Ganja does not have money for the monument to Javad Khan

Who and when was the initiator of the idea of ​​erecting a monument?

- Ganja has always highly valued the memory and legacy of the last ruler of Ganja, Javad Khan Ziyadoglu (1748-1804). There were appeals in Baku with proposals on the monument until 2012, and in 2012 an initiative group was formed from the authoritative Azerbaijani intelligentsia - writers Anar, Chingiz Abdullayev, etc., who sent an official request to the president. Our appeal was accepted with approval. The President of the country gave instructions to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as well as to the Executive Power of Ganja. The Ministry held a competition and appointed a group of sculptors and architects. They decided to install the sculpture according to the sketch project of sculptors Javid Aliyev, Emin Guliyev, architects Faik Yuzbashev and Iskander Alekperov. The necessary documents were sent to Ganja IW.

Three years passed, during which time it was announced that the monument will be installed at the western gates of the city, from where the Russian troops entered Ganja. There have been some works on improvement. But the monument never appeared. In January 2015, the Gyandzha and the Fund again raised the issue, created an initiative group in the social network, which registered 15,000 people. Several articles were published in the press. In the city authorities we were told that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is delaying with the documentation, is to blame. But in response to our request from the ministry, the answer was received: all documents were sent in time to Ganja IW, the ministry of work does not brake. After that, a request for the termination of our public campaign was received from the city's city office, with the promise to begin work on the monument soon. We agreed, but as you can see, there is still no monument.

Appeals to local authorities are futile. They each time assure of the imminent start of work on the installation of the monument, but nothing follows.

- What are the versions of the unwillingness of the Ganja IW to carry out work on the installation of the monument to Javad Khan?

- One version is the lack of funds in the budget of the city. But in Ganja millions of manats are spent for accomplishment, from Baku the multi-million dollar budgetary financial help arrives. There are money in the country and in the city, but not to perpetuate the name of Javad Khan.

We do not support rumors about the unwillingness of the central government to exalt Javad Khan, so that a second national leader appears in Azerbaijan. This rumor is not confirmed by the practical actions of official Baku, because it was the president of the country who sanctioned the erection of the monument to Javad Khan.

We seem close to the truth of the political version of the reluctance to quarrel with Russia, against which Javad Khan fought and died in battle with his son. The government of Azerbaijan has a Russian "fifth column" that carries out the orders of the Kremlin.

- In the neighboring Armenia the year before, in the center of Yerevan a monument to the fascist general Garegin Nzhdeh, who fought on the side of Hitler, was raised, and President S. Sargsyan participated in the opening of the sculpture. Moscow was silent, took an Armenian slap in the face. It turns out that in Azerbaijan they care more about the moods of Moscow than the Armenians.

Maybe the local builders of residential high-rise buildings "laid eyes" on the territory allocated for the Javad Khan monument?

- There are enough places in Ganja for not one but many monuments. The territory at the western gate has not been fully developed, there is a park built, some works have been carried out. In addition, it is not exactly shown where the monument will stand. We looked at the historical maps in the military archive of the Russian Federation, they accurately indicated the place of the Javad Khan's palace, later destroyed. The palace was next to the place where in the Soviet years the Nizami cinema was built. It was at this place, where his house was, that a sculpture should be installed. This will be historically logical.

All Ganja people are eagerly awaiting the erection of the monument to Javad Khan. There is a project, a sketch of sculpture, there are enough financial resources in the country; but the leadership of Ganja does not start work, does not comply with the presidential decree. Why is such attitude to the memory of Javad Khan? No one knows for sure.

Javad Khan ruled from 1786 to 1804. At the end of the 18th century, Russia penetrated the Caucasus. Like other Azerbaijani khans, Javad Khan sought to preserve the independence of the Khanate. He fought with the Georgian king Irakli, did diplomatic moves to avoid the wrath of the Persian shah Agha Muhammad Shah Gajar, tried to stop disagreements with neighboring khans, create an anti-Russian coalition and draw the emirs of Dagestan to this union.

In 1796, under the leadership of General Valerian Zubov, the first invasion of the Russian troops began in the Caucasus. Contracts were concluded, khans transferred some of their powers to the Russian governors, retaining the power in return. With the death of Empress Catherine II, by the orders of her successor, Pavel I, Russian troops left the Caucasus.

Three years later, began the second invasion of the Russians to the Caucasus. The commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, the general of Georgian origin, Pavel Tsitsianov (Tsitsishvili), wrote a letter from Tiflis to Javad Khan, in which he asks for a report on his activities, as a sign of devotion and confidence, to send one of his son to Tbilisi. Javad Khan refused to fulfill the demand of the Russian deputy, strengthens the fortress, began preparations for defense.

In the autumn of 1803, the Russians from Tbilisi launched an offensive against Ganja. Standing near the city, Tsitsianov wrote a letter to Javad Khan, in which he demanded to hand over Ganja in an ultimatum form. Javad Khan responded that he did not think to give up, and defended Ganja until the end. The troops of Tsitsianov and Javad Khan clashed near Ganja in the place of Guru Gobu. The enemy had a reusable advantage in both ammunition and in strength. Ganja troops with great losses retreated, closing the fortress gates. The Russians surrounded the Ganja fortress.

Tsitsianov sent Javad Khan one ultimatum after another and demanded to surrender the fortress. Khan responded to him unequivocally: "You will only go to Ganja through my corpse." Tsitsianov decided to stop the blockade and take Ganja by force. On January 3, 1804 began a massive Russian offensive on the fortress. Tsitsianov's troops captured the main towers of Ganja. Javad Khan continued the battle on the fortress walls. The unequal battle did not last long. On the night on 3 to 4 January at about four o'clock in the morning, Javad Khan and his son Huseyngulu die heroically on the battlefield. The Ganja Khanate was the only one in Azerbaijan that refused to obey Russia.

Javad Khan was buried in Ganja in the Juma Mosque. In 1962, under the pretext of reconstructing the square near this mosque, his grave was destroyed, but the patriots managed to preserve the remains of Javad Khan. After the restoration of the independence of Azerbaijan, in 1990, the remains were buried in the same place. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation built a mausoleum of Javad Khan in the courtyard of Juma Mosque. Some streets in Ganja and Baku have been named after him. A feature film was shot about Javad Khan in Azerbaijan.

The "Javad Khan" Foundation was created by the people of Ganja, whose aim is to perpetuate the memory of the only Azerbaijani khan who refused to submit to the Russian invasion. President of the Foundation Walid Ziyadli is a direct descendant of Javad Khan.