Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Ali Derazi ¹
• Alireza Alisofi ²
• Nezamali Dahnavi ³

¹ Phd student of history, Payame noor university, Tehran,Iran

² Associate Professor of history, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

³ Associated professor History , Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The Democratic Party of Azerbaijan was formed with the support of the Soviet Union in 1324 and collapsed after a year. One of the prominent consequences of the collapse of this government was the refugees of a large number of Azerbaijanis to the Soviet Union, and the main purpose of this research is to identify the components of Iranian identity among these refugees. This research, which was conducted with the historical research method and using observations, field research and in-depth interviews with the sect's refugee survivors, aims to reveal the actions and performance of the Azerbaijan Democratic sect regarding the anti-Iranian identity among its members. The results of the studies show that after the collapse of the sect government, most of the refugees who fled and became refugees to the Soviet Union due to their support for the sect, shortly after this event, realized the dependence of their leaders and despite the brutal Stalinist policy of the party. The communists of Azerbaijan and sect leaders who silenced the voice of any opposition with false and inhuman accusations and sent them to forced labor camps in Siberia and Central Asia, but most of the refugees, because of their attachment to their Iranian identity, tried hard to preserve and continue it, which today It has also continued after 75 years.

Keywords

• Iran
• identity
• Democratic Party of Azerbaijan
• Soviet Union
• Refugees

Main Subjects

• Social history

Extended Abstract

Components of Iranian identity among the refugees of the democratic sect of Azerbaijan

in the Republic of Azerbaijan

Introduction: The Azerbaijan Democrats declared its existence on September 12, 1324 with the support of the Soviet Union and spreading hatred against the Tehran government. The creation of hatred deepened by highlighting the differences and ethnic characteristics of the Azerbaijani people with other parts of Iran, including the mother tongue, history making, and instilling a non-Iranian identity to the residents of Azerbaijan by the leaders of the sect in the next stages. With the end of the Second World War, as a result of the pressure of the United States, which somehow involved the international community in this issue, and with the intelligent policy of consistency against Stalin, the Soviet Union was finally forced to cut off military support from the government of the democratic sect of Azerbaijan, and finally, with the arrival of the army Iran to the cities of the north-west, during three days, finally on December 21, 1325, this government collapsed (Mustafi, 1379: 51-48).

With the approach of the military forces of the central government of Iran in December 1325 to Azerbaijan, Peshwari and other leaders of the Azerbaijan Democratic sect, together with a large number of members and supporters of the sect, whose number is estimated to be around 20 thousand people, were sent to Azerbaijan.

In terms of class structure, these refugees were more than villagers, peasants and workers who, due to the lack of literacy and political insight and with the intention of eliminating the oppression of the tyrants and oppressive owners, were deceived by the sect's slogans and propaganda about seeking justice and fair distribution. They had eaten the wealth and land and had become supporters of sects.

The non-fulfillment of the refugees' demands led to their dissatisfaction with the sect leaders and the communist leaders of Azerbaijan, and for this reason they were constantly seeking to return to Iran. There were differences between them (Demirchi, 2018: 40). The suspicious death of Peshawari in a car accident on July 20, 1326 is related to his differences with Mirjafar Bakraf, the first secretary of the Soviet Azerbaijan Communist Party (Homayun-pour, 1967: 181).

The fate of these Iranians in the Soviet Union is one of the darkest points of Iran's modern history, which has been paid less attention for some reason and many of its angles remain hidden. This deficiency is especially noticeable in Persian sources, and not many studies have been done on it. This work is mostly based on field data and interviews with survivors of refugees in different parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The concern and problem of this research is to identify and analyze the impact and permanence of Iranian identity in the eyes of the refugees of the democratic sect of Azerbaijan after 75 years of their sojourn.

Research question and hypothesis

- In terms of identity, what was the fate of the refugees of the democratic sect of Azerbaijan during the exile?

- This research is based on the assumption that "despite the extensive activities of the leaders of the democratic sect of Azerbaijan in the field of ethnocentrism, history-making, nation-building and instilling a non-Iranian identity to the refugees of the sect, most of them during the exile period They preserved their Iranian identity and passed it on to their children."

Research method: The research method in this research is in the form of qualitative content analysis, and the overall effort is to describe and analyze the subject by relying on first-hand sources and field research and in-depth interviews.

Background research: In the overview and summary of the researches carried out as the background of this research, even those works that deal with the memories of the exile of the Tudeh Party and the Azerbaijan Democratic Sect, only the performance and performance of these two currents and the problems and hardships. There are references to the lives of the refugees during the exile period, and no information is found in them about the identity challenges of the refugees. Therefore, the present research investigates the issue of Iranian identity among sect refugees by examining all the available sources and using observations and field research.

Research findings: The main solution to know the main components of identity among sect refugees after 75 years away from Iran is field research among their survivors. Field investigations and interviews with the survivors of the sect showed that, despite the propaganda and actions of the sect leaders to falsify history, nation building, instilling a non-Iranian identity for Azerbaijan and anti-Persian language, but the refugees of the sect and their children are rooted in in the territory of the historical and cultural geography of Iran, the love and interest in the Iranian identity has continued from generation to generation until today.

Result: A more comprehensive understanding of the political, social, economic and cultural conditions of the refugees of the democratic sect of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Azerbaijan is not possible without being among them and taking advantage of oral history. Based on this, this research tried to recognize and explain the components of Iranian identity among sect refugees and survivors. Investigations showed that most of the sect's refugees took steps to advance the goals of the democratic sect leaders and the Soviet government due to the lack of literacy and political insight and lack of knowledge of behind-the-scenes issues, as well as due to the great pressure and oppression of the readers and owners. The catchy slogans centered on justice and the plan to divide the land for the benefit of the subjects were also very effective in the general public's tendency to join the sect's supporters.

By being among the survivors of the refugees and examining their memories, it is clear that most of them were not compatible with the leaders of the sect in terms of thought and belief, but were very interested in their Iranian identity. Despite the widespread propaganda of sect leaders, Soviet communists and then Pan-Turkism supporters in inducing non-Iranian identity to refugees through imaginary history-making and nation-building, the majority of refugees have still tried to preserve their Iranian identity.. After 75 years away from their homeland, the sect's refugee survivors still adhere to many important components of their Iranian identity and have worked very hard to continue it from one generation to the next. It can be clearly seen.

Key words: Iran, identity, democratic sect of Azerbaijan, Soviet Union, refugees.