Communist Propoganda in Azerbaijani Children’s Literature in the Soviet Union

Abstract

After the national republic had fallen in Azerbaijan in 1920 and the nation taken in the USSR, people’s view of the world was reshaped. Foreseeing that the sustainability of the Soviet order depends on educating children, the Communist Party rapidly started to improve the children’s literature. Furthermore, the Soviet ideology began to be transferred to the children in Azerbaijan via magazines and newspapers. Improved under the control of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijani children’s literature maintained the goal of raising Soviet minded people thanks to the topics and heroes in the literature. Three stages were considered so that Azerbaijani children could be raised with communist mentality. These stages are: Oktyabryat (age 7-9), Pioner (age 10), Komsomol (age 14). Oktyabryat was the first title given on the way to the Communism. The Soviet government made use of the power of the press, magazines and newspapers in order to carve socialism ideology into people’s minds. With the purpose of raising children with the Soviet mentality, the children’s magazine called Pioner (1927-1990) began publishing in Baku, in 1927. The magazine was issued 11 times a year. 80 percent of the essays, stories and poems were served for the Communist propaganda. These praised the Soviet era, told stories about Lenin’s success in school and included poems about the Soviet ancestry. National identity and national thoughts weren’t even a matter of discussion. Following the magazine, a newspaper called “Azerbaijani Pioneer” began publishing. The purpose of this newspaper was to spread the Communist ideals among children. This assertion presents the development of children’s literature in Azerbaijan from 1927 to 1990; the way the Communist propaganda was spread via essays, stories, riddles and poems published during the era; the way children were brainwashed; its negative impact; how atheism was first introduced; how the national conscious demolished; and their reflection in today’s world. It should be highlighted that there have been no published studies conducted on the impact of these magazines on the children’s education.