Chingiz Fuad oghlu Mustafayev (, ; August 29, 1960 – June 15, 1992) was an independent

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i journalist, posthumously bestowed the title of

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan () is the highest national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this title was established by a separate law on 15 J ...

. Mustafayev, with the medical degree and no formal background in journalism save for a year of on the job training, created a video record of the early stages of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, most of the documentary had to be shot from the frontline which ultimately was the cause of his abrupt death due to mortar wounds.

Early years

The Mustafayev family is described as the typical Azerbaijani family. His father was in the military and was working on missiles and rockets in 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 ...

. His mother hailed from the city of Shaki; Married when she was 19, Chingiz was the oldest child, born in 1960 and he had two brothers, Seyfulla Mustafayev, born in 1962, and Vahid Mustafayev, born in 1968.

Filming documentaries

Mustafayev is known for having filmed the scenes with the bodies of victims of

Khojaly Massacre The Khojaly massacre (, ) was the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces and the 366th CIS regiment in the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992. The event became the largest single massacre throughout the entire Nagorno-Ka ...

in 1992. To document these scenes, he traveled on an army helicopter which at came under heavy enemy fire. His video film showing hundreds of dead bodies strewn across snow-covered fields of Khojaly served as evidence to the massacre.

Music producer

Mustafayev produced Azerbaijan's first Hip Hop record in 1983.

Death

On 15 June 1992, while filming a fire exchange between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces near the village of

Nakhichevanik Nakhichevanik () or Nakhchivanly () is a village located in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority pop ...

, Mustafayev fell to mortar fire. According to his brother Vahid, he was fatally wounded when a shell exploded right beside him and shrapnel from the shell severed one of his major arteries. By the time Mustafayev was airlifted to the hospital, he had died of blood loss. His last moments were captured on his own camera.

Legacy

ANS CM 102 FM the first Radio Broadcasting Company in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

whose motto was "We are fated to struggle" has renamed the station in his honor. A foundation was established in honour of Chingiz Mustafayev by ANS for the purposes of arranging journalism contests in various areas. Azerbaijani radio station ANS CM 102 FM also renamed after him and carries his slogan ''Döyüş alnımıza yazılıb'' (The war is written on our foreheads).

References

External links

Chingiz Mustafayev in newspaper

Chingiz Mustafayev Foundation

Chingiz in headlines

CNN about Chingiz Mustafayev
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafayev, Chingiz 1960 births 1992 deaths Journalists from Baku Azerbaijani newspaper editors National Heroes of Azerbaijan Journalists killed while covering the Nagorno-Karabakh War People murdered in Azerbaijan Azerbaijani people of the Nagorno-Karabakh War 20th-century journalists