Contribution to the development of cultural ties

By Alexei Vlasov and Ismail Agakishiyev, exclusively to ‘VK’

The book of Yefim Pivovar is a result of a major research effort in the field the contemporary history of Azerbaijan made by the departments of CIS studies of the Russian State University for Humanities and the Moscow State University.

Yefim Pivovar is one of the founders of this line of research in the leading establishments of higher education in Russia. Of course, both the departments also took up Central Asian and Ukrainian studies, but it would not be an overstatement to say that researching the modern political history of Azerbaijan, and Russian-Azerbaijani relations was more fruitful than any other field. This success made the appearance of this work possible.

The main guarantee of the book’s success is the fundamental approach of the author. All the conclusions are well-grounded in the source base. One could have a different opinion while making an evaluation of the character of the Russian-Azerbaijani relations, but still this research is indispensable for any scholar who will address this subject matter in the future as Yefim Iosiphovich managed to gather an immense source base. So each conclusion made by the author is backed by facts and documents

Pivovar’s conclusions about the current state of Russian-Azerbaijani relations present a fine example of how the history could help the future: the book could help destroy existing myths about Russia’s agenda on the South Caucasus and about the nature of Moscow-Baku relations. The fundamental basis of the two states relations was laid in the epoch of Heydar Aliev, and his meetings with Vladimir Putin helped ensure the positive dynamics of these relations.

Later these positive trends were developed in the epoch if Ilham Aliev. There’s not a single issue in the two states relations that couldn’t be resolved by negotiations, and today there exist all necessary conditions for ensuring the sustained development of the states’ relations within the framework of strategic partnership. Russian-Azerbaijani relations are most likely to become an example of perfect relations within the post-Soviet space. In this regard, the monograph by Yefim Pivovar is a great contribution to the development of our humanitarian, cultural, educational and historical ties, which are as much important for the future of both our countries as our economic and political cooperation.