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By Trend

Armenia destroyed three monuments made by Azerbaijani sculptor Aslan Rustamov in previously occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the sculptor told Trend on Aug.30.

According to Rustamov, two of the monuments were installed in Istisu village [Kalbajar district], and one - in the village of Gulabird, Lachin district.

“In Istisu, a granite bust of Nariman Narimanov and a monument to Gazanfar Musabayov were destroyed. Another work destroyed by Armenia is a monument to Sary Ashig in the Lachin district. It was a complex monument,” he said.

Speaking about the monument to famous Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayli [installed in Shusha city in 1985], Rustamov informed that its author was the sculptor Ahmad Salikov.

“Armenia blew up this monument. Due to his age, it would be difficult for Salikov to work on the monument. We worked together for many years. The current monument [to Hajibayli, recently installed in Shusha] is similar to his work and has been created in accordance with the previous sketch. I worked on this bronze monument together with my sons Teymur and Mahmud," he noted.

The opening of the monument to Hajibayli took place on August 29 in the city of Shusha. The opening was attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

The previous monument to the composer was installed in Shusha in 1985 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibayli and was completely destroyed by Armenian vandals during the First Karabakh War in 1992. On behalf of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a new monument to the composer was installed. The bronze monument was created with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and installed in the same place in Shusha [liberated from Armenia occupation in the Second Karabakh War in 2020].

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