The Moscow publishing house ‘Khudozhestvennaya Literatura’ with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has published the fourth volume of 'The Paris archive’ (1919-1940) by Alimardan Topchibashi.
This volume contains documents and materials concerning last years of Topchibashi's life and activities of his successors in 1935-1940, when radical changes occurred in the life of Caucasian migrants in Europe due to non-aggression pact between France and the USSR and accession of the USSR to the League of Nations.
In 1931-1934, Alimardan Topchibashi worked on development of the Caucasian Confederation project. Due to deteriorating health, he was forced to stop active political work, but he continued to work on development of principles of a future Caucasian state that will emerge after liberation of Caucasus from the Bolsheviks.
By the end of his life, more than anyone else, he realized that liberation of peoples of Caucasus and creation of an independent states is possible only after measures to counter imperial manipulation will be implemented.
Documents on his work in the Azerbaijani delegation in Paris in 1935-1940 were preserved thanks to his son, Alekper Topchibashi, who became secretary of the delegation in 1936. He preserved his father's archive, including copies of all his letters, notes, memorandums, which wrote using both his own name and aliases.
These documents are an important source on history of the national liberation movement of Azerbaijan and Caucasus in general during this period.
Alimardan Topchibashi was the Speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first deputy of the Russian State Duma, an Azerbaijani politician and diplomat. After the February Revolution of 1917 he led the Azerbaijan National Committee.
After the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed, he became the ambassador to Armenia, Georgia and the Ottoman Empire, and later became the minister of foreign affairs. He headed the delegation of the Republic at the Paris Peace Conference.
But after the Bolshevik takeover of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic he decide to stay in Paris, where he died on November 8, 1934.
