He rose through the ranks due to his close associations with Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov. Aliyev was installed as president of Azerbaijan after the military coup ousted President Abulfaz Elchibey. His regime in Azerbaijan has been described as dictatorial, [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] authoritarian, [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ] and repressive.
Shortly before his death, his son Ilham Aliyev was elected president in a fraudulent election and continues to lead Azerbaijan to this day. According to both his official biography and the Great Soviet Encyclopedia , Aliyev was born on 10 May in the city of Nakhchivan. Aliyev's official biography also states that he studied at Baku State University , graduating with a degree in history in In , Aliyev married Zarifa Aliyeva.
On 24 December , their son Ilham was born. Zarifa Aliyeva died of cancer in During World War II, he served as commander of a Smersh battalion, which conducted intelligence operations on the Soviet Union's own forces and executed soldiers who deserted or fought insufficiently hard. Aliyev subsequently dominated affairs in Soviet-era Azerbaijan. In his obituary, The Washington Post wrote, "He made a name for himself by smashing local mafia groups, but his personal circle moved in to profit off oil, caviar and other sectors.
Aliyev frequently treated Brezhnev with lavish gifts. In the early s, Aliyev barred the children of certain legal personnel from attending the republic's law school, in a purported effort to curb a self-perpetuating elite based on corruption.
Aliyev was subsequently promoted to the Moscow Politburo in Aliyev became a candidate non-voting member of the Soviet Politburo in Aliyev supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in On 22 November , Andropov promoted Aliyev from a candidate to a full member of the Soviet Politburo [ 44 ] and appointed him to the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, [ 47 ] responsible for transportation and social services.
