THE CULTURAL-HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS OF THE 20TH-CENTURY GANJA LITERARY ENVIRONMENT IN AZERBAIJANI LITERATURE

Ganja is one of the most ancient centers of culture in Azerbaijan. Historians have confirmed that Ganja existed long before the Common Era and have written extensively about its material and cultural monuments. Ganja represents one of the regions embodying Azerbaijan’s material and spiritual identity, where heroes have shown courage and sacrificed their lives for the country’s freedom and independence. It is not by chance that the proclamation of Azerbaijan as an independent state is associated with the name of this city: in 1918, the Azerbaijani National Council and Government were transferred from Tbilisi to Ganja, where they temporarily operated. Ganja is among the oldest centers of culture, art, and science in Azerbaijan. The great poet Nizami Ganjavi lived here, becoming a source of pride for the entire East and world literature. Poets such as Mahsati Ganjavi, Abul-Ula Ganjavi, and Givami Mutarrizi, who lived in the same century, also played an important role in the second half of the 12th century in the history of Azerbaijani literature. In subsequent centuries, this literary environment continued to expand its influence, entering new stages of development. Notably, the first literary assembly in Azerbaijan – Divani-hikmat (1820) – was founded in Ganja under the guidance of the eminent poet Mirza Shafi Vazeh, who united poets and lovers of literature both in Ganja and in Tbilisi.

The establishment of around twenty branches of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers, both within and outside the country, primarily aims to foster the development of literature in the regions. The very first of these branches was founded in Ganja. In the 1920 –1950 s, the literary milieu of Ganja produced a number of talented figures whose works went beyond the city’s borders and enriched the «Ganja page» of Azerbaijani literature.