Baku, April 27, AZERTAC

As part of the 100th anniversary of the great leader Heydar Aliyev, a photo exhibition was organized at the Tsar’s Tower of the Kazan Railway Station in Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation on April 26 at the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan Railways CJSC. The exhibition was jointly organized by the Russian Railways OJSC, the Russian University of Transport, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Russia.

Prior to the exhibition, the Azerbaijani delegation visited the memorial plaque of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) participants at the Yaroslavl railway station.

Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev and Minister of Transport of Russia Vitaly Savelyev signed a tourist coupon called “Relay of generations” dedicated to the construction of BAM. The coupon was presented to the headquarters of the student and youth teams of the Russian University of Transport and BAM veterans.

The photo exhibition features photographs of the great leader’s major contribution to the creation of the project as BAM’s transport curator during his work as First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said that Heydar Aliyev’s personal qualities, along with his professional qualities, played a major role in the creation of BAM: “Thanks to Heydar Aliyev’s attention, sensitivity and care, a strong team spirit was formed in the successful construction of the project in the region with difficult terrain and harsh climate. Under the guidance of the great leader, the entire BAM family was able to turn the impossible into reality. The photos displayed today capture rare moments of that history. It should also be noted that Azerbaijani specialists who came to work in this region in 1975 played a big role in BAM’s success story.”

The event was addressed by Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin, who provided the participants with extensive information on the work done at BAM thanks to the high managerial qualities of Heydar Aliyev. “On 9 May 1984, as a member of the delegation participating in the ceremony of driving in a golden symbolic crutch at the Miroshnichenko railway junction, I proudly recall those years when I had the opportunity to communicate with a leader like Heydar Aliyev.”

“The assignment of the name of Heydar Aliyev to a new station inaugurated in 2008 at the Angoya BAM station is an expression of great gratitude for his merits,” said Igor Levitin.

Then, the officials familiarized themselves with the photo stands and exchanged views with the exhibitors.

The event was attended by a high-level delegation from the Russian Ministry of Transport, the leadership of CJSC Azerbaijan Railways and Russian Railways OJSC, diplomats of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia, representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia, members of the Russian public association BAM, members of the local community and the media. The exhibition will run until 30 April.

It should be noted that although construction of the 4,300 km long Baikal-Amur Mainline was launched in 1940, construction work was postponed. In 1974, the project was revived again. Over 200 railway stations were built under the project BAM, and the railway line connects more than 60 cities and towns. Ten railway tunnels have been built along BAM. The BAM line crosses 11 major rivers, and a total of 2,230 large and small bridges have been built along the line.