Mahammad Amin Rasulzade visited Tbilisi 3 years before announcement of ADR

The first information about the visit of the founder of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), a prominent statesman and public figure, politician, and publicist Mahammad Amin Rasulzade to Georgia in 1915 is stored in the archives of the National Parliamentary Library of the neighboring country.

According to Report's local bureau, this information was published in the 13th edition of the weekly magazine 'Theater and Life' dated March 29, 1915.

On the 8th page of the publication, along with brief information, there are photos of M.A.Rasulzade, Alimardan bey Topchubashov and Rovshan Efendiyev taken in Tbilisi. The information says: "Representatives of the Tatars speaking at the funeral of Akaki Tsereteli on February 8 in Yerevan Square (now Freedom Square in Tbilisi). Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, an editor of the Tatar-language "Igbal" newspaper, spoke in Tatar, Alimardan bey Topchubashov, a member of the First Duma, in Russian, and Rovshan bey Efendiyev, a teacher, in Tatar."

Speaking at the ceremony, Rasulzade said: "You, a great poet, a supreme genius of a noble nation, instilled unity and love in your life. You are dead: you can only be sure that your soul is not dead; it is still alive." (Nasiman Yagublu. "Encyclopedia of Mahammad Amin Rasulzade", 2013)

Archive photographs of the funeral are also preserved in the Central Library of Georgia.

A.Tsereteli was one of the founders of Georgian-Azerbaijani literary relations by translating the work of Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, the founder of Azerbaijani drama, 'The Vizier of Lankaran Khan' into Georgian. The participation of the Azerbaijani delegation in the funeral of the great Georgian poet was a demonstration of great respect and esteem for his memory.

According to historical sources, R. Afandiyev was born on December 31, 1884, in Sheki, and began teaching at the city's primary school in 1904. He continued his teaching career in 1908 in Tbilisi (Georgia). He was also closely involved in charity work and establishing an orphanage in Tbilisi (Georgia) to bring Turkish children together from Christian homes. Efendiyev later became a member of the Executive Committee of the Tbilisi Muslim National Committee, the Caucasus Military Council.

Tomorrow marks the 103rd anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The independence of the first democratic republic was declared on May 28, 1918, in Tbilisi.