Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Baku is honoring the memory of the Grand Victory of World War 2 at the International Conference "The Grand Victory Anniversary: living memory through the generations" on April 2.

The conference, held by the political scientific center “Sever-Yug”, with the support of the International Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of CIS member states, brought together experts, scientists, historians from Azerbaijan, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, representatives of public organizations.

The event, held in Baku Slavic University, discussed the contribution of members of the former Soviet Union in the defeat of fascism, historical significance of the victory in the Great Patriotic War as the common heritage of the people of the Soviet Union and its impact on people's lives.

"The Victory Day is filled with a special meaning for the republics of the former Soviet Union, whose residents honorably withstood the onslaught of fascist troops, displayed courage and heroism and saved humanity from the terrible plague of the 20^th century," said Arastun Mehdiyev, the deputy head of the department of social and political issues of the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration.

“The victory [in WWII] is our common heritage,” he said. "The Azerbaijani people shoulder to shoulder with other nations fought and defended every inch of the territory of their common country in the most brutal war in human history.”

About 700,000 Azerbaijanis joined the front, and half of them did not return from the war. About 130 natives of Azerbaijan were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their heroism. Azerbaijan also produced more than 130 types of weapons and ammunition, Mehdiyev said.

Every year the Azerbaijani people commemorate the heroes who fell in the war, he stressed.

"Today, Azerbaijan continues to provide care and attention to veterans of the Great Patriotic War. Every year the country celebrates Victory Day, and the president personally meets veterans and congratulate them," he said.

The country carries a range of activities aimed at improving the social life of veterans, including presenting them cars, granting with the presidential pension, payments and so on.

Mehdiyev added Azerbaijan is conducting appropriate activities on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. May 9 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Victory.

Alexander Gritchenko, the veteran of the Great Patriotic War, deputy chairman of the Section of war veterans, said the people of Azerbaijan revere the memory of the heroes who died during the Great Patriotic War.

He stressed that Azerbaijan never did and will never falsify facts and events of the holy war.

The tragedy of the past century World War II damaged billions of lives around the globe. Azerbaijan was one of those countries that experienced much pain and sufferings at the time.

This South Caucasus country not only sent its children to fight against the Nazis, but it also worked hard in the domestic front producing fuel to four out of five Soviet aircraft, tanks and trucks.

Azerbaijan produced 75 million tonnes of crude oil, 80 percent of the union’s petrol, 90 percent of its naphtha and 96 percent of its lubricants from June 1941 until the end of the war.

Azerbaijan’s oil played a decisive role in all main battles, two of which were the Battle for Stalingrad, and Kursk.

Azerbaijanis did not leave their posts at oil fields and refineries and developed new methods to provide enough fuel.

For this reason, Baku was Hitler's target. Experts assure that the Katyusha rocket and the T-34 tank won the Nazi Germany, but without fuel from Baku none of them could have operated. Without Baku oil, the Soviet victory over fascism would have been impossible.

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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar

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