Pan-Tadeusz: Orientalist sage and friend of Azerbaijan
Tentatively-sketched portrait of Swietochowski

SOCIETY  15 July 2022 - 10:00

When Azerbaijan was perceived to be a largely unknown exotic country, presumably sandwiched between the Soviet and Iranian realms somewhere in a geography of elusive characteristics, according to the uninformed Western imagination, Professor Tadeusz Swietochowski, a French-born Polish Orientalist of Jewish origin, who later also become a naturalised American, further complexifying his own somewhat fluid identity, was painstakingly and enthusiastically studying and writing academic pieces on this very nation’s history.

His influential works, most of which were published long after they were penned, including “Russian Azerbaijan: The Shaping of National Identity in a Muslim Community, 1905-1920”, “Russia and Divided Azerbaijan”, “Historical Dictionary of Azerbaijan”, “Russian Rule: Modernising Elites and the Establishment of National Identity in Azerbaijan” have cumulatively become the cornerstone of Azerbaijani historiography in the West.

As a scholar imbued with the overriding imperative of academic impartiality and integrity, he examined the genesis and evolution of the Azerbaijani national identity with unperturbed honesty, under no circumstances letting his deeply-entrenched sympathy towards the country of his research influence his reasoning and deliberations.

But he was also a strong and passionate friend of Azerbaijan, acutely conscious of its thorny historic journey. From his first trip to Baku, in 1985, he became even more enamoured with its people and culture, becoming a voice of hope for and a proponent of the country.  

One auspicious evening in London

I had a chance to meet Professor Swietochoswki at St James’s Hotel and Club in London, whilst attending the presentation of the “The Armenian question in the Caucasus: Russian Archive Documents and Publications, 1906-1914” book in February 2012.

The illustrious scholar was a little indisposed after a tiring flight and not in the best of health, in general. He was also in mourning for his late wife of many decades. But we had a chance to have a conversation, which proved rather illuminating, despite its brevity.

Professor Swietochowski said a couple of words in Turkish, in which he said he was completely fluent in his younger days, yet later, due to a lack of practice, his skills weakened. When I inquired as to the universally accepted spelling of his name, as I had previously heard some journalists covering the event discussing this between themselves, he smiled and kindly replied naming “the peculiar Polish alphabet as a culprit”.

In the US, he was called Mister Ted, in Türkiye Ted bey, whereas in his native Poland, he was the princely Pan Tadeusz. I did not ask what his personal preference was, but continued by referring to him as Professor Swietochowski.

Biographical essentials

Born into a Polish family of Jewish extraction in Lille, France, in 1932, he spent his formative years in the country of his parents. In an interview with Lyudmila Khokhlova of "Azerbaijanskie Izvestiya", published on 12 November 2005, he admitted that maths was not his forte as a child, but he was good in history and languages, and this passion eventually paved his way to the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw, where his main focus was the Turkish-Islamic world.

The turning point in his life was a trip to Britain where he met an American Pole from the Ignazio Podoretsky Foundation. Swietochowski shared his unbounded passion for the East and desire to learn Arabic with this godsent interlocutor.

He was advised to apply for a scholarship and granted one, and then moved to Lebanon to study at the American University of Beirut, where he earned an MA in Arabic Studies. He also studied Arabic history at the University of Cairo.

In 1965, he moved to the US to pursue his doctoral studies, together with his wife Marie (Mimi) Lukens, whom he met earlier in Istanbul. And it is during this stage of his life that he became seriously enamoured with and intellectually interested by Azerbaijan.

The knowledge of Turkish that he acquired earlier, during his studies and thanks to trips to Istanbul, equipped him with the necessary skills to read Azerbaijani texts and familiarise himself with Azerbaijani literature and theatre, using microfilm archives. His doctoral thesis was dedicated to the Azerbaijani intelligentsia of the late 19th century, Mirza Fatali Akhundzade and Zerdabi being literary figures upon whom he centred his focus.

After having studied at Columbia and New York University, he received a PhD degree from the latter, and then wrote a monumental work dedicated to Azerbaijani history of 1905-20; he examined the nascent emergence of the early 20th century Azerbaijani national identity, with all its complexities and contradictions, and the illustrious period of the First Republic (1918-20).

Tadeusz Swietochowski was a Professor of Soviet and Middle East Studies at Monmouth University, New Jersey. He was also a fellow at the Washington-based Kennan Institute, and Senior Fellow at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University.

Makings of Azerbaijan

The emergence of the Turkic-speaking Muslim community of the South Caucasus into what was later to become Azerbaijan, as a political entity along national lines in 1918, was the underlying theme of his many works.

