It is amazing, but such an open, kind, and peaceful nation by nature – the Azerbaijanis – became famous as warriors, officers, generals, admirals of the Russian army and fleet in the service of the Russian Empire. Let’s remember several examples of such people who lived in different times under different regimes, but had common features – they were smart, noble and devoted to their military duty.
One of the outstanding figures in the history of the Russian Navy and the state in general was Vice Admiral Ibrahim bek Allahbervi bek oglu Aslanbekov. His Russian friends and colleagues called him Avramy Bogdanovich. He was not only a prominent sea captain, but also a famous scientist, researcher, and a historian of the Navy.
A young officer of the Black Sea Fleet, an engineer Firudin Huseinbek oglu Agalarov, was one of the smart, innovative, technical, educated sea officers of Russia of the early 20th century. He tested a new and exotic kind of weapon at the time – submarines.
A tank crewman, Yusif Guseinbek oglu Agalarov, was born in the ancient city of Ordubada. He fought in Crimea, liberated Balaclava and Sevastopol from the fascists. He was awarded many medals and orders. He was heavily injured during the battle for Balaclava in May 1944; but after rehabilitation in hospital he returned to his regiment, but was hospitalized again in December 1944. Yusif Agalarov saved comrades-in-arms from death, killing several Hitlerites.
The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
It is difficult to overestimate the great contribution to the common victory of the USSR peoples in the Great Patriotic War which was made by Azerbaijani soldiers and workers of the home front in the republic. During the war, despite permanent air bombing by fascists, 61 million tons of oil and fuel were sent to the front from Baku – it was 75% of all the requirements of the Soviet Army and Navy.
In 1941 alone, Azerbaijan provided the country with 23.5 million tons of oil. For example, by the beginning of 1941 oil production in the European countries which were occupied by Germany was 7.5 million tons; while in Germany itself it was 0.9 million tons. Marshal Zhukov said: “The oil producers of Baku gave the front and the country as much fuel as it needed to defend our homeland, to defeat the enemy.”
Baku was a powerful arsenal. In November-December 1941 Baku factories produced 700 mortar-guns, 1050 machine-guns, 155 thousand shells and many other weapons. It was achieved due to the huge efforts of the workers and engineers of the republic.
In 1941-1945 more than 600 thousand boys and girls went to the front as volunteers. The Azerbaijani divisions traversed the path of glory from the Caucasus to Berlin. 30 of our compatriots were awarded three classes of the Order of Glory, more than 170 thousand soldiers and officers – with orders and medals; 42 Azerbaijanis became Heroes of the Soviet Union.
In February 1942 the 369th marine squadron began to be formed. Its commander was Colonel K. Voronov. The best of the best were included in the squadron. The number of volunteers exceeded the number of places in the unit many times. Shamil Huseinov was one of the first to be included on the staff. Before going to the front, marines-to-be were trained, learned how to drive tanks; they made forced marches day and night in any weather in the suburbs of the Azerbaijani capital.
And finally the day arrived when the squadron went to the front. Representatives of the city administration and the military command made speeches; soldiers took vows. Before they the train departed, a wonderful concert was organized at the station. The people’s favorite actress, Lubov Orlova, also came to see the marines in the station. “My country is vast…” she sang, and the whole squadron, all the people at the station caught up the melody. Cultural activists of Azerbaijan also participated in the concert.
According to the order of the People’s Committee of the Navy of September 17th 1943, the 397th separate marine squadron was formed in Baku. It included 725 people. Only volunteers were included in it. The squadron was sent to the Black Sea Navy. The Caspian marines participated in the liberation of Taganrog, Mariupol, Yeisk, Temryuk, the Kerch Landing Operation, and liberation of Crimea.
A big landing operation on capturing the Kerch Base Area, conducted by the North Caucasus Front together with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Navy Forces, was very important for the battle for Crimea. On November 3rd 1942, the 369th marine squadron landed near the villages of Gleiko and Zhukovka. Boats of the Caspian Fleet carried soldiers, weapons and food supplies to Crimea day and night, despite permanent shooting attacks by Germans. They returned to the liberated land with injured soldiers.
