Today, on the day of the 93rd birthday of national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Alireza oglu Aliyev, President of the Republic from 1993 to 2003, Russian politicians and economists, public figures and diplomats shared their memories about Heydar Aliyev with 'Vestnik Kavkaza'. The commemorative event was held in Azerbaijan's embassy in Russia.
The representative of the Republic of the executive body of the government of Mari El, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev stressed that Heydar Aliyev is not only the undisputed national leader and a national treasure of his people. "He is also our common national heritage because he is the man who quite adequately and correctly understood interests of his own people as the allied relations with the people of Russia, with the other peoples of the USSR, and then, and the former Soviet Union,'' the politician explained.
The senator said that the Nagorno-Karabakh tragedy that divided the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan after the collapse of the Soviet Union was an exception to the general rule. "The rule for the elder Aliyev was to promote understanding among peoples, establishing close collaborative and allied relations between peoples if it is possible,'' he said.
"This is the very selfless activity due to which Heydar Aliyev is remembered in modern Russia, his life, destiny and work are highly appreciated, and the memory of his name will be always cherished,'' Konstantin Kosachev concluded.
Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Sergey Lebedev noted the fact that representatives of the Russian public and diplomats gathered every year on May 10th in Moscow in order to honor the memory of Heydar Aliyev. It means that the memory and great respect for the statesman, who did much for the development of the Azerbaijan SSR, as well as for independent Azerbaijan, continue to be preserved.
"He was a unique person, a unique statesman. And it is important to as certain for me, as Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, that he was a convinced internationalist. Heydar Aliyev contributed to the preservation of friendly and fraternal relations among the peoples living in Azerbaijan, and in general in the framework of the Soviet Union when he worked in Moscow,'' Sergei Lebedev said.
Vice-President of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), the former president of North Ossetia, diplomat Alexander Dzasokhov said that the time has no power over the scale of personality of Heydar Aliyev. "He really is high in the pantheon of prominent political and public figures. Heydar Aliyev made an enormous contribution to the development of the USSR. He is a outstanding representative of the Soviet era, and, of course, the recognized leader of the Azerbaijani people,'' the diplomat said.
President of the Russian Union of Oil and Gas Producers Gennady Schmal drew an analogy between the annual activities memory of Heydar Aliyev and the All-Russian action 'Immortal regiment'. "The holiday is a continuation to" The Immortal regiment "because so we pay tribute to the memory of human respect to the person who played a huge role in the formation, first of all, Azerbaijan, but also for the whole USSR.
Economist complained that the talent of Heydar Aliyev was still not fully in demand. "He could continue to work for the benefit our state, our country and our industry. But new people came and failed to do something good. And such people like Heydar Aliyev could send develop our entire economy, and politics in a completely different way," Gennady Schmal concluded.
