Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan has struggled with its identity. Many chose to sweep the centuries of subjugation and imperialism under the rug, refusing the victimhood. I argue that, in order to rediscover the Azerbaijani identity, there is a need to acknowledge and undo the legacies of Russian and Persian imperialism. — I vividly remember my first trip abroad without my parents, as a teenager born in the USSR, who was traveling with an Azerbaijani passport. It was a trip to Moscow, Russia with a group of secondary school debaters during the summer of 2004. …