Back in the days of the Soviet Union, Heydar Aliyev was holding one of the key positions, the post of the First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union. Before that, he had successfully led the State Security Committee of the Azerbaijan SSR. Then, he headed Azerbaijan and was further appointed to higher posts in the Soviet Union for his fruitful work. I’m deeply convinced that if Heydar Aliyev had headed the Soviet Union, the country would probably exist today and take the leading positions in the world. But, because of Gorbachev, who was considering Heydar Aliyev as one of his rivals, Aliyev was dismissed. Heydar Aliyev was possibly one of the few leaders who could confront the Armenian nationalism, which became fatal for the multinational state of the USSR.

At this critical moment, the Azerbaijani people requested Heydar Aliyev to come to power and lead the country, which was subjected to a destructive war by Armenia and Armenian separatists. Actually, this was a turning point in the history of the country. Heydar Aliyev not only revived the Azerbaijani statehood, but also established a new energy strategy for the benefit of the country and its people. It was under Heydar Aliyev’s leadership that the country signed significant contracts that made Azerbaijan a reliable energy supplier to the world market and one of the guarantors of the EU energy security.

Heydar Aliyev is a worthy politician in the history of new Azerbaijan. I think that the 100th anniversary of his birth will be solemnly marked at the highest level in Russia as well. Of course, the expert community of public figures will also participate there in order to once again honor the memory of this outstanding person.