Paul
Goble
Staunton, March 2 – Only 30 copies
of a new Russian-language book on Azerbaijanis, part of the “Peoples and
Cultures” series and prepared jointly by scholars in Moscow and Baku, were sold
in the first month after its release, a disappointing figure sparking complaints
about inadequate advertising and concern about declining interest in the
subject.
In early February, the Nauka
publishing house issued the collective monograph “Azerbaijanis in a print run
of 1400 copies, approximately 1000 of which were for sale. Since then, only 30
have sold, people in the publishing and distribution industries tell the Kavkaz-Uzel
news agency (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/317196/).
The 700-page book
may have put some people off by its price – 1496 rubles (25 US dollars) – but the
scholars involved in its production place the blame on the publisher and
distributors and the failure of both to advertise the book properly.
Academician Valery Tishkov, the
former director of the Moscow Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, says
that Nauka publishes things quite well but “isn’t able to sell books. With
regard to sales, it is simply a catastrophe. There is a demand for the book,
but there is not enough information about it.”
Books in the series “Peoples and
Cultures” are “unique and interesting,” he continues. They contain unique
information, maps and other data not found anywhere else, and what is
particularly important they are produced jointly by Russian scholars and by
scholars from the nation being described.
Since 1997, there have appeared
volumes in this series on the Armenians, the Georgians, the Chechens, the
peoples of Daghestan, the Karachays and Balkars, the Ingush, and the Ossetins. “It
remains to write about the Circassians and Adygeys [and] perhaps also about the
Nogays,” Tishkov says.
Lyudmila Misonova, who serves as responsible
secretary for the series, says that the Azerbaijani embassy has talked about
purchasing 1,000 copies; but so far, it has not followed up on initial
discussions. She notes that a decision has been taken not to issue electronic
versions of the book until the series is completed.
Yury Anchabadze, a senior scholar,
says that the small number of volumes sold is an unpleasant reality. “After the disintegration of the USSR, people
lost interest in” Azerbaijanis and other non-Russian peoples. But now, at least
with regard to the Azerbaijanis, there is a rebirth of interest.
The recent volumes in this series represent
a significant advance on the two-volume “Peoples of the Caucasus” that was issued
in the 1960s. Many issues couldn’t be
discussed then but are being fully covered now, Anchabadze says. And that
promotes interest and scholarly cooperation among the peoples involved.
Aliaga Mamedli, the head of ethno-sociological
research of the Baku Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography who served as the
responsible editor for the Azerbaijani contributions, says that the book is “important
for the information of Russians and Russian-language readers about Azerbaijanis
and Azerbaijan.”
In addition, he
notes, “in the West, there are specialist and ethnologists who via Russian are
acquainted with the literature devoted to the peoples of the former Soviet
republics, including Azerbaijan.”
Togrul Dzhuvarly, a member of the
Azerbaijani National Committee on European Integration, agrees; but he sees
additional benefits: many other peoples may “via Russian-language literature”
become acquainted with the ethnology of Azerbaijan. That is important for them and for Azerbaijanis
as well.
“Of course,” Dzhuvarly says, “someone
may look at this and see political subtexts such as perhaps Russia wanting to
stress that the peoples of the former USSR are in its sphere of influence. But
even if there is a certain dollop of truth in that regard, this is a
manifestation of it in ‘a soft form.’ The scientific, informational and
culturological significance is much greater.”
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