By Oleg Kusov exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Usually, the multi-ethnic cities of the Caucasus are the most interesting and lively. For example, cities like Baku, Tbilisi, Vladikavkaz, Pyatigorsk, Makhachkala. No wonder they form special relations using numerous contacts. Residents of Baku have many relatives in Vladikavkaz, where a big Azerbaijani community has been living at all times. At the same time, many Ossetians lived in Baku. The history of cultural ties between Baku and Vladikavkaz has been enriched by a unique example described by Lyudmila Gaboyeva, the head of the Alania Heritage state structure.
In 1986, the North Ossetian authorities received a letter from Professor Ramazan Khalilov, the director of the Uzeir Gajibekov State Memorial Museum in Baku, proposing installation of a memorial plaque to the great composer Gajibekov at a Vladikavkaz house closely connected to him. Ramazan Khalilov was talking about the mansion of Colonel Irzabek Akhundov, a relative of the composer, in the very center of the city and the house of other relatives of his on Srednyaya Street, on the left bank of the Terek, in the district of the Sunni Mosque. Uzeir Gajibekov would often visit the building, he wrote his last pre-revolutionary play “Gorun and Leyla” there in 1915. During that visit, the composer lived at 10 Srednyaya Street for months. Gajibekov was spending even more time at the mansion of Irzabek Akhundov, the grandnephew of the great Azerbaijani writer and playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov. His older son Orzabek Abdulgerei was married to the sister of Gajibekov’s wife. The composer translated his most popular opera “Arshin mala alan” into Russian with his younger son Fatalibek in Vladikavkaz. The classic comedy was written in Saint Petersburg in 1913, during Gajibekov's studies at the conservatory. His debut took place in Baku, at the Gaji Tagiyev Theater, in October 1913. Muslim Magomayev, the grandfather of the notable singer, was the conductor. The Russian version of the opera was first staged in 1916.
Professor Khalilov was a friend of Uzeir Gajibekov. He described his visits to Vladikavkaz to see the professor. The mansion of Colonel Akhundov was at 5 Vorontsova Street (Butyrin Street today). His wide courtyard was situated in a garden. The composer worked and rested there. The 30-year-old composer met well-known figures in Vladikavkaz: Ahmed Tsalikov, a member of the bureau of the Muslim faction of the 4th State Duma, Islam Datiyev, an academician and a minister of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, Khasay Utsmiyev, grandson of Azerbaijani poet Natavan. The composer knew the life of the North Caucasus city well. He loved Vladikavkaz for its comfort and culture-filled life. One curious fact - the great director and actor Yevgeny Vakhtangov from Moscow was often visiting the city at that time. Being a native of Vladikavkaz, he visited his family, staged plays by Chekhov, Hamsurt and the operas of Popov. It is not known whether the two great theater figures Uzeir Gajibekov and Yevgeny Vakhtangov met there, but the coincidence of their artistic interests and the proximity of the houses of Akhundov and Vakhtangov’s father (a 7-minute walk) allows us to believe that they did. In the early 20th century Vladikavkaz was a small city, where cultural figures knew each other well.
The authorities of North Ossetia received a letter from Professor Khalilov in 1986 and readdressed it to the city council. Either Perestroika or the incompetence of the city functionaries got in the way. The request by the professor was rejected in Baku. Three years later, Lyudmila Gaboyeva, a member of the North Ossetian Cultural Fund, returned to the topic in the main newspaper of the republic. She urged the city authorities to place a memorial plaque on one of the buildings where the Azerbaijani composer lived. It turned out that the city council of Ordzhinikidzevskaya had decided to install one, but the process was going too slowly. Then inter-ethnic violence of Ossetia with Georgia and Ingushetia started… Life became even more complicated with Gaidar’s reforms, followed by poverty and overall apathy. The role of Uzeir Gajibekov in the life of Vladikavkaz was forgotten.
Professor Ramazan Khalilov had died by then. There was no one, except Lyudmila Gaboyeva, to make the authorities of North Ossetia recall the story. All that time, she was not abandoning the plans to resume negotiations with the city authorities to make a memorial for Gajibekov. There is no need to go through party committees. In mid-2011, the Azerbaijani Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbulogly, paid a two-day visit to Vladikavkaz. He could not raise the issue during the visit. A week after his departure, Gaboyeva sent an official letter to the local government of Vladikavkaz and all materials about Uzeir Gajibekov’s life in Vladikavkaz.
Three years have passed, Gaboyeva is still committed to getting a positive decision. Her Alania Heritage is a branch of the Culture Ministry to protect historic sites and monuments of the republic and make the government respect the past of its people.
