By Vestnik Kavkaza
Cultural, scientific, and humanitarian ties between Moscow and Baku are at a fairly high level. There is cooperation in the sphere of science and education, exchanges with students, mutual visits of artists and joint cultural events. Even though in 2006 activity by all foreign universities was officially forbidden in Azerbaijan, according to the special order of President Aliyev, the Baku branch of MSU began its work in 2008. 50 editorials and 7 information agencies in the Russian language operate in Azerbaijan.
February 1, 2006, the Russian fund “Pushkin Library” presented books to the Heydar Aliyev Fund.
February 20, 2006, a miniature edition of the book by Pr. D.Seidzade “Azerbaijani Deputies in the State Duma of Russia (1906-1917)” was published.
March 3, 2006, Ilham Aliyev awarded chairman of the Russian-Azerbaijani Friendship Society for his merits in developing friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Russia.
June 1, 2006, according to the Agreement on Cooperation between the Educational Ministry of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, 16 Azeri young men and women received the right to study in universities of Russia in 2006-2007.
June 14, 2006, Days of Culture of the Samara Region were opened within the Year of Russia in Azerbaijan.
June 26, 2006, the documentary by A.Konchalovsky “The Burden of Power. Heydar Aliyev” was shown in Moscow on the initiative of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress.
July 4, 2006, chairman of the Muslim Department of the Caucasus, Sheikh ul-islam hadji Allahshukyur Pashazade visited Moscow and awarded Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexei II with the order “Sheikh ul-islam.”
July 5, 2006, Days of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region were opened within the Year of Russia in Azerbaijan.
October 25, 2006, in Baku the newspaper Azerbaijan and the Russian Information Agency Novosti signed an Agreement on Cooperation.
December 4, 2006, during an official visit by Russian Premier Mikhail Fradkov to Baku the Program on Cooperation in the Humanitarian Sphere for 2007-2009 was signed.
March 1-3, 2007, a delegation headed by the minister of education and science of Russia A.Furksenko visited Azerbaijan. Fursenko visited Baku State University, the Slavic University, and the 23rd Baku school.
March 18-21, 2007, 10 tourist companies of Azerbaijan took part in the Moscow tourist exhibition “Inturmarket-2007.”
April 6, 2007, the Central Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences opened an exhibition of scientific magazines received from the library of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 700 items of magazines of 155 titles in various spheres of science were shown.
April 16, 2007, Days of Azerbaijani Culture were opened in New Opera in Moscow.
April 24-25, 2007, the Archangelsk Region held Days of Azerbaijan.
May 24-25, 2007, the president of MSU, Victor Sadovnichy, visited Baku and met the president of Baku State University, academician A.Magerramov and deputy rector of the university for international contacts, Professor N. Pashayeva, and discussed establishing an MSU branch in Baku.
June 20, 2007, on the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, an evening with conductor and composer, People’s Artist of the USSR, Professor Murad Kazhlayev took pace at the Rashid Beibutov Song Theatre.
September 1, 2007, the minister of education of Russia A.Fursenko, the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia Polad Bul-Bul Ogly and the aide of Russian President A.Beglov visited the 157th school with the Azerbaijani ethnic-cultural component in Moscow. They pay tribute to the victims of Beslan.
From the 2007-2008 academic year Moscow State Linguistic University began teaching the Azerbaijani language. The tutor of Baku Slavic University B.Musayeva was sent to MSLU for four years.
September 8, 2007, the 13th anniversary of the Center of Russian culture in Baku was marked. During the years the Center has done enormous work on preserving and promoting the Russian language and culture, customs and traditions, and improvement of mutual influence and mutual enrichment of intercultural ties between the Russian and Azerbaijani cultures.
September 10-14, 2007, Baku Slavic University hosted the regional forum of Russian language teachers from the South Caucasus, which was organized by the Russian embassy in Azerbaijan, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia and the office of the Russian Center for International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation together with the Russian community of Azerbaijan.
September 2007, an evening devoted to the 65th birthday of Muslim Magomayev took place in Moscow. The Minister of Culture and Tourism A.Garayev read a congratulatory letter from Ilham Aliyev.
October 3-4, 2007, Baku held Moscow Culture Days. More than 60 works by almost 10 photographic artists were demonstrated at the Russian exhibition “A Walk in Moscow.”
October 15, 2007, the head of the Russian office of the Heydar Aliyev Fund Leila Aliyeva met teachers and students of the 1331th school with Azerbaijani and Georgian ethnic and cultural educational components in Moscow.
January 15, 2008, Ilham Aliyev signed an order on opening the Baku branch of Moscow State University.
February 2-5, 2008, the head of the Russian office of the Heydar Aliyev Fund Leila Aliyeva visited St. Petersburg and met its governor V.Matviyenko, signed the agreement between the Heydar Aliyev Fund and the Russian National Library.
July 18, 2008, the railway station Angoya of the East-Siberian railway of the RF was named after Heydar Aliyev. His memorial sign was opened on a wall of the building.
December 5, 2008, a concert devoted to the 90th anniversary of Azerbaijani composer Kara Karaev’s birth took place in Moscow.
April 15, 2009, the Center of Azerbaijani Language and Culture was opened in Moscow State Linguistic University.
March 12, 2009, the Russian Information and Cultural Center was officially opened in Baku.
Jne 29-July 7, 2009, Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan took place.
November 23, 2009, the House of Russian Book – a bookstore of Russian and foreign classic and modern literature, textbooks, art albums, and special literature was opened in Baku.
November 25, 2009, a square named after Heydar Aliyev was opened in Ulyanovsk. Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Medvedev took part in the ceremony.
January 22-23, 2010, the First Azerbaijani-Russian Forum on Humanitarian Cooperation began its work in Baku.
February 3, 2010, the plinth of a monument to Muslim Magomayev was built in the center of Moscow.
April 24-26, 2010, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill visited Azerbaijan. He participated in the session of the Inter-religious Council of the CIS and the summit of world religious leaders.
February 16-19, 2012, Baku was visited by the head of the Department of International Cooperation, National Policy and Contacts with Religious Organizations, Y. Artyukh, and the head of the Department of Foreign Economic and International Contacts, S. Cheremin.
May 15-18, 2012, the head of the Federal State Statistics of Russia, A. Surinov, visited Azerbaijan. The Azeri and Russian sides stated their intention to sign a new agreement on cooperation between the departments.
May 31, 2012, Baku was visited by the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, the special envoy of President on the CIS affairs, Konstantin Kosachev. He met President Aliyev, the minister of sport and tourism A. Karayev, and the minister of education of Azerbaijan M. Mardanov.
To be continued
