Mohammad Biriya

Mohammad Biriya (; 1914–1985), born Mohammad Baghirzadeh, was an Iranian Azerbaijani, a Soviet-backed secessionist state in Iranian Azerbaijan.

He contributed with his poems and articles to numerous newspapers and journals published in Tabriz. Between 1943 and 1946, he served as the chief editor of the newspapers ''Yumruq'', ''Ədəbiyyat səhifəsi (Literature page)'', and ''Qalaba'', published in Tabriz. He authored plays such as ''Çətirbazlar'' (''The Umbrella Men''), ''Ruznamə idarəsində'' (''At the Newspaper Office''), ''Stalingrad'', ''Ərbab və əkinçi'' (''The Landowner and the Farmer''), ''Mussolini'', and ''Hitler və Mussolini'' (''Hitler and Mussolini'').

During his tenure as the Minister of Culture and Education in the Azerbaijani National Government, he ensured that school lessons were conducted in Azerbaijani Turkish, developed a new curriculum, and contributed to the writing of textbooks. For his participation in the national-democratic movement, he was awarded the "21 Azer" medal and the "Sattar Khan" order.

After the dissolution of the Azerbaijani National Government, he emigrated to Azerbaijan, where he faced persecution and was repeatedly imprisoned and exiled due to his activities. In total, he spent 22 years in exile and imprisonment under the Soviet regime. After returning to Tabriz, he was again imprisoned there and spent the final years of his life in detention.

Life

Early years

Mohammad Haji Ghulam oghlu Bagirzadeh was born in 1914 in the city of Tabriz. His father was a carpenter. In 1920, his family moved from Tabriz to Baku and a year later to Khorasan. He received his early education in Khorasan. After his mother fell ill, doctors advised that Khorasan’s climate was harmful to her health. Consequently, in 1923, the family moved back to Baku. In 1929, he graduated from the seven-year school No. 37 in Baku and enrolled in the Oil Machinery Technical School. After the deaths of his mother and uncle, the family returned to Tabriz in January 1933. After returning to Tabriz, he briefly worked as a proofreader at the ''Shahin'' newspaper editorial office.< From 1934 to 1938, he worked at the Municipality Administration in Tabriz.

In 1938, he began his military service in the 3rd Division of the 27th Regiment stationed in Tabriz. After completing his military service, he first worked as a clerk in the water department of Tabriz city administration and, from 1941, as an accountant at the railway administration.

Political activity

On August 25, 1941, the Soviet army entered Southern Azerbaijan. Starting from October 11, 1941, the newspaper ''Vətən yolunda'' began publication in Tabriz. Mohammad Biriya's poems and articles were published in this newspaper. He also contributed writings and poems to the newspapers ''Rəhbər'', ''Zəfər'', ''Mərdom'', ''Dəvənd'', ''Xavəre No'', and ''Azərbaycan''.

In 1941, he was invited to Baku for 15 days along with a group of Southern Azerbaijani intellectuals. During this visit, his poems were published in the newspaper ''Kommunist''.After returning to Tabriz, he intensified his activities with figures such as Haji Mirza Ali Shabustari, Ismayil Shams, Mir Mehdi Etimad, and others under the leadership of the Azerbaijani Society. He wrote poems and articles criticizing capitalism, imperialism, and colonialism. Due to persecution, Mohammad Biriya, along with Mirza Ali Shabustari, Ismayil Shams, and Mir Mehdi Etimad, was brought from Tabriz to Baku in 1942 by the Deputy Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijan SSR, General Aghasalim Atakishiyev. He lived there until January 1943, during which time he worked with the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union and the Azerbaijan Radio Committee. After returning to Tabriz, he started publishing the newspaper ''Ədəbiyyat səhifəsi'', which operated until 1945. In 1944, his poetry collection ''Ürək sözü'' (''The Heart's Word'') was published in Baku with a print run of 5,000 copies.

In 1943, Mohammad Biriya was elected chairman of the Azerbaijan Trade Union established in Tabriz. During his tenure, he facilitated the signing of a 41-article agreement between workers and employers. In mid-1944, he became one of the 17 members elected to the Tabriz City Committee of the restructured Tudeh Party. He was also a key organizer of numerous protests against royal oppression and colonial powers. During one of the demonstrations involving oil workers, an assassination attempt was made on him. The bullet intended for him killed a participant named Ismayil and injured three others. In 1945, he participated as a delegate at the World Trade Union Congress held in Paris.

On November 20, 1945, he was elected chairman of the Presidium of the Azerbaijan People's Congress, which convened at the Ark Theater in Tabriz.

