An event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bakhtiyar Vahabzade, a prominent representative of Azerbaijani literature, People's Poet, playwright, literary scholar, educator, and public figure, has taken place at Azerbaijan National Library, Azernews reports.
The director of the National Library, Professor Karim Tahirov, stated that People's Poet, State Prize laureate, academician Bakhtiyar Vahabzade is not only the most beloved poet of Azerbaijan but of the entire Turkic world. He spoke about the events organized jointly by the Ministry of Culture, TURKSOY, and the Azerbaijan National Library in accordance with the Decree signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on February 21, 2025, regarding the celebration of the 100th anniversary of People's Poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade at the state level. He mentioned that until the end of the year, a series of such events will be held not only in Azerbaijan but throughout the Turkic world.
He also emphasized that the Azerbaijan National Library has prepared the book "Bakhtiyar Vahabzade. Bibliography."
Vasif Gurban-zade, head of the Book Industry Department of the Ministry of Culture and writer-publicist, stated that as long as Azerbaijani literature, science, and culture live on, Bakhtiyar Vahabzade will eternally remain one of the brightest pages in the history of Azerbaijani literature.
Esmira Fuad (Shukurova), leading researcher at the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Philological Sciences, and professor, spoke in detail about People's Poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade’s multifaceted creativity, rich literary heritage, Turkism ideas, and his position in Azerbaijani literature.
Alizade Asgarli, leading researcher at the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Philological Sciences, and professor, said that Bakhtiyar Vahabzade is one of the rare figures of Azerbaijani poetry of the 20th-21st centuries.
Afterwards, an electronic database titled "Bakhtiyar of the Turkic World," prepared by the staff of the National Library, was presented.
At the end, participants familiarized themselves with the traditional book exhibition titled "People's Poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade - 100."
With over 5 million books, manuscripts, and maps, the Azerbaijan National Library is considered one of the largest libraries in the Caucasus region. Since 1939, the library has borne the name of the eminent playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov.
The library has an extensive collection of literature in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, and other languages. It has collected and preserved national editions, works of Azerbaijani and foreign authors about Azerbaijan published abroad.
The National Leader, Heydar Aliyev, visited the National Library four times in 1995-1997 and donated nearly 300 books from his personal library.
In 2004, the Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library was granted the status of a national library by the decision of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers.
The building of the library is no less impressive. The library's faсade is decorated with the statues of eminent poets and writers like Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati Ganjavi, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin and many others.
The scope of the library's activities is constantly expanding. In 2005, on the basis of legal copies received from publishing houses and printing companies, the library published the yearbook "Books of Azerbaijan" for 1990, 1991, 2000, and 2001.
Over the past years, the National Library has signed a memorandum on bilateral mutual cooperation with about 80 libraries.
In 2021, the Culture Ministry and Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library launched a joint campaign, "Let's go to Garabagh with a book", to restore libraries in the Garabagh region.
A large number of books were donated to the Garabagh Book Fund by a number of international organizations working in the field of culture, Turkic-speaking countries, famous foreign and local authors, publishers, and printing houses.
