Firudin Shushinski (born Firudin Mammad oglu Hasanov, 20 October, 1925 – 25 October, 1997) was an

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

scholar and

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

who researched

Azerbaijani folk music Azerbaijani folk music (Azerbaijani: ''Azərbaycan Xalq Musiqisi'') combines the distinct cultural values of all civilisations that have lived in Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan region. Apart from the common music found all-around Azerbaijan, t ...

. Shushinski authored more than 400 articles and essays.

Early life

Born in

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left: Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govh ...

, Shushinski studied the history of that town which culminated in his book ''Shusha'' published in 1968. Shushinski's father was a friend of Firidun bey Kocharli and named his son after him. In 1931, Shushinski started to take violin classes in Shusha musical school. In 1942, during World War II he volunteered for the military and participated in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

under Soviet General Batov. For his military service, Shushinski was awarded the Medal "For Courage" and the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

Scholar work

After the war, Shushinski studied at the faculty of history of the

Azerbaijan State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...

. Shushinski conducted research in the archives and museums of several cities in the former Soviet Union and bought at his own expense several documents of scholar interest. His first book was about Jabbar Garyaghdioglu and was published in 1964. Shushinski also researched the biographies of Azerbaijani folk musicians

Sadigjan Mirza Sadig ( az, Sadıqcan), more commonly known as Sadigjan is an Azerbaijani folk musician, tar player, and the creator of the Azerbaijani tar (also known as upgraded tar). Sadigjan is one of the famous Azerbaijani tar players. By improving t ...

and Seyid Shushinski. After the Russian-language publication of the book ''Shusha'', Shushinski wrote: "Back then, because of the hostile attitude of Armenians towards me, I was unable to travel to Shusha for three years. Everywhere on the streets stones were thrown at me. I had my doors and windows broken and the telephone wire repeatedly cut. I experienced several assassination attempts. Azerbaijanis who at that time lived in Zangibasar Raion of Armenia .. wrote me a letter, warning that "a reward of 6 million rubles (now about $6 million) was announced for my head". The book ''Shusha'' also created a backlash in the

Communist Party of Azerbaijan The Azerbaijan Communist Party ( az, Azərbaycan Kommunist Partiyası; russian: Коммунистическая партия Азербайджана) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, ...

where Shushinski was labelled as "a bourgeois nationalist". In 1971, the book ''Folk Musicians of Azerbaijan'' by Shushinski was published, containing valuable information about virtually unknown musicians of the 18th and 20th centuries. Shushinski died in Baku at the age of 72 and according to his will, was buried in his native

Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and A ...

region, in the town of

Barda Barda or BARDA may refer to: Geography *Barda District, a district in Azerbaijan *Barda, Azerbaijan, a town in Azerbaijan *Bârda, a village in Malovăț Commune, Mehedinți County, Romania *Barda, Russia, several rural localities in Russia *Bar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shushinski, Firudin Azerbaijani musicologists 20th-century musicologists 1925 births 1997 deaths Writers from Shusha Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet musicologists Scientists from Shusha