Azerbaijan marks 78th anniversary of victory in World War II

The 78th anniversary of the victory over fascism in the Second World War, Victory Day, is marked on May 9 in Azerbaijan.

The holiday is celebrated on the state level, Caliber.Az reports.

The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, touched upon almost every Azerbaijani family, and Baku oil played an important role in ensuring the military victory over fascism.

Every fifth inhabitant of Azerbaijan fought in the Great Patriotic War. Out of a population of 3.4 million (1941), 681,000 went to the front (over 10,000 of them women). Representatives of various nationalities, 250,000 of them were killed.

Over 400,000 soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals, 14 people were full cavaliers of the Order of Glory, 123 became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 44 of them were ethnic Azerbaijanis.

Thanks to the selfless work of Azerbaijani oil workers in 1941, the record indicator of oil production in the history of Azerbaijan was achieved - 23.5 million tons of "black gold", which amounted to 71.4 per cent of all oil produced in the USSR.

It can be said with confidence that Baku oil has become one of the main factors in the victory over fascism. It is enough to note that four out of five planes, five tanks and five cars ran on Baku gasoline.

More than 130 kinds of weapons and ammunition were produced in Baku. At the enterprises and collective farms, about 70 per cent of the workers were women.

In the territory of Azerbaijan, 87 battalions and 1,123 self-defence detachments were created. 77th, 223rd, 396th, 402nd and 416th national infantry divisions were formed and they fought from the foothills of the Caucasus to the Baltic, Eastern Europe and Berlin.

The country's hospitals treated 440,000 wounded at the front.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an order "On provision of one-time financial aid to participants of World War II 1941-1945, widows of soldiers killed or deceased, persons awarded with orders and medals for selfless labour in the rear" on April 19.

According to the Presidential decree, one-time financial assistance in the amount of 1,500 manats ($880) will be provided to participants of World War II 1941-1945, 750 manat ($440) – to the widows of those who died in the Second World War or died later, fighters, persons awarded orders and medals for selfless work in the rear at that time, to employees of special forces who performed assignments in the interests of the army and navy in the rear of the fighting fronts or in the operational zones of the fighting fleets, to persons awarded the appropriate medal and badge for the defence of the city of Leningrad during World War II war, as well as participants in the blockade of the city of Leningrad.

According to the decree, 2.9 million manats ($1.7 million) is allocated from the Reserve Fund of the President provided in the state budget for 2022.

Thus, the presidential decree will cover 3,538 people.