Updated after third paragraph (first version was posted at 16:33)
Azerbaijan, Baku, May 9 /Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva/
Trend International News Agency hosted a roundtable with participation of Azerbaijani and Russian scientists, dedicated to commemorative date of May 9.
It was attended by the Deputy Dean of the History Faculty, Professor of Russian State Humanitarian University Alexei Vlasov, Director of the Center for Caucasus Studies at the State Humanitarian University, Associate Professor of History Faculty of Moscow State University, Ismail Agakishiyev, doctor of historical sciences, Professor Eldar Ismayilov, Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabeyov, Director General of the Novosti-Azerbaijan Agency Gulnara Mammadzade, analyst Ilgar Velizadeh.
The participants expressed their unanimous desire to preserve the common historical space through the creation of new interactive platforms, development of mechanisms for scientific and data communication. A decision was made to establish Azerbaijani-Russian historical club at the Trend Agency and "Vestnik Kavkaza" Magazine.
Creating an expert club will promote the intensification of dialogue on all issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia, said Vlasov. "The basis of these relations will undoubtedly be a political dialogue and economic and trade ties, as expected. I would therefore made an initiative to provide a platform for exchange of views and communication of Azerbaijani and Russian historians, humanists, political scientists of both countries to discuss issues to many common questions of history," he said.
He said today there is the foundation to make such meetings constant.
Ismayil Agakishiyev said responsibility for the interpretation of the events of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) lies on the historians of both countries. "Today, sometimes the understandings shift, bringing to an absurdity, when young people go to Moscow with the swastikas on their clothes," he said.
According to Agakishiyev, the cause of these cases is the lack of education received at secondary school, and the role of the media, which sometimes make the falsification of history of WWII. Participation in the WWII is a unifying event for all the peoples of the USSR and the object of national pride for all the peoples that were part of the Soviet Union. "Falsifying the facts of history, we lose our memory," he said.
According to Rasim Musabeyov, from the point of view of Azerbaijan's state policy, the attitude towards celebrating the Victory Day has not changed. "The Day is celebrated as a solemn, like many years ago," he said.
Musabeyov said today, a shift in emphasis occurs, but the overall attitude towards victory in WWII remains positive in Azerbaijan.
According to the MP, a common historical space exists, and will exist for a long time, since Russia and Azerbaijan are connected by 200 years of common history. He also noted the unifying role of the Russian language, actively used in Azerbaijan.
The political context is also important, which allows to keep a high level of interaction between the countries and the issue of education and student exchange between Azerbaijan and Russia, Musabeyov said.
According to Eldar Ismayilov, now one of the most important issues is the relationship to the events of WWII after the former Soviet countries gained independence. According to historian, today a big problem of overall integration space is insufficient information exchange between Russia and Azerbaijan. "Our task is to explain the importance of victory in WWII, taking into account the positions of the current generation," said Ismayilov.
According to Gulnara Mammadzade, revaluation of values in this matter occurred recently, but Russia today makes an initiative to unite all countries in this context. Many countries today promote and support such values that should be passed to future generations, she said. Mammadzade said the Russian language can play a big role in strengthening ties in the field of integration of the two states.
According to Ilgar Velizadeh, the subject of WWII is still urgent. However, in this context it is important to properly present the historical facts, he said.
"History of the Great Patriotic War is the fundamental point in which there must not be differences in the approaches. We must correctly convey the history of WWII to the next generation, using new methods and forms," said Velizadeh.
According to the political analyst, development of economic ties, strengthening of business contacts should play an important role in strengthening the relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, which, in turn, will unleash a new wave of interest in the Russian language in Azerbaijan.
