Editing Heydar Aliyev (section)

== From KGB to leader of Azerbaijan SSR ==
[[File:Officer Heydar Aliyev.jpg|thumb|left|180px|alt=refer to caption|Aliyev in his [[KGB]] uniform]]
[[File:Гейдар Алиев в Нахичеване. Крайний справа - Владимир Морозков.jpg|thumb|left|alt= A group of men in suits inspecting some plants|Aliyev during his visit to a [[kolkhoz|state collective farm]] in 70s]]
Aliyev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the [[Azerbaijan Communist Party]] at its Plenary Session held on 12 July 1969.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Richard Sakwa. ''Soviet Politics in Perspective'', Routledge, 1998, {{ISBN|0-415-16992-5}}, p. 71</ref><ref>Bernard Anthony Cook. ''Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia'', Taylor & Francis, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8153-4057-5}}, p. 70</ref> He was reportedly selected for the job by Brezhnev after his friend [[Semyon Tsvigun]], Brezhnev's brother-in-law, advocated for Aliyev's selection.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":23" />

Aliyev subsequently dominated affairs in Soviet-era Azerbaijan.<ref name=":19" /> Described as the "Monarch of Azerbaijan", Aliyev established an extensive patronage network across Azerbaijan and profited on the black market.<ref name=":192">{{Citation |last=Waal |first=Thomas de |title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War |date=2013 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001/html |work=Black Garden |pages=148–149 |publisher=New York University Press |language=en |doi=10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-8147-7082-5|s2cid=250081480 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":18">[[Harold James Perkin]]. ''The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern World'', Routledge, 1996, {{ISBN|0-415-14337-3}}, p. 138</ref> According to Harold James Perkin, Aliyev was "surrounded by female ‘volunteers’ whose services were mainly sexual."<ref name=":18" /> 

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."<ref name=":6" /> Aliyev was selective in his anti-corruption campaign, as he targeted those that refused to cooperate with him but rewarding and elevating those that did.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moss |first=Walter G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMwdWFtgV0QC |title=A History Of Russia Volume 2: Since 1855 |date=2004 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-0-85728-739-7 |pages=429 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mccauley |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqWsAgAAQBAJ |title=The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-86783-8 |pages=384 |language=en}}</ref> 

Aliyev frequently treated Brezhnev with lavish gifts.<ref name=":192" /> The gifts included a ‘Sun-king’ diamond ring worth 226,000 roubles and a jewel-encrusted framed portrait of Brezhnev.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":192" /> Aliyev built a palace for Brezhnev's personal use for his official visit in 1982.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Brennan |first=Dan |date=2003-12-15 |title=Heydar Aliev |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/dec/15/guardianobituaries |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

He promoted individuals from his native Nakhichevan to leadership positions in the Azerbaijan SSR.<ref name=":192" /><ref name=":23" /> He also promoted Azerbaijani culture and language.<ref name=":192" /> 

In the early 1980s, 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.<ref>Louise I. Shelley. ''Policing Soviet Society: The Evolution of State Control'', Routledge, 1996, {{ISBN|0-415-10469-6}}, p. 85</ref>

Aliyev was subsequently promoted to the Moscow Politburo in 1976.<ref name=":18" />