Heydar Aliyev was elected as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan at its Plenary Session held on 12 July 1969.

During the time when Heydar Aliyev was elected the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, the economy of the republic was at the stage of a deep economic crisis. In the 1960s, there were negative trends in the development of the economy. Due to several objective and subjective reasons, it was already noticeable that Azerbaijan was lagging in socio-economic development.
     
Having been thoroughly familiar with all the peculiarities of the Soviet system, Heydar Aliyev began to take important steps towards the elimination of the socio-economic backwardness of Azerbaijan. Until the late 1960s, despite certain progression in the development of the oil industry in our republic, there were also shortcomings in other areas of the economy. Azerbaijan remained the main republic of the Soviet Union producing hydrocarbon raw materials. Although oil and related fields attracted a large part of the total amount of capital investment in the national economy of our republic, the industrial and social infrastructure was poorly developed. Azerbaijan, which was part of the USSR, did not have the authority to independently determine its economic development. Consequently, for many years, the economy of the republic depended only on oil and gas production and the development of related fields.
       
In the 1950s and 1960s, the discovery and exploitation of rich oil reserves in other regions of the USSR greatly reduced interest in Azerbaijani oil, which had a negative impact on the growth rate of the republic's economy. In that period, although certain measures were taken to build up the ferrous metallurgy, petrochemical, chemical, electrical engineering and device manufacturing industries, the work in this direction was carried out very slowly. Most of the large enterprises were built mainly in Baku and Sumgayit cities, while their construction was neglected in other cities and regions, which reduced the labor productivity rate and led to the mass migration of the labor force from the regions to the capital. As a result, serious problems appeared in meeting the needs for housing and other social facilities in Baku. Effective use of labor resources in small towns, administrative district centers, and improvement of cultural and living conditions of the local population was not at the required level.

With a view to achieving dynamic development covering all spheres of life in Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev conducted a flexible and consistent policy and implemented various programs for the development of specialized areas of industry and agro-industrial complex. In 1969-1982, on Heydar Aliyev's initiative, the USSR government adopted important decisions on the development of the national economy of Azerbaijan and its separate sectors. The main goals of socio-economic development were included in those documents.    As a result of the organizational and economic measures taken to achieve them, a large production potential was created for the comprehensive development of the republic. Azerbaijan occupied a leading place among the republics that were part of the USSR in terms of the production of electricity, oil production equipment, chemical products, grape wine, fruit and vegetable canning, cotton wool, silk threads, green tea and other products. Azerbaijan's industrial and agricultural production indicators had shown growth, and accordingly, its share in the division of labor in the Soviet Union increased.
          
As a result of Heydar Aliyev's decisive and principled activity, several strategically important enterprises of the USSR were built in Azerbaijan. In 1975, the Baku Plant of Household Conditioners began to operate. 430,000 air conditioners were produced annually in excess of the project capacity and sent to more than 60 countries of the world. In addition, large industrial establishments such as "Ozon" Scientific Production Association, Electronic Computing Machines Plant, Sumgayit Compressor Plant, Knitting Factory, Baku Clothing and Footwear Factory, Ganja Nonferrous Metals Processing Plant, Nakhchivan Glassware Factory, Ali-Bayramli Factory of Household Appliances were constructed and put into operation.

The leadership of the USSR approved the construction of machine-building, chemical, petrochemical, electronic industry, nonferrous and ferrous metallurgy, textile, food, and processing enterprises in our republic. In the years 1969-1982, new industrial areas were established in Azerbaijan, and factories were built to produce various electrical appliances. More than 250 industrial enterprises started operating in our republic during that period. Azerbaijan occupied one of the leading places among the republics of the USSR in terms of the growth rate of industrial output. From 1969-1982, more than 400 ships for various purposes were purchased for the oil industry. In 1978, the construction of the Baku Deep Water Jacket Factory (BDWJF) commenced.
                   
The development of the industry gave a great impetus to the establishment of production enterprises based on new technologies; tens of thousands of new jobs were opened. In addition to Baku and Sumgayit, the construction materials, light and food industries, and branches of large machine-building plants started to operate in medium and small cities such as Ganja, Mingachevir, Sheki, and Lankaran. In the 1980s, industry accounted for more than 20 percent of national income from manufacturing. During that period, the total amount of national income increased by 2.5 times, industrial production, as well as labor productivity by 2 times, and the production of consumer goods by 3 times. The total output in agriculture increased by 2.7 times, and productivity in this area increased by more than 2 times. Azerbaijan supplied nearly 70 percent of the USSR's demand for many products, especially oil and gas industry equipment. Reconstruction and modernization of industrial enterprises significantly increased the technical level of production.

In the years 1969-1982, the increase in labor productivity in Azerbaijan was a factor that strongly influenced the development of the economy. As a result of increased capital investment, Azerbaijan has become a large construction site. In those years, the establishment of enterprises based on new technologies strengthened the material and technical basis of the industry. Due to the application of scientific and technical progress achievements, new advanced industries were developed, such as the production of machines and equipment for electronic engineering, the radio industry, light and food industry. For the first time in the history of the oil refining industry in our republic, installations and equipment for the double processing of oil were installed, and the highest results were achieved in the development of the gas industry. The improvement of the energy system of Azerbaijan was of great importance in the formation of the energy system of the South Caucasus, as well as in strengthening the connection with the unified energy network of the USSR.
       