A boat of Shamil Huseinov was one of the first which managed to reach the Crimean Peninsula at the village of Opasnoe. Positions of the enemy were seriously strengthened there. The boat had to break through an avalanche of gun-fire, through underwater anti-landing facilities and minefields. Every meter of the path threatened the soldiers to kill them. However, Shamil stayed brave and skillful to reach the place of landing again and again. The boat was heavily damaged. But in the hardest moments, the calmness and confidence of the commander helped his soldiers to do almost impossible. During another reaching the place of landing, the boat was attacked by the enemy’s plane. One bomb exploded close to the boat, and it was seriously damaged, but the soldiers managed to take it to the base. The boat was repaired quickly and returned to service.
The intelligence personnel of the 369th squadron also did their best in the battles for Crimea. Penetrating to the home front of the enemy, they got valuable information for the command. Some of the best intelligence operatives were Yuri Vodolazko, Vagif Alekperov and Vitaly Guliyev.
Azerbaijanii soldiers demonstrated examples of tremendous heroism during the Kerch Landing Operation and the liberation of Crimea. Vasily Polyakov and Asker Abdurakhmanov from Azerbaijan were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The 369th separate marine squadron was awarded the name ‘Kerchensky’ for its big contribution to the liberation of Kerch. According to the order of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of September 25th 1944, it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
After the liberation of Crimea, Azerbaijani marines were sent to Odessa and soon they became a part of the Danube Fleet. The squadron participated in the liberation of Nikolaev, Odessa, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Izmail. The squadron’s military path was ended in Austria, in Linz.
It is difficult to overestimate the efforts of guerillas in the struggle against the fascist occupants and in the liberation of Crimea. Senior Lieutenant Mamed Aliyev was injured in 1941 and was taken captive on the Crimean Front; he escaped and formed the 8thAzerbaijani guerilla group in 1943-1944. Under M. Aliyev’s command, the group conducted 32 successful operations against the Wehrmacht. Up to 1200 soldiers and officers of the enemy were killed during the operations, 10 km of communication cables were destroyed, a great number of arms, vehicles, and supplies were destroyed. The group participated in the liberation of several villages and towns of Crimea. Returning to the army, Senior Lieutenant Aliyev travelled the road to Berlin.
By the way, the fighters of the 323rd Guards artillery regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J. Nadzhabov were the first who started to liberate Yalta. Subsequently, Colonel Jamil Nadzhabov was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Yalta by the decision of the Yalta city council.Sailor of the Red Fleet, Kafur Nasir oglu Mamedov, sailor of the 3rd company of separate battalion of marines of the Black Sea Fleet, went to war as a volunteer from Baku. He was at the front from August 1941. In the autumn of 1942 he distinguished himself in action near Sevastopol. Along with four companions, Kafur stayed to cover the retreat of his unit. Five marines, settling in the bunker, did not allow the Nazis with a machine gun and rifle fire to gain a foothold in the occupied positions. During the fight, three if Mamedov's comrades [Melnichenko Rutadze and Karpevich] died. Mamedov, together with another friend, Voyakin, repulsed all the attacks of the enemy and didn't surrender the 'sea fortress'.In October 1942, there were fierce battles with the Nazis for the village of Pshada in the northwest of Tuapse. The 323rd company of a battalion of marines, where Mamedov served, confronted superior forces of the enemy. During the battle, a large group of Nazis, accumulating to strike at the flank of the position of the marines, was found at a nearby cliff. The battalion commander ordered Mamedov, Voyakin and Tulyaev to eliminate the threat. They secretly made their way to the edge, the sailors threw grenades at the Germans. The surviving Nazis rushed to the attack but were met with machine-gun fire. Kafur Mamedov personally killed 13 enemy soldiers in this battle.During the battle Kafur noticed a German machine gunner, who leveled a rifle in the back of the company commander Zinovy Sinetsky. Mamedov was the first to pull the trigger, but the shot did not follow, because he was out of bullets, and Kafur rushed forward, shielding the commander from the bullets of the enemy with his breast.On 31 March 1943 Kafur Mamedov Nasir oglu became a Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.Staff Sergeant and scout, Elif Turhan oğlu Piriyev, was born in 1922 in the village of Kultuk in the Neftchala District of Azerbaijan. He was a participant in the fighting in the North Caucasus and Malaya Zemlya near Novorossiysk as part of the Kerch landing forces landed on the Crimean land.In May 1944, as part of the Azerbaijani 77th rifle division, he participated in the liberation of Sevastopol. On