On 14 July 1969 a plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan chose Heydar Aliyev as the head of the republic — its First Secretary. He was 46. In a Soviet Union where decisions were taken in Moscow and the plan and budget were approved by the centre, what could the head of a republic achieve, and what could he not? Textbooks describe 1969–1982 as a period of social and economic growth in the Azerbaijan SSR. This lesson looks at what that growth consisted of, at its limits and at the turn of 1982 (a continuation of «Attempts at national revival: Imam Mustafayev and Vali Akhundov»).
1969: a new leader, new tasks
Heydar Aliyev was born in Nakhchivan on 10 May 1923. He had worked in the state security organs since 1944 and in 1967 became chairman of the State Security Committee of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1969 he was elected First Secretary in place of Vali Akhundov and held the post until 1982.
In the Soviet system the First Secretary was the real head of the republic: the Supreme Soviet and the Council of Ministers carried out the party’s decisions, while the economic plan was approved in Moscow. In 1976 Heydar Aliyev was elected a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU; researchers regard this as a strengthening of the republic’s position at the centre.
First SecretaryDefinition
The head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in a Soviet republic; in the one-party system, the republic’s actual leader. It is not the post of President.
Industry and agriculture: what besides oil?
Azerbaijan’s economy had rested on oil for centuries. In the 1970s onshore reserves were shrinking and attention turned to the deep waters of the Caspian. Offshore oil had begun at Neft Dashlari in the late 1940s (see «The post-war decade: economy, totalitarian rule and deportation») — that was the stage before this period. In the 1970s a plant producing the foundations of platforms for deep-water fields was set up in Baku and the installation of offshore platforms expanded.
Besides oil, mechanical engineering, instrument-making, electrical engineering and radio engineering developed, and new plants were built in Baku, Sumgait, Ganja and other towns. These branches began to reduce the economy’s dependence on oil, although oil remained the main branch. The leading branches of agriculture were cotton, viticulture, tobacco and tea. Social infrastructure expanded too: housing, schools, hospitals and cultural institutions were built and the Baku Metro (1967) was extended. All of it stayed within one framework: the plan was approved in Moscow and property belonged to the state.
The legal basis and national cadres
The new Constitution of the USSR was adopted on 7 October 1977, and the union republics had to bring their own basic laws into line with it. The Union text, however, had no separate article on a state language, so this provision was contested in the republics’ drafts. The new Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR was adopted on 21 April 1978 at a session of the Supreme Soviet and named Azerbaijani as the state language: that status had existed since 1956 and was kept. Textbooks link this with Heydar Aliyev’s position; historians differ on how strong the pressure from Moscow was, but the result is clear: the legal status of the language was preserved (for the earlier provision see «Attempts at national revival: Imam Mustafayev and Vali Akhundov»).
Training national cadres was a separate line of work. Young people from the republic were sent to study at the higher schools of the USSR. In 1971 a military boarding school was founded in Baku (later called the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum); it prepared young people for military education. Young Azerbaijanis took their officer training in military schools of the USSR, including those in Russia. Researchers link this experience with the military cadres who later took part in forming the national army.
The limits of the period and 1982
The limits of the growth were plain. The political system remained one-party, ideology and censorship stayed in force, and the USSR as a whole was entering the period called «stagnation» (the Brezhnev years). Within this framework the republic’s leadership tried to revive the economy, strengthen the rule of law and protect national culture. In 1982 Heydar Aliyev was promoted to Moscow: he became a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. A new First Secretary took his place in Azerbaijan. For what followed, see «Perestroika, the start of the Karabakh conflict and the People's Movement».
- 10 May 1923
Heydar Aliyev is born in Nakhchivan
- 1967
Heydar Aliyev becomes chairman of the State Security Committee of the Azerbaijan SSR
- 14 July 1969
A Central Committee plenum elects Heydar Aliyev First Secretary
- 1970s
A plant making platform foundations for deep-water fields is set up in Baku
- 1971
A military boarding school is founded in Baku (later the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum)
- 1976
Aliyev is elected a candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee
- 7 October 1977
The new USSR Constitution is adopted
- 21 April 1978
The Azerbaijan SSR Constitution is adopted: Azerbaijani is the state language
- 1982
Aliyev is promoted to Moscow: a member of the Politburo
- 1993
Heydar Aliyev is elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
| Years | First Secretary | Main issue of the period |
|---|---|---|
| 1933–1953 | Mir Jafar Baghirov | the totalitarian regime, the repressions of 1937–1938 |
| 1953–1954 | Mir Teymur Yaqubov | a short transitional period |
| 1954–1959 | Imam Mustafayev | 1956: the state-language provision |
| 1959–1969 | Vali Akhundov | the Baku Metro (1967) |
| 1969–1982 | Heydar Aliyev | the 1978 Constitution, deep-water oil, new industries, national cadres |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Shrinking onshore oil reserves | a move to deep-water fields and a foundations plant |
| Adoption of the new USSR Constitution (1977) | republican basic laws were renewed: the 1978 Constitution |
| Approval of the plan in Moscow | the republic’s economic choices were limited by the centre’s framework |
| No state-language article in the USSR Constitution (1977) | a dispute over the provision in the republic’s draft; in 1978 Azerbaijani remained the state language |
| Feature | First Secretary (1969–1982) | President (1993–2003) |
|---|---|---|
| State | a union republic inside the USSR | the independent Republic of Azerbaijan |
| Nature of the post | a party post (First Secretary of the Central Committee) | head of state |
| How chosen | chosen at a Central Committee plenum | by a nationwide vote |
| Basic law | the 1978 Constitution | the 1995 Constitution (from 1995) |
Interactive
Interactive
A source and its tasks
It was spring. The previous autumn the country had adopted a Union Constitution, and now every republic was bringing its own basic law into line with it. The republic’s Supreme Soviet met in session. The Union document had no article on a state language; in discussing the draft the dispute arose precisely over this matter: should the republic’s basic law keep a state-language article, or remove it to match the Union document?
