Trauma, Memory, and Nationhood: The Legacy of Post-Soviet Transition in Azerbaijan

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan, which had been part of the Soviet 'empire' for seventy years, underwent significant social, political, and economic changes. This turbulent transition is characterized by violent events that took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s. How people recall this transformation is as important as the perspectives offered by the discipline of history. This paper examines the collective memory of the post-Soviet transition in Azerbaijan, its influence on the deconstruction and reconstruction of national identity, and how reinterpreting the colonial past can help counter Russia's broader ambitions in the post-Soviet region, particularly in the Caucasus. The qualitative data draw upon ongoing ethnographic fieldwork conducted in four cities of Azerbaijan in 2022 and 2024, which included biographical interviews with participants who experienced life under the Soviet regime, went through the transformation of the 1990s, and are currently residing in Azerbaijan. The initial research findings indicate that the collective memory of the post-Soviet transition is dominated by cultural trauma, which has resulted in the deconstruction of Soviet identity and the reconstruction of national identity. The research aims to highlight the importance of memory studies in understanding the current geopolitical situation in the Caucasus. Investigating how memories of the colonial past shape current and future political relations between Azerbaijan and Russia is crucial, particularly given Russia’s role in the ongoing Karabakh conflict.