Under the leadership of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani Army achieved incredible success in the victory march launched on September 27, 2020, to prevent successive provocations and new occupation plans of Armenia and liberate the country's occupied lands.
As a result of 44 days of military operations, the brave Azerbaijani Army liberated the cities of Jabrayil, Fizuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, Minjivan, Agband, Bartaz settlements of Zangilan region, Hadrut settlement and many villages of Khojavend region, Sugovushan village of Tartar region, and several villages of Khojaly and Lachin regions.
In total, more than 300 settlements, including important strategic heights in the direction of Aghdara, Murovdagh, and Zangilan, were liberated from occupation.
On November 8, after 28 years of longing, the city of Shusha, which is of great importance and symbolic meaning for the people of Azerbaijan, was liberated from occupation. The liberation of Shusha, the Crown of Karabakh, was one of the unique military operations in the history of world war and will go down in World Military History.
Azerbaijan's military victories, especially the liberation of Shusha from enemy occupation, played a decisive role in the fate of the war. All these resulted in Armenia's recognition of its defeat and capitulation.
By the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev "On the establishment of Victory Day in the Republic of Azerbaijan", dated December 3, 2020, it was decided to solemnly celebrate November 8 as Victory Day in the Republic of Azerbaijan every year to perpetuate this unprecedented victory, which has become a celebration of the power of its people, a matter of national pride, and is of exceptional importance in terms of the reputation and future development of the state.
By another order of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, dated December 3, 2020, it was decided to establish a memorial complex and Victory Museum in Baku to demonstrate the unparalleled heroism and great historical victory of the Azerbaijani people in the Great Patriotic War. On December 8, 2020, it was announced that a new station of the Baku Metro's Purple Line (B3) would be named "November 8" at Aliyev's suggestion.
The third anniversary of the victory was timed to coincide with a military parade held in central Khankendi after the complete transfer of Karabakh to the control of Azerbaijan during the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Karabakh.
Victory Day is one of the most significant days in the history of Azerbaijan, celebrated by everyone with great pride.
The Azerbaijan Army, which wrote the history of a thousand years in 44 days, liberated the country's lands that were under the enemy's foothold and that had longed for 30 years.
The Second Karabakh War, which began with the "Iron Fist" operation and lasted 44 days under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, who wrote the chronicle of victory, is a glorious victory in the history of Azerbaijan.
Related news: Journey of Azerbaijan's city of Shusha to regaining its lost status
Portrait of a President
Ilham: Portrait of a President, written by Graeme H. Wilson, is the first international biography of a statesman who forged one of the economic miracles of modern times.
Ilham Aliyev was born in Baku in 1961 in the wake of the Berlin Crisis. It was the height of the Cold War.
At 16, he completed his education in Baku and joined the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), one of the Soviet Union's premier universities.
By this time his father had joined the Soviet Politburo in Moscow. "Ilham: Portrait of a President" portrays a young student wishing to achieve in his own right. Indeed, having graduated from the university, he was employed by MGIMO as a researcher and lecturer.
In 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev sent troops into the streets of Baku. The ensuing massacre and its political ramifications saw Ilham terminated from MGIMO and blacklisted.
The Communist system was collapsing and Ilham had a young family to support.
Turning to the private sector, he was among the first wave of Eastern European businessmen, building a highly successful enterprise.
However, fate and his father intervened. From academia and private business, he was recalled to Baku where he negotiated the 'Contract of the Century,' an international oil deal that would transform Azerbaijan.
Over the next few years, Ilham entered parliament and became head of the National Olympic Committee and the Azerbaijan delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. However, it was only in late 2003 that he truly emerged on the world stage, first as prime minister, and then claiming the Presidency with a whopping 76.8 percent of the vote.
The presidency comes with a heavy burden. The return of Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions and the fate of Azerbaijan's one million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons hang heavy.
Yet despite these constant pressures, Ilham has built a modern, booming economy and seen Azerbaijan claim plaudits for increasing transparency and the emerging base.
Today, Azerbaijan can experience this victory with great pride and joy owing to the determination and will of its people, economic strength, modern army building, and people-power unity. (INE)
*) Mohammad Anthoni is ANTARA News Agency’s journalist from 1990 to 2019.
The views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ANTARA News Agency.
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