Javad Malik-Yeganov
Encyclopedia
Javad Irzabey oglu Malik-Yeganov (1878, Tuğ
– 1942, Karelia
) was an Azerbaijan
i politician and Governor-General of Lankaran
during Azerbaijan's independence in 1918–1920
.
, situated in what is now Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan
. After being homeschooled
, he arrived in Baku
in 1903 to work in the oil fields. He joined the Muslim Social Democratic Party
and within several years became known as an outspeaking socialist
among Baku's oil workers. He was ordered imprisoned for one year in 1909 and temporarily refused the right to stay in Baku. Upon his release he returned to his native Tugh to continue his education and established contact with prominent scholars of neighbouring Shusha
, one of the largest cultural centres of the Caucasus
. He returned to Baku in 1914 and was hired as a clerk at the Shibayev and Co. oil company. That same year he joined the Musavat Party and enrolled in an undergraduate technical school. During that period he acquired several languages in addition to those he had already known. By the time of Azerbaijan's independence in 1918 besides his native Azeri
Malik-Yeganov was fluent in Russian
, German
, Persian
, Armenian
, and Georgian
.
as a representative for the South Caucasus' Azeri
community. A year later he was among the Azerbaijani politicians who were members of the Azerbaijani National Council
who signed the Declaration of Independence of 28 May 1918 proclaiming Azerbaijan's sovereignty, and became one of Members of Parliament of the newly-founded state. On 10 March 1919 he was included in the committee in charge of investigating and reporting on the economic problems of Baku's working class. In June 1919 he became Governor-General of Lankaran
after the fall of the British
-backed Provisional Military Dictatorship of Mughan
and its successor, the Mughan Soviet Republic
. His brief governance was marked by major social developments in Azerbaijan's southeastern regions, including the opening of new schools, libraries and cultural clubs, as well as the encouragement for girls to receive education. He also managed to reconcile the local Azeri population with the pro-Bolshevik
representatives of the local Russian community and the Armenian volunteers who fought on their side. Malik-Yeganov remained in that position until Azerbaijan's Sovietization
on 28 April 1920.
after the establishment of the Soviet rule in Azerbaijan
. He immediately fell under suspicion in the eyes of the Communist
leaders. In the next 18 years he would be imprisoned 6 times. In the 1920s he worked in the construction trust, employment exchange office, department for refugee affairs at the State Labour Commissariat and other government institutions of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1933 he was accused of being a secret member of Musavat and arrested. The court ordered him exiled to the Karelo-Finnish SSR
(present day Karelia
, northern Russia
) to a correctional camp, where he died 9 years later.
. The two got married in 1920 and settled in Baku the following year. They had three daughters: Azera, Taliya and Asiman. Following Malik-Yeganov's final arrest in 1933, the government persecuted his entire family, including his wife who got exiled to Arkhangelsk
in the far north of European Russia. Many of his relatives, including his three daughters, changed their surnames in order to avoid the purge.
Javad Malik-Yeganov was exonerated in 1957.
TUG
TUG may refer to:* TUBITAK National Observatory* Graz University of Technology in Graz, Austria* TeX Users Group* The Ultimate Group, an entertainment production company...
– 1942, Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
) was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i politician and Governor-General of Lankaran
Lankaran
-History:The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Lankaran's history is rather recent,...
during Azerbaijan's independence in 1918–1920
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
.
Early life
Malik-Yeganov was born in the village of TughTUG
TUG may refer to:* TUBITAK National Observatory* Graz University of Technology in Graz, Austria* TeX Users Group* The Ultimate Group, an entertainment production company...
