Paradoxes of Soviet Coloniality: The Case of “Az I YA” by Olzhas Suleimenov

Abstract

The chapter analyzes the book of the Kazakh poet Olzhas Suleimenov “Az i YA. The Book of a Well-Intentioned Reader,” in the context of post-colonial framework. The publication of “Az i YA” in 1975 in Almaty, the former periphery of the USSR, reveals the complex and covert nature of Soviet colonialism. The author draws attention to Suleimenov’s innovative methodology and analyzes his representation of the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” a classic of Old Russian literature. Suleimenov’s reading produced an epistemological shift in modern knowledge about the Tale and was rejected. The chapter discusses the reasons for such an attitude in light of the specifics of Soviet coloniality. Special attention is drawn to the contradiction between declarations and practices, to the correlation between the “dark” and “bright” sides of the Soviet experience. In the paradigm of post-colonialism, the analysis of “Az i YA” allows us to see the cultural hegemony or connection between the concept of knowledge and the concept of power. The author argues that by identifying “others” in the ancient text, Olzhas Suleimenov made “others” visible and vocal in the Soviet humanities.