May 7, during the assault of Sapun Ridge, he eliminated several German pillboxes, which had been hindering the advance of Soviet troops. In this battle, under Piriyev's command, soldiers killed up to 20 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht with hand grenades. On May 9, when the company commander was wounded in the decisive moment of the battle, Elif Piriyev took command and personally led the guards to attack. As a result, the division captured the heavily fortified German position on the crest of Sapun Ridge. In this battle, the Sergeant personally destroyed 15 Nazis with grenades and machine fire and captured a staff officer.Azerbaijani 77th rifle divisionThe 77th rifle division, staffed mainly with Azerbaijani warriors, travelled a glorious fighting path during World War II. Its soldiers fought the enemy in Stavropol Territory and the Donbass, freed Left-Bank Ukraine, Crimea, fought in the Baltic States. Five soldiers of the division were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union after the liberation of Simferopol, and it received the honorary title of 'Simferopolskaya division'.The Azerbaijani Krasnoznamennaya Simferopolskaya Rifle Division named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze consisted of:105th regiment276th regiment324th regiment239th regiment197th separate antitank battalion3rd cavalry squadron41st sapper battalion136th separate battalion of communication85th artillery battalion73rd medical-sanitary battalion140th lifting company7th field automotive bakery plant77th division artillery workshop207th field post office235th field ticket office of the State BankThe commanders of the 77th Guards Rifle Division:1st - Jamshid Nakhchivansky (1921 - 1931).2nd - Gambai Vezirov (March 1931 - June 29, 1937)In winter 1941-42 the Azerbaijani 77th rifle division, as part of the 51st Army, participated in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula with the aim of capturing the Kerch Peninsula and expelling the enemy from Crimea. In February 1941, the division with a powerful blow defeated the 18th infantry division of the Wehrmacht and liberated the villages of Shantor, Tulumchak and Kiet from the Nazis. The division successfully repelled counterattacks of the newly formed 22th panzer division. The Germans lost 27 tanks in the battles with the 77th division. Thanks to illiterate leadership of the Soviet command, and especially the Mehlis, the success achieved in the first phase of the operation was reduced to nothing. Soon the Soviet troops had to retreat from the Kerch Peninsula.In March 1942, the 77th division performed the task of providing cover for the withdrawal of Soviet troops to the Taman Peninsula, holding back the onslaught of the numerically superior opponent. Caught in the environment during a combat mission, the 105th infantry regiment of the division broke through the encirclement near Oguztepe, destroying 12 tanks and more than 300 soldiers and officers. The 77th rifle division left Crimea among the last of the Red Army units, destroying 34 tanks, more than 10 artillery and mortar batteries, 1500 enemy soldiers and officers. In February 1943 personnel of the division distinguished themselves in battle near Vasilchikovo. In a fierce battle on February 20, the division forced the enemy to retreat. The division commander, Colonel Anatoly Kashkin, personally destroyed two enemy tanks, which forced their way to the command post, and died heroically on the battlefield. In early 1943 battles, soldiers and commanders of the 77th division showed heroism, liberating 7 settlements from the enemy. Up to 600 soldiers and officers of the division were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.In spring and summer of 1943 the division received a reinforcement of 1500 soldiers and commanders from Azerbaijan.The division arrived at the front as part of the 63rd Guards Rifle Corps of 44th Army of 4th Ukrainian Front on September 16, 1943. On September 30, the division broke through the defense by more than 300 km.During this period soldiers of the division defeated 5 infantry regiments, destroyed 38 tanks, 5 armored vehicles and 210 artillery batteries.The 77th rifle division liberated Crimea from the enemy. On the third day of a general offensive the division dealt a powerful blow in the Tomashevsk district in conjunction with the 19th panzer corps, displacing parts of the Wehrmacht from the important railway junction of Dzhankoi. Thus our fighting military units opened the way for further advances on Simferopol. Within a few days the division was fighting heavily for the human settlements of Suran Barn, Maryanovka and Ekaterinovka. 5 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were killed, 29 guns, 25 vehicles and 50 wagons with military equipment were captured in this battle.On April 13, 1944 the 77th division together with other units and formations of the Red Army liberated Simferopol from the enemy, taking thousands of Nazis prisoner.The 77th rifle division received the honorary title of 'Simferopolskaya division' by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. 613 soldiers and officers of the division were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.
