POLITIZATION OF INTELLECTUALS IN EARLY POST-SOVIET SOCIETIES (GEORGIAN-CAUCASIAN PARALLELS)

ПОЛИТИЗАЦИЯ ИНТЕЛЛЕКТУАЛОВ В РАННИХ ПОСТСОВЕТСКИХ ОБЩЕСТВАХ (ГРУЗИНО-КАВКАЗСКИЕ ПАРАЛЛЕЛИ)

Kirchanov, Maksim (Кирчанов, Максим) ()
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Kirchanov, Maksim (Кирчанов, Максим): Voronezh State University

Sotsium i vlast / Society and power, 2020, 19-29

Abstract: Introduction. The author analyses the phenomenon of politicization of intellectuals in the early post-Soviet societies of Georgia, Armenia, Abkhazia and Azerbaijan. It is assumed that during the Soviet period, humanitarians served the political regime, legitimating it ideologically and culturally. The aim of the study. The collapse of the USSR led to the liberalization of society, inspiring the politicization of intellectual communities. The author’s aim is to analyze two levels of politicization of intellectuals, including “responsibility” and “betrayal”. Methods. Methodologically, the article is based on the principles of intellectual communities’ studies proposed by Paul Baran and Edward Said, whose ideas can be transplanted into the contexts of the early post-Soviet history of the Caucasus. Scientific novelty of the study. A new interpretation of the role of intellectuals, based on the analysis of original sources in Georgian, is proposed in the article. Results. It is presumed that 1) the leaders of Armenia and Abkhazia during the Soviet period were loyal intellectuals who made an academic career; 2) the future leaders of Azerbaijan and Georgia were also university intellectuals, but with political ambitions; 3) ruling intellectuals could not become effective managers, preferring to use the language of nationalism; 4) the history of the early postSoviet elites actualizes the problems of responsibility and betrayal of intellectuals, because their rule coincided chronologically with the political and economic crisis, as well as ethnic conflicts. Conclusions. The politicization of intellectual communities has led to negative results, assisting to the marginalization of humanitarian intellectuals in modern consumer societies.

Keywords: intellectuals; intellectual communities; Transcaucasia; elites; nationalism; betrayal of intellectuals; responsibility of intellectuals; ruling intellectuals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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