The intelligentsia and the oil barons in nineteenth-century Baku

Abstract

Unlike the intellectuals who by nature are concerned with ideas, entrepreneurs usually take actions, especially actions that result in financial benefits. Due to ideological reasons, these two- entrepreneurs and intellectuals –rarely find common ground in their differing interests to collaborate. When they do, however, it can lead to social change, as was the case in late nineteenth century Baku. The nineteenth century was an age of dramatic political, economic, and cultural changes for the people of the South Caucasus and especially for Baku, which had been a sleepy port town on the coast of the Caspian Sea up until then. Having witnessed many crucial moments such as invasion by the Russian Empire, transition into an industrial society, and the establishment of secular education, the nineteenth century occupies great importance in the historiography of the countries in the region. One of the major phenomena of the time, the development of an intellectual movement led by a secular Muslim intelligentsia, also known as the Azerbaijani Enlightenment movement (Azərbaycan maarifçilik hərəkatı), coincided with another pivotal change - the Baku oil boom. Although separately both topics have received enormous scholarly attention, they have rarely been examined in tandem with each other. Crucial questions regarding cooperation between the local intelligentsia and the oil industrialists—especially in matters of education and philanthropy--remain largely under-researched. Financial support from oil barons was often instrumental for some projects of the Enlightenment movement, and surprisingly little attention has been paid to the question of the connections between the intellectual movement and the oil industry. This project seeks to shed light on examples of collaboration between the intelligentsia and Baku oil barons and to contribute to the general understanding of the characteristics of this relationship, which was remarkable for the history of Azerbaijan. To reach its goal, my research analyzes this cooperation from a threefold perspective: firstly, as an outcome of a nineteenth-century Enlightenment movement led by the secular intellectuals against the clergy; secondly, as a modernization project that was a response by the oil barons to imperial rule; and thirdly, as a process of socio-cultural renewal that resulted largely from both the intelligentsia’s and the oil baron’s fascination with Europe and which later gained political significance.