History is the experience of what has been lived

Baku/02.07.21/Turan:  In January  the Russian newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" wrote about history textbooks in six former Soviet republics.

In an article entitled "Colonialists" and "occupiers": What they write about Russia in school textbooks of the republics of the former USSR. In particular, it is said that in some republics, “pupils are told  that Russians are bad and how much evil they have committed in the past. The newspaper also wrote about textbooks used in Azerbaijani schools.

https://www.kp.ru/daily/27354/4536151/

This is not the first such article in this newspaper. Back in 2009 and 2017, "Komsomolskaya Pravda" "revised" school textbooks in the former Soviet republics, including Azerbaijan. And in those years, journalists expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Russia is presented in textbooks as an occupier.

To what extent do textbooks on the history of Azerbaijan meet the requirements of the era, the criteria of the UN? What causes their dissatisfaction with the book "General History" for grade 9, which is criticized in Russia? Who is right? Who is more correct to trust writing textbooks?

An article titled "Azerbaijan: 'totalitarianism' and 'repression'" states that the authors of the  textbook "General History"  for the ninth grade 'Lelt resentment against Russia both because of the tsarist and the Soviet period" "In the "military-occupation regime" section, dedicated to the first half of the 19th century, Russia received a not very pleasant characterization."

Further in the article are quotations from the textbook. “The khanates, which by that time were a symbol of the sovereignty of our people, were abolished and became provinces of the Russian Empire. Having a hostile attitude towards the Turkic-Muslim peoples, Russia created a difficult military-occupation regime on the occupied lands of Northern Azerbaijan.”

The article notes that the creation of the Azerbaijan SSR is described in the section "military intervention of Soviet Russia". "It was separately indicated that the Bolshevik Party consisted of Russians, Armenians, Jews and Georgians (nationalities were indicated in bold)."

According to the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan, all textbooks used in secondary schools are undergoing a procedure for ensuring the quality of content. "A study of public opinion about textbooks, the quality of which is guaranteed, is being started through the site www.trims.edu.az."

It was noted that along with this, pre-publishing expertise is being carried out. "All these processes are carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the State Examination Center, various educational institutions, research institutes, relevant government agencies and public organizations, as well as in cooperation with a number of foreign and international organizations. Based on feedback, textbooks are being improved, more times checked and then printed.

Eldar Guliyev, a member of the Milli Majlis Committee on Science and Education, told Turan that this textbook deals with the events of the 18th-19th centuries. “Starting from the time of Peter the Great, the Caucasus was occupied, including Azerbaijan. There is no other name for it."

He noted that in 1918 Azerbaijan created an independent state, and the 11th Red Army occupied Azerbaijan. “The talk is about historical facts. If this was not an occupation, then how did Azerbaijan become an independent state in 1918? This means that before that Azerbaijan was not an independent state and was part of some state, that is, part of Russia. And in 1920, the Bolshevik army came and occupied Azerbaijan, and for more than 70 years we lived as part of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a so-called state. After its collapse, all the republics, as well as Russia itself, gained independence. This is the story, as it was, as it is written, who can be unhappy with this?

The MP believes that textbooks should be prepared, first of all, by the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Education. "The Academy of Sciences must check the facts stated in the textbooks on the basis of the documents in its archives, and if what is written is correct, confirm them. Textbooks must be written on the basis of the correct facts, because this is very important for the development of future generations in the right direction ".

An expert on education, one of the curators of history textbooks Kamran Asadov said that the preparation of textbooks in Azerbaijan is carried out on a tender basis. "The Ministry of Education announces a tender, orders textbooks, and publishing houses collect authors to participate in the tender. They write textbooks within the standards set by the state, and the Ministry of Education selects the best textbooks."

According to him, there is a concept of preparing textbooks. “This is regulated by both legislation and the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers. Textbooks should correspond to the age characteristics and psychology of students, they should reflect the conceptual issues defined by the state, that is, statehood, nationalism, Azerbaijanism.”

He noted that in the14th-16th centuries Azerbaijan fought more agianst the Ottomans. “In the 16th century, Peter the Great made a campaign here, then there were occupations, there were the Turkmenchay and Gulistan treaties. The approach to them is different. But we, first of all, evaluate the fact. The historian cannot comment, we state the facts.”

Asadov noted that if one country attacks the territory of another, then this is occupation. “When we write textbooks, we regard those committed by the Ottomans in the 80-90s of the 16th century as an occupation, as well as Russian invasions. Just do not give it a negative interpretation. It is a fact. Our territories are occupied by another state. This applies to both the Arabs and the Sassanids.”

The expert says that there is no hatred towards Russia in school textbooks. "On the contrary, we write about the opening of rural schools in Azerbaijan by Russia in the 19th century, about the industrial revolution, about the transition from an agrarian country to an agro-industrial one with their support. The first Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted in the Soviet period. We also write about this. Azerbaijani textbooks are tolerant of all nationalities. But for some reason these journalists don't want to see that. The article is not objective, it is biased."—0--