Western Azerbaijan Community

On the 125th annıversary of the Iravan state Azerbaıjan Drama Theater

Order of the Presıdent of the Republıc of Azerbaıjan 

In 2007, the Iravan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater will turn 125 years old. The Irevan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater, which occupies an important place in the development of our national theatrical art, is one of the oldest centers of art in the Caucasus. This center of culture, which began its activity with a performance shown in early 1882 by a theater troupe consisting of Azerbaijanis, has written bright pages in the history of our theater. In 1886, on the initiative and with the direct assistance of a prominent public figure, literary critic Firudin bey Kocharli, the production of the great Mirza Fatali Akhundov’s work “Monsieur Jordan and Dervish Mastali Shah” gave a powerful impetus to the formation of the Iravan Azerbaijani theater. With its interesting repertoire, the theater won the great sympathy of the audience in Iravan, the vast majority of which at the end of the XIX century were Azerbaijanis. The history of the Iravan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater, which received state status in 1928 and has been  named after the outstanding playwright Jafar Jabarli since 1935, is associated with the names of a number of famous masters of art who have made invaluable contributions to the progress of our national culture.

The Iravan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater has gone through a difficult creative path. The hostile policy implemented by the decrees of Joseph Stalin of December 23, 1947, “On the resettlement of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR in the Kur-Araz lowland of Azerbaijan SSR” and of March 10, 1948, “On measures to resettle collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR” in the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from their homes in Armenia touched the fate of the Iravan theater. The theater, closed in those years, was able to resume its activities only in 1967 and continued to work in difficult conditions. The Iravan Azerbaijan theater spared no effort to familiarize tens of thousands of our compatriots living in the Azerbaijani lands annexed to the Armenian SSR as a result of the artificial determination of borders in the Caucasus during the Soviet period with the pearls of Azerbaijani literary and cultural thought and educate them in the spirit of attachment to our national spiritual values.

At a time when Azerbaijanis were expelled from their homes with particular cruelty as a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts, the Iravan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater was forced to stop its activities. The theater, which has been located in Baku since 1988, is once again distinguished by its style and constantly attracts theater lovers with its creative success.

Considering the role of the Iravan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater in the cultural and social life of the Azerbaijani people, in order to ensure a worthy celebration of its 125th anniversary, I hereby resolve as follows:

1. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, together with the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, and the Union of Theater Workers of Azerbaijan, should prepare and implement an action plan dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the Iravan State Azerbaijan Drama Theater.

2. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall resolve issues arising from this Order.

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, August 30, 2006.