From history of Baku and Vladikavkaz cultural tiesBy Oleg Kusov exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaUsually, the multi-ethnic cities of the Caucasus are the most interesting and lively. For example, cities like Baku, Tbilisi, Vladikavkaz, Pyatigorsk, Makhachkala. No wonder they form special relations using numerous contacts. Residents of Baku have many relatives in Vladikavkaz, where a big Azerbaijani community has been living at all times. At the same time, many Ossetians lived in Baku. The history of cultural ties between Baku and Vladikavkaz has been enriched by a unique example described by Lyudmila Gaboyeva, the head of the Alania Heritage state structure.In 1986, the North Ossetian authorities received a letter from Professor Ramazan Khalilov, the director of the Uzeir Gajibekov State Memorial Museum in Baku, proposing installation of a memorial plaque to the great composer Gajibekov at a Vladikavkaz house closely connected to him. Ramazan Khalilov was talking about the mansion of Colonel Irzabek Akhundov, a relative of the composer, in the very center of the city and the house of other relatives of his on Srednyaya Street, on the left bank of the Terek, in the district of the Sunni Mosque. Uzeir Gajibekov would often visit the building, he wrote his last pre-revolutionary play “Gorun and Leyla” there in 1915. During that visit, the composer lived at 10 Srednyaya Street for months. Gajibekov was spending even more time at the mansion of Irzabek Akhundov, the grandnephew of the great Azerbaijani writer and playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov. His older son Orzabek Abdulgerei was married to the sister of Gajibekov’s wife. The composer translated his most popular opera “Arshin mala alan” into Russian with his younger son Fatalibek in Vladikavkaz. The classic comedy was written in Saint Petersburg in 1913, during Gajibekov's studies at the conservatory. His debut took place in Baku, at the Gaji Tagiyev Theater, in October 1913. Muslim Magomayev, the grandfather of the notable singer, was the conductor. The Russian version of the opera was first staged in 1916.Professor Khalilov was a friend of Uzeir Gajibekov. He described his visits to Vladikavkaz to see the professor. The mansion of Colonel Akhundov was at 5 Vorontsova Street (Butyrin Street today). His wide courtyard was situated in a garden. The composer worked and rested there. The 30-year-old composer met well-known figures in Vladikavkaz: Ahmed Tsalikov, a member of the bureau of the Muslim faction of the 4th State Duma, Islam Datiyev, an academician and a minister of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, Khasay Utsmiyev, grandson of Azerbaijani poet Natavan. The composer knew the life of the North Caucasus city well. He loved Vladikavkaz for its comfort and culture-filled life. One curious fact - the great director and actor Yevgeny Vakhtangov from Moscow was often visiting the city at that time. Being a native of Vladikavkaz, he visited his family, staged plays by Chekhov, Hamsurt and the operas of Popov. It is not known whether the two great theater figures Uzeir Gajibekov and Yevgeny Vakhtangov met there, but the coincidence of their artistic interests and the proximity of the houses of Akhundov and Vakhtangov’s father (a 7-minute walk) allows us to believe that they did. In the early 20th century Vladikavkaz was a small city, where cultural figures knew each other well.The authorities of North Ossetia received a letter from Professor Khalilov in 1986 and readdressed it to the city council. Either Perestroika or the incompetence of the city functionaries got in the way. The request by the professor was rejected in Baku. Three years later, Lyudmila Gaboyeva, a member of the North Ossetian Cultural Fund, returned to the topic in the main newspaper of the republic. She urged the city authorities to place a memorial plaque on one of the buildings where the Azerbaijani composer lived. It turned out that the city council of Ordzhinikidzevskaya had decided to install one, but the process was going too slowly. Then inter-ethnic violence of Ossetia with Georgia and Ingushetia started… Life became even more complicated with Gaidar’s reforms, followed by poverty and overall apathy. The role of Uzeir Gajibekov in the life of Vladikavkaz was forgotten.Professor Ramazan Khalilov had died by then. There was no one, except Lyudmila Gaboyeva, to make the authorities of North Ossetia recall the story. All that time, she was not abandoning the plans to resume negotiations with the city authorities to make a memorial for Gajibekov. There is no need to go through party committees. In mid-2011, the Azerbaijani Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbulogly, paid a two-day visit to Vladikavkaz. He could not raise the issue during the visit. A week after his departure, Gaboyeva sent an official letter to the local government of Vladikavkaz and all materials about Uzeir Gajibekov’s life in Vladikavkaz.Three years have passed, Gaboyeva is still committed to getting a positive decision. Her Alania Heritage is a branch of the Culture Ministry to protect historic sites and monuments of the republic and make the government respect the past of its pe
