Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

On December 26, a scientific conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fatali Khan Khoyski, a prominent statesman and one of the main founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, was held at the Presidium of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).

The event was attended by President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli; members of the ANAS Presidium; heads of departments of the Presidium Administration; directors and staff of scientific institutions and organizations; and other relevant participants.

Opening the event with an introductory speech, President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli, stated that the conference was held in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated September 17, 2025, “On the Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Fatali Khan Khoyski.” He noted that an Action Plan of ANAS related to the 150th anniversary of Fatali Khan Khoyski, one of the main founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and a prominent public and political figure, has been approved, and that extensive events are being organized at the Academy’s scientific institutions and organizations, as well as at regional scientific departments and centers.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that the presidential decree on celebrating the 150th anniversary of Fatali Khan Khoyski is a practical expression of the high value accorded at the state level not only to this outstanding personality, but also to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Noting that recent presidential decrees on commemorating anniversaries of prominent Azerbaijani figures have also assigned important tasks to the National Academy of Sciences, the ANAS President cited the 120th anniversary of Academician Yusif Mammadaliyev, the 130th anniversary of Academician Mustafa Topchubashov, the 140th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the 190th anniversary of Seyid Azim Shirvani, and other state documents as examples. He expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the attention and care shown to the memory of Azerbaijan’s distinguished personalities, national science, and intellectuals.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli emphasized that in his speech at the 80th anniversary meeting of ANAS, President Ilham Aliyev set important tasks for Azerbaijani science, such as preserving the values of Azerbaijani identity and rewriting national history, and that today’s conference is another step taken by the Academy toward implementing the President’s calls. He noted that serious work is currently underway at the A.A. Bakikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology of ANAS on rewriting the history of Azerbaijan, including the preparation of a substantial monograph that comprehensively reflects the life and activities of Fatali Khan Khoyski.

Stating that extensive steps have been taken in recent years within the framework of reforms carried out at the Academy to study Azerbaijan’s literary and historical figures, Academician Isa Habibbeyli said that a number of important decisions have been adopted at meetings of the ANAS Presidium in this regard. He emphasized that during the years of Soviet rule, a policy was pursued aimed at assimilating peoples, erasing their national past, and forming the concept of a “single Soviet people,” as a result of which historical events were studied while historical personalities were left outside research. He noted that during that period, no research works were produced on such prominent historical figures as Shamsaddin Atabey, Shah Ismail Khatai, and many others. The ANAS President also pointed out that the renowned Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov expressed his protest against the USSR leadership’s policy of “mankurtization” in his novel “The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years.”

The ANAS President stated that the purposeful policy of the Soviet leadership failed to achieve its goals after the National Leader Heydar Aliyev began leading the republic and implemented the ideology of Azerbaijani identity. He emphasized that this policy has been successfully continued by President Ilham Aliyev, noting that through the declaration of the “Year of Nasimi,” the “Year of Nizami Ganjavi,” and the “Year of Heydar Aliyev,” many aspects of Azerbaijan’s historical, literary, and political figures have been re-examined.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli stressed that today, based on the political course founded by the National Leader and successfully continued by President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s history and outstanding personalities, including the rich legacy of Fatali Khan Khoyski, are being studied anew in depth at the Academy, and practical steps are being taken to pass this heritage on to future generations.

Subsequently, reports were presented at the conference by Leading Researcher of the Department of the History of the Azerbaijan Republic at the A.A. Bakikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, PhD in History Aygun Azimova, on “The Life and Activities of Fatali Khan Khoyski (Based on New Archival Documents and Materials)”; Head of the same department, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor Kamran Ismayilov, on “Fatali Khan Khoyski’s Course of National State-Building and Political-Legal Reforms”; Leading Researcher of the same department, PhD in History Mubaris Aghalarov, on “Fatali Khan Khoyski’s Political and Ideological Views and Philosophy of Statehood”; and Head of the Department of Azerbaijani–Asian Literary Relations at the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of ANAS, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Badirkhan Ahmadov, on “The Artistic Image of Fatali Khan Khoyski in Azerbaijani Literature.”

Translation by Gulhane Aghayeva, Department of Public Relations, Press, and Information, Presidium of ANAS.

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