Independence motifs in Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh’s poetry

Abstract

The article explores the themes of national liberation and independence in the poetry of the prominent Azerbaijani poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh. It is shown that in his poems and poetic works written during the 1960s-1980s, Vahabzadeh stood against the ideological dogmas of his time and became a poetic symbol of national awakening. Despite various pressures, he never abandoned his convictions, dedicating his life to the struggle for the freedom and unity of his homeland. The poetic examples analyzed in the article vividly reflect Vahabzadeh’s civic position, patriotic spirit, and national worldview. The poet often transferred events to historical contexts or foreign lands as a means of expressing his ideas indirectly, and his readers always understood his intended message. He opposed the false freedom of the Soviet regime, calling upon the sons of the homeland to rise up for liberty and independence. According to Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh,a poet must be “the singer of truth,” “the speaking voice of nature,” “the rebellious cry of society,” “the conscience of the age,” and “the honor and glory of history.”   In the chaotic atmosphere of the 1980s, when the “Karabakh card” played by the decaying Russian Empire provoked the people’s anger, Vahabzadeh did not remain silent – through his poetry, he became a “soldier of freedom and independence.” As Yashar Garayev noted, in Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh’s poetry, the Azerbaijani people underwent a process of self-realization.