By Laman Ismayilova
An exhibition dedicated to Azerbaijani philanthropist and oil
magnate Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev has opened in Russia, Azernews
reports, citing .
The exhibition is titled 'Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev-
industrialist and philanthropist. The role of personality in the
history of Russia and Azerbaijan' was organized in Khanty-Mansiysk
by the Russian Museum of Geology, Oil and Gas and the Azerbaijani
National History Museum.
Fuad Agayev, a researcher at the Department of International
Relations and Public Relations at the National History Museum,
welcomed the guests of the event on behalf of the director-general
of the museum, Academician Naila Valixanli.
Fuad Agayev spoke about Taghiyev's social, educational and
charitable activities and major work carried out by the National
History Museum to research and popularize his legacy.
Ivan Yashkov, Deputy Director for Research at the Museum of Oil
and Gas Geology, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, stressed the
importance of the exhibition.
He also provided insight into future projects, including
international exhibitions, online scientific, educational, and
interactive projects, to be held jointly by the two museums.
Then, Fuad Agayev, on behalf of the National History Museum,
presented Artur Latipov, Director of the Department of Culture of
the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra, with the publications
of the museum 'Tagiyev's Palace' and 'Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev in
photographs'.
Born in a poor family of a shoemaker in Icharishahar, the old
part of Baku, on January 25, 1821 (1838), Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev
had to work from childhood to support his family.
He began his life journey as an apprentice of a bricklayer in
Baku. Taghiyev's dedication and hard work ensured quick
professional advancement and at the age of 18, he became a
contractor.
In 1873, along with his partners, Taghiyev rented a plot of land
near the oil-booming town of Bibi-Heybat, a few kilometers to the
southeast of Baku. They hired workers and started drilling for oil,
but with no success. The partners gave up hope and decided to sell
their shares.
Taghiyev purchased them and became the sole owner of the land.
He continued drilling and paid workers despite all financial
difficulties.
Finally, fortune smiled on him in 1877, when oil gushed out of
the well with a mighty force. Oil gush instantly made him an oil
baron and a millionaire.
One of the first things Taghiyev did after becoming wealthy was
to surface the road between the city and his oilfield in
Bibi-Heybat. He then extended the road onto the Bibi-Heybat
mosque.
Taghiyev invested in many important projects such as the first
textile factory and fisheries. He sponsored the first Azerbaijani
National Theater (1883), the first Muslim School for Girls (1896),
the first Technical School (1911) and covered all the expenses for
the construction of what would later become the Azerbaijan State
Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.
He also helped to solve the water crisis in the city by helping
to finance the Shollar water pipeline (1916).
Baku's best-known philanthropist allocated 11,000 old roubles
for the construction of the head office for the Muslim Benevolent
Society in Saint Petersburg, 3,000 roubles for the education of
Armenian orphans, 5,000 for the St. Nina's School for Girls in
Baku, 10,000 roubles for the construction of the Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral in Baku, tens of thousands of roubles for the
construction and repair of mosques and madrasas throughout Russia
and Persia.
Taghiyev also provided scholarships for many talented young
people who strove for higher education in prestigious Russian and
European universities. He built a number of schools and gave a lot
of attention to mosques since he considered them to be centers for
enlightenment, culture, and science.
After Azerbaijan's 'Sovietization' in 1920, the country's
wealthy people suffered severe repressions from the Bolshevik
government resulting in the emigration of many of them. Therefore,
Tagiyev's house and his other possessions were confiscated. He was
exiled to his summer house in Mardakan.
Tagiyev's heart stopped beating on September 1, 1924. People
remember Tagiyev not only for his great wealth but for how he spent
it.
For his outstanding contributions, Taghiyev was twice awarded
the Order of Saint Stanislaus, as well as a number of other orders
and medals from many countries.
In 2022, a statue of the national philanthropist and oil magnate
was erected in Baku.
In 2020, President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva
met with a group of art workers. President Ilham Aliyev signed a
decree on the erection of a statue of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev.
Sculptor Khanlar Ahmadov's work has been chosen as the best
among 26 projects that were submitted to the open sculpture contest
initiated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Culture Ministry,
and the Baku City Executive Authorities.
The three-meter monument is erected near the Icharishahar metro
station.
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