The group to immortalize the name of M.E.Rasulzade prepares major events

On December 17, 2019, Turan agency published an appeal from an initiative group to perpetuate the historical heritage of Mammad Emin Rasulzade in Azerbaijan.

“It is necessary to place an exposition and arrange a house-museum of the ADR founder in the house in the village of Novkhani where Mamed Emin Rasulzade was born and lived 1885. In Baku, where Rasulzadeh carried out his political activity, to erect memorial plaques on the buildings where the editorial board of the Azerbaijan newspaper and the headquarters of the Musavat party were located the apartment in which Rasulzadeh lived at 59 Nizami St. He left this apartment in 1920, saying goodbye to his family, and never returned there. Some members of his family were shot, and others were deported to Central Asia,” the statement said.

The initiators did not appeal to the authorities, but to the public with an appeal to demonstrate fidelity and continuity of statehood and historical and cultural traditions. “We must prove that we are a people, a grateful nation, and a conscious civil society. We look forward to your support, advice and suggestions about this initiative!” the initiators call.

The chair of the initiative group, historian Solmaz Rustamova-Togidi, answered questions from a Turan correspondent about how the initiative is progressing.

- There is an organizational process, we acted as a public group, and we need the support of society. We created our Facebook page; there is a club for registering our supporters, about 1,500 activists informed about it in it.

We are trying to expand the coverage of supporters. While there are many of them in Baku, and strangely enough, in the diaspora. Residents of areas are inactive. We need to analyze the composition of supporters, and draw conclusions about how to attract residents of Azerbaijani provinces, Rustamova-Togidi notes.

- Does youth show interest in perpetuating the memory of Rasulzade?

-I am very pleased with our youth; we see the sincere help of the young. The opinion that young people do not know about M.E.Rasulzade is erroneous. I give many lectures, in the summer I gave lectures in three youth camps. You cannot imagine the authority of the personality of Mammad Emin Rasulzade among young people, especially those studying abroad. They do not know as much as we do, but they have a great love for the personality of the creator of the Republic; they need a symbol of the Azerbaijani who created the national state.

- What can be expected by the birthday of Rasulzade - January 31?

- We are preparing for the birthday of Mammad Emin Rasulzade. Now we are seriously preparing major events, I do not want to disclose them ahead of time. A month ago, they began to collect exhibits for the House-Museum of M.E.Rasulzade. We are collecting his legacy to display in the museum. I have experience in creating the Memorial complex in the Guba region; I worked with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for a year and a half. I know how hard this is.

The Guba genocide memorial complex was built from 2009 to 2013. The memorial complex is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the March events in the Baku province of the Russian Empire. Currently, it is a functioning museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

We mainly support relations with colleagues in Turkey, where most of Rasulzade’s heritage is located. He died in Ankara in 1955. We correspond with friends in Turkey; we invite them to Baku to open the Rasulzade House-Museum. We are establishing relations with scientists from Poland and France where he lived; we are looking for original documents, photographs, and personal belongings of a historical figure. Relatives of Rasulzade promised to provide the museum with family household items for presentation at the museum.

I noted how happy the youth are. They are active, each in his own area of ​​activity. A student at the Repin Petersburg Art Academy of Arts informed me that they want to paint a large portrait of Rasulzade. A person created a portrait on silk, and he wants to hand it to the museum. Perhaps we will arrange an exhibition of works of art dedicated to Rasulzade. Young historians Dilgam Ahmedli and Elmar Hasanov deal with the history of the period of the First Republic. Each has something in his collection and can present exhibits to the future museum.

- You said that young people love Rasulzade as a symbol of our state. Are not Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev symbols of the state?

- They should not be opposed; this is a harmful trend.

- Why is not the state, but a public organization busy with creation of the House-Museum of Rasulzade?

- Why should this be done only by the state, and not the people? We are a conscious society; we know our history and respect our personalities. Why put everything on the state? Society does not wait when the state does something. The state should see the requests of a society that wants Rasulzade to have a House in Azerbaijan, where to go, to be acquainted with its heritage.

M.E.Rasulzadeh sacrificed his whole family for the sake of the people. Should the memory of his parents, wife, and children disappear? Museum visitors should be able to see these people and thank them for their contribution to our statehood.

- What was the Baku State University deprived of the name of Mamed Emin Rasulzadeh?

- I do not want to comment on the reason for the removal of the name Rasulzade from the name of the University of Baku created by him. I think that the name of the founder of the first higher educational institution in Azerbaijan will be returned. We started a bright, positive business that is not related to politics. The figure of Rasulzade unites the people. We turned to the state, saying that if we get support from the government this will mean the unity of the state and people around the symbol of the nation - Mammad Emin Rasulzade.

Solmaz Rustamova-Togidi is an Azerbaijani scientist, oriental historian. Doctor of historical sciences, professor. Leading researcher, Department of History and Economics of Iran, Institute of Oriental Studies named after the Academician Z. M. Buniyadov of ANAS. Honored Scientist of Azerbaijan.

An initiative group in the person of a number of prominent figures of science and culture came up with a proposal to perpetuate in Baku the memory of the founder of the Azerbaijan People's Republic, Mamed Emin Rasulzade.

In the second most important city of Azerbaijan - Ganja, in the year of the 100th anniversary of the ADR, the Museum of the Republic was created, memorial plaques reminiscent of the importance of these buildings in the history of the country were installed on the walls of historical buildings. However, in the capital of the country - Baku, they “forgot” about the 100th anniversary of the ADRs, the initiators note:

The appeal signed Rais Rasulzade - Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, grandson M.A. Rasulzade Solmaz Rustamova-Tohidi - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor,

Gulu Maharramli - Doctor of Philology, Professor, Honored Journalist;

Najiba Bagirzade - writer, writer, researcher of the Rasulzade family;

Nikat Gezalov - lawyer, head of the National Law House.

The initiative group notes that in Baku there are house-museums of Nariman Narimanov, Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Jalil Mammadguluzade, Jafar Jabbarly, Samed Vurgun, and Abdullah Shaig. Monuments have been erected for Bul-Bul, Sattar Bahlulzade, Azim Azimzade and other prominent Azerbaijanis, but there is no monument and house-museum of Mamed Emin Rasulzade.