Founder of first democratic republic in east to be commemorated
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on celebrating the 130th anniversary of Mammad Amin Rasulzade.
Rasulzade was one of the founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the outstanding political figure of the 20th century Azerbaijan.
President of Azerbaijan instructed the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Azerbaijan's National Academy of Sciences, the Education Ministry and other relevant agencies to prepare and implement a plan of events dedicated to the event to celebrate the anniversary of the prominent Azerbaijani politician in January 2014.
The Cabinet of Ministers is tasked to implement the order.
Speaking during a meeting with journalists on November 24, Ilham Aliyev cited Rasulzade as an example for Azerbaijanis.
"Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Fatali Khan Khoyski, other leaders, their vision, courage, and affection for the people are examples for every Azerbaijani", the president said.
"The founders of the Republic have rendered great services to the Azerbaijani people," Aliyev said. "Today's Azerbaijan is the successor of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic."
"But we know very well, and you know better than anyone, that the developments ongoing at that time around the country and even in the country did not allow them to defend its independence," he told journalists.
Recognized as the leader of the liberation struggle of the Azerbaijani Turks, Mammad Amin Rasulzade not only defined the strategic line of the national movement, but also directly supervised the origin and formation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first secular democratic state of the Islamic world.
ADR, which was established on May 28, 1918, was a significant event in Azerbaijan's history, and though it existed for only 23 months, it gained great progress in foreign policy and introduced Azerbaijan to the international community.
To appreciate the historical significance of this event not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the entire Islamic world, it is enough to recall that at that time there were only seven independent Muslim states in the world - Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, Emirate of Bukhara, and three small monarchies of Inner Arabia.
In such an atmosphere, the young political leaders of the Azerbaijani nation made a risky move.
After centuries of Russian domination, ADR was established as a result of great ordeals, but the country soon faced threat of new aggression from the Soviet Bolsheviks. Since the very beginning, ADR's leaders realized the seriousness of the situation and did everything in their power to familiarize the international community with the problems facing the newly created republic.
Despite the fact that the newly created state existed for only about two years, Mammad Amin Rasulzade made the most significant contribution to the theoretical basis of modern Azerbaijani statehood and its practical implementation.
Rasulzade also contributed to the development of social and philosophical thought in Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Germany, and Poland, writing numerous papers and articles on politics, international affairs, and self-determination of the nation.