TOMORROW COMES TODAY

It is not always possible to assess the scale of historical events immediately. However, there is no doubt that the recent sequence of events will be included in history textbooks. On May 7, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree declaring the city of Shusha the cultural capital of Azerbaijan – just a day before the tragic date – the 29th anniversary of Shusha’s occupation and six months after its liberation. And five days later, on the Ramadan holiday, the Xarıbülbül festival was revived. We could hear mugham in the clear crystal air and among the mountain peaks. Until recently, the phrase "political outcome of a music festival" would have sounded as absurd. But the Xarıbülbül festival held on May 12-13 in the liberated Shusha was not only a grandiose musical holiday. It was also an example of expressive political declaration.

A bit of history

The first Xarıbülbül festival was held in Shusha back in 1989. The event was widely discussed in those days of May, including on the pages of our magazine. The conflict just started due to the territorial claims of the Armenian nationalist elite in Garabagh. In such a difficult situation, Azerbaijan launched the festival – to remind of the uniqueness of the city of Shusha, the so-called Conservatoire of the East, the musical capital of Azerbaijan, and the entire region…

Back in the day, 30 years ago, we, our people, quite literally, put saz and music against machine guns. Azerbaijan did not yet have its own army, nor power structures. There were also no authoritative leaders capable of taking on the solution of this difficult task – building own state and own army...

In 1992, Shusha was occupied by Armenia, also thanks to external support. In Azerbaijan, real state and military construction began only on June 15, 1993 – with the return of the national leader Heydar Aliyev.

Signing of the Contract of the Century, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the competent investment of petrodollars, including into own army… All these are events that would come later. This will be followed by the verified and prudent diplomacy. And there will be the Second Garabgh War – 44 days of the continuous offensive of the Azerbaijani army, which ended in an incredible and fantastic storming of the rocky cliffs at Cıdır Düzü and the liberation of Shusha, which compelled Armenia to surrender.

And it was hardly so unexpected. Shusha, the historical capital of Garabagh and the Garabagh Khanate, had and still has not only symbolic meaning. This majestic walled city is located at an important strategic point, at a crossroads. In the 21st century, it continues to preserve its military-strategic importance: a mountainous knot, a dominant height, which makes both Khankendi and the strategic roads easily accessible... The liberation of Shusha predetermined the outcome of the conflict. Perhaps, this raised a question in the Armenian headquarters of the expediency of continuing the war, if the Azerbaijani army was capable of solving such problems.

Today Azerbaijan is successfully solving new problems. The security of Shusha is reliably ensured and has not only political, but also military guarantees. Moreover, control over Shusha allows Azerbaijan to feel very confident in Garabagh. Azerbaijan has secured a military-strategic control in Garabagh. This is the reality that friends, enemies, and third parties now accept, closely monitoring the situation and trends so as not to be mistaken with their own political interests.

Return of Xarıbülbül

With a brilliant military victory, Azerbaijan begins to restore Shusha. And the Xarıbülbül festival with a stellar line-up of participants, which brought together the best musicians of Azerbaijan, with the participation of soloists of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre, demonstrated this explicitly. The desperate attempt to counter violent aggression earlier with the help of culture is now taking on a different reading. Azerbaijan is consolidating its military success on other platforms. Firstly, Shusha is restoring its status as a Conservatoire of the East and a cultural centre, the significance of which goes far beyond the borders of Azerbaijan. And it does it beautifully and on a large scale.

Obviously, holding a festival of such a scale as Xarıbülbül in a city where the war ended is a titanic organizational task. But not only.

During his stay in Shusha, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who first appeared here not in military uniform, took part in laying the first stone in the construction of a new mosque in Shusha, in the opening of the restored Xanqızı spring built by Khurshidbanu Natavan, the Xarıbülbül hotel…

The opening of the hotel is a demonstration of a new future for the city. Most likely, the priority will be given to tourism. After all, Shusha was a popular mountain resort in the Soviet years.

British journalist Thomas de Waal, who visited Shusha during the occupation, called it a ‘ghost city’. Today, many infrastructural, urban planning, organizational, and economic problems have to be solved here. First of all, it is necessary to restore the water and electricity supplies. It is also required to inspect the existing residential buildings for safety not only due to possible damages as a result of 30 years of negligence during the occupation, but also because of the unexploded weapons. After all, the fragments of Iskander M missiles were found in Shusha. Finally, we need to finish building the Victory Road. It is necessary to restore historical monuments, heal the wounds after the war and the vandalism of the invaders.

The work is already underway. Green scaffolding can be seen on many buildings, most of all historical ones. Constructors already dismantle the Soviet-era residential buildings, which by no means fit into the architectural ensemble of the city.

Shusha remains a fortified city and is turning into an important cultural and tourist hub. The restoration works proceed according to plan, without eclecticism and amateur performance, where every stroke, every detail must be part of the overall concept. Today Azerbaijan is solving a difficult task – to preserve and restore the historical appearance of Shusha and at the same time turn it into a modern and in every sense smart city, taking into account the consequences of wars and vandalism of the Armenian occupiers. So far, Shusha is only at the beginning of its revival. But many features are visible today. And this is not only a magnificent campus at the recently opened hotel with the same name Xarıbülbül. There is no doubt that the legendary Cıdır Düzü plain will regularly host not only the Xarıbülbül festival. In parallel with the music festival, contemporary artists who painted models of the famous flower also exhibited their works. The Fuzuli International Airport, the Victory Road, restoration of architectural and cultural monuments and the modern smart infrastructure will also play an instrumental role in this context.

Despite a temptation to ‘make everything work’ as soon as possible, everyone understands that Azerbaijan has no right to making drafts and implement unsuccessful ideas in Shusha. The city is too important for the country. And now the relevant authorities not just solve current problems, they are making history here today.