User:Xasmammad/Republican Students

Republican students - a group of students of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, selected in 1920 for higher education in Western Europe, Russia and Turkey. About 100 students from different walks of life were sent abroad, and the Ministry of Education was established for this purpose for 7 million Ruble s.

After the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, students continued their education, despite the Sovietization of the country as a result of the Red Army's entry into the country. After graduation, most of the students returned to Azerbaijan and achieved significant success as plant owners and oil field managers. Some of them have even been awarded state awards such as the Order of Lenin.

However, in the 1930s, some students were repressed by the NKVD on charges of restoring Azerbaijan's independence and spying for Nazi Germany.

Enlightenment in Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Since the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, special attention was paid to education. Special attention should be made of the law adopted by the Parliament on September 1, 1919 on the establishment of Baku State University. The opening of the National University was a very important historical service of the Republican figures to the native people. Although the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic later collapsed, Baku State University played an unprecedented role in the survival of the ideas of the Republic and the re-independence of our people. Paying special attention to the development of science and education in the country, the Government and Parliament of the Republic, without wasting time, made special efforts to accelerate the training of national personnel in this field. At that time, the Azerbaijani Parliament passed a law at the suggestion of the government to send 100 Azerbaijani youth abroad to study at public expense. The parliament set up a special competition commission headed by Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, consisting of five people (Mehdi bey Hajinski, Ahmad bey Pepinov, Gara bey Garabeyov, Abdulla bey Efendizade) to determine the young people to be sent abroad. According to the decision of the commission, 45 people were sent to higher education in France, 23 in Italy, 10 in England, and 9 in Ottoman universities. Thirteen young people selected to study in Russia could not go to study there because of the outbreak of the Civil War.

The Ministry of Education has never had such extensive powers in Azerbaijan as in 1918-1920. The Azerbaijani branch of the Transcaucasian (Gori) Teachers' Seminary was at the disposal of the Ministry of Education after it was moved to Gazakh. Even the theatre of the Mayilov brothers (now the National Opera and Ballet Theater named after M.F. Akhundov) was subordinated to the ministry. Issues related to the state theatre were considered in the ministry.

In a letter dated [27 April 1919] to Uzeyir bey and Zulfugar bey Hajibeyov, among others, was written:

"'I ask you to visit the Ministry of Public Education to attend a meeting of the State Theater Commission on April 28 at 7 pm this year.' Signed: Head of the Department of the Ministry."

By the way, it should be noted that in the first years of Soviet power, this tradition was continued by the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Azerbaijan Nariman Narimanov. Thus, by his order, the state archive in Azerbaijan was established under the Ministry of Education. The official body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the “Azerbaijan” newspaper, was also subordinated to the Ministry of Public Education. This should explain one of the reasons why educational materials are published in full in newspapers.

On July 23, 1919, the newspaper informed the readers that a school for the blind would be opened in Baku by the decision of the Council of Advocates. In the news about students says: "Education Council will send 100 students abroad. Each student will spend 36,000 manat and 5,000 manat travel expenses. The total amount is 4,100,000 manat".

According to the announcement in the July 31 issue of the newspaper "For the attention of students", 51 young people will be sent to Switzerland, 13 to France, 4 to the Ottomans, 1 to Italy, 17 to Russia, 3 to England and 2 to Germany.

The materials in the pages of the "Azerbaijan" newspaper, as well as archival documents, show that the conditions accepted by students to be sent to study in foreign countries were prepared based on articles approved by HZ Tagiyev. The conditions of the millionaire were as follows:
 * 1) Each student will receive 50 manats during the study period. Travel expenses to the Caucasus during the summer holidays will also be paid separately.
 * 2) Upon completion of higher education, the student will return to his homeland and serve his country.
 * 3) The student will not marry a non-Turk.
 * 4) Upon completion of the student's education, the student will pay the money received from Haji Zeynalabdin to the Charity Society once or in instalments during the period of study.