As a scholar, he cultivated a disposition which aimed to see a research subject in its full entirety. He was never given to the unfettered leftist anti-imperialist tendencies traditionally dominant in academic circles, but favoured a judicious interpretation of historic occurrences.

In his works, he viewed the whole process of the gradual formation of the Azerbaijani national identity in a way which considered all impactful ingredients, with due importance being ascribed to their comparative merits and fluctuating significance.

For Swietochowski, since Azerbaijani and Iranian histories were effectively intertwined until the Russian conquest, de-Iranisation or rather cutting loose from the Persian tradition formed an important milestone.

The rise of the written form of the Turkic language in the nascent press, the modernising and enlightening role of the intelligentsia and the subsequent emergence of the local bourgeoisie were the main linchpins of the atmosphere in which the national consciousness was given rise to and shaped.

His works do not depict a romanticised picture of a national struggle against Tsarist oppression but, as befitting a conscientious scholar of unmoved impartiality, he charted a complicated and sometimes contradictory process of steady growth that prepared the scene for the establishment of the First Republic.

The relations between the Azerbaijani national consciousness and the growth of the Young Turk Movement in the Ottoman Empire, their mutual impacts and the fundamentals of the Pan-Turkic Movement with its ineradicable consequences that are still felt keenly were examined with lucid clarity by Professor Swietochowski.

Azerbaijan: Neither Europe nor Asia

In 2007, whilst in attendance at the conference titled “The Caucasus and Central Asia”, he predicted Azerbaijan would soon grow into a geopolitical player whose influence would go well beyond the confines of the region, largely due to the capitalisation of energy export capabilities.

He defined the country’s astute policy of keeping on good terms with both the West and Russia as one of the key factors underpinning its future prospects. Defining Azerbaijan as “neither Europe nor Asia”, he advocated that the nation should follow its own unique propensities, and, in forging its tomorrow, abstain from mimicking any other great culture.

He was a great admirer of Heydar Aliyev’s acumen, political calculations and ability to pull the strings under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. For Swietochowski, the period from 1993-2003 could be separated into three parts, namely the phase of the consolidation, iron hand and relaxation. 

Professor Swietochowski regarded pragmatism as one of the defining features of Heydar Aliyev’s governance. He believed the self-same quality was integral to his successor – Ilham Aliyev – in the personality of whom he astutely discerned the making of a world-class leader.

“Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity, it is a matter of time”, he insisted throughout. He was a strong believer in the utter righteousness of Azerbaijan over the Karabakh issue and propounded his view forcefully whenever he had an opportunity. He saw Azerbaijan steadily growing economically and becoming increasingly self-sufficient and of consequence to the world, and Armenia losing its de facto independence and failing to follow the spirit of the times.

Frequently confronted with the question by Azerbaijani journalists on the importance of the Armenian lobby, he was clear in his view: “True, they have a worldwide strong lobby. So what? You can have even a more influential energy lobby”.

As an orientalist, he strongly believed in the common roots of all the three Abrahamic religions and denounced religious schisms. Professor Swietochowski found the anti-Israeli stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran counter-productive. In his aforementioned interview with “Azerbaijanskie Izvestiya”, he described Tehran’s militaristic posture “as having long-term perilous consequences”.

He was very optimistic about the idea of Caucasian unity and in 2005 predicted that the consolidation of the South Caucasian nations into one domain was an inevitability. In 2022, this seems to be slightly precipitous, but if a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia is signed and the 3+3 comes to fruition, together with the Zangazur mega-project, Swietochowski’s surmise could indeed materialise in one guise or another.

He was a genuine and indomitable proponent of Azerbaijan. An unquestionably dedicated and steadfast friend in need. He felt the nation’s pain with every sinew of his being. When many voices across the globe were coaxing the victim of the aggression into accepting the gruesome factual "reality", he remained relentlessly optimistic, continuing to espouse Azerbaijan’s cause in the face of massive pressure mounted against him by the Armenian diaspora. We, as a nation, owe him a lot. And, in the 90th year of his birth, it is long overdue to pledge our tribute to him in some tangible memorial form.

I was not privileged to know Pan Tadeusz, as he was called in his native Poland, on a close personal level. But my only first-hand experience of conversing with him made me think that whilst fulfilling his life-long quest, he also longed for a life beyond the ivory tower.

His errand was not in vain. He travelled extensively and knew many cultures. He did not like to live in the midst of the whirl and rush, preferred a countryside where had a home to the bustling streets of New York City, where he spent his working time.

I wish I could have known him better to appreciate his inner substratum as a human being. But this is what I know and with this I doff my hat and conclude this humble submission.

Caliber.Az