On Wednesday, December 12, events dedicated to memory of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev will be held. It has been 15 years since he passed away, but to this day his memory is honored in Russia.
On this occasion, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Russia gathered people who knew Heydar Aliyev personally for a memorial evening. His friends and colleagues, representatives of creative intelligentsia, prominent political and public figures came to this events to honor his memory.
Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu thanked participants of the event for coming. "People who knew Heydar Aliyev personally and met him many times are here today... And I'm very grateful that there are people here who came to the embassy for all these 15 years. These 15 years flew by very quickly. It's hard to believe that Heydar Aliyev left us 15 years ago," he said.
Polad Bulbuloglu noted that he's proud that Heydar Aliyev had only two ministers of culture, one of which was current ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation. "In Soviet times, there was Zakir Bagirov, and ever since Azerbaijan gained its sovereignty I worked under him. And it was a pretty difficult time, because after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the republic had to deal with aggression of a neighboring country, establish contacts, including international contacts, under his direct supervision, everything possible was done to make Azerbaijan a prosperous country," he stressed.
"His son learned a lot from his father. Brilliant memory, ability to speak in public without looking at notes, always remember numbers, facts, which are very complicated sometimes. Ilham Aliyev learned all of this from his great father. He has been leading the country to prosperity for 15 years, and today Azerbaijan has very important place on the political map of the world," Polad Bulbuloglu said.
Head of the North Caucasus Affairs Ministry, Sergey Chebotaryov, noted that for many years, he and his colleagues consider it an honor to come to come to the Azerbaijani embassy twice a year, in May and December, to celebrate Heydar Aliyev's birthday and honor his memory.
"It's a great honor for me celebrate life of this great politician, extraordinary person, to talk about what he did and make people remember him not only in Azerbaijan, but also in Russia." he said.
"In the most difficult years for Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyevich took responsibility and decided to lead his country. Heydar Aliyevich mobilized people of Azerbaijan, determined strategic priorities, which were necessary for the development of the republic. Today his republic is flourishing, and he is one of the main reasons why this happened," he noted.
According to chairman of the CIS executive committee, Sergey Lebedev, he had several opportunities to meet Heydar Aliyev, both in Baku and in Moscow. "As chairman of the CIS executive committee, I'm happy to tell that he is honored in the CIS space. In Russia, representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora, embassies of the CIS countries gather to remember him twice a year, in May and December. And not only Azerbaijani people do that. He was famous and great statesman, who was respected in the Soviet Union," Sergey Lebedev noted.
“He deserves great respect. We know that he was a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, participate in important events under auspices of the government of the Soviet Union. That's why I only hear good things about him from those who knew him and those who heard about him," he said.
Mikhail Shvydkoy, special representative of Russia's President on international cultural cooperation, noted that Heydar Aliyev's death was a tragedy not only for the people of Azerbaijan, but also for all who knew him in Russia and other countries that emerged in the post-Soviet space, since Heydar Aliyev wasn't just a figure of the republican scale, he loved his homeland and did everything to preserve its place in history.
"He was a man who determined policy of a large country, the Soviet Union. Of course, we all remember how much he did when he held posts in the federal government and in the party, where he was one of the most prominent members. But above all else he was a man who saved Azerbaijan. During tragic times when the country was on the verge of split and civil war, he brought managed to restore it and improve every aspect of the country's life," Mikhail Shvydkoy stressed.
Moscow City Duma Chairman, Alexei Shaposhnikov, said that strong and friendly relations always existed between Moscow and Baku. "I'm sure that they will remain the same in the near strategic future, they will develop and strengthen. We see this in cooperatopm of federal authorities, implementation of various investment and economic projects. That's why I believe that Russia and Azerbaijan, Moscow and Baku are close strategic partners. And this strategic partnership will last forever," he stressed.
Shaposhnikov added that Moscow and Baku often organize events to promote each other. "Moscow holds days of culture in various cities, and those events will also be held in Baku in the near future. I think that Baku residents will be happy to see what's happening in Moscow now, see how it has changed over the past few years," he noted.
