Tofig Kocharli

Tofig Gasym oghlu Kocharli (; ; February 11, 1929 – October 31, 2007) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani historian, former deputy to Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR, member of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, most prominently for his work on the histories of Azerbaijani regions of Karabakh and Nakhchivan.

Biography

Early years and development Tofig Kocharli was born on February 11, 1929, in İsalı village of Gadabay District, Azerbaijan SSR. After finishing secondary school, he entered Azerbaijan State University in 1945. While in university, due to good grades, Kocharli skipped his 2nd year right to the 3rd year, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History in 1950. In 1951-1952, he finished his doctoral studies, receiving a Ph.D. in History from Moscow State University within a year and a half. At age 36, he was the youngest PhD in Azerbaijan SSR. In 1950-1951, Kocharli worked as a teacher in Quba Pedagogical Institute, in 1952-1953 as the dean in Aghdam Pedagogical Institute, in 1953-1956 as a professor and docent in Ganja Pedagogical University.

Career From 1957 until 1965, he was the senior scientific researcher at the Communist Party History Institute under the Azerbaijan Central Committee of the Communist Party. In 1965, he was appointed dean of Baku Higher Party School and in June 1972 - its rector. In 1990-1991, he worked as the senior lecturer at the same school. In 1993-2001, he served as the scientific researcher of Social Political Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and from 2002 until his death in 2007 he was the senior scientific researcher of the Archeology and Ethnography Institute of the academy. Among his contributions is research on Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Karabakh and Nakhchivan. He served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR and was a member of the Azerbaijan National Council in 1992. He was also a member of the Azerbaijan parliamentary commission for investigation of the Black January massacre. He has been awarded with Order of the Red Banner of Labour and many other medals and orders of the Soviet Union and Azerbaijan. He left behind 6 children and 12 grandchildren.

Works "История Азербайджана". ("History of Azerbaijan) Volume 3, Part 1 (Chapter XXVII 6, 4, 5) Baku, 1963 "Великий подвиг". ("Great act of bravery") Baku, 1965 "История КПСС". ("History of CPSS) Volume 4, Book I (Chapters 10 & 3) Moscow, 1970 "История КПСС". ("History of CPSS) Volume 4, Book II (Chapters 17 & 2) Moscow, 1971 "Tarixi saxtalaşdırmalar əleyhinə". ("Against historical falsifications") Baku, 1972 "Bəli, Yalan üzərində sülh olmaz". ("Affirmative: no peace based on lies") Baku, 1997 "İstiqlal və suverenlik". ("Independence and sovereignty") Baku, 1998 "Qarabağ: yalan və həqiqət". ("Karabakh: lies and truth") Baku, 1998 "Yaddan çıxmaz Qarabağ". ("Unforgettable Karabakh"), Naghshijahan, Nakhchivan. Baku 1998 "Карабахское ханство и российская империя". ("Karabakh Khanate and Russian Empire") Moscow, 2000 "Erməni saxtakarlığı". ("Armenian falsifications") Baku, 2001 "Qarabağ". ("Karabakh") Baku, 2002 "Məqalələr". ("Articles") Baku, 2003-2004 "Armenian Deception". Baku, 2004 "Naxçivan: Uydurmalar və Tarixi Həqiqətlər". ("Nakhchivan: Myths and Historical Truth") Baku, 2005 "К истории Карабахского вопроса". ("Towards the history of Karabakh conflict") Baku, 2009