Rustam Ibrahimbekov: 80 years of commitment to principle in arts and politics

Rustam Ibrahimbekov turned 80 on February 5. It is too much to explain what he is. One has only to hint at "Rustam" in Google, and we promptly have a detailed biography and merits of unique Azerbaijani Oscar winner. Born in Baku on February 5, 1939; Merited Master of Arts of the Azerbaijani SSR (1976), Merited Master of Arts of the Russian Federation (1995)...

You only have to open Azerbaijani state-run sites, immediately you face starkly differing views: "Rustam Ibrahimbekov will be best remembered in Azerbaijani nation"s memory as traitor and liar, a deputy of Milli Majlis (Parliament ) of Azerbaijan told Trend agency..."

Last year"s persecution in Azerbaijani mass media for film "Caucasian trio" is by far not a solitary one in his life. Rustam Ibrahimbekov was charged with various nasty things for plays staged at his Baku theatre"Ibrus", plays contrary to "the line of party and government". Later on the authorities used an "Ibrus" key actor for attacks against Ibrahimbekov.

A clear reason for Ibrahimbekov"s practical banishment from Azerbaijan was his agreement to be a candidate for presidency from opposition democratic parties of the country. On July 2, 2013 Rustam Ibrahimbekov was nominated as common candidate from the opposition National Council of Democratic Forces at the elections of the President of Azerbaijan. To take part at the elections he signed a declaration of alienage from Russian citizenship but to no avail: he had to leave the election campaign after the Central Election Commission declined from registering him as a candidate.

Ibrahimbekov is able to combine political principles with creation; a list of his films, plays and novels is rather comprehensive. In an interview to "Pravda.ru" in 2008 Rustam Ibrahimbekov noted: "A principal mechanism vitally important for the nation to survive has been detuned in Azerbaijan. Every nation is existent at the expense of its elite. Today no elite is existent, and the most important thing is that a mechanism of its formation is detuned. Formation of the national elite is very complex and prolonged. Its remnants are thrown back on the margins of life. A country with no national elite has no future. Not the brightest stars are at the height of power; at work are family, monetary, regional and corruption considerations". This statement was harshly criticized at the Milli Majlis meeting; however, workers of art and culture spoke in support of Rustam Ibrahimbekov.

On July 7, 2010 Rustam Ibrahimbekov appealed to the authorities on behalf of the Azerbaijani intelligentsia and called them to release journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh and thus put an end to political persecutions for dissidence. Some of those having been advocated by Ibrahimbekov "made a poor return for his support.

On January 25, 2012 Rustam Ibrahimbekov declined from the French Order of Arts and Literature and resigned from the post of the president of Society of cultural ties "Azerbaijan-France" due to the adoption by the Senate of France a law on criminal responsibility for negation of "Armenian genocide".

On January 18, 2013 the Ministry of Taxes of Azerbaijan brought an indictment against an employee of the R. Ibrahimbekov-led Union of Cinematographers of Azerbaijan, Lala Efendiyeva on non-payment of taxes - this is one of the methods of reprisals against the opposition in Azerbaijan. Note that the Union of Cinematographers regularly hosted cinema festivals in Baku. Officers of the Ministry of Taxes withdrew financial documentation of the Union of Cinematographers. In an interview to the "Voice of America" Ibrahimbekov declared that a reason of the tax audit and withdrawal of financial documents came from his participation in the Presidential elections.

In February 2013, Rustam Ibrahimbekov harshly criticized a campaign against writer Akram Aylisli. "Today"s reprisal over a living classic of the Azerbaijani literature Akram Aylisli in our Motherland outrages by its sophisticated cruelty. In the 21 century, in a country that built East"s first democratic state, the writer is subjected to public flogging typical for medieval inquisition. I know the worth of words and use a word "flogging" deliberately. It is commonly known that high ranking officials are regularly committing heinous crimes against their native people; the current authorities have done nothing to resolve the Karabakh conflict; soldiers and their families that suffered from the years-long war cannot receive even the least part they deserve...In the meanwhile, the whole might of state punitive machinery hit the old writer on the calculation that human heart potential is not endless", Moscow "Kavkazskiy uzel" periodical recites stages of R.Ibrahimbekov" life.

