Mir Bashir Fattah oghlu Gasimov (; 1879 – 23 April 1949) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani revolutionary and statesman. Twice receiver of

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

and two more orders.

Revolutionary

Mir Bashir Fattah oghlu Gasimov was born in Dashbolagh,

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(present-day Ardabil Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

) in 1879 to a poor family of peasants. Gasimov started his revolutionary work in 1898, as soon as he started work at the Balakhani oil factory in Russian Azerbaijan. He joined the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

faction of the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

same year and participated in the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

as a member of combat brigades of Baku Bolshevik organization. In 1917–1918, he represented communists in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and

Lankaran Lankaran (, ) or Lánkon () is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a disti ...

. After the fall of the Soviet-oriented

Baku Commune Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in Azerbaijan, Gasimov engaged in underground political activity. At the First Congress of the Workers' (Bolshevik) Party of Azerbaijan in February 1920, he was elected to the Central Committee. Gasimov was one of the organisers of the uprising against the

Musavat The Müsavat Party (, from ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. The party was prohibited from contesting the 1995 ...

government in the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

and one of the key figures that contributed to the Sovietization of Azerbaijan on 28 April 1920. He was initially one of the followers of

Nariman Narimanov Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oghlu Narimanov (, ; – 19 March 1925) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary, writer, publicist, politician and statesman. For just over one year, beginning in May 1920, Narimanov headed th ...

national communism National communism is a term describing various forms in which Marxism–Leninism and socialism has been adopted and/or implemented by leaders in different countries using aspects of nationalism or national identity to form a policy independent ...

policy in the

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

Statesman

One day after the establishment of the Soviet rule in Azerbaijan, Gasimov was already a member of the Revolutionary Committee of Baku. He soon advanced in his career in the Communist Party and was appointed the Deputy Chair of the Central Executive Committee of the republic, serving in that position in 1921–1924 and in 1931–1935. In 1925 he attended the trial of

Fyodor Funtikov Fyodor Adrianovich Funtikov (Russian: Фёдор Адриа́нович Фу́нтиков; 1875/76 – 5 May 1926) was Chairman of Transcaspian Government, Provisional Executive Committee of the Transcaspian Region Soviet during the period July 1 ...

, the former accused of ordering the execution of the

26 Baku Commissars The 26 Baku Commissars were Bolshevik and Left SR, Left Socialist Revolutionary (SR) members of the Baku Commune. The commune was established in the city of Baku, which was then the capital of the briefly independent Azerbaijan Democratic Repub ...

. In 1935–1937, he served as People's Commissar of Social Welfare of the Azerbaijan SSR and later, in 1937–38, was the acting Chair of the Central Executive Committee of Azerbaijan. From 1938 until his death, he headed the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR in addition to being the Deputy Chair of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He is known to have opposed

Zangezur Zangezur () is a historical and geographical region in Eastern Armenia on the slopes of the Zangezur Mountains which largely corresponds to the Syunik Province of Armenia. It was ceded to Russia by Qajar Iran according to the Treaty of Gulistan ...

becoming part of the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

. He also chosen as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in first and second convocations. The city of Tartar was named Mirbashir after his death in 1949 and retained that name until 1991. There is a street named after him in

.One more street in Baku named after a Bolshevik
Today Gasimov is still seen as a significant political figure by members of the

Azerbaijan Communist Party The Azerbaijan Communist Party (; ) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was formed on 20 February 1920, when ...

and other left-wing politicians.

References

External links

Касумов Мир Башир Фаттах оглы

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gasimov, Mir Bashir 1879 births 1949 deaths People from Ardabil Azerbaijan Communist Party (1920) politicians Communist Party of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Second convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Azerbaijani people of Iranian descent Bolsheviks Iranian emigrants to the Russian Empire Azerbaijani atheists Soviet Azerbaijani people Burials at Alley of Honor