Rahim Gaziyev
Encyclopedia
Rahim Hasan oglu Gaziyev was Azerbaijani Defense Minister
in 1992–1993, in the turmoil of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
, and later a political prisoner
.
and has a Candidate of Sciences degree in Physics and Mathematics. From 1968 to 1990, he worked as an associate professor of mathematics at the same institution. In 1988, he became one of the founders and first fifteen members of the sovereigntist Popular Front of Azerbaijan. He was known for his radical nationalist viewpoints and vehement support of Abulfaz Elchibey. Gaziyev was arrested in the summer of 1990 as an organiser of the anti-Soviet riots leading to the Black January
massacre, and was incarcerated in the Lefortovo prison
in Moscow
. He was freed upon being elected to the Supreme Soviet
of Azerbaijan later that summer, although his criminal case was never closed. With the escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
and Shusha
becoming one of the few remaining Azerbaijani strongholds in the region, Gaziyev took command of the city's defence in January 1992.
on 6 March 1992, no official body regulated Gaziyev's actions, which provoked him to break ceasefire on a number of occasions including artillery bombardment of Nagorno-Karabakh's capital city Stepanakert
. On 17 March 1992, Acting President of Azerbaijan Yagub Mammadov appointed Gaziyev (who had no professional military training) Defence Minister. Two months later, with various political groups chaotically struggling for power, both Shusha and Lachin
(city in Azerbaijan-proper linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia
) lacked any serious or unified defence and quickly fell to Armenians. In response, Gaziyev ordered troops to move to the north of the province. Mardakert was taken back in June 1992 and by August, Azerbaijani troops were already at Vank, 12 kilometres north of the province capital Stepanakert. Contrary to his radical anti-Russian sentiment in the late 1980s, Gaziyev was now convinced in the necessity of partnership with Russia
. In November, Azerbaijanis were dislodged from most of Mardakert. After Armenians started advancing into Kalbajar
, the Popular Front which had been in power since June 1992 issued a statement in which it blamed Rahim Gaziyev and Elchibey's official representative in Nagorno-Karabakh Surat Huseynov
for treason and intentional surrender of Shusha in an attempt to restore Mutallibov as President and indulge Russia's geopolitical interests. Gaziyev was forced to resign in February 1993.
After Heydar Aliyev
came to power in June 1993, Gaziyev was elected to the National Assembly
and was offered the position of Vice Premier for Defence Industry. However knowing that Azerbaijan at the time did not produce any defence materials which made the office of no significance (the industry was only established in 2005; see: Azerbaijan Defense Industry
), infuriated Gaziyev verbally attacked Aliyev during the parliament session calling him a liar. In an early 1996 interview, Gaziyev claimed having had a mutual agreement with Aliyev by which Gaziyev was to be appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan upon Aliyev's rise to power but was wronged for the sake of the latter's regionalist
policies favouring natives of Nakhchivan.
in absentia
in his home country) be deported to Baku
where his sentence was replaced by life imprisonment
in 1998.
At the insistence of PACE
, Rahim Gaziyev was pardoned and released in March 2005. After his release, Gaziyev published several articles in an attempt to rehabilitate himself in the public eye but was taken no interest in.
Minister of Defense (Azerbaijan)
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan is the Azerbaijani government ministry, associated with the Azerbaijani military. The ministry is responsible for keeping Azerbaijan defended against external threats, preserving its territorial integrity, waging war on behalf of Azerbaijan , and the...
in 1992–1993, in the turmoil of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
, and later a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
.
Prior to the war
Gaziyev graduated from the Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction UniversityAzerbaijan Architecture and Construction University
Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University is a state university located in Baku, Azerbaijan, specializing in civil engineering and architecture...
and has a Candidate of Sciences degree in Physics and Mathematics. From 1968 to 1990, he worked as an associate professor of mathematics at the same institution. In 1988, he became one of the founders and first fifteen members of the sovereigntist Popular Front of Azerbaijan. He was known for his radical nationalist viewpoints and vehement support of Abulfaz Elchibey. Gaziyev was arrested in the summer of 1990 as an organiser of the anti-Soviet riots leading to the Black January
Black January
Black January , also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown of the Azerbaijani independence movement in Baku on January 19–20, 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
massacre, and was incarcerated in the Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison is a prison in Moscow, Russia, which, since 2005, has been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. It was built in 1881...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He was freed upon being elected to the Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
of Azerbaijan later that summer, although his criminal case was never closed. With the escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
and Shusha
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
becoming one of the few remaining Azerbaijani strongholds in the region, Gaziyev took command of the city's defence in January 1992.
