Nigar Shikhlinskaya
Encyclopedia
Nigar Huseyn Afandi gizi Shikhlinskaya, née
NEE
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 Gayibova ' onMouseout='HidePop("85549")' href="/topics/Tbilisi">Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

–August 15, 1931, 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...

) was the first 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 nurse. She was fluent in several languages, including 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...

 and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and served on the Western Front of World War I, where she opened the Red Cross hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

.

On August 1, 1914 her appeal to women was published in the Russkiy Invalid (Russian Disabled Person) newspaper. Shikhlinskaya co-ran the Red Cross community, established by officer's wives, until 1918.

Life

Shikhlinskaya was the daughter of enlightener Huseyn Afandi Gayibov. Having graduated from the Transcaucasian Female College with a gold medal in 1889, she became the first Azerbaijani woman to obtain a higher education. Shikhlinskaya was widowed after the death of Dervish-bek Palavandov of Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 nobles. On October 27, 1909 she married Colonel and eminent Azeri commander Ali-Agha Shikhlinski
Ali-Agha Shikhlinski
Ali-Agha Ismail-Agha oglu Shikhlinski was lieutenant-general of the Russian tsarist army and Deputy Minister of Defense and General of the Artillery of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.-Life and military career:...

 and the couple returned to Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...

.

The war

On August 2, 1914 Nigar followed Shikhlinski to the Guards' Staff of Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 Military District. Some time later Nigar was elected the head of the Ladies' Committee at the Officer's Artillery School. The attached hospital became commonly known as Shikhlinskaya Hospital. Nigar maintained correspondence with her husband in verses, which they dedicated to each other. In his memoirs Shikhlinski recalls that Nigar wrote letters home for wounded soldiers in two foreign languages (apart from Russian) and was referred to as Mom (Mamasha) by the soldiers. In 1916 Nigar's close relative, Farrukh Gayibov, one of the first combat pilots, died in an air battle. On March 10, 1920 Shikhlinski as Deputy Defense Minister of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
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...

 founded the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society with Nigar becoming the pioneer nurse there.

In his memoirs Shikhlinski wrote: "The death of my wife... was a fatal blow for me. Everything has passed away with my wife - both happiness and health". His other known quote is "count my death date from Nigar's demise". It is uncertain whether or not Shikhlinskaya had any children. In his article "The Life of General Ali Agha Shikhlinski" Lieutenant Colonel and senior scientific employee Shamistan Nazirli of the Azeri Defense Ministry included a photo, made early in the 20th century, where she is said to be with a son.
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