During this period, the volume of production of light and food industry products based on viticulture, silkworm breeding, tobacco cultivating, tea growing and tea processing, cotton growing complexes increased significantly. Apart from satisfying its domestic demand with many basic goods of local production, it also began to export a large variety of products. In terms of grape and tobacco production, Azerbaijan ranked first in the USSR, third in cocoon production, and fourth in cotton production.
                 
Despite the prohibitions of the ruling ideology during the Soviet era, significant steps were taken to develop the native language, which is an integral part of national and moral values. The inclusion of the article on the Azerbaijani language as the state language in the Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted in 1978, gave an important impetus to the development of national consciousness.
    
The policy conducted by Heydar Aliyev during the Soviet era, when he headed Azerbaijan, played an important role in the development of science and education. A material and technical basis equipped with new technologies has been created for the development of fundamental sciences at the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, universities, and other scientific centers.

In the 1970s and 1980s, on Heydar Aliyev's initiative, radical reforms were carried out in the field of science and education. In that period, the number of general education schools in the republic increased from 765 to 2117. 849 secondary schools were constructed for more than 350,000 students and the number of pre-school educational institutions increased in Azerbaijan. Compared to 1969, in 1982, the number of higher educational institutions increased from 12 to 21, and the number of higher education students increased from 70,000 to 100,000. The number of Azerbaijani youths sent to study in the prestigious universities of the USSR was increased by the initiative of Heydar Aliyev. If there were only 50 places for those wishing to study in different parts of the USSR in the 1960s, this figure was more than 1,000 in the early 1980s.

Heydar Aliyev established the Military School named after J. Nakhchivanski for the training of national military personnel in our republic in 1971. It is known that military schools in the USSR operated mainly in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, while there were no such educational institutions in the Muslim-Turkish republics. After Azerbaijan regained state independence, the Military School named after J. Nakhchivanski played the role of a significant educational center in the training of military personnel for building the national army. The policy implemented by Heydar Aliyev regarding science and education was of great importance in realizing the dreams of national statehood in the future and mobilizing the people around it.
 
Heydar Aliyev's shrewd political acumen, which led to professionally solving the problems he encountered, bringing Azerbaijan, which occupied one of the last places among the republics of the USSR in terms of socio-economic development, to the forefront, aroused great interest in the political elite of the USSR. As a result, Heydar Aliyev was appointed the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1982. While working in that position, the Great Leader still pursued a policy prioritizing the national interests of the Azerbaijani people and constantly supported Azerbaijan.

Thanks to Heydar Aliyev's high-level management skills, the economy of our republic and its various sectors have undergone rapid development. As a result of this, Azerbaijan did not receive subsidies from the Union budget as Russia and Ukraine did at that time.

The economic achievements of Azerbaijan in 1969-1982 later played a decisive role in the political independence of the Azerbaijani people.

Recommended literature:

1. Mahmudov, Yaqub Mikayıl oğlu. Azərbaycan tarixində Heydər Əliyev şəxsiyyəti / Y. M. Mahmudov ; elmi red. Ə. M. Həsənov. - Bakı : Təhsil, 2002. - 328,[40] s.
2. Heydər Əliyev müasir Azərbaycan parlamentinin banisidir / tərt.-müəl.: S. A. Mirzəyev, M. Qayıbov ; red. O. S. Əsədov. - Bakı : Milli Məclisin nəşri, 2008. - 495,[36] s.
3. Böyük insan haqqında / red. V. Yolçiyev. - Bakı : Azərbaycan nəşriyyatı, 2004. - 296 s.
4. Mirzəyev, Ramiz Şəmşəd oğlu. Heydər Əliyev və müstəqil Azərbaycan dövlətinin yeni neft strategiyası = Heydar Aliyev and new oil strategy of independent Azerbaijan / R. Ş. Mirzəyev ; red. B. Y. Sadıqov ; tərc. R. Ə. İsayev. - Bakı : Göytürk, 1999. - 157 s.
5. Abdullayev, Vaqif İdris oğlu. Müstəqilliyimizin strategiyası / V. İ. Abdullayev ; elmi red. İ. Ə. Həbibbəyli. - Bakı : Azərbaycan nəşriyyatı, 2002. - 416 s.
6. İsmayıl, Eldar. Böyük öndər / E. İsmayıl ; red. H. Ə. İsmayılov. - Bakı : Nurlan, 2004. - 408 s.
7. Atakişiyev, Müşviq Cəmil oğlu. Azərbaycanın yeni neft siyasəti və iqtisadi yükşəliş / M. C. Atakişiyev ; elmi red. Z. Ə. Səmədzadə. - Bakı : Azərbaycan nəşriyyatı, 2004. - 264 s.
8. Abbasov, Vaqif Məhərrəm oğlu. Liderlik fəlsəfəsi / V. M. Abbasov ; red. F. Nadir. - Bakı : Təhsil, 2004. - 204 s.
9. Андриянов, Виктор Иванович. Гейдар Алиев / В. И. Андриянов, Г. Ф. Мираламов. - М. : Молодая гвардия, 2005. - 394 с.
10. Кремлевские будни Гейдара Алиева / авт.-ред. З. Фараджев; сост. Э. Аскеров; ред. Р. Камалов. - Баку : Адильоглы, 2007. - 394 с.
11. Heydar Aliyev’s New Oil Strategy = Heydər Əliyevin yeni neft strategiyası / Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin Katibliyi. - Baku: w. p., 1997. - 191 p. 

Heydar Aliyev’s New Oil Strategy = Heydər Əliyevin yeni neft strategiyası / Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin Katibliyi. - Baku : w. p., 1997. - 191 p.