SHUSHA, 17 May (BelTA) – Those who shoot at icons and monuments are barbarians. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he visited the Azerbaijani town of Shusha, BelTA has learned.
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev went to Shusha to get familiar with how the restoration of the Karabakh area proceeds. Vigorous restoration work is in progress in the town. Housing is being built for the return of Azerbaijani refugees.
“A blessing in disguise. It will be a totally new life. Of course, the cost of this misfortune was high,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
A lot of things in Shusha remind of the tragic past: some houses are beyond restoration while places of interest and temples have been destroyed.
“These are telling ruins,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked. “But it is necessary to restore the buildings that can be saved.”
By the way, since days of old Shusha has been renowned for its rich cultural life, literature, music, and architecture. Various literary societies and musical societies operated in the town. The international folklore festival Kharibulbul was revived in Shusha in 2021. The town became a cultural capital of the Islamic world in 2024. This is why some of the itinerary was dedicated to familiarization with Shusha’s historical and cultural traditions.
The house where the famous Soviet and Azerbaijani opera singer, the founder of the national music theater Murtuza Rza oghlu Mammadov used to live has been restored. The singer’s nickname was Bulbul or nightingale in Azerbaijani.
A museum dedicated to the performer operates at the site. Bulbul’s portrait sculpture can be found nearby. It was put up back in the days of the Soviet Union only to be shot at and demolished later on. The sculpture was kept in the courtyard of the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art until 2021 when it was returned to Shusha.
“Those who shoot at icons and monuments are barbarians,” the Belarusian leader stated.
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