Alif Hajiyev - national hero of Azerbaijan

The life of the national hero of Azerbaijan, participant of the Karabakh war Alif Hajiyev was short but bright, and dedicated to struggling for justice. He was born on June 24, 1953 in the Nagorno-Karabakh village of Khojaly. He was the fourth child in the family. After graduating from high school, he joined the army in Minsk in 1971, where he decided to become a law enforcement officer. He met his future wife Galina in Belarus as well. Having received higher education, he worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Belarusian SSR, but went home soon after.

A young man investigated crimes that were considered "undisclosed," but not everyone liked it. According to Galina Hajieva: "Alif has got a lead on the organization 'Krunk' (the Armenian word for 'crane'), which was plotting a "big war for Karabakh" back then, he was thrown into jail for ten years". Five years later, when the war broke out, it became obvious that the charges against Hajiyev were false, and the verdict was repealed. The future hero returned to the Karabakh, where he continued to work as a policeman since December 1990 and served as military commandant of the airport, which is the most important object in the city and the only one in the region.

In the autumn of 1991, life in Khojaly became unbearable. There was no food, no electricity, no gas, no communication. But nobody ever thought of giving up. Alif Hajiyev, whose name was known to every Khojaly citizen, took charge of the defense of the city besieged by the Armenian separatists. In December 1991, he retaken the Khojalinsy air hub in an unequal battle against the aggressors, and obtained the rank of major. The night of February 25-26, 1992 was the last for many residents of the city. The assault of Khojaly began. Hajiyev's detachment fought for an airport against superior enemy forces for several hours. They managed to blow up the control tower and destroy the documents.

Khojaly citizen Mushfil Alimammadov recalls: "... At first the airport was seized and burnt. They showed mercy to no one, neither to children or women, nor to the elderly. Many people were burned alive in their homes, especially near the airport. The terrible smell of burnt meat still haunts me.

Most of the defenders were killed on the battlefield, the survivors sought refuge in the forest in the direction of Agdam. Near the Armenian village of Nakhichevanik, on the road to Agdam, they were ambushed. Many residents died in an ambush near the village. The head of Khojaly airport, the organizer of his uninterrupted work Alif Hajiyev, who rushed to help the women, also died there, the Armenians set a price on his head a long time ago.

On June 5, 1992 Alif Hajiyev was posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan. He had two daughters. The oldest Zarina then was 10 years old, the youngest Irada - only 2 years old.