Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

A presentation ceremony for the monograph “The Territory of Azerbaijan (1918-2025)” by Vasif Gafarov, member of the Milli Majlis, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, and Khanlar Valiyev, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Military Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Justice Lieutenant General, was held at the Presidium of ANAS.

The event was attended by the President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli, members of the Presidium of ANAS, the authors of the publication- member of the Milli Majlis, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor Vasif Gafarov, and Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Military Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Justice Lieutenant General Khanlar Valiyev, members of the Milli Majlis, representatives of the scientific community, the Military Prosecutor’s Office, and media members.

The presentation ceremony was opened with a welcome speech by the President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli, who greeted the guests and expressed his pleasure at seeing them at the Academy. He underlined that it is highly significant that the presentation of the book prepared at a high level takes place during the “Year of Constitution and Sovereignty” and, at the same time, it is a great event of ANAS dedicated to the “Year of Constitution and Sovereignty”.

The head of ANAS mentioned that sovereignty is a concept encompassing full territorial integrity, and the territory of Azerbaijan was fully restored through the historic Victory achieved in the 44-day Patriotic War under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev and the anti-terror measures carried out in September 2023. As a result, after nearly 30 years, Azerbaijan has regained its full sovereignty.

Speaking about the merits of the presented publication, Academician Isa Habibbeyli said that the authors of the book addressed two directions-historical and legal aspects. Based on archival documents of Azerbaijan and neighboring countries, they produced a fundamental monographic work that presents an objective scientific view of historical events.

According to the academician, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor Vasif Gafarov conveys to readers, with undeniable facts, the transfer of historical Azerbaijani territories to Armenia and the deportation of our compatriots from Western Azerbaijan in the presented research work. It was also emphasized that the great struggle led by National Leader Heydar Aliyev against Armenian territorial claims during the Soviet era, as well as the historic Victory achieved under the leadership of Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, is presented with facts.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli said that the legal aspects of historical events were touched upon in the publication by the Military Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Justice Lieutenant General Khanlar Valiyev, and a legal-political assessment of the facts was provided.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli mentioned that the publication, reflecting the historical panorama from 1918 to 2025, is a significant contribution to Azerbaijani historiography and aligns with the concept of return to Western Azerbaijan announced by the head of state. He emphasized that the book would serve as an important scientific source for specialists in the humanities and social sciences.

Following this, the authors of the book, Vasif Gafarov and Khanlar Valiyev, delivered a comprehensive presentation and introduced their scientific work to the public.

The authors emphasized that modern independent Azerbaijan exists because of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, and spoke about the determination of his most worthy successor, President Ilham Aliyev, the support and care of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, the wisdom and perseverance of our people, and the bravery and heroism of our military forces, which led to the liberation of historical territories of Azerbaijan from occupation. It was noted that all these are also reflected in the presented book.

The book provides an overview of historical territories of Azerbaijan, examining the territory of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920), its total area, and its boundaries. The process of transferring the territories of the Azerbaijan SSR to Armenia after the April 1920 invasion was studied based on specific facts and initial archival documents from that period. The monograph presents an objective depiction of the process in which the territory of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, originally 114,000 square kilometers, was reduced to 86.6 thousand square kilometers during the Azerbaijan SSR period, and how the territory of Azerbaijan was taken away against the will of its people.

The Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Military Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Justice Lieutenant General Khanlar Valiyev, emphasized that the mentioned research is only the visible part of the iceberg. He underlined that there is a necessity to conduct a joint comprehensive study by specialists on the historical facts of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the genocide committed against our people, and the process of settlement of Armenians in various territories of Azerbaijan.    

The Chairman of the Science and Education Committee of the Milli Majlis, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Anar Isgandarov, the General Director of the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Corresponding Member of ANAS Misir Mardanov, the Director of the Institute of History and Ethnology of ANAS, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Karim Shukurov, Member of the Milli Majlis, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Hikmat Babaoglu, and the Head of the Department at Baku State University, Academician Abel Maharramov also made speeches at the event.  They emphasized the relevance of the issue studied in the monograph and highly appreciated the significant scientific innovations in the work, the introduction of new scientific theses, and the substantiation of these theses with concrete evidence. Speakers also noted that the book would be very useful for researchers engaged in the history of Azerbaijan, the Caucasus, and international relations, as well as for students and graduate students studying these fields.

Later, Military Prosecutor Khanlar Valiyev made a speech, expressing his gratitude to the Academy’s leadership and participants for organizing the event.

At the end, a commemorative photo was taken.

Reyhan Majidli, Public Relations, Press and Information Department of the Presidium Administration of ANAS

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