"Heydar Aliyev was a bright political figure not only in Azerbaijan. He is the person who had great authority not only in Azerbaijan, but also on all Soviet Union", General, the first deputy of the chairman of KGB of the USSR (1985-1991) Phillip Bobkov told in an interview to correspondent of AzerTAc.
Philip Bobkov, who worked all life on high posts of the agencies of state security of the USSR, is also the author of memoirs "KGB and the power", "Last twenty years: notes of the chief of political counterespionage", "How trained were the traitors: the chief of political counterespionage testifies" and other interesting editions.
Sharing his memories about the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, Phillip Bobkov told the following: "I have got acquainted with Heydar Aliyev, working in state security bodies. Then, he was still the chief of department in Nakhchivan, then, in Baku. Now, I am afraid to name concrete date of our acquaintance, but I can tell that we had very warm relations. When he came to Moscow, we met, and then when he was elected the first secretary, he arrived then to Moscow, and at once has come to me, we sat and talked for a long time. In a word, I always kept in contact with him.
I remember, as I have arrived to meet with him he was the first secretary of the Central Committee, and it was just the time when he has begun struggle against bribery, corruption. I asked him about the struggle against bribery. And he said: "I can tell to you only one - in the Central Committee of Azerbaijan now there is no bribery. And what happens outside of the Central Committee, I yet don`t know".
He very actively worked everywhere on his post. I well knew also his late spouse Zarifa Khanum. Once even I remember, we came to Baku with Poles, and I accompanied them. Heydar Aliyev wasn`t in Baku, he was on business trip, in my opinion, in Bulgaria. And our delegation was accompanied by Zarifa Khanum. I want to note such detail which shows how much he was a modest person. When we came to the region naturally we went to the party district committee. But Zarifa Khanum, didn`t leave the car, and said that can`t go with us as she isn`t a member of supervising bodies. She said she will wait for us in the car. So she was a modest person".
Speaking about the Moscow period of work of the national leader of Azerbaijan, Phillip Bobkov said that Heydar Aliyev in Moscow worked very actively. "He was a useful and necessary person, and Yury Vladimirovich Andropov rather highly appreciated his abilities.
Last time I saw him in Moscow; I visited him when he was in the hospital. Perhaps, it was our last meeting though by phone we talked from time to time. When he worked after that in Baku, last years, he called me to stay for a while, but I had not time", General Phillip Bobkov underlined.

AzerTAc