By the way, the fighters of the 323rd Guards artillery regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J. Nadzhabov were the first who started to liberate Yalta. Subsequently, Colonel Jamil Nadzhabov was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Yalta by the decision of the Yalta city council.
Sailor of the Red Fleet, Kafur Nasir oglu Mamedov, sailor of the 3rd company of separate battalion of marines of the Black Sea Fleet, went to war as a volunteer from Baku. He was at the front from August 1941. In the autumn of 1942 he distinguished himself in action near Sevastopol. Along with four companions, Kafur stayed to cover the retreat of his unit. Five marines, settling in the bunker, did not allow the Nazis with a machine gun and rifle fire to gain a foothold in the occupied positions. During the fight, three if Mamedov's comrades [Melnichenko Rutadze and Karpevich] died. Mamedov, together with another friend, Voyakin, repulsed all the attacks of the enemy and didn't surrender the 'sea fortress'.
In October 1942, there were fierce battles with the Nazis for the village of Pshada in the northwest of Tuapse. The 323rd company of a battalion of marines, where Mamedov served, confronted superior forces of the enemy. During the battle, a large group of Nazis, accumulating to strike at the flank of the position of the marines, was found at a nearby cliff. The battalion commander ordered Mamedov, Voyakin and Tulyaev to eliminate the threat. They secretly made their way to the edge, the sailors threw grenades at the Germans. The surviving Nazis rushed to the attack but were met with machine-gun fire. Kafur Mamedov personally killed 13 enemy soldiers in this battle.
During the battle Kafur noticed a German machine gunner, who leveled a rifle in the back of the company commander Zinovy Sinetsky. Mamedov was the first to pull the trigger, but the shot did not follow, because he was out of bullets, and Kafur rushed forward, shielding the commander from the bullets of the enemy with his breast.
On 31 March 1943 Kafur Mamedov Nasir oglu became a Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
Staff Sergeant and scout, Elif Turhan oğlu Piriyev, was born in 1922 in the village of Kultuk in the Neftchala District of Azerbaijan. He was a participant in the fighting in the North Caucasus and Malaya Zemlya near Novorossiysk as part of the Kerch landing forces landed on the Crimean land.
In May 1944, as part of the Azerbaijani 77th rifle division, he participated in the liberation of Sevastopol. On May 7, during the assault of Sapun Ridge, he eliminated several German pillboxes, which had been hindering the advance of Soviet troops. In this battle, under Piriyev's command, soldiers killed up to 20 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht with hand grenades. On May 9, when the company commander was wounded in the decisive moment of the battle, Elif Piriyev took command and personally led the guards to attack. As a result, the division captured the heavily fortified German position on the crest of Sapun Ridge. In this battle, the Sergeant personally destroyed 15 Nazis with grenades and machine fire and captured a staff officer.
Azerbaijani 77th rifle division
The 77th rifle division, staffed mainly with Azerbaijani warriors, travelled a glorious fighting path during World War II. Its soldiers fought the enemy in Stavropol Territory and the Donbass, freed Left-Bank Ukraine, Crimea, fought in the Baltic States. Five soldiers of the division were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union after the liberation of Simferopol, and it received the honorary title of 'Simferopolskaya division'.
The Azerbaijani Krasnoznamennaya Simferopolskaya Rifle Division named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze consisted of:
105th regiment
276th regiment
324th regiment
239th regiment
197th separate antitank battalion
3rd cavalry squadron
41st sapper battalion
136th separate battalion of communication
85th artillery battalion
73rd medical-sanitary battalion
140th lifting company
7th field automotive bakery plant
77th division artillery workshop
207th field post office
235th field ticket office of the State Bank
The commanders of the 77th Guards Rifle Division:
1st - Jamshid Nakhchivansky (1921 - 1931).
