The Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Russian Federation, together with the representative office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Moscow, organized a memorial evening dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev. The event was attended by deputies of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Mikhail Galuzin and employees of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, members of the State Duma and the Federation Council, heads of diplomatic missions, high-ranking diplomats, famous public figures of Russia, employees of the Representative Office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Russia and prominent representatives Azerbaijani diaspora. As APA's Moscow correspondent reports, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Moscow Polad Bulbuloglu opened a reception on the occasion of the memorable date. 'A special place in Heydar Aliyev's foreign policy strategy was occupied by Azerbaijani-Russian relations and Azerbaijani-Russian cooperati on. Today, Azerbaijan and Russia are successfully implementing allied relations in the region, and the nature of relations between our countries is highly appreciated by both the Azerbaijani and Russian sides,' he emphasized. 'Today, the ideas and plans of Heydar Aliyev are being successfully implemented by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Everyone knows that one of the cherished desires of the national leader was the complete liberation of the occupied lands of our country, ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He confidently stated more than once that the time would come - the occupied lands would be liberated, and our people would return to the homeland of their ancestors. The prophetic words of the great leader came true. Our brave army, under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, put an end to the long-term occupation of our lands. This brought joy to Azerbaija nis all over the world. It is especially noteworthy that this happened in the year of the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev. President Ilham Aliyev, a worthy successor to his father's work, fulfilled the will of the national leader. Today, the tricolor flag of Azerbaijan flutters proudly on all Azerbaijani lands liberated from occupation as a result of the Great Victory. Currently, the revival of the Garabagh and East Zangezur economic regions of Azerbaijan has become an important element of the national idea of the Azerbaijani people. Under the leadership of the President of Azerbaijan, large-scale construction and restoration work is underway in all territories liberated from occupation. Over the past three years, restored cities, villages, international airports, and schools have been put into operation, and monuments of historical and religious architecture have been restored. As part of the implementation of the First State Program 'Great return to the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan libera ted from occupation,' families returned to the cities of Lachin and Fuzuli, the villages of Agaly, Talysh and Zabukh. In general, more than 100 thousand people are expected to return to Garabagh and East Zangezur in the next three years,' Ambassador Polad Bulbuloglu emphasized. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin also emphasized that Heydar Aliyev is a figure who unites the peoples of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan. 'Heydar Aliyevich headed the Independent Republic of Azerbaijan in 1993 and led it with a confident hand along the path of progressive development and further strengthening of good neighborly relations with our country, with Russia. In this we see the great merit of Heydar Aliyevich, and, above all, to the Azerbaijani people, and to our interstate allied partnership relations, the foundations of which he laid,' the deputy minister noted. At the event, guests were shown a photo exhibition dedicated to the main moments of the life and work of the national lead er, organized by the Russian representative office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, as well as the documentary film 'Heart of a Leader,' authored by First Deputy General Director of the TASS news agency, Honored Journalist of the Russian Federation Mikhail Gusman. After the screening of the film, Mikhail Gusman spoke about the history of the film's creation and asked the People's Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia Elchin Azizov, who was present at the evening, to perform a song from the film. Polad Bulbuloglu sat down at the piano and, together with Elchin Azizov, performed the song 'Heart of a Leader.' The event participants greeted the performance with thunderous applause. Source: Azeri-Press News Agency