Nigar Huseyn Afandi gizi Shikhlinskaya,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Gayibova ( az, Nigar Hüseyn Əfəndi qızı Şıxlinskaya; October 10, 1871 or March 21, 1878 in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

– August 15, 1931 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 ...

) was the first Azerbaijani

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

. She was fluent in several languages, including

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and French''

Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia'' (in Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Sovet Ensiklopediyası, Cyrillic: Азәрбајҹан Совет Енсиклопедијасы) is a ten volume universal encyclopedia published in Baku, Azerbaijan from 1976 ...

'' (1987), vol. 10, p. 551 and served on the

Western Front of World War I The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of import ...

, where she opened the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

. On August 1, 1914 her appeal to women was published in the ''Russkiy Invalid'' newspaper. Shikhlinskaya co-ran the Red Cross community, established by officers' wives, until 1918.

Life

Shikhlinskaya was the daughter of enlightener Huseyn Afandi Gayibov. Having graduated from the Transcaucasian Female College with a gold medal in 1889, she became the first Azerbaijani woman to obtain a higher education. Shikhlinskaya was widowed after the death of Dervish-bek

Palavandov Palavandishvili ( ka, ფალავანდიშვილი) is a Georgian aristocratic family, known from the 12th/13th century and received among the princely nobility of Imperial Russia as Princes Palavandov (russian: Палавандов� ...

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

nobles. On October 27, 1909 she married Colonel and eminent Azerbaijani commander Ali Agha Shikhlinski and the couple returned to

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...

The war

On August 2, 1914 Nigar followed Shikhlinski to the Guards' Staff of Petersburg Military District. Some time later Nigar was elected the head of the Ladies' Committee at the Officers' Artillery School. The associated hospital became commonly known as Shikhlinskaya Hospital. Nigar maintained correspondence with her husband in verses, which they dedicated to each other. In his memoirs Shikhlinski recalls that Nigar wrote letters home for wounded soldiers in two foreign languages (apart from Russian) and was referred to as Mom (''Mamasha'') by the soldiers. In 1916 Nigar's close relative, Farrukh Gayibov, one of the first combat pilots, died in an air battle. On March 10, 1920 Shikhlinski as Deputy Defense Minister of

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian Az ...

founded the Azerbaijani

Red Crescent The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

Society, with Nigar becoming the pioneer nurse there. In his memoirs Shikhlinski wrote: "The death of my wife... was a fatal blow for me. Everything has gone away with my wife – both happiness and health". His other quote is "count my death date from Nigar's demise". It is uncertain whether or not Shikhlinskaya had any children. In his article "The Life of General Ali Agha Shikhlinski" Lieutenant Colonel and senior scientific employee Shamistan Nazirli of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry included a photo, made early in the 20th century, where she is said to be with a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shikhlinskaya, Nigar Female nurses in World War I Azerbaijani people of World War I Georgian Azerbaijanis Red Cross personnel People from Tbilisi 1870s births 1931 deaths Azerbaijani nurses Shikhlinskis Nurses from the Russian Empire