2nd - Gambai Vezirov (March 1931 - June 29, 1937)
In winter 1941-42 the Azerbaijani 77th rifle division, as part of the 51st Army, participated in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula with the aim of capturing the Kerch Peninsula and expelling the enemy from Crimea. In February 1941, the division with a powerful blow defeated the 18th infantry division of the Wehrmacht and liberated the villages of Shantor, Tulumchak and Kiet from the Nazis. The division successfully repelled counterattacks of the newly formed 22th panzer division. The Germans lost 27 tanks in the battles with the 77th division. Thanks to illiterate leadership of the Soviet command, and especially the Mehlis, the success achieved in the first phase of the operation was reduced to nothing. Soon the Soviet troops had to retreat from the Kerch Peninsula.
In March 1942, the 77th division performed the task of providing cover for the withdrawal of Soviet troops to the Taman Peninsula, holding back the onslaught of the numerically superior opponent. Caught in the environment during a combat mission, the 105th infantry regiment of the division broke through the encirclement near Oguztepe, destroying 12 tanks and more than 300 soldiers and officers. The 77th rifle division left Crimea among the last of the Red Army units, destroying 34 tanks, more than 10 artillery and mortar batteries, 1500 enemy soldiers and officers. In February 1943 personnel of the division distinguished themselves in battle near Vasilchikovo. In a fierce battle on February 20, the division forced the enemy to retreat. The division commander, Colonel Anatoly Kashkin, personally destroyed two enemy tanks, which forced their way to the command post, and died heroically on the battlefield. In early 1943 battles, soldiers and commanders of the 77th division showed heroism, liberating 7 settlements from the enemy. Up to 600 soldiers and officers of the division were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.
In spring and summer of 1943 the division received a reinforcement of 1500 soldiers and commanders from Azerbaijan.
The division arrived at the front as part of the 63rd Guards Rifle Corps of 44th Army of 4th Ukrainian Front on September 16, 1943. On September 30, the division broke through the defense by more than 300 km.
During this period soldiers of the division defeated 5 infantry regiments, destroyed 38 tanks, 5 armored vehicles and 210 artillery batteries.
The 77th rifle division liberated Crimea from the enemy. On the third day of a general offensive the division dealt a powerful blow in the Tomashevsk district in conjunction with the 19th panzer corps, displacing parts of the Wehrmacht from the important railway junction of Dzhankoi. Thus our fighting military units opened the way for further advances on Simferopol. Within a few days the division was fighting heavily for the human settlements of Suran Barn, Maryanovka and Ekaterinovka. 5 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were killed, 29 guns, 25 vehicles and 50 wagons with military equipment were captured in this battle.
On April 13, 1944 the 77th division together with other units and formations of the Red Army liberated Simferopol from the enemy, taking thousands of Nazis prisoner.
The 77th rifle division received the honorary title of 'Simferopolskaya division' by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. 613 soldiers and officers of the division were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.
On May 7, 1944, the 77th Azerbaijani Division occupied Mount Sapun, the key to Sevastopol. Abdulaziz Kurbanov put the Red Banner at its top under enemy fire.
The 77th Rifle Division was one of the first to enter Sevastopol. On May 7 and 8, 1944, the 105th and the 276th Rifle Regiments of the Division took over the Malakhov Hill. On May 9, the 324th Rifle Regiment pushed the Wehrmacht units out of the railway station, liberated the center of the city and held the positions until the arrival of the main forces.
The Division killed 3,000 and imprisoned 1,652 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht in Crimea. The 77th Rifle Division was awarded the 2nd-rank Suvorov Order for storming Mount Sapun.
In autumn 1944, the 77th Rifle Division distinguished itself in the Baltic Offensive. In August 1944, the Division, as part of the 51st Army, crushed the enemy in Dobel. In two weeks of battles, the Division repelled 31 attacks of the 12th Wehrmacht Panzer Division, destroying 178 tanks and self-propelled artillery units and two infantry regiments. In a month of offensive operations, 587 soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.
In January-February 1945, the 77th Rifle Division was fighting against the Wehrmacht on the coast of the Baltics and in northeastern Prussia. In the first half of February alone, the Division repelled 17 counter-offensives, eliminating over 1,300 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht.