On December 12, 1945, after the establishment of the Azerbaijani National Government, Mohammad Biriya was appointed Minister of Culture and Education.Additionally, he became a member of the newly formed National Assembly and the board of the Azerbaijani Society of Poets and Writers. During his one-year tenure as Minister of Culture and Education, he ensured that school lessons were conducted in Azerbaijani Turkish, developed a new curriculum, and oversaw the preparation of textbooks. Since the majority of the population was illiterate, 3,800 literacy courses were opened in a short period across the region. Additionally, 2,000 primary and secondary schools were established in rural areas, and 500 in urban areas. To address the shortage of specialists in various fields, several vocational courses and technical schools were created. Alongside his ministerial duties, in 1946, Biriya taught literature at the newly established "Azerbaijan University." The Azerbaijani Society of Poets and Writers was founded with centers in Tabriz, Zanjan, Urmia, Ahar, Ardabil, and other cities. The State Drama Theater and the State Philharmonic were opened, and the Behzad National Museum began its activities. Statues of Sattar Khan, Bagir Khan, and Sheikh Mohammad Khiabani were erected in Tabriz.

In 1946, for his contributions to the national-democratic movement, he was awarded the " 21 Azar" medal /Mohammad_Biriya#cite_note-FOOTNOTETağıyeva,Rəhimli,Bayramzadə2000422-40 0">/Mohammad_Biriya#cite_note-FOOTNOTETağıyeva,Rəhimli,Bayramzadə2000422-40 [40/nowiki>and the "Sattar Khan" order.

After the Soviet Union withdrew from the region following promises made by the Iranian government, the Tehran government deployed troops to Southern Azerbaijan under the pretext of "ensuring free elections for the Councils Assembly." This led to disagreements among the leaders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party about whether to resist the forces or not. While some suggested retreating to the Azerbaijan SSR to continue the struggle from there, Mohammad Biriya advocated for staying in the region and fighting against the invading army. During the last meeting of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party held in Tabriz, Mohammad Biriya was elected as the First Secretary of the party. He prepared a statement on the party's tactics and maintaining order in the region, which he read on the radio. On December 13, 1946, the Iranian army, supported by the United States and Great Britain, entered Tabriz. Thus, the Azerbaijani National Government collapses.George Lenczowski. "United States' Support for Iran's Independence and Integrity, 1945–1959", ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 401, America and the Middle East. (may, 1972), s. 49 Although Biriya and his comrades resisted the Iranian troops entering the city, they were outnumbered and forced to take refuge in the Soviet hospital in Tabriz. On March 8, 1947, with the help of employees of the Soviet consulate in Tabriz, Biriya was secretly transported to Baku.

After the collapse of the national government

In 1947, the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party was reestablished. Mohammad Biriya, elected to the committee, was appointed head of its propaganda department. Under the directive of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, he was admitted to the Republican Party School.

On December 27, 1947, Biriya applied to Behnam, the Iranian consul in Baku, with the intention of returning to Iran. After returning home, several prominent figures, including Mir Teymur Yagubov">Mir Teymur Yakubov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijan SSR; Aghasalim Atakishiyev, Deputy Minister of State Security; Colonel Mohammad Savechalinski; Hasan Hasanov, Secretary of the Central Committee; and Mirza Ibrahimov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Azerbaijan SSR and a writer, visited his residence. They urged Biriya to withdraw his application to the Iranian consulate, but he refused. The next day, on December 28, 1947, Mohammad Biriya was arrested.

After an investigation lasting more than seven months, in August 1948, Mohammad Biriya was accused of harboring hostility towards the Soviet government and the democratic structure in Southern Azerbaijan, as well as of espionage activities with Americans in Tabriz and with Iran's consul general in Baku. On November 27, 1948, he was sentenced to 10 years in a labor camp, with the sentence calculated from August 11 of the same year. He served his sentence in Special Camp No. 4 of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs. On December 31, 1950, he was sentenced to an additional 10 years of imprisonment by the camp court for conducting anti-Soviet propaganda among the prisoners. On August 23, 1951, during his time in the Lugovsk prison camp, he was sentenced to another year of imprisonment under strict supervision. From August 13, 1954, he served his sentence in Labor Camp No. 415 in Karaganda. On August 30, 1956, his case was reviewed, and the charges against him were dismissed on the grounds that no criminal elements were found in his actions.

In 1956, Mohammad Biriya returned to Baku. Hoping to reunite with his family, he intended to travel to Tabriz. On November 12, 1956, he went to Moscow to obtain a visa but was prevented from entering the Iranian embassy and was sent back to Baku. On January 18, 1957, he sent a 16-point letter to the leaders of the Azerbaijani SSR government. In this letter, he demanded the abandonment of the Cyrillic alphabet in favor of the Arabic script, the closure of Marxist-Leninist schools, the removal of statues of Marx, Engels

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