The Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School (BVOKU) was one of the military academies of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. It trained military personnel in a number of specializations. It was located 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 ...

in the Azerbaijan SSR.

History

On November 29, 1939, the school was founded by order of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Kliment Voroshilov. Colonel Vasily Sytnikov was appointed the first head of the school. In 1950, a two-year training period was introduced. In 1951, the school ranked 6th place among the infantry schools in the country. On November 28, 1966, by order of the Supreme Soviet, the school was given the honorific of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR. In the 1980s, during the period of hostilities of the limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, mountain and airborne training of cadets was introduced in the BVOKU. In 1987, the Ministry of Defense suggested that the school be closed and its cadets be sent to other parts of the country, which resulted in cadets rioting throughout its premises, which only stopped after Azerbaijani

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member

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

intervened. In 1991, the school was formally disbanded as a result of the collapse of the Soviet government and the following year, was replaced by the Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy. The cadets of the 1988, 1989, and 1990 school years were sent for graduation to other general military schools of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Honors

Parades

It has a history of participating in military parades in Azerbaijan. Its last

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every yea ...

Parade was in 1960. In 1965, the school, alongside the Tbilisi Higher Artillery Command School, opened a parade in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

(the capital of the Georgian SSR) in honor of the 20th anniversary of the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the 1967 October Revolution Day Parade on Lenin Square, the school was represented by the guard of honor of its 4th Cadet Battalion. In October 1970, the school, opened a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

of the Baku Garrison in honor of the

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

(50th anniversary) of Soviet Azerbaijan. All participants in the parade from the school received personal thanks from the Minister of Defense of the USSR

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Andrei Grechko, who the next day visited the location of the BVOKU.

Awards

In 1978, the BVOKU was awarded the Diploma of the Minister of Defense and was recognized as one of the best according to the results of the All-Army review contest dedicated to the diamond jubilee of the Great October Socialist Revolution. In 1980, the school was awarded the Memorial Red Banner of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan following the results of a socialist competition in honor of the 110th anniversary of the birth of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

Student life

4th Battalion Honor Guard

The 4th cadet battalion maintained a special

honour guard A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

unit that served as the official ceremonial ambassador of the military forces of the republic. It participated in the march on of the school battle banner, the welcoming of the Soviet leadership (the

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

, the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

) and foreign delegations to Baku, as well public events such as wreath laying ceremonies. In the late 60s, the only ceremonial units in Baku were an army and navy guard, a motorcycle detachment, and a military band. The uniform of the unit was based on that of the 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Its first commander was Major S. Akopdzhanyan. It had participated in the welcoming ceremonies of the leaders of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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 ...

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(Prime Minister Mamadou Dia) and

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at Binah Airport (now Heydar Aliyev International Airport). It also took part in the visit of

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

to Baku in 1982 and ruby jubilee celebrations of Victory Day in 1985. In 1965, the unit had the honor to represent the academy by opening a military parade for the first time.

BVOKU Band

The band of the school () consisted in the early 60s of 25 musicians, which was around the national average at the time for Russian military bands. Most of the band were active duty servicemen, with around two-fifths being students. Many were also members of the headquarters bands of the 4th Army and the Baku Air Defense District. The band was responsible for accompanying cadets with music at events such as morning assemblies, parades and pass outs of cadets. It also often participated in the review of bands in the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of First Republic of Armenia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic ...

. The band dormitory and studio was located at the BUO (Training Support Battalion).

Rectors

The following have led the BVOKU since 1939: * Colonel Vasily Sytnikov (29 November 1939 – 12 July 1942) * Colonel G. Shelkov-Yezov (13 July-30 August 1942) * Lieutenant Colonel Timofey Bilyuga (30 August–October 1942) * Major General Vladimir Molchanov (October 1942 – 1947) * Major General Yuri Smirnov (1947–1950) * Major General Georgy Preobrazhensky (1950–1953) * Major General Leonid Gredinarenko (1953–1956) * Major General Hajibaba Zeynalov (1957–1960) * Major General Vasily Fedotov (1960–1965) * Major General Konstantin Sevastyanov (1965–1970) * Major General Fedor Alexandrov (1970–1977) * Lieutenant General Valeh Barshatly (1977–1987) * Major General Alexander Lobanov (1987–1990) * Major General Victor Koshevoy (1990–1991)

Notable alumni

* Safar Abiyev - former Defense Minister of Azerbaijan * Seyran Ohanyan - former Defense Minister of Armenia * Ziya Bunyadov - Azerbaijani historian * Zakir Hasanov - Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan * Stanislav Zas - State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus *

Polad Hashimov Polad Israyil oghlu Hashimov (; 2 January 1975 – 14 July 2020) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani military officer, National Hero of Azerbaijan and a major general who served as the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Corps ...

- Azerbaijani major general * Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan - Armenian military leader during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War * Elchin Guliyev - Chief of State Border Service of Azerbaijan

Alumni and historical organizations

A public organization of veterans called Commonwealth of BVOKU graduates is currently active and hosts meetings of alumni, commanders, teachers and family members, usually held on the anniversaries of the school. A museum of the history of the school is located on the premises of the Azerbaijan Higher Military School. A virtual museum of the BVOKU is on a website dedicated to the 4th Cadet Battalion.Четвёртый батальон БВОКУ
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Gallery

File:Рота почетного караула на параде, 1966 г.jpg, The Honor Guard of the academy during a parade in 1966 File:Боевое знамя БВОКУ с именем Верховного Совета Азербайджанской ССР.jpg, The march of the school colours File:Генерал армии Куркоткин вручает золотую медаль выпускнику БВОКУ лейтенанту Дорофееву А.А. Баку 1968..jpg, The release of lieutenants in 1968 File:КПП училища.jpg, The headquarters of the school File:Генерал-майор Лобанов Александр Иванович.jpg, Major General Alexander Lobanov who commanded the school from 1987 to 1990 File:4-й батальон на встрече министра обороны СССР Маршала Гречко А.А., 1970 г.jpg, During a visit by Minister of Defense of the USSR Andrei Grechko in 1970

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1939 Education and training establishments of the Soviet Army Military academies of Azerbaijan Military command schools 1939 establishments in the Soviet Union