Photo: Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia
Their Mehdi, Our Mihajlo
On the sidelines of his participation in the 4th International Mine Action Conference in Baku, Dr. Aleš Musar, spouse of the President of the Republic of Slovenia and member of the ITF Board of Trustees, visited the monument to Mehdi Huseynzade – Mihajlo, the National Hero of Azerbaijan, erected in his hometown of Baku by his fellow citizens.
Publish date Baku, Azerbaijan,
The memory of Mehdi Huseynzade remains especially vivid in Slovenia, where a museum dedicated to him stands in the village of Šempas near Nova Gorica. Fighting in the ranks of the Slovenian Partisans, Mihajlo made a significant contribution to the common struggle against Nazism. During his visit to the monument in central Baku, Dr. Musar laid flowers in tribute to his courage and sacrifice.
Mehdi Huseynzade was born in Baku in 1918. He studied painting and linguistics, but his academic path was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. As a soldier of the Red Army, he was wounded and captured during the Battle of Stalingrad. In order to escape captivity, he joined the Turkestan Legion and was subsequently deployed to the area around Trst/Trieste. He soon established contact with the Slovenian Partisans and joined their ranks in early February 1944. Thanks to his excellent command of the German language, his understanding of the German military structure, and his knowledge of military operations, he became an exceptionally effective saboteur. His actions were so successful that the occupying authorities placed a substantial bounty on his head. Mihajlo was killed in combat in the village of Vitovlje at the end of 1944 and is buried in Čepovan. During the Soviet era, his wartime exploits were portrayed in the feature film »On Distant Shores,« and his legacy will be revisited in the RTV Slovenia documentary »Their Mehdi, Our Mihajlo.«
Today, the story of Mihajlo—a fighter and a poet—stands as one of the symbols of the historical ties between Slovenia and Azerbaijan. Although the two countries are geographically distant, they are connected by a shared memory of individuals who were willing to fight for freedom, peace, and human dignity. Alongside the Slovenian Partisans, Mihajlo fought for values that remain important today and that can serve as a bridge between the two nations. His legacy therefore belongs not only to Azerbaijan and Slovenia but also forms part of a shared European history. It serves as a reminder that the values of peace, freedom, and human dignity must continue to be protected and upheld in the present day.