In January 1945, 300 soldiers of the Division received orders and medals, 436 received them in February. A total of 1180 soldiers and officers of the Division received state awards in March.
The war ended for the 77th Rifle Division of Azerbaijan in Kurland. On May 8, 1945, Wehrmacht units put down weapons and capitulated to the 77th Azerbaijani Rifle Division in Dzintari.
History of creation and combat log
The 77th Sergo Ordzhonikidze Red Banner Mountain Rifle Division is a national Azerbaijani military unit formed in Baku on November 30, 1920, as the 1st Consolidated Azerbaijani Workers' and Peasants' Mountain Rifle Division. Until 1924, the Division had been a territorial unit of the Caucasian Red Banner Army.
In 1929, the Division gained mountain division status. On order N218 of the USSR Revolutionary War Council on November 29, 1930, the Division was named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze. In 1935, the Division received the Red Banner Order.
Order N072 of the PDC of May 21, 1936, renumbered the Division to the 77th Sergo Ordzhonikidze Red Banner Mountain Rifle Division.
In May 1938, the 2nd Artillery Battery of the 77th Azerbaijani Mountain Rifle Division was mobilized and sent to the Far East. As part of the 15th Battery Regiment of the 1st Pacific Rifle Division, it fought against the Japanese forces on Lake Khasan.
The Division spent 25 months on the battlefield throughout the war, making its way from the Caucasus to the Baltics. The formation killed and imprisoned over 50,000 Wehrmacht soldiers and officers, destroyed 255 tanks, 938 artillery guns, 859 machine guns, 383 mortars, capturing 2,344 vehicles.
Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel A. Rodionov was in command of the Division in the battle for liberation of Crimea.
Sergeant Abdurakhman Abdullayev destroyed an enemy pillbox personally in the storming of Mount Sapun. He replaced the wounded commander, led the counter-attack of the Soviet forces and killed several enemy soldiers in the melee.
Abdulaziz Kurbanov of the 77th Division was the first to raise the Red Banner on top of Mount Sapun. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union commended both by granting them the status of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Azerbaijani soldiers fought well as part of the Red Banner Dnepr Flotilla.
Memory
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, created a memorial of the 77th Division on Mount Sapun on May 8, 1974, on the 30th anniversary of liberation of Sevastopol. The monument's construction was funded by the Azerbaijani SSR. It was built on the very place where the 77th Sergo Ordzhonikidze Suvorov Order Red Banner Simferopol Rifle Division stormed the enemy entrenchments on the slope of Mount Sapun. Azerbaijani sculptor O.G. Eldarov and architects Fuat Seidzadeh and R.M. Sharifov were working on creating the monument.
Years and decades passed. The territory of Crimea has not seen a devastating war for a long time, only grass-covered trenches and marks of bullets and shrapnel on the walls of old houses recall the war. New generations with knowledge about the war have grown up, but the deeds of the defenders and liberators of Sevastopol and Crimea will live for eternity.
Monuments of the Great Patriotic War have a very special place in the history of the city and the peninsula. They are very diverse. They are creations of sculptors and architects, some were made by soldiers, as their holy tribute to lost comrades. The grand monuments, obelisks, columns and modest gravestones help coevals get a full picture of the deeds of the defenders and the liberators.
Sevastopol and Crimea have over 2,000 monuments of the Great Patriotic War. They are testament to the memory of those who defended and liberated the land in the times of war. There is probably no military branch omitted in the monuments and memorials. The Hero City Sevastopol has a memorial of the 77th Azerbaijani Rifle Division built on the initiative of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev, on Mount Sapun in 1974 to honour the heroes who had liberated Sevastopol, stormed Mount Sapun on May 7, 1944.
Today, the memorial is a holy place for Crimean Azerbaijanis and the Azerbaijanis living all over the former Soviet Union. The sacred duty of every Sevastopol inhabitant is to keep the soldiers’ burials as priceless memorials of history and do one’s best so that the phrase ‘Here, they held on like grim death and gained immortality’ would be more than just beautiful words, so that they would reach the minds and hearts of people living on the blood-stained soil of Crimea to this day.
