Editing Heydar Aliyev (section)

==His KGB Service (1941–1969):== 
At age 18, Aliyev joined Soviet state security service, rising to a high-ranking official in the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR. He served for 28 years, leveraging his skills in intelligence and political maneuvering. His KGB tenure shaped his authoritarian style and network-building.

As First Secretary of Azerbaijan (1969–1982) he was head of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Aliyev governed Soviet Azerbaijan, consolidating power through patronage and suppressing dissent. His close ties to Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov (former KGB head) facilitated his positions within the USSR hierarchy. He modernized Azerbaijan’s economy but was criticized for corruption and repression.

First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union (1982–1987): Aliyev joined the Soviet Politburo under Brezhnev, serving as a key deputy to Premier Nikolai Tikhonov. In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev dismissed him, citing corruption and criticism of Gorbachev’s handling of Azerbaijani unrest in Baku. Aliyev was blacklisted, forcing his son Ilham Aliyev into the clothing business in Moscow.