Khydyr Mustafayev

Khydyr Hasan oglu Mustafayev (; 27 March 1905–21 May 1975) was an Azerbaijani Soviet Army Colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Mustafayev was awarded the title on 10 January 1944 for his leadership of a battalion in the capture of Fastiv. Mustafayev retired from the army in 1954 and worked in senior positions in the party and government.

Early life and military service Mustafayev was born on 27 March 1905 in Gezaldara to a peasant family of eight children. In his childhood, he worked with his father on a farm. Later, Mustafayev worked in a copper mine. His father was imprisoned for participation in the Bolshevik movement. He attended the Likbez at age seventeen

In 1927, Mustafayev was drafted into the Red Army. In 1930, he graduated from advanced training courses for commanders. In the same year, Mustafayev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

World War II Mustafayev fought in combat from September 1942. Mustafayev was evacuated and received the award in June from Mikhail Kalinin in the Kremlin. Mustafayev fought with the brigade until the end of the war. He participated in the captures of Proskurov and Ternopil. On 3 November 1944 he was awarded a second Order of the Red Star.

Postwar Mustafayev continued to serve in the army postwar. In 1947 he became military commandant of Baku. On 6 November 1947 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Between 1949 and 1951 Mustafayev was commander of a tank regiment. He retired in 1954 with the rank of a colonel and then lived and worked in Baku. Later he graduated from university and worked in senior positions in the party and government. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR at its second and third convocations. Mustafayev was made an honorary citizen of Fastiv and Zhytomyr. In 1965, he published a memoir, "Шли танкисты", or "There were Tankers". Mustafayev died on 21 May 1975 and was buried in the Alley of Honor.

Legacy A street in Baku was named after Mustafayev. In 2005, a monument to Mustafayev was erected in Kiev.