Maryam Bayramalibeyova with her children

Javad bey Rza bey oghlu Malik-Yeganov (, ) (1878,

Tuğ Tugh () or Togh () is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The village had a mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani population before the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Azerbaijani inhabitants fled the fighti ...

– 1942,

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

) was an

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 politician and Governor-General of

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 ...

during Azerbaijan's independence in 1918–1920.

Early life

Malik-Yeganov was born in the village of

Tugh A ''tug'' ( , , or ) or sulde (, ) is a pole with circularly arranged horsetail hairs of varying colors arranged at the top. It was historically flown by Turkic tribal confederations such as the Duolu (Tuğluğ Confederation) and also durin ...

, situated in what is now Khojavend Rayon of

, to the . After being

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

, he arrived 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 1903 to work in the oil fields. He joined the

Muslim Social Democratic Party The Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet (), was a political party in South Caucasus. In 1920, it merged with the Baku communist group Adalat ( 'Justice') to form the first Communist Party of Azerbaijan. "Old" Hummet (1 ...

and within several years became known as an outspeaking

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

among Baku's oil workers.And There Will be a Monument in Liberated Shusha
by Agaddin Babayev. ''Nash vek''. 27 May 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2007. He was ordered imprisoned for one year in 1909 and temporarily refused the right to stay in Baku. by Elmidar Suleymanov. ''Azerbaijanvision.com''. Retrieved 24 March 2005. Upon his release he returned to his native Tugh to continue his education and established contact with prominent scholars of neighbouring

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

, one of the largest cultural centres of 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 ...

. He returned to Baku in 1914 and was hired as a clerk at the Shibayev and Co. oil company. That same year he joined 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 ...

Party and enrolled in an undergraduate technical school. During that period he acquired several languages in addition to those he had already known. By the time of Azerbaijan's independence in 1918 besides his native

Azeri Azeri or Azeri Turk may refer to: * Azeri people, an ethnic group also known as Azerbaijanis * Citizens of Azerbaijan * Azeri language, the modern-day Turkic language * Old Azeri, an extinct Iranian language * Azeri Turk (journal), Academic jour ...

Malik-Yeganov was fluent in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

, and Georgian.

Career in the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan

In 1917, Javad Malik-Yeganov was elected in the

Transcaucasian Sejm The Transcaucasian Commissariat was established at Tbilisi on 15 November 1917, as the first government of the independent Transcaucasia following the October Revolution in Petrograd. The Commissariat decided to strengthen the Georgian–Armenia ...

as a representative for the South Caucasus'

community. A year later he was among the Azerbaijani politicians who were members of the

Azerbaijani National Council Azerbaijani National Council () was the first delegated legislative body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) from 27 May 1918 to 17 June 1918 and again from 16 November 1918 to 3 December 1918. It was succeeded by the ''Parliament'' (), a ...

who signed the Declaration of Independence of 28 May 1918 proclaiming Azerbaijan's sovereignty, and became one of Members of Parliament of the newly founded state. On 10 March 1919 he was included in the committee in charge of investigating and reporting on the economic problems of Baku's working class. In June 1919 he became Governor-General of

after the fall of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-backed Provisional Military Dictatorship of Mughan and its successor, the

Mughan Soviet Republic The Mughan Soviet Republic was a short-lived pro-Bolshevik state that existed in present-day southeastern Azerbaijan from March to June 1919. It was founded in opposition to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Cap ...

. His brief governance was marked by major social developments in Azerbaijan's southeastern regions, including the opening of new schools, libraries and cultural clubs, as well as the encouragement for girls to receive education. He also managed to reconcile the local Azeri population with the pro-

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, ...

representatives of the local Russian community and the Armenian volunteers who fought on their side. Malik-Yeganov remained in that position until Azerbaijan's

Sovietization Sovietization ( ) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modeled after the Soviet Union. A notable wave of Sovietization (in the second me ...

on 28 April 1920.They Were Distinguished by Their Generosity and Patriotism
by Zarifa Dulayeva. ''Vyshka''. 24 May 2002, #11. Retrieved 24 March 2007.

Career in Soviet Azerbaijan

Unlike many members of Musavat, Javad Malik-Yeganov did not choose to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

after the establishment of the Soviet rule in Azerbaijan. He immediately fell under suspicion in the eyes of the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

leaders. In the next 18 years he would be imprisoned 6 times. In the 1920s he worked in the construction trust, employment exchange office, department for refugee affairs at the State Labour Commissariat and other government institutions of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1933 he was accused of being a secret member of Musavat and arrested. The court ordered him exiled to the

Karelo-Finnish SSR The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic (Karelo-Finnish SSR), also called Soviet Karelia or simply known as Karelia, was a republic of the Soviet Union. It existed from 31 March 1940 until it was made part of the Russian SFSR on 16 July 1956 ...

(present day

, northern Russia) to a correctional camp, where he died 9 years later.

Personal life

While being Governor-General, Malik-Yeganov visited the Russian-Muslim School for Girls in the city of Lankaran where he met the young teacher and feminist Maryam Bayramalibeyova. The two got married in 1920 and settled in Baku the following year. They had three daughters: Azera, Taliya and Asiman. Following Malik-Yeganov's final arrest in 1933, the government persecuted his entire family, including his wife who got exiled to

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

in the far north of European Russia. Many of his relatives, including his three daughters, changed their surnames in order to avoid the purge. Javad Malik-Yeganov was exonerated in 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik-Yeganov, Javad 1878 births 1942 deaths People from Hadrut Province Azerbaijan Democratic Republic politicians Azerbaijani nobility Soviet Azerbaijani people Soviet rehabilitations