Mirza Bala Mammadzade (13 August 1898, Zira, Baku uezd, Baku Governorate, Russian Empire – 8 March 1959, Istanbul, Turkey) was an Azerbaijani public and political figure, publicist, translator, playwright, and historian. He was the second chairman of the Musavat Party.
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Early life
Mirza Bala Mammadzade was born on 13 August 1898 in the village of Zira on the Absheron Peninsula, into a fisherman's family.
His father moved to Baku in the early years of the 20th century in order to support his family and settled in the Çambarakand district of the city. His childhood was spent in Çambarakand, Baku. After graduating from the 7th "Rus-Tatar" school (1914) and the 3rd higher primary school, he continued his education at the Baku Technical Industrial School. He began his literary activity during his student years, and in 1912 his book titled "Nəfi-elm və yaxud Elmin Sonu" (“The Benefit of Knowledge or the End of Knowledge”) was published at Isabey Ashurbeyov’s Kaspi printing house. His close contact with progressive intellectuals within the “Məhəmmədiyyə” (Muhammadiyya) society played an important role in shaping his worldview. In 1915, Mirza Bala Mammadzade began contributing articles to the newspaper “Açıq söz” (“Open Word”), published by Mammad Amin Rasulzade, and later became actively involved in its editorial work. At the same time, he served as the editor-in-chief of the weekly journal “Bəsirət” (“Insight”).
Works
After the February Revolution of 1917, he became actively involved in open political activities and joined the ranks of the Musavat Party. In one of his articles, he addressed the youth, stating:Free your homeland, which is your sacred Kaaba… It is your homeland that keeps you alive as human beings. Only within your homeland can your language, honour, and dignity remain secure.
(Açıq söz, 4 January 1918)Shortly after the proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, M. B. Mammadzade served as co-editor, together with T. F. Hajizade, of the journal “Gənclər yurdu” (“Youth Homeland”), the organ of the “Gənclər cəmiyyəti” (“Youth Society”) established under the Musavat Party, which was published between June and November 1918. During the same period, Mirza Bala's pamphlet “İki inqilab arasında” (“Between Two Revolutions”) was published in Tbilisi. The booklet provided a general overview of the history of the press, education, literature, theatre, religion, and women's issues in Azerbaijan between 1905 and 1917. M. B. Mammadzade also worked as a stenographer in the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and in October 1919 he was elected a member of the Baku Committee of the Musavat Party. In September of the same year, his play “Bakı uğrunda mübarizə” (“The Struggle for Baku”), which dealt with the March 1918 genocide, was staged at the Azerbaijan State Theatre.
Activities after the occupation of Azerbaijan
After the occupation of Azerbaijan, M. B. Mammadzade became the chairman of the Central Committee of the clandestine Musavat organization in Baku and continued to publish its organ, the newspaper “İstiqlal” (“Independence”), until 1923. During this period, he worked as a translator at the Supreme Council of National Economy of Azerbaijan and as a secondary school teacher. He also maintained his connection with the press, publishing a series of articles on Azerbaijani history in the journal “Yeni yıldız” (“New Star”), and in 1922 he published the book “Azərbaycan türk mətbuatı” (“The Azerbaijani Turkic Press”) in Baku.
In July 1923, after the location of the “İstiqlal” printing house was discovered by government authorities and members of the clandestine Müsavat organization were arrested, Mammadzade managed to avoid arrest. He subsequently distributed leaflets opposing the statements made by a group of detainees who had declared support for Soviet rule.
Until the end of spring 1924, M. B. Mammadzade continued his clandestine activities and, in May, moved to the city of Anzali in Iran, where he took charge of the activities of Azerbaijani émigrés. After living for some time in Tabriz, he later worked as a road construction engineer-technician in the area around the city of Sulduz. During this period, he sent articles to the journal “Yeni Qafqaziya” (“New Caucasus”), published in Istanbul under the leadership of Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh.
A central theme of Mammadzade's journalism during this period was the criticism of Bolshevism, Soviet ideology and the Soviet party-state system, as well as the exposure of the Soviet press as part of the propaganda apparatus. In 1927, he moved to Istanbul, where his books “Azərbaycan misaqi-millisi: 28 Mayıs İstiqlal Bəyannaməsinin təhlili” (“The Azerbaijani National Pact: An Analysis of the 28 May Independence Declaration”) and “Ermənilər və İran” (“The Armenians and Iran”) were published.
He closely collaborated with the journals “Azəri türk” (1928–1931) and “Odlu yurd” (1929–1931), published under the editorship of Mammad Amin Rasulzade, as well as with the journal “Azərbaycan yurd bilgisi” (“Azerbaijan Homeland Knowledge”). As one of the main contributors to “Azəri türk” and “Odlu yurd”, his articles such as “Fətəli xan Xoyski” and “Doktor Həsən bəy” are considered valuable for characterizing the statesmen of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Position on the Wiesbaden Conference
In the journal “Azərbaycan” (“Azerbaijan”) published by the “Azərbaycan Kültür Dərnəyi” (“Azerbaijan Cultural Association”), Mirza Bala Mammadzade's extensive article titled “Qafqaz ölkələri istiqlal elanın 40-cı ildönümü münasibətilə” (“On the 40th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Caucasian Countries”) was considered significant for its assessment of the Caucasus question, as well as the region's place and role in international relations.
The Wiesbaden Conference (1951), at which prominent representatives of the Azerbaijani political émigré community such as Jeyhun Hajibeyli, Akbar agha Sheikhulislamov, and Ismail Akbar signed a joint declaration with Russian émigré organizations on the creation of a “united anti-Bolshevik front,” led to serious dissatisfaction among Azerbaijani émigré organizations.
In his article “Milli İstiqlal davamızın bugünkü səhifəsi” (“The Current Page of Our National Independence Struggle”), published in the journal “Qafqazya” (“Caucasus”, August 1952, No. 13), Mammadzade both exposed the intentions of Russian political émigrés—whose goal was the establishment of a “united and indivisible Russia”—and criticized the incorrect positions of non-Russian émigrés, including Azerbaijanis, who participated in the Wiesbaden Conference. He argued that “turning our national independence struggle into a matter of negotiation with the Russians serves to facilitate the aims and actions of Russian imperialists.”
In his article “Hər şeydən öncə milli istiqlal” (“National Independence Above All”), he sharply criticized the American committee that coordinated and financed Russian émigré organizations and organized the Wiesbaden Conference, stating that it undermined the right of the peoples of the Soviet Union to national independence.
In another article published in “Birləşik Qafqasya” (“United Caucasus”), the organ of the Caucasian Independence Committee, he highlighted the history and path of the Caucasian peoples’ independence struggle. In his writings, Mammadzade criticized Russian émigré groups that refused to recognize the right to independence of non-Russian peoples in the USSR, as well as the Soviet regime and communist ideology, while also addressing issues related to literary and cultural life.