Chingiz Mustafayev ( az, Çingiz Fuad oğlu Mustafayev; August 29, 1960 – June 15, 1992) was an independent

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 ...

i journalist, posthumously bestowed the state order

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan milli qəhrəmanı) is the highest Hero (title), national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this t ...

. Mustafayev, with the medical degree and no formal background in journalism save for a year of on the job training, created a video record of the early stages of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

, most of the documentary had to be shot from the frontline which ultimately was the cause of his abrupt death due to mortar wounds.

Early years

The Mustafayev family is described as the typical Azerbaijani family. His father was in the military and was working on missiles and rockets in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. His mother hailed from the city of Shaki; Married when she was 19, Chingiz was the oldest child, born in 1960 and he had two brothers, Seyfulla Mustafayev, born in 1962, and

Vahid Mustafayev Vahid Fuad oglu Mustafayev ( az, Vahid Fuad oğlu Mustafayev, Ваһид Фуад оғлу Мустафајев, born 4 September 1968) is a well-known Azerbaijani journalist and filmmaker. He is a president of ANS Group of Companies and was a co- ...

, born in 1968.

Filming documentaries

Mustafayev is known for having filmed the scenes with the bodies of victims of Khojaly Massacre in 1992. To document these scenes, he traveled on an army helicopter which at came under heavy enemy fire. His video film showing hundreds of dead bodies strewn across snow-covered fields of Khojaly served as evidence to the massacre.

Music producer

Mustafayev produced Azerbaijan's first Hip Hop record in 1983.

Death

On 15 June 1992, while filming a fire exchange between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces near the village of

Nakhichevanik Nakhichevanik ( hy, Նախիջևանիկ, Nakhijevanik) or Nakhchivanly ( az, Naxçıvanlı) is a village ''de facto'' in the Askeran Province of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the dispu ...

, Mustafayev fell to mortar fire. According to his brother Vahid, he was fatally wounded when a shell exploded right beside him and shrapnel from the shell severed one of his major arteries. By the time Mustafayev was airlifted to the hospital, he had died of blood loss. His last moments were captured on his own camera.

Legacy

ANS CM 102 FM the first Radio Broadcasting Company in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

whose motto was "We are fated to struggle" has renamed the station in his honor. A foundation was established in honour of Chingiz Mustafayev by ANS for the purposes of arranging journalism contests in various areas. Azerbaijani radio station ANS CM 102 FM also renamed after him and carries his slogan ''Döyüş alnımıza yazılıb'' (The war is written on our foreheads).Qan Turalı: ANS efirində urapatriotizm sədaları

References

External links

Chingiz Mustafayev Foundation

Chingiz in headlines

CNN about Chingiz Mustafayev
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafayev, Chingiz 1960 births 1992 deaths Journalists from Baku Azerbaijani newspaper editors National Heroes of Azerbaijan Journalists killed while covering the Nagorno-Karabakh War People murdered in Azerbaijan Azerbaijani people of the Nagorno-Karabakh War 20th-century journalists