, situated in what is now Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. After being homeschooled
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
, he arrived in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
in 1903 to work in the oil fields. He joined the Muslim Social Democratic Party
Muslim Social Democratic Party
The Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet , was a political party in South Caucasus. In 1920, it merged with "Adalat" communist cell in Baku, forming the first Communist Party of Azerbaijan.- "Old" Hummet :...
and within several years became known as an outspeaking socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
among Baku's oil workers. He was ordered imprisoned for one year in 1909 and temporarily refused the right to stay in Baku. Upon his release he returned to his native Tugh to continue his education and established contact with prominent scholars of neighbouring Shusha
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
, one of the largest cultural centres of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. He returned to Baku in 1914 and was hired as a clerk at the Shibayev and Co. oil company. That same year he joined the Musavat Party and enrolled in an undergraduate technical school. During that period he acquired several languages in addition to those he had already known. By the time of Azerbaijan's independence in 1918 besides his native Azeri
Azerbaijani language
Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
Malik-Yeganov was fluent in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, and Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
.
Career in the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan
In 1917, Javad Malik-Yeganov was elected in the Transcaucasian SejmTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic , was a short-lived state composed of the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the South Caucasus.-...
as a representative for the South Caucasus' Azeri
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
community. A year later he was among the Azerbaijani politicians who were members of the Azerbaijani National Council
Azerbaijani National Council
Azerbaijani National Council was the first delegated legislative body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from 27 May 1918 to 17 June 1918 and again from 16 November 1918 to 3 December 1918...
who signed the Declaration of Independence of 28 May 1918 proclaiming Azerbaijan's sovereignty, and became one of Members of Parliament of the newly-founded state. On 10 March 1919 he was included in the committee in charge of investigating and reporting on the economic problems of Baku's working class. In June 1919 he became Governor-General of Lankaran
Lankaran
-History:The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Lankaran's history is rather recent,...
after the fall of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-backed Provisional Military Dictatorship of Mughan
Provisional Military Dictatorship of Mughan
The Provisional Military Dictatorship of Mughan was a British-controlled anti-communist short-lived state founded in the Lankaran region on August 1, 1918. The Mughan government did not support independence of Azerbaijan and it was led by white Russian colonel V.T. Sukhorukov who acted under the...
and its successor, the Mughan Soviet Republic
Mughan Soviet Republic
The Mughan Soviet Republic was a short-lived pro-Bolshevik state that existed in present-day southeastern Azerbaijan from March to June 1919. It was founded in opposition to the Musavatist Azerbaijani Government in Baku.-See also:...
. His brief governance was marked by major social developments in Azerbaijan's southeastern regions, including the opening of new schools, libraries and cultural clubs, as well as the encouragement for girls to receive education. He also managed to reconcile the local Azeri population with the pro-Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
representatives of the local Russian community and the Armenian volunteers who fought on their side. Malik-Yeganov remained in that position until Azerbaijan's Sovietization
Sovietization
Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....
on 28 April 1920.
Career in Soviet Azerbaijan
Unlike many members of Musavat, Javad Malik-Yeganov did not choose to emigrateEmigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
after the establishment of the Soviet rule in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
. He immediately fell under suspicion in the eyes of the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
leaders. In the next 18 years he would be imprisoned 6 times. In the 1920s he worked in the construction trust, employment exchange office, department for refugee affairs at the State Labour Commissariat and other government institutions of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1933 he was accused of being a secret member of Musavat and arrested. The court ordered him exiled to the Karelo-Finnish SSR
Karelo-Finnish SSR
The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic was a short-lived republic that was a part of the former Soviet Union. The republic existed from 1940 until it was merged back into the Russian SFSR in 1956 ....
(present day Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
, northern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) to a correctional camp, where he died 9 years later.
Personal life
While being Governor-General, Malik-Yeganov visited the Russian-Muslim School for Girls in the city of Lankaran where he met the young teacher and feminist Maryam BayramalibeyovaMaryam Bayramalibeyova
Maryam Teymur qizi Bayramalibeyova was an Azerbaijani social activist and feminist.-Early life:...
. The two got married in 1920 and settled in Baku the following year. They had three daughters: Azera, Taliya and Asiman. Following Malik-Yeganov's final arrest in 1933, the government persecuted his entire family, including his wife who got exiled to Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
in the far north of European Russia. Many of his relatives, including his three daughters, changed their surnames in order to avoid the purge.
Javad Malik-Yeganov was exonerated in 1957.