Aliyev would not have allowed us to lose our country that fast and that easily, and he was a very intelligent politician, just look at Azerbaijan now and Azerbaijan in the early 90s.
For those that don't know, Aliyev was the leader of the Azerbaijan SSR from 1969 to 1982, and afterwards he was a high-ranking member of the politburo, even becoming the First Deputy Premier at one point.
If Heydar Aliyev got the top job instead of Gorbachev, the USSR would've still existed to this day. Interesting article on it (Russian).
Aliyev would not have allowed us to lose our country that fast and that easily, and he was a very intelligent politician, just look at Azerbaijan now and Azerbaijan in the early 90s.
For those that don't know, Aliyev was the leader of the Azerbaijan SSR from 1969 to 1982, and afterwards he was a high-ranking member of the politburo, even becoming the First Deputy Premier at one point.