July 26 is the birthday of Asif Maharramov, a participant in the Karabakh war and National Hero of Azerbaijan known as “Fred Asif”.
According to sea-news.az that Asif Yusif oglu Maharramov was born on July 26, 1952, in the city of Aghdam.
Asif was the eldest of a large family with eleven children. His childhood was spent in poverty. In 1969, he graduated from Aghdam secondary school No. 1 and began his labor activity as a worker at the Aghdam Machine-Building Plant.
On October 31, 1971, he was arrested for participating in a fight at the Aghdam cinema. Although Asif was sentenced to two years, he served eight months in prison.
Starting in 1988, he established defense units against the enemy in the villages of Aghdam—Abdal-Gulabli, Khidirli, Amirallar, Sirkhavend, Bagbanlar, and Ahmadavar—and in 1991, he created the “Haqq Jebhesi” (Front of Truth) battalion. His brothers Adalat, Sakhavat, Bahlul, and Mahir also fought in his battalion. On December 31, 1991, he particularly distinguished himself in the liberation of the village of Khramort (a village in the Pirlar rural territorial administrative circle of the Khojaly district of the Republic of Azerbaijan).
When various political forces dismantled the military unit in the area of the Muradbeyli village of Aghdam and wanted to use the weapons and ammunition there in their struggle for power, Fred Asif prevented this, stationed his battalion on the territory of that military unit, and thereafter the ammunition there was used solely for the defense of Azerbaijan. By order of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Dadash Rzayev, Asif was awarded the military rank of “lieutenant colonel”. Despite Asif having no military education, he was the first commander of that battalion, numbered 859.
On the night of February 25 to 26, 1992, he participated with his battalion in opening a corridor in the Aghdam-Askeran direction to rescue the population of Khojaly. On March 7, 1992, Asif was appointed commander of the 859th military de-mining unit. On March 10, 1992, with Asif’s assistance, the villages of Aranzamin, Pircamal, and Dahrəz were liberated from the enemy.
When liberating Aranzamin, Asif devised an interesting tactic—entering the village during artillery fire. Since the enemy did not hide in the shelter during artillery fire, Asif drove into the village by car. At that moment, National Hero of Azerbaijan Shirin Mirzeyev was observing the village from a nearby height, contemplating an operation. Mirzeyev saw a UAZ enter the village under fire. As soon as the firing stopped, the battalion followed behind. Seeing the battalion enter the village without losses, Shirin Mirzeyev said: “Only a fanatic could have done this.”
On June 24, 1992, Asif was heavily wounded in the battle for the village of Nakhchivanli. After receiving treatment, he returned to the front. On June 28, 1992, as he was returning from battle, Armenians hit his car with a grenade launcher and overturned it. Asif’s lungs were seriously damaged, and he coughed up blood. Asif was kept in Aghdam for three days.
In early July 1993, Asif went to the reception of Heydar Aliyev together with representatives of the Aghdam public. At that time, Asif delivered the longest speech, conveying the severity of the situation in Aghdam for 45 minutes.
On July 23, 1993, at five o’clock in the evening, the defenders of Aghdam, having suffered hundreds of martyrs in an unequal battle, were forced to retreat. On that day, Fred Asif was in a hospital in Baku in a very grave condition. The news of the occupation of Aghdam deeply shattered Asif. His condition worsened further. He was suffering from tuberculosis.
On October 27, 1993, Asif participated in the battle for Shelli; his health deteriorated further due to tuberculosis, so he handed over the military unit and went to the city of Yalta for treatment. He passed away from tuberculosis on July 1, 1994.
Asif Maharramov was buried in the Second Alley of Martyrs in Baku in 1994.
He was married and had a son named Azer.
Asif Maharramov was given the nickname “Fred” in the 1970s by his friends in honor of the main character of the Danish film Strike First, Fred, which was screened at the “Dostluq” cinema in Aghdam.
A street in Baku was named in his honor. Since 2008, the Fred Asif Development Fund has been operating.
Interestingly, although Asif Yusif oglu Maharramov was awarded the title of “National Hero of Azerbaijan” on December 7, 1993, the decorated Fred Asif refused this title. His response was very firm:
“A large territory of Azerbaijan has been occupied, and many people have been taken hostage. I cannot pin a medal on my chest, say I am a hero, and boast about it. We will bring the war to a victorious end, plant our flag in Irevan, and then we will look into the matter of the hero.”
Only in 1998, four years after Asif’s death, national leader Heydar Aliyev reinstated his hero title and presented his ID and hero star to his mother.
