Aziz Mammad Karim oghlu Aliyev ( az, Əziz Məmməd Kərim oğlu Əliyev; 20 December 1896 – 27 July 1962) was an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

i, and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

politician, scientist, and member of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

. He was the father-in-law of Azerbaijan's President

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 ...

, who married his daughter

Zarifa Aliyeva Zarifa Aziz gizi Aliyeva ( az, Zərifə Əziz qızı Əliyeva; April 28, 1923 – April 15, 1985) was an Azerbaijani ophthalmologist, academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and professor. She was the wife of third Preside ...

, and maternal grandfather of Azerbaijan's current President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

and brother of

Shamama Alasgarova Shamama Alasgarova ( az, Qönçəbəyim Naxçıvanski; 8 March 1904 - 2 April 1977) was a Soviet Azerbaijani gynecologist. She was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labour in 1969. Life Alasgarova was born on 8 March 1904 in the city of ...

, who was famous Azerbaijani doctor.

Early life

Aziz Aliyev was born into an Azerbaijani working-class family in Hamamli (present-day Ashtarak), Armenia. While still an infant, he moved with his family to

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...

, where he soon started attending a Russian-Muslim primary school and later the Erivan gymnasium (secondary school in the Russian Imperial education system). Due to his high academic standing, he was exempt from paying for education, fortunately for his family who were in financial need. After graduating with honours, Aliyev was sponsored by philanthropist

Zeynalabdin Taghiyev , image = Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.jpg , image_size = 250px , caption = , birth_date = 25 January 1823Russian Medical Military Academy in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1917. Because of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

and civil unrest in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

marked by political instability and ethnic cleansings, Aliyev had to return to Armenia in 1918 and fled with his family first to Shahtakhti (a town in Nakhchivan) and then to northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. In the early 1920s he worked in aid posts in Erivan, Nakhchivan and on the southern bank of the

Aras River , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

. In 1923 he came to Baku to work in the administrative department of the Azerbaijan Council of Ministers and finish his undergraduate degree in medical studies. In 1937 he earned a Ph.D. degree in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

Medical career

In 1928 Aziz Aliyev worked as head of the medical department of the Azerbaijan People's Commissariat (Ministry) of Health Care. In 1929 he was promoted to Deputy Minister of Health Care and director of the Azerbaijan State Clinical Institute. In 1934 he became head of the Baku Department of Health Care. In 1935 he was appointed head of the

Azerbaijan Medical University Azerbaijan Medical University named after Nariman Narimanov ( az, Azərbaycan Tibb Universiteti) is the formal name of the public medical school located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Due to difficulties with translation, the school is sometimes called: A ...

. During these years he published a number of articles and textbooks, and was editor of the ''Azerbaijani Medical Journal''. From January to May 1937 Aliyev was also rector of the Azerbaijan State University.The Pride of the Land of Fires and the Country of Mountains: Part II
by Hidayat Orujov. ''Zerkalo''. January 27, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007

Political career

In 1938 Aziz Aliyev was elected secretary 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 ...

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

. In 1939–1941 he served as Azerbaijan Minister of Health Care. In 1941, after the Soviet invasion of

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...

and

Iranian Kurdistan Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan ( ku, ڕۆژھەڵاتی کوردستان, translit=Rojhilatê Kurdistanê) is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it ...

, Aliyev was deployed to

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

on a political mission. The goal of his council (later known as the "Aziz Aliyev Group") was to establish ties with local

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

s and to propagate Communism on political, social and cultural levels.

Dagestan

On 16 September 1942

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

appointed Aliyev Secretary of the Dagestan Regional Committee of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

, the highest authority in the

Dagestan ASSR The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic av, Дагъистаналъул Автономияб Советияб Социалистияб Жумгьурият az, Дағыстан Мухтар Совет Сосиалист Республи ...

. During the six years that he served in this position, Aliyev managed to put an end to hostility expressed by the locals towards the central government. At the peak of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, desertion driven by mutual distrust between the Soviet authorities and the

peoples of the Caucasus The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus. By language group Language families indigenous to the Caucasus Caucasians who speak languages which have lo ...

, was a huge issue (in 1944 it would lead to the deportation of over 600,000 residents of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

into

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

that did not affect Dagestanis). In November 1942 Aliyev held a meeting with

aul An aul (; ce, oil; russian: аул) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the Caucasus mountains and Soviet Central Asia, Central Asia. The word itself is of Turkic origin and simply means ''village'' in many Turkic language ...

leaders aiming to reconcile them with the Communist government. He openly supported the heritage of

Imam Shamil Imam Shamil ( av, Шейх Шамил, Şeyx Şamil; ar, الشيخ شامل; russian: Имам Шамиль; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in ...

, the 19th century

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

leader of an anti-Russian resistance, that is well-celebrated by Dagestanis but had been frowned upon and dismissed by the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

at the time due to its religious and nationalist nature. Aziz Aliyev's party leadership in Dagestan was marked by significant improvements in the medical, educational and cultural spheres. The Dagestan branch of the

Academy of Sciences of the USSR The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

, the Dagestan State Pedagogical University (founded as the Dagestani Women Teachers Institute), a number of theatres and professional medical schools of this autonomous republic were founded during Aliyev's term. He was twice awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

, the highest national order of the Soviet Union.The Pride of the Land of Fires and the Country of Mountains: Part IV
by Hidayat Orujov. ''Zerkalo''. February 10, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007

Azerbaijan

Aziz Aliyev's successful career was a matter of speculation among government officials in Azerbaijan, particularly

Mir Jafar Baghirov Mir Jafar Abbas oghlu Baghirov ( az, Мирҹәфәр Аббас оғлу Бағыров, italic=no, Mircəfər Abbas oğlu Bağırov, russian: Мир Джафар Аббасович Багиров; 17 September 1896 – 7 May 1956) was the comm ...

, the communist leader of Azerbaijan SSR in the Stalinist era. Concerned by rumours of being replaced by Aliyev, Baghirov managed to have him fired from the executive power of Dagestan and sent to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to work as an inspector in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In 1950 Aliyev was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan SSR Supreme Soviet. In 1951 he was fired from the government and became director of the Institute of Orthopædy. In 1952 he was further demoted to physician at a hospital in a Baku suburb. The official reason behind this repression was the accusation that Aliyev never reported his parents' social origin; aggravated by the fact that his sister lived in Iran. After Stalin's death and Baghirov's arrest in 1953, Aliyev was reestablished as director of the Institute of Orthopædy and secretary of the Supreme Soviet, where he worked until his death in 1962.The Prominent Son of the Azerbaijani Nation
by Vugar Aliyev. ''Nash vek''. April 20, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007

Family

In 1920 Aziz Aliyev married Leyla Abbasova, an Erivan-native. Three of their children: Tamerlan, Zarifa and Jamil, pursued careers in medicine. His other daughter Gulara Aliyeva became a composer and concertmaster. In 1948 his daughter Zarifa married

, future 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 President of Azerbaijan in 1993–2003, and in 1955 bore their daughter Sevil Aliyeva and in 1961 bore their son

, who succeeded his father as President of Azerbaijan in 2003.

Honours and awards

* Two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

, 1st class * Honoured Doctor of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aliyev, Aziz 1896 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani physicians Politicians from Yerevan People from Erivan Governorate First convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Third convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Azerbaijani communists Soviet Azerbaijani people Dagestani politicians