The paper presents an analysis of a publication by Ahmed bey Agayev (Agaoglu) (1869–1939) titled “On the Necessity of Studying the East,” which appeared in the Baku-based Russian-language newspaper Kaspii (1881–1919) in 1898. Situated within the context of the author’s intellectual biography, as a prominent representative of the new local Turkic-Muslim intelligentsia, and the socio-political life of Baku at the turn of the twentieth century, the article is interpreted as a programmatic text. It reflects the search for models of integrating Muslim communities into the socio-cultural space of the Russian Empire. The analysis reveals that Ahmed bey Agayev, arguing from a position of enlightened imperialism, criticizes the practice of forced Russification and proposes an alternative model of “mutual spiritual penetration” between the centre and the periphery. He posits that the key to creating an “All-State Soul” (a prototype of a civic nation) lies in the systematic study of the languages, history, and cultures of the peoples of the “Empire’s East”, following the example of Western colonial practices, but leveraging Russia’s unique territorial and cultural proximity to its Asian possessions. The text constitutes a classic example of Orientalist discourse, albeit articulated by a Muslim intellectual. The article under study is considered an important stage in the evolution of Ahmed bey Agayev’s views.
Russian Empire; South Caucasus; Azerbaijan; Ahmed bey Agayev (Agaoglu); Newspaper “Kaspii”; pre-revolutionary press; Muslim intelligentsia; modernization; Orientalism.