Despite his heavy workload, Rustam Ibrahimbekov remains to be industrious leader of Azerbaijani and world culture unsurrendered under political pressures. He saved his blushes and honorably discharges his duty to society. He saved his "Name" as a symbol of high professionalism, creative and political and principality.

Our congratulations on the occasion of your jubilee, dear Rustam! We wish you good health and further creative successes!

A short biography of Rustam Ibrahimbekov

In 1963 he graduated from the Azerbaijani Institute of Oil and Chemistry, then furthered his studies at the post-graduate courses of the Cybernetics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Moscow. In 1967 he finished higher scenary courses, and in 1974 Higher feature film directorial courses under All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography.
In cinema since 1970.

He made a name for himself with a scenario, in collaboration with Valentin Yezhov, to the film"White sun of desert" which gained iconic status in the USSR. By tradition, Soviet cosmonauts ritualized to watch this film immediately prior to launching of a spaceship in order to make the flight successful.

Foundations of creative cooperation between Rustam Ibrahimbekov and film director Nikita Mikhalkov were laid earlier 1970s when Mikhalkov did his first movie "A stress-free day in the end of the war" after screen version of Rustam Ibrahimbekov. Their creative cooperation resulted in a number of internationally recognized works: "Urga - a love territory" - honored with grand prize of Venetian film festival "Golden lion" and State Prize of Russia; "Burnt by the sun" - honored with Oscar for the best foreign film and Grand Prix of Cannes film festival and State Prize of Russia; "Siberian barber" honored with State Prize.

Rustam Ibrahimbekov authored scenarios for more than 40 feature and television movies; practically all his literary writings were cinematized.

R. Ibrahimbekov wrote 15 plays staged at more than 100 theatres across the world. Plays "A woman behind the closed door", "A funeral in California", "A house built on sand", "A lion-likeа" were a great success in Prague, Berlin, Sofia, Budapest, New York ("Circle Repertory Theatre", 1987), Baku and Moscow. He is the author of 10 books and a number of collected works "Ultimatum" (1983), "Getting up with as a smile" (1985), "Country house" (1988), "Selected novelettes" (1989), "A solar plexus" (1996), etc. with an edition of above 500, 000 copies.

R. Ibrahimbekov is a chairman of the confederation of film-makers union of CIS and Baltic countries; secretary of film-makers union of the Russian Federation; chairman of the Jewish film festival in Moscow; chairman of the union of film-makers of Azerbaijan; member of the European cinema academy "Felix" and the American academy of cinema arts.

PRIZES AND AWARDS

1979 Lenin Komsomol Prize (film "White sun of desert")
1979 Lenin Komsomol Prize (film "Interrogation")

1979 Lenin Komsomol Prize (film "A story of security man")

1980 Azerbaijani SSR Prize (film "Birthday")

1981 USSR State Prize (film "Interrogation")

1993 Russian State Prize (film "Urga - a love territory")

1995 Russian State Prize (film "Burnt by the sun")

1998 Russian State Prize (film "White sun of desert")

1998 MTF of CIS countries "Community" (Grand-Prix, film "A man who tried")

1999 Russia State Prize (film "Siberian barber")

1999 МКФ "Listapad" in Minsk (Special diploma of Inter-state TRC "Mir" - "For spiritual affinity", film "Family")

2000 Inter-regional festival "Eurasian kaleidoscope" in Moscow (Grand Prix for the best story film, film "Family")

2007 МКФ "Festival of festivals" (Prize "For creative input to the world cinematograph and vigorous activity in the international cultural cooperation").