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Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University |
Seminar Summaries 2006
- Kenzhebai Dusembaev, Gulzhan Nauryzbekova, Jane Knox-Voina, "Kazakh Film and National Identity" - November 14, 2006
- Iqbal Aghazadeh, Chairman, Umid Party of Azerbaijan, Member of Parliament, "Prospects for Democratization of Society in Azerbaijan" - December 12, 2006
Nov. 14, 2006 - "Kazakh Film and National Identity"
Kenzhebai Dusembaev, Kazakh filmmaker
Gulzhan Nauryzbekova, Kazakh film critic
Jane Knox-Voina, Davis Center Affiliate and Professor (Bowdoin College)
Kenzhebai Dusembaev speaking at the seminar
Kenzhebai Dusembaev (Kazakhfilm, Khabar Television), Gulzhan Nauryzbekova (Kazakh National Academy of Arts named after Zhurgenov) and Jane Knox-Voina, (Davis Center and Bowdoin College) talked about the role of filmmakers in the recreation of national Kazakh identity at a time when the Kazakh people are yet again in the position struggling to locate themselves between conflicting cultures: on the one hand, because of the 70-year long occupation by Soviet Russia, Kazakhs feel themselves Europeans; on the other, ancestral ties to the East make them keenly aware of their Asian roots.
Their talk addressed resurgence of nationalism, myth and memory in the renewal of national identity that demonstrates once again the power of the resources of that national self-identity: memories of golden ages and the power of territorial attachments to ancestral homelands and sacred sites.
Kazakh new wave cinema of the late 1980s and early 1990s created semi-documentary films that stripped away any ethnic culture back to the harsh conditions of the country side (aul) existing by the end of the Soviet regime. Now, Kazakh film directors, themselves from the country, are recreating childhood memories of the steppe and village life. They also turn to Kazakh literature from the 1920s for elements of Kazakh culture still surviving in the aul. Film director Kenzhebai Dusembaev recreates or “remembers” national space, especially hoping to restore for his Kazakh viewers the necessary interrelationship between the elder generation (grandparents) and the youngest generation (grandchildren) who need to rediscover their cultural traditional identity. Therefore Dusembaev showed his first film Kara Bala (1994) to take seminar participants back to that childhood village (aul). Here witnessing the growing-up experience of a young boy living with his grandmother and his first love, viewers are taken back to the lives and traditions of a Kazakh village of a story from the 1920s.
Dusembaev also showed select documentaries from the Kazakh TV series The Secrets of Architecture along the Silk Road for Kazakh speaking television viewers. Here he recalled more distant “golden” eras of, for example, the short documentary about the archeological discovery of “The Golden Man” found near Esik 79 km from the city of Almaty. Dating back to the 5th century BC and dressed in a suit of more than 4000 intricately decorated and fitted gold pieces, this Golden Man has become Kazakhstan’s symbol of strength and independence. There are several replicas of the suit on display in Almaty, including a stone version atop the Monument to Independence in Republic Square, but the original has been deemed too fragile to display and lies in the vaults of The National Bank of Kazakhstan.
- Jane Knox-Voina
"Prospects for Democratization of Society in Azerbaijan" - December 12, 2006
Iqbal Aghazadeh, Chairman, Umid Party of Azerbaijan, Member of Parliament
John Schoeberlein and
Iqbal AghazadehOn December 12, 2007, the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus welcomed Iqbal Aghazadeh, Chairman of the Umid Party of Azerbaijan, and the only opposition member of Azerbaijan's parliament. He spoke on the topic of "Prospects for Democratization of Society in Azerbaijan." Mr. Aghazadeh presented what he saw as the main problems which could prevent democracy from becoming a powerful institution in the country, but concluded that the lack of willingness to democratize was the greatest obstacle.
Mr. Aghazadeh refuted the notion that the rise of Islam could negatively affect the chances for democracy to take root. First, he argued that Islam is not as powerful a social force as people perceive it to be. It is not an important element of daily life. Second, the existence of many different sects of Islam within the country prevent it from becoming a consolidating factor, since none of the sects dominates over the others. Finally, Mr. Aghazadeh claimed that while democracy may contradict some traditional rules, in Azerbaijan the values of democracy cannot compete with Islam. Islam is not taught in schools as in other countries, and it is illegal to establish Islamic political parties.
Next, Mr. Aghazadeh analyzed whether Azerbaijan's culture could impede democratization, and again concluded that it could not. As Russians, Georgians, Kurds, and many other unique ethnic groups have lived together for decades in Azerbaijan, each group has developed tolerance for the other. Mr. Aghazadeh also referred to the brief period of democracy in 1918 after the Russian Empire collapsed, noting that during this time the political parties had included many different ethnic groups. While he acknowledged that the issue of human rights was a pressing one, Mr. Aghazadeh argued that human rights violations were not based on ethnic discrimination, but the general way that the state treats society as a whole.
Oil was the next factor Mr. Aghazadeh considered. He stated that it is difficult to find a state, with the exception of Norway, where oil reserves and democracy coincide. Consequently, there are some who believe that oil will hinder the development of democracy in Azerbaijan. Mr. Aghazadeh conceded that when the oil sector is monopolized by a few and there is a lack of transparency, oil can be a problem for democratization. However, the relationship between oil and democracy need not be determined in this way. Mr. Aghazadeh suggested that an institution be created to control how Azerbaijan's oil money should be spent. Such an institution could turn oil into a factor fueling democracy in the country.
Mr. Aghazadeh next discussed how the international factor could impact the country's democratization. While Azerbaijan's conflict with Armenia had ended with a ceasefire, the Azerbaijani government still used its conflict with Armenia to justify focusing on other issues besides democratization. Meanwhile, because of the large number of Azeri Turks in Iran, the government of Iran fears that democratization in Azerbaijan will fuel demands for democracy in Iran. Finally, Mr. Aghazadeh pointed out that if Azerbaijan wants more integration with Western institutions, relations with Russia would deteriorate.
The Azerbaijani parliamentarian ended his talk by asserting that the current regime's lack of willingness to democratize was the most significant factor impeding democratization in Azerbaijan. The government is creating only a façade of democracy, and the opposition is too weak and fragmented. Mr. Aghazadeh concluded that only with international support for democratization could the societal struggle for democracy achieve its goal in Azerbaijan.
Mr. Aghazadeh answered questions about the Azeri Turk population in Iran, the government's use of repression, the future of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, gender equality, and the opposition's fragmentation.
- Susan Sypko
Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus
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and Eurasian Studies
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