Hacı Zeynalabdin Tagiyev-From Disliked Oligarch of His Time to National Hero

In Azerbaijani society, Hacı Zeynalabdin Tagiyev is a person who was infamous in his own time but later elevated to the status of a national hero in modern times. Let’s take a closer look at Hacı.

Throughout his life, although he never served in the military, Hacı obtained the rank of general from the Russians in exchange for money. Despite sitting in the Duma for years as a deputy, flattering the Russians, and adorning himself with medals, he never cared about the problems of the people. During these years, he became a target of Cəlil Məmmədquluzadə’s magazine "Molla Nasreddin". Hacı was supposedly an official representative of the people, living in wealth, but he wouldn’t even bother to interact with them.

Another fiasco was Hacı’s pedophilic marriage to 16-year-old Sona when he was 73. This was heavily criticized by Cəlil Məmmədquluzadə in "Molla Nasreddin". In response, Hacı hired a thug to beat up or even kill Cəlil. Out of fear for his life, Cəlil fled to Georgia and hid in an Armenian neighborhood.

Would you be surprised to learn that the character Məşədi Ibad in Üzeyir Hacıbeyli’s famous operetta "Let It Not Be This, Let It Be This" was written to criticize Hacı Zeynalabdin?

This type of oligarch, who was morally corrupt and lacking in values, was somehow glorified as a hero by the government. Perhaps they saw themselves in him.