Mir Jafar Baghirov
Encyclopedia
Mir Jafar Baghirov Abbas oglu ' onMouseout='HidePop("53523")' href="/topics/Quba">Quba
– 7 May 1956, Baku
) was the communist leader of Azerbaijan SSR
from 1932 till 1953, under the Soviet leadership of Joseph Stalin
.
in 1896, Baghirov studied pedagogy
in Petrovsk
.
During 1915-1917, M. J. Baghirov worked as a school teacher in a village in Khudat
. During 1918 - 1921, he participated in the October Revolution
and Russian Civil War
in ranks of a commander of regiment
, military commissar of Azerbaijani division, advisor of the Caucasus
corps of the Russian military command, and the head of revolutionary tribunal
of Azerbaijani division. After Soviet take over of Azerbaijan, Baghirov was appointed the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was reported that Baghirov worked also for the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's police. In 1927 through 1929, he served as the director of Department for Water Distribution of Transcaucasia. From February 1921 to May 1927 and December 1929 to August 1930, Baghirov was the head of state security services.
of the Azerbaijan Communist Party
. In 1953, the bureau of the Central Committee of Azerbaijani Communist party appointed M. J. Baghirov to head the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR. After Stalin's death M. J. Baghirov was accused of waging repression, arrested in 1954, tried and sentenced to death by the Military Tribunal of Soviet Union. In his final 17-minute speech before the court, he favored the sentence and refused to apply for any pardon. Baghirov was executed in 1956. According to some sources he was expelled to Siberia where later died.
M. J. Baghirov is a controversial figure in the Azerbaijani history. By 1940 an estimated 70,000 Azeris had died as a result of purge
s carried out under Baghirov. The intelligentsia was decimated, broken, and eliminated as a social force and the old guard Communist elite was destroyed. However, Baghirov was also successful in resisting the Armenian demands to cede Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
of Azerbaijan SSR
to Armenian SSR
.
He was credited for treating his junior son as an ordinary Soviet citizen. Baghirov sent his son, Vladimir (Jahangir) Baghirov, military pilot, to the Soviet Army to fight against Nazi Germany, where Vladimir was killed in the battle in June 1943 intentionally flying his plane into a German plane.
Quba
Quba is a rayon in northeastern Azerbaijan. The capital is located on the Kudyal River at 41.37°N, 48.50°E....
– 7 May 1956, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) was the communist leader of Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
from 1932 till 1953, under the Soviet leadership of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
.
Early life
Born in Quba of Baku GovernorateBaku Governorate
Baku Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Baku. Area : 34,4000 sq. verstas, population : 789,659. The only foreign border of the governorate was Persia, in the south...
in 1896, Baghirov studied pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
in Petrovsk
Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast
Petrovsk is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the Medveditsa River northwest of Saratov. Population:...
.
During 1915-1917, M. J. Baghirov worked as a school teacher in a village in Khudat
Khudat
Khudat is a town in the Caspian lowlands located in the northern section of Azerbaijan. It is a part of the Khachmaz Rayon. It has a population of 14,442....
. During 1918 - 1921, he participated in the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
in ranks of a commander of regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
, military commissar of Azerbaijani division, advisor of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
corps of the Russian military command, and the head of revolutionary tribunal
Revolutionary tribunal (Russia)
Revolutionary tribunals in Soviet Russia were established soon after the October Revolution by the Soviet "Decree of the Soviet of Peoples' Commissars Concerning the Courts No. 1" of November 22 , 1917...
of Azerbaijani division. After Soviet take over of Azerbaijan, Baghirov was appointed the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was reported that Baghirov worked also for the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's police. In 1927 through 1929, he served as the director of Department for Water Distribution of Transcaucasia. From February 1921 to May 1927 and December 1929 to August 1930, Baghirov was the head of state security services.
First Secretary of Communist Party
In 1932, M. J. Baghirov became the People's Commissar of Azerbaijan SSR and from 1933 till 1953 he was the first secretary of the Central CommitteeCentral Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Azerbaijan Communist Party
Azerbaijan Communist Party
The Azerbaijan Communist Party was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union...
. In 1953, the bureau of the Central Committee of Azerbaijani Communist party appointed M. J. Baghirov to head the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR. After Stalin's death M. J. Baghirov was accused of waging repression, arrested in 1954, tried and sentenced to death by the Military Tribunal of Soviet Union. In his final 17-minute speech before the court, he favored the sentence and refused to apply for any pardon. Baghirov was executed in 1956. According to some sources he was expelled to Siberia where later died.
M. J. Baghirov is a controversial figure in the Azerbaijani history. By 1940 an estimated 70,000 Azeris had died as a result of purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
s carried out under Baghirov. The intelligentsia was decimated, broken, and eliminated as a social force and the old guard Communist elite was destroyed. However, Baghirov was also successful in resisting the Armenian demands to cede Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast within the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR, mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and created on July 7, 1923. According to Karl R. DeRouen it was created as an enclave so that a narrow strip of land would separate it from Armenia proper....
of Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
to Armenian SSR
Armenian SSR
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet...
.
He was credited for treating his junior son as an ordinary Soviet citizen. Baghirov sent his son, Vladimir (Jahangir) Baghirov, military pilot, to the Soviet Army to fight against Nazi Germany, where Vladimir was killed in the battle in June 1943 intentionally flying his plane into a German plane.