Khanlar Safaraliyev

Who was Khanlar Safaraliyev?

Khanlar Safaraliyev was an Azerbaijani oil field worker, labor organizer, and Moslem social democrat. In 1907, he helped lead a successful strike at the Baku oil fields. Subsequently, he was shot by an assassin, Jafar, and died several days later. The Bibi Eybat District Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, declared a general two-day strike and unsuccessfully demanded that the Baku Oil & Gas Producers Association cease protecting Khanlar’s murderer, and also the manager, Abuzarbek, who allegedly assisted in the assassination. 20,000 workers demonstrated at Khanlar’s funeral.

Later, 29 September 1907, Joseph Stalin delivered a speech at Khanlar’s graveside. In 1938, the city of Helenendorf in Azerbaijan was renamed in honor of Khanlar Safaraliyev, but in 2008 the city was once more renamed to Goygol.