Khrushchev's Thaw and National Identity in Soviet Azerbaijan, 1954–1959

The twenty-second book, Khrushchev's Thaw and National Identity in Soviet Azerbaijan, 1954–1959 by Jamil Hasanli, discusses how Nikita Khrushchev’s secret speech in February 1956 condemning Joseph Stalin sparked wide nationalist ferment in the Soviet Union, including in Soviet Azerbaijan.  Hasanli traces how the nationalist unrest that emerged in 1956 affected Soviet foreign policy, especially during the crises in Poland and Hungary in October-November 1956. Although Azerbaijan remained under Soviet rule for another 35 years, the nationalist revival in 1956 paved the way for events in 1988-1991 that contributed to the unraveling of the Soviet state.  Reviewers praised the book as “a comprehensively researched and well-argued study” and “a fascinating analysis of the repercussions from Khrushchev’s secret speech in regions of the USSR far away from Moscow.”