The Political, Economic and Cultural Aspects of Turkish- German Relations in Azerbaijani Press at the Beginning of The XXth Century

Abstract

This study examines the different aspects of Turkish-German relations reflected in Azerbaijani press after a brief overview of Turkish-German historical relations. It is well-known that the beginning of the XXth century was the period of enlightenment of new political ideas, educational and cultural views in Azerbaijan just as in the Ottoman Empire, also this period was the start for movement of national liberation of Azerbaijan against the exiled regime of Tsarist Russia. This paper focuses on how Turkish and German relations was reflected in Azerbaijani press at the beginning of the XXth century which was under the intense pressure of Tsarist Russia. This study reveals that all these works show the critical approach to Turkish-German relations. Findings show that there was criticism about the exploitation and imperialist policies of the German Empire toward the Ottoman and Near East in all articles and caricatures. Particularly, Ali Bey Huseynzadeh drew attention on both military and commercial expansion policies of the German Empire and he complained about the German isolation policy towards the Ottomans. He also drew our attention on the Anatolian and Near Eastern railway construction financed by The Deutsche Bank. Ali Bey Huseynzadeh objected to Ottoman authorities, particularly II Abdulhamid's submissive attitude towards Germany. The collected data about the relations between Turk-German in Azerbaijani press in the early XXth century have been discussed in terms of different issues as political, commercial, scientifical, and cultural aspects.