Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

On March 19, a scientific session dedicated to the 120th anniversary of People’s Poet, prominent playwright, public figure, laureate of the USSR State Prizes, and full member of ANAS Samad Vurgun was held at the Institute of Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).

Prior to the event, participants viewed an exhibition of publications reflecting the life and work of Samad Vurgun.

Opening the session, President of ANAS and Director of the Institute of Literature, Academician Isa Habibbeyli, noted that under the Presidential Order dated February 23, 2026, “On the Celebration of the 120th Anniversary of People’s Poet Samad Vurgun,” the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, jointly with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union, and relevant institutions, was tasked with preparing and implementing an action plan dedicated to the юбилей. He added that the ANAS Presidium had approved the action plan, and the current scientific session was being held in accordance with that document.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that Samad Vurgun is recognized as one of the most prominent figures in the history of Azerbaijani literature and as the founder of a new literary school. He noted that Vurgun’s extensive report at the Second Congress of Soviet Writers in Moscow in 1954, where he represented Azerbaijan, reflected the high esteem in which he was held and confirmed his status as one of the leading figures of Soviet-era literature.

He emphasized that through his powerful works, dramaturgy, poetry, and publicist writings, Samad Vurgun created enduring works that will continue to live in Azerbaijani literature, describing his art as immortal and timeless. According to him, Samad Vurgun is regarded as a national treasure and a great intellectual figure of the Azerbaijani people.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli also highlighted that the poet’s famous poem “Azerbaijan,” written in 1935, remains widely known and memorized to this day. He noted that Samad Vurgun was considered a phenomenal figure even during his lifetime and was awarded the highest State Prizes of the USSR multiple times.

Touching upon Samad Vurgun’s academic activity, Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that he was one of the 15 founding members of ANAS and, after being elected a full member, served as Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR from 1954 to 1956 with great responsibility. He noted that during this period, the three-volume “History of Azerbaijani Literature,” for which Samad Vurgun served as one of the editors, was published. He also stressed that Vurgun contributed to preventing the destruction of ancient inscriptions on the Gobustan rocks and produced significant scholarly articles on the works of Nizami Ganjavi, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, and Mirza Alakbar Sabir.

“Samad Vurgun studied the works of Gasim bey Zakir and worked on a PhD dissertation on his lyrics. His report on poetry delivered at the Second Congress of Soviet Writers is comparable in level to a doctoral dissertation. In addition, in his annual report at the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR, he presented comprehensive ideas on history, archaeology, ethnography, literature, art studies, linguistics, and manuscripts, and the transcript of that speech is still preserved in our archives,” Academician Isa Habibbeyli said.

Recalling Samad Vurgun’s words, “Literature can exist without an ideal hero, but it cannot exist without ideals,” the head of ANAS expressed confidence that the presentations delivered at the session would further contribute to the development of scholarly perspectives on the poet. He also congratulated the participants on the upcoming Novruz and Ramadan holidays.

At the session, Director of the Central Scientific Library, Doctor of Technical Sciences Huseyn Huseynov, presented the “Samad Vurgun Electronic Database” prepared by the library.

The event continued with presentations by Associate Professor Aslan Salmansoy, PhD in Philology, on “The Legacy of Samad Vurgun in the Context of Environment, Author, and Text”; Doctor of Philological Sciences Vagif Yusifli on “Samad Vurgun”; Professor Asif Rustamli on “The Ganja Period of Samad Vurgun’s Work”; Associate Professor Aygun Bagirli, PhD in Philology, on “The Author–Hero Tandem in Samad Vurgun’s Dramaturgy”; and Associate Professor Ilham Mammadli, PhD in Philology, on “Samad Vurgun’s Quatrains.” The presentations featured interesting facts about the poet’s life and work based on archival materials.

A video about the life and work of the prominent poet was also screened during the event.

At the end of the event, a copy of a manuscript belonging to the poet, discovered in the archives by Professor Asif Rustamli, was presented to Vurgun Vakilov, Director of the Samad Vurgun House Museum. Vurgun Vakilov expressed his gratitude to the organizers and participants for the respect and attention shown.

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

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