Office
After the resignation of President Ayaz MutallibovAyaz Mütallibov
Ayaz Niyazi oğlu Mütallibov was the last leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, and the first President of independent Azerbaijan from October 1991 till May 1992.-Biography:...
on 6 March 1992, no official body regulated Gaziyev's actions, which provoked him to break ceasefire on a number of occasions including artillery bombardment of Nagorno-Karabakh's capital city Stepanakert
Stepanakert
Stepanakert is the largest city and capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto independent republic, though is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan...
. On 17 March 1992, Acting President of Azerbaijan Yagub Mammadov appointed Gaziyev (who had no professional military training) Defence Minister. Two months later, with various political groups chaotically struggling for power, both Shusha and Lachin
Lachin
Lachin is a town in Azerbaijan and the regional center of the Lachin Rayon. Since 1992 the area has been under the control of the de facto independent unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which has renamed the town Berdzor . The town and its surrounding region serve as the strategic Lachin...
(city in Azerbaijan-proper linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
) lacked any serious or unified defence and quickly fell to Armenians. In response, Gaziyev ordered troops to move to the north of the province. Mardakert was taken back in June 1992 and by August, Azerbaijani troops were already at Vank, 12 kilometres north of the province capital Stepanakert. Contrary to his radical anti-Russian sentiment in the late 1980s, Gaziyev was now convinced in the necessity of partnership with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. In November, Azerbaijanis were dislodged from most of Mardakert. After Armenians started advancing into Kalbajar
Kalbajar
]Kalbajar is a rayon of Azerbaijan. Kalbajar is a Kurdish name meaning Stone City. The entire region is now under the control of Armenian forces who call the western half Karvajar. The eastern half is part of Nagorno-Karabakh, making up part of the province of Martakert...
, the Popular Front which had been in power since June 1992 issued a statement in which it blamed Rahim Gaziyev and Elchibey's official representative in Nagorno-Karabakh Surat Huseynov
Surat Huseynov
Surat or Suret Davud oglu Huseynov |Ganja]]) is an Azerbaijani colonel and ex-Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, who rose to prominence during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
for treason and intentional surrender of Shusha in an attempt to restore Mutallibov as President and indulge Russia's geopolitical interests. Gaziyev was forced to resign in February 1993.
After Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev , also spelled as Heidar Aliev, Geidar Aliev, Haydar Aliyev, Geydar Aliyev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.From 1969 till 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet...
came to power in June 1993, Gaziyev was elected to the National Assembly
National Assembly of Azerbaijan
The National Assembly , also transliterated as Milli Majlis is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies and 25 were members elected by proportional...
and was offered the position of Vice Premier for Defence Industry. However knowing that Azerbaijan at the time did not produce any defence materials which made the office of no significance (the industry was only established in 2005; see: Azerbaijan Defense Industry
Azerbaijan Defense Industry
The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of design, manufacturing, regulation and maintenance of products in the fields of defense, radio electronics, instrument engineering....
), infuriated Gaziyev verbally attacked Aliyev during the parliament session calling him a liar. In an early 1996 interview, Gaziyev claimed having had a mutual agreement with Aliyev by which Gaziyev was to be appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan upon Aliyev's rise to power but was wronged for the sake of the latter's regionalist
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
policies favouring natives of Nakhchivan.
Conviction and later pardon
Now confronting Aliyev's powerful figure Gaziyev was officially convicted of treason in surrendering Shusha to Armenians. He was detained in jail in August 1993 and was to be tried in court in November but managed to escape to Moscow, followed by Surat Huseynov. There he declared his full support of ex-President Ayaz Mutallibov who had been living in exile in Russia since summer of 1992 and ironically whom Gaziyev helped to have removed from power just two years earlier. On 16 April 1996 Prosecutor General's Office of Russia decided that Gaziyev (already sentenced to deathCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
in his home country) be deported to 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...
where his sentence was replaced by life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
in 1998.
At the insistence of PACE
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
, Rahim Gaziyev was pardoned and released in March 2005. After his release, Gaziyev published several articles in an attempt to rehabilitate himself in the public eye but was taken no interest in.