Abdurrahman Vazirov Khalil oglu ( az, Әбдүррәһман Вәзиров Хәлил оғлу, italic=no, Əbdürrəhman Vəzirov Xəlil oğlu; 26 May 1930 – 10 January 2022) was the 13th
First Secretary of the
Azerbaijan Communist Party
The Azerbaijan Communist Party ( az, Azərbaycan Kommunist Partiyası; russian: Коммунистическая партия Азербайджана) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the ...
and the leader of the
Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
from 1988 till January 1990.
Vazirov was appointed by Kremlin to lead Soviet Azerbaijan in May 1988, amidst the heating of the
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...
conflict. Vazirov replaced
Kamran Baghirov
Kamran Baghirov Mammad oglu ( az, Камран Бағиров Мәммәд оғлу, italic=no, Kamran Bağirov Məmməd oğlu; January 24, 1933 – October 25, 2000), was the 12th First Secretary of Azerbaijan Communist Party.
Biography
Fro ...
, whose dismissal came along with similar dismissal of
Karen Demirchyan
Karen Serobi Demirchyan ( hy, Կարեն Սերոբի Դեմիրճյան; 17 April 1932 – 27 October 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian politician. He served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1974 to 1988. Soon after ...
and appointment of
Suren Harutyunyan as the leader of the
Armenian SSR
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
.
He was a Soviet diplomat, who served in India, Nepal and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. He had been out of the Azerbaijan SSR for over a decade and therefore was untainted by the corruption. He was neither a typical political boss nor a local nationalist; he could not even speak fluent
Azerbaijani.
[Robert V. Barylski. "The Russian Federation and Eurasia's Islamic Crescent", ''Europe-Asia Studies'', Vol. 46, No. 3. (1994), p. 397] But at the same time, Vazirov was born in
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...
region of
Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
.
Vazirov shared
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
's internationalist values and aspirations for political reform but he could not cope effectively with the complex political situation in Azerbaijan.
He was also known as a fierce opponent of the former leader of Soviet Azerbaijan and later the 3rd president of
independent Azerbaijan,
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Aze ...
.
He left Azerbaijan SSR amidst the
Black January
Black January ( az, Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet U ...
events in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
, for which he was later sought by the
Parliament of Azerbaijan
The National Assembly ( az, Milli Məclis), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms ...
as one of the responsible parties. On 24 January 1990, he was replaced in his position by
Ayaz Mutallibov
Ayaz Niyazi oghlu Mutallibov, russian: Аяз Ниязович Муталибов, Ayaz Niyazovich Mutalibov (12 May 1938 – 27 March 2022) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the first president of Azerbaijan. He was the last leader ...
.
Vazirov died on 10 January 2022, at the age of 91.
References
External links
YouTube интервью Paxlava Production - Везиров: о дружбе с Гагариным, "письме Алиеву" и Карабахе
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vazirov, Abdurrahman
1930 births
2022 deaths
Politicians from Baku
First secretaries of the Azerbaijan Communist Party
Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University alumni
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Pakistan
Azerbaijani atheists
Azerbaijani expatriates in Pakistan
Azerbaijani memoirists
Soviet diplomats
Vazirovs