A round table titled "Dialogue of languages and cultures as a factor of peaceful coexistence in a multipolar world" was held at the Moscow State Linguistic University. The event, organized by the MSLU and the Azerbaijan University of Languages, was dedicated to the 95th birthday anniversary of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev.
"The largest number of ethnic Russians in the South Caucasus live in Azerbaijan. They have preserved their identity and culture, language and religious identity. The villages named in Russian have not been renamed in Azerbaijan. For example, the famous village of Ivanovka is located in Ismayilli district, Slavyanka - in the Gadabay district, Kalinovka in the Masalli district, Alekseyevka, Vladimirovka and a number of others - in the Guba district, which undoubtedly shows the respectful attitude to the historical memory of the local Russian population. Vladimir Putin during his visit to Azerbaijan noted that he attaches great importance to cooperation in the field of culture and thanked Heydar Aliyev for the attention he pays to the development of cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, and the support of the Russian language," the director of the Center of Azerbaijani-Russian Culture and Solidarity Mehman Shukurov said.
The cultural and tourism attaché of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia, Nigar Akhundova, highlighted several milestones in the Moscow period of Heydar Aliyev: "He oversaw 12 ministries - engineering, trade, light industry, all types of transport, communications, as well as cultural and educational spheres. In 1984, Aliyev led the commission on the Soviet school reforms. In 1986 was appointed chairman of the bureau of the USSR Council of Ministers on Social Development. His signature can be found under dozens of the most important decrees of the Council of Ministers and Politburo of that period. Besides, Aliyev participated in the system of foreign economic relations and played a prominent role in the international contacts of the USSR in Asia and the Middle East.
His reforms in the social sphere and in health care stand out. At the initiative of Aliyev, the first complex diagnostic centers were created. Thanks to his support, Soviet surgeons were allowed to conduct first open-heart surgeries. In August 1987, the project of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union titled "Main directions of the development of healthcare and the healthcare system restructuring until 2000" was published. According to experts, it was one of the most notable documents of the 1980s."
The historian and public figure Manaf Agayev spoke about Heydar Aliyev's role in the formation and development of the Azerbaijani diaspora: "Due to the consistent policy pursued by Heydar Aliyev during his leadership in the independent Azerbaijan Republic, the Azerbaijani diaspora was formed and developed, demonstrating a close connection with its historical homeland. The fact that today Azerbaijanis living in different parts of the world consider Azerbaijan their homeland, perceive it as a temple of national spirit, national spiritual values, national culture, being rallied around the ideas of Azerbaijanism, is the result of Heydar Aliyev's activities. The national leader has always attached great importance to the development of interrelations between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Russia. Together with President Vladimir Putin he made considerable efforts to normalize these ties, managed to build a solid and constructive foundation for them. Russia and Azerbaijan are not just close neighbors - we are united by a common history, closely interwoven fates."
