Ramiz Abutalibov passed away

Late in the evening on January 1, a bad news came - Ramiz Abutalibov  passed away. The national and spiritual memory of a great era have gone with him.

Ramiz Abutalibov was a unique person who worked tirelessly, honing the spirit and memory of the nation, not expecting a reward from anyone, but received the greatest reward from his conscience.

Ramiz Abutalibov made an exceptional contribution to the revival and restoration of the heritage of the Republic. This activity of his is invaluable and will not lose significance over time and with the change of generations.

Working abroad during the Soviet era, he collected the heritage of Azerbaijani immigrants, defended them like the apple of his eye and turned them into a national treasure in the post-Soviet period.

Ramiz Abutalibov's French memories are his memories of Paris, of his meetings with Mammad Maharramov, Alekper bek Topchibashov, Gadir Suleimanov. He made sure that the archives of the ADR leaders were brought from family foundations to Azerbaijan. He was engaged in the protection and restoration of the graves of our leaders abroad and the installation of memorial plaques on the streets of Paris.

The last work of Ramiz Abutalibov was the publication of the archive of Alimardan-bey Topchibashev. Together with the Georgian researcher Georgy Mamulia, he decided to publish the four-volume Parisian archive of Alimardan-bey Topchibashev. It was a fundamental work, an invaluable contribution to national memory. The unique edition covers the period from 1919 to the last days of Alimardan Topchibashev’s death. This is a unique publication covering all of Topchibashov's legacy abroad.

Ramiz Abutalibov, with his enormous and versatile activities, made an incredible contribution to the preservation of the national heritage and himself became its Precious Part!

* Ramiz Abutalibov was born in 1937 in Ganja. In 1960 he graduated from the Geological Faculty of the Azerbaijan State University.

He worked in the State Committee for Science and Technology of Azerbaijan. In 1968 he entered the All-Union Academy of Foreign Trade in Moscow. After graduation, he worked at the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 1971 till 1993  he worked at UNESCO. With his direct participation in UNESCO, exhibitions of Azerbaijani carpets, ancient manuscripts, concerts of the State Dance Ensemble were held, an exhibition "Architecture of Azerbaijan" was held in London, in Strasbourg - the first scientific conference on Azerbaijani studies, and in Baku –  the first international symposium on the art of oriental carpets and an exhibition of the French fashion designer Richard Napier "Forms and Images".

Abutalibov participated in the preparatory work for the inclusion of cultural monuments of Azerbaijan in the World Heritage List.

Allah rəhmət eləsin.