Ayaz Mutallibov §

Ayaz Mutallibov was the last communist leader of Soviet Azerbaijan and the first president of independent Azerbaijan. His rule collapsed under the pressures of state disintegration, Karabakh mobilisation, military failure and the growth of the Azerbaijani Popular Front. The Khojaly massacre in February 1992 fatally damaged his legitimacy; he resigned in March, briefly attempted a comeback in May, and was then pushed aside as Popular Front forces took power. Mutallibov represents the failed transition from Soviet republican authority to national wartime statehood. He inherited institutions that were still Soviet in habit but faced a conflict that demanded legitimacy, mobilisation and military competence. His fall opened the way for Elchibey, and then for Heydar Aliyev\u2019s return after the war worsened in 1993.