The republic’s First Secretary defended keeping the article in the draft. The session adopted the document, and the article remained in the republic’s Basic Law.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Name the document, the body that adopted it, the First Secretary and the year, none of which are named in the text.
2) Explain one political and one cultural reason for keeping the state-language article in the draft.
3) Give two consequences of this event that are NOT stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Political: the republic wished to preserve a mark of its national-state status inside the Union. Cultural: the mother tongue is the basis of a people’s literature, education and culture; without legal status its position would weaken. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3) With its legal status kept, the mother tongue retained a legal footing in education, the press and cultural institutions (the text says only that the article remained). The republic’s basic law kept a national-cultural provision that the Union text lacked; on one view this shows how a republic’s leadership could use the limited room within the Union framework. Other answers of similar meaning are accepted. Marks: two consequences — 1; one — ½; repeating «the article remained», which is in the text, earns nothing.
Exam task: combination
Problem
Choose what belongs to the years when Heydar Aliyev was First Secretary (1969–1982):
1. The state language named in the Azerbaijan SSR Constitution (1978)
2. The founding of a military school in Baku (1971)
3. The mass repressions (1937–1938)
4. The opening of the Baku Metro (1967)
5. Election as a candidate member of the Politburo (1976)
A) 1, 2, 5 B) 2, 3, 4 C) 1, 3, 5 D) 2, 4, 5 E) 1, 4
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Solution
Step 2: 3 (1937–1938) is the Baghirov period and 4 (1967) the Akhundov period, so both come before Aliyev.
Step 3: Cross out the options containing 3 or 4 (B, C, D, E).
Answer: A.
Exam task: «not related»
Problem
Which does NOT belong to agriculture in the Azerbaijan SSR in the 1970s?
A) cotton-growing
B) viticulture
C) tea-growing
D) tobacco-growing
E) making foundations for offshore platforms
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Solution
Step 2: Foundations are made in a plant and serve the oil industry — that is industry, not agriculture.
Answer: E.
Exam task: chronology
Problem
Put the events in chronological order:
1. Adoption of the new USSR Constitution
2. Heydar Aliyev elected First Secretary
3. A military school founded in Baku
4. Adoption of the Azerbaijan SSR Constitution
5. Heydar Aliyev promoted to Moscow
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Solution
Step 2: The Union Constitution was adopted in 1977 (1), and the republic’s Constitution followed in 1978 (4).
Step 3: Last, 1982 (5).
Answer: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5.
Exam task: «similar, different»
Problem
Heydar Aliyev’s post in 1969–1982 was similar to that of Vali Akhundov and different from his post after 1993. Which features are these?
1. Being First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan
2. Being head of an independent state
3. Working inside the Soviet Union
4. Being elected by a nationwide vote
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Solution
Step 2: After 1993 Aliyev was head of an independent state (2) and was elected by a nationwide vote (4) — neither applies to Akhundov.
Step 3: «Similar to Akhundov, different from the presidency» fits only 1 and 3.
Answer: 1 and 3.
Remember
- Heydar Aliyev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan on 14 July 1969 and held the post until 1982; in 1976 he became a candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.
- Because onshore oil reserves were shrinking, production turned to deep-water fields; mechanical engineering, instrument-making, electrical and radio engineering developed.
- The leading branches of agriculture were cotton, viticulture, tobacco and tea; the economic plan was approved in Moscow, so the republic’s choices were limited by the centre’s framework.
- The Azerbaijan SSR Constitution, adopted on 21 April 1978, named Azerbaijani as the state language: the status that dated from 1956 was kept.
- In 1971 a military boarding school was founded in Baku (later the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum); young Azerbaijanis took officer training in military schools of the USSR, including those in Russia.
- The First Secretary (1969–1982) was a party post inside the USSR, whereas the President (1993–2003) heads an independent state; in 1982 Aliyev was promoted to Moscow.