The special state commission of the Azerbaijani parliament edited HZ Tagiyev articles and shortened Article 3. Also, Nariman Narimanov entered the medical faculty of Odessa University in 1902 under the auspices of HZ Tagiyev. Another prominent statesman of the Azerbaijani people, Aziz Aliyev, recalled the following in his autobiography of H.Z. Tagiyev's kindness in 1951, when he was the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR: "'In 1917, I graduated from high school with a gold medal with a grade of' 5 'in all subjects. As I did not have the funds to continue my education, I appealed to the then Baku millionaire Tagiyev for financial assistance. He sent me 300 manats. I took the rest with me and went to Petrograd. I entered the Military Medical Academy through a certificate competition.'"

At that time, the sending of Azerbaijanis to foreign countries for higher education in 1919 became a significant event in the life of Azerbaijan. This pleased HZ Tagiyev, the father of the most enlightened nation. All its wealth, factories, mines, factories, and fish farms, financial resources became the economic base of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Although the father of the nation, who welcomed the highest guests of the People's Republic in his home (now the building of the Azerbaijan History Museum), was ninety-six years old, he looked like a lively and cheerful knight to the guests. Forty-nine-year-old Nariman Narimanov and 22-year-old Aziz Aliyev read the materials about the students in the "Azerbaijan" newspaper in Astrakhan and the Sharur district of Nakhchivan.

It is clear from the article "Sending Muslim students abroad" in the December 9, 1919 issue of the "Azerbaijan" newspaper that the government established an organization consisting of student representatives to organize this event. The chairman of the organization bureau Teymur bey Aslanov together with the representative of the Ministry of Education Shakhtakhtinski visited Tbilisi and Batumi to get the necessary travel permits.

We learn from the report of the newspaper in the December 12, 1919 issue entitled "Students' Meeting" that by the decision of the Student Bureau, the issues of providing young people going abroad with some food and other supplies were resolved. The Ministries of Trade and Industry provide each student with 40 pieces of cloth, 2 pairs of mattresses, 2 handkerchiefs, 6 scarves, etc. have given.

The issue of sending 100 Azerbaijani Turks to European countries for higher education has become a nationwide and public affair. It was a matter of great pride to follow this government decision, which opened a new page in the history of our national education. A state commission was established by the decision of the parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to select 100 talented young people. This commission was headed by Mohammad Amin Rasulzade. The commission included Mehdi bey Hajinski, Gara bey Garabeyov, Ahmad bey Pepinov and Abdulla bey Efendizade. The chairmanship of the commission by the founder of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was important. In 1919, Dr. Bahram bey Akhundov, who was dealing with the education of students abroad, sent an alarming letter from Istanbul to Paris to Jeyhun Hajibeyli.

"Dear Jeyhun I am very worried about the students. I worked hard in Baku for a little over two months. I picked 200 diamonds with my own hands and sent them off with the students. I don't know if they sold them or not. Narimanov sent a request to the Berlin office. "I can't say what will happen tomorrow. We are facing confusion. I will not forget them. I will try to help them again when I return to Baku. Let them study, and we need these children." Signed: Bahram Akhundov"

The decision about sending students to foreign countries
Textbooks for primary and secondary schools were published, seminaries were opened in different regions of the country, Baku State University was established and a law on the establishment of the Agricultural Institute was adopted. Without restricting the opening of the university, the Republican government, which paid special attention to the development of science and education in the country, was looking for ways to train national staff. Despite the difficult military-political situation, it was decided to send Azerbaijani youth abroad to study at public expense. When counting the list of achievements of Azerbaijan, Mammad Amin Rasulzade noted: "About 100 Azerbaijani students have been sent to the best schools in Europe for higher education in various fields - from architecture and ethnology to aircraft and shipbuilding."

The fate of those who returned to Azerbaijan
Most of the students returned to Azerbaijan after graduation and worked for the motherland. In Azerbaijan, the graduates continued their meetings, sharing their joys and failures. Researcher Mammad Jafarov notes that over time, these people left independent Azerbaijan, lived in Europe for 5-10 years, and compared capitalist methods of government to the Soviets. The graduates came to the conclusion that there was a need for passive or active struggle with the existing system.

Repression and rehabilitation
Main article: Repression in the Soviet Union