oil industry of this place, instead, they must deal with an able, industrious and resourceful opponents <…> all of the above explains the rancor of foreigners against Armenians. A prominent English factory owner told me quite straightforwardly that all Armenians must be annihilated.69
The nascent small bourgeoisie under the guiding hand of Pan-Turanian ideologists benefited the ignorance of the population to advance their objectives, i.e. consolidation of the population of various ethnic backgrounds around the idea of the single ethnic self-identification based on the image of Armenian enemy rather than the common religion. The image of the Armenian enemy has become the very impulse that was necessary for the consolidation of the society and formulation of ethnic traits.70
A. Agayev wrote during the clashes between Armenians and Tatars of 1905-06: “It is thanks to these clashes that all Tatars of Transcaucasia came to realize that they belong to a single kind and related with one another by close ties, and that there is no difference between Tatars of Nakhichevan and Tatars of Baku”.71
A correspondent of ‘Kavkazskoe slovo’ (‘Caucasian Word’) newspaper S. Rafalovich wrote in his memories: “In my presence, the Minister of the Internal Affairs, Behbud Javanshir, said: “Today I received Tagionosov. I told him that it was in the best interests of Armenians not to come pleading to me. When I talk to Armenians, I feel such resentment that I forget myself which is surely to make things worse for Armenians”. When asked why he chose to accept the post of such responsibility, the Minister of the Internal Affairs, Behbud Javanshir responded: “Why? I became a minister only to do away with Armenians”.72
Dr. Khosrov bey Sultanov (Minister of Agriculture and State Property), along with many others, openly declared that in Azerbaijan there would be either no Armenians altogether, or they would be given the status of the Turkish rayah (rightless creatures). “Armenians have nothing to do here, let them go to their own country”, vehement nationalist voices were heard.73
Asad Karayev: We rejoice in your success. We have no doubt that the sum of around 100 million allocated from Baku will not be spent without benefit. May Allah bless the power of the money that can do more than mighty troops. Those who know the thinking of Armenians will always know how to become their masters. There is no Armenian who wouldn’t sell everything for money. This nation holds nothing sacred except money. This explains the large number of Armenian spies and agents as in no other country money can achieve as much as in case of Armenians. It is a fact of life. Wretched (poor) Jews are unjustly accused of this.74
The 20th century – Soviet period
With higher level of education and with equal conditions and the absence of the need to take personal part in the process of education, ethnonym and alphabet75 creation, historiography, etc., in the context of the rhetoric dictated by the epoch, Armenians came to be viewed as an attained benchmark. This found its expression in the thesis of “Armenian-Azerbaijani equality and brotherhood’’, “friends for centuries” and “companions in arms in the struggle”, etc.
It must be noted that in daily life and at subconscious level comparison and contrast were still quite common and were later on transferred into the areas of academic studies and administration. The perception of Armenians and the behavioral patterns that ensued formulated at several levels.
Outward – at the level of slogans and propaganda which were based on communist values and represented as a whole a showcase where recent tragic events came to be termed as “fratricidal war provoked by the tsarist regime”. In this sense, a footnote to the poem by Sabir appearing in a publication in 1983 is quite illustrative.76
Dedicated to clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis provoked by tsarist regime in Caucasus in 1905 and published in ‘Hayat’ newspaper along with the letter of Sabir in which the poet responded to the invitation for cooperation appearing in the newspaper to mark the commencement of its activities. “For people who made a bloodbath” etc.77 The reference is made to the fratricidal massacre between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.78
Or, the public statements of communist leaders of Azerbaijan:
Ex-president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev: Comrades! The entire life, short but vivid and full of profound meaning, the life of a professional revolutionary, versatile party and state activities of Stepan Shahumyan are a symbol of his selfless fight for freedom and the welfare of the working people, for the triumph of the communism ideals. <…> Back in March 1918, Musavatists provoked an anti-Soviet rebellion in Baku intending to quench the Soviet authority. Thanks to the resolute and firm measures taken by Bolsheviks, the rebellion was suppressed. Bolsheviks of Azerbaijan spared no effort in their struggle for the development of socialist revolution in all directions. Despite intrigues of the bourgeois nationalists, in defiance of a mortal danger they propagated in masses – in plants and workshops, in villages and provinces – the truth of the Lenin doctrine. The titanic labor of the chairman of the council of popular commissars of Baku could be seen in all reforms of the commune. Sultan Majid Afandiyev dedicated this figurative statement on him: “Stepan Shahumyan is the guiding hand of the Commune of Baku, its mastermind, knowledge, and thought… The compelling logic of his discourse hit and crushed the enemies of the Commune. He is the favorite leader of the army of oil industry workers” <…> the noble image of Stepan Georgievich Shahumyan is an inspiration for all generations of workers <…>. And today, with pride and love we say that this great son of the Armenian people, Stepan Shahumyan, is also a son of the Azerbaijani people, all peoples of the Transcaucasia, all multinational and united Soviet people (long and thunderous ovation).79