Baku is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, a center of international culture. This was stated in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza by the poet, writer and songwriter, scientist geophysicist and oceanographer, author of the Song of Baku, Aleksander Gorodnitsky, after a press conference, "Get off, passengers, we have arrived..." dedicated to the destiny of Arbat Street.
"I visited the city of Baku not so long ago for the first time, and I was impressed by the city. I have travelled almost the whole world, and now Baku has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world and reached a completely modern level. It is a long-term center of Russian and world, international culture, including literature,'' he said.
Being inspired by the capital of Azerbaijan, the bard wrote his famous 'Song of Baku'. "Many people say: 'You aren't from Baku, but how did you manage to write such a song?' Maybe due to the fact that I am from Saint Petersburg, and I found a lot of similarities between the two cities in the spiritual sense. That is why I like Baku," Gorodnitsky noted.
The poet underlined that the cities of Baku and Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) have common features, for example, they are located near the sea. "A really great city should be near the sea. Baku is near the southern sea, but Leningrad is a little bit of a different thing," he said.
"Secondly, both cities participated in great history, on the one hand in the history of our country, and, on the other hand in the history of Russian and international culture: many of our poets and writers such as Sergei Yesenin were linked with Baku,'' the bard said.
Finally, the poet pointed out that Baku and Leningrad are constantly developing. "They are living cities. They exist, live and develop. And it is very nice. I became a chairman of the jury of the Festival of Russian author's song in Baku, where Russian culture is respected. We should pay tribute to the authorities: they understand it and they have a very loyal attitude towards the development of Russian culture, for example. Every year Azerbaijan hosts the Festival of Russian Art Songs under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It is good. I love this city," Gorodnitsky said.
Among the most vivid impressions of Baku, he mentioned the Maiden Tower and the Old Fortress. "Neighborhoods are absolutely living in the city. The city is living. It is a southern, bright, and wonderful city…" he said.
The bard also noted that Azerbaijan is a Muslim country without a feel of the threat of fundamentalism. "Many thanks to Heydar Aliyev for this…The East is a delicate matter. I believe that there should be a very tough, competent, intelligent and cultured ruler. I think that Heydar Aliyev was such a ruler, because he brought a lot of good things, in particular to the city of Baku,'' Gorodnitsky underlined.
Gorodnitsky said he managed to visit only Essentuki, Zheleznovodsk and Mineral Waters in the North Caucasus where a large-scale festival of art song, uniting the entire North Caucasus was organized.
As for South Caucasus, the poet had never been to Armenia and visited Georgia only during the existence of the Soviet Union. "Tbilisi is also a great city, there is a great culture there," he said.
Speaking of the Arbat, the writer stressed that the significance of Arbat Street for Moscow can be compared with Montmartre in Paris. "Probably, it was the only place. I do not know any other in Russia, even in my native St. Petersburg, where artists and musicians could gather. It was the central platform for music and Russian art. It is no coincidence that a monument to Bulat Okudzhava is located there. This place is always associated with him. It is a so-called Mecca for artists, poets and, certainly, for tourists. Arbat could and should become a pearl of the world scale for our country up to the fact that the street should be under the protection of UNESCO,'' Alexander Gorodnitsky concluded.
