TO THE MEMORY OF GREAT LEADER HEYDAR ALİYEV

NATIONAL LEADER OF AZERBAIJANI PEOPLE HEYDAR ALIRZA OGLU ALIYEV 

Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in Nakhchyvan City of Azerbaijan. In 1939, after graduating from the Nakhchyvan Pedagogical School he studied at the Architecture Department of the Azerbaijan Industry Institute (present Azerbaijan State Oil Academy). The incipient war impeded to complete his education. 

From 1941, Heydar Aliyev headed the department at the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Nakhchyvan and in 1944 was sent to work at the state security bodies. Heydar Aliyev, working since that time in the security bodies, from 1964 held the post of deputy chairman, and from 1967 chairman of the Committee of State Security under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and he was conferred the rank of lieutenant general. These years, he received special higher education in Leningrad (present St Petersburg), and in 1957 he graduated from the History Department of the Azerbaijan State University.

Kerim Kerimov - great Azerbaijani rocket scientist

Kerim Kerimov was born in the year 1917 in a Muslim family of an engineering background in Baku, Azerbaijan then part of the Russia. After graduation from the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute in 1942, he continued his education at Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, where he committed himself to design and development of rocket systems. An expert in rocket technology, he worked during World War II on the inspection and acceptance of the famous Katyusha rocket launchers. His work was honored with the Order of the Red Star. After his  retirement in 1991 he worked as a Consultant to the Main Space Flights Control Center of the Russian Federal Space Agency. General Kerim Kerimov died March 29, 2003 in Moscow, at the age of 85.

Lotfi Zadeh

Lotfi Zadeh was born in Baku in 1921. His father was assigned as a journalist from Iran (Southern Azerbaijan). His mother was Russian, she was a physician. The first three grades of elementary school he went in Baku (from age 7 to 10). He was only child in the family.  In   childhood   when he was 10 he had gone through most of the classics-Tolstoy, Dostoyevski, Chekhov, Turgenev as well as world classics like Shakespeare. His family left for Tehran in 1931. He continued his education in english and graduated from the University of Tehran in 1942. He took Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York   1949. There he went on to teach Systems Theory.

King of Azeri Jazz-Vagif Mustafazadeh

Great  musician of the 20th century Vagif Mustafazadeh was born on March 16, 1940 in Baku. Vagif’s name was chosen by the renowned poet, Samed Vurgun, on the request of his mother. When he named this child Vagif, he didn’t know that this little child will become a great representative of Azerbaijani music in the future. Vagif’s mother was a musician, and love to music came from his family. He started to play the piano in his age of three. In 1963 he graduated from Baku State Musical Technical school named after Asef Zeynalli and a year later became a student of  Azerbaijani State Conservatoire.  At that times jazz music was banned in the Soviet society by Stalin. But all this couldn’t destroy little Vagif’s desire. As a child, he used to  listen to jazz on BBC broadcasts and sing Meykhana rhythmic poetry, which had also been banned, with friends.

In the year of 1965 he graduated the conservatoire and went to Tbilisi to lead the “Orero” musical ensemble. Later he created the “Qafqaz” (Azerbaijani for Caucasus) jazz trio at Georgian State Philarmony. After Stalin’s death Vagif began to play jazz compositions in concerts.By the early 1960s, people were finally becoming more comfortable with jazz and Vagif had started to gain a reputation even outside of Azerbaijan as a great jazz musician. In 1966, Willis Conover, conductor of the “Jazz Time” radio program, even went as far as to say, “Vagif Mustafazadeh is an extraordinary pianist. It is impossible to identify his equal. He is the most lyrical pianist I have ever known.”  

GENERAL INFORMATION

The geographical position

Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Southeast Europe/Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.

  

Climate

The  climate of Azerbaijan is influenced by cold arctic air masses of Scandinavian anticyclone, temperate of Siberian anticyclone, and Central Asian anticyclone. Azerbaijan's various landscape structure affects the ways air masses enter the country. The Greater Caucasus Range protects the country from direct influences of cold air masses coming from the north. It leads to the formation of subtropical climate on most foothills and plains of the country. Meantime, plains and foothills are characterized by high solar radiation rates. 9 out of 11 existing climate zones are present in Azerbaijan.  Both the absolute minimum temperature ( −33 °C/−27.4 °F ) and the absolute maximum temperature ( 46 °C/114.8 °F ) were observed in Julfa and Ordubad. The maximum annual precipitation falls in Lankaran (1,600 to 1,800 mm) and the minimum in Absheron (200 to 350 mm).

Azerbaijan-Land of Fire

Azerbaijan is a miraculous country with unlimited natural resources, centuries-old culture, history and ancient people, whose lifestyle presents a unique and harmonious combination of the traditions and ceremonies of different cultures and civilizations.

Azerbaijan is a geographical name. On the one hand this name is linked with the population, which lived in this region for thousand of years before our era, and who were mostly fire-worshippers. Local population considered that fire was their God and so they worshipped the fire. "Azer" means fire. The Turkic name "Azer" was used for this territory for a long time. The word "Azer" consists of two parts - "az" and "er". In Turkic languages, "az" means a good intention and a fate of success. Thus, the word "Azer" means "a braveman", "a brave boy", "the fire-keeper". The word "Azerbaijan" originates from the name of an ancient Turkish tribe, who resided in those territories.

Azerbaijan is one of the most ancient sites of humankind. The humankind was present here at every stage of their historical development. There were living settlements in Azerbaijan even at the earliest stages of humankind. Azerbaijan made its own contribution into the establishment of the current culture and civilization, progress and dialectics.

Honourable Way To The Victory

It’s already 4 years that Azerbaijan takes part on Eurovision song contest and has a chance to show its culture, music and traditions to the world. It was 2008 when Azerbaijan participated in Eurovision song contest side by side with huge European countries. Our country was represented by young singers: Samir Javadzadeh & Elnur Huseynov. They showed a great performance with the song “Day after day” which became very popular in all European countries in very short time. The main idea of the song was   struggle between angel and demon, based on ancient beliefs.  As our ancestry believed in the power of light and its triumph, our representatives showed it in this performance. And the victory of angel at the end is main idea of Azeri people to gain   victory in   every step.   Authors of the song were Zahra Badalbeyli and Govher Hasanzadeh.  The main part of the song consisted of Azerbaijani traditional music-mugham, that fascinated all Europe. Azerbaijan took 8^th place and it was very big achievement for us. It inspired us to gain victory in every sphere.