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Autumn 2002 (10.3)
Page
18
Newsmakers
Remembering
Zuleykha Asadullayeva
by Igor Effimoff
  As the granddaughter of an exceptionally
wealthy oil magnate, Zuleykha Asadullayeva Weber (possibly born
in 1907) was one of the last few remaining descendants of a Baku
Oil Baron to have experienced the pre-revolutionary period firsthand.
She led a privileged childhood up until the Red Army seized Baku
in 1920 and completely turned her life upside down. Zuleykha's
father was arrested and never heard from again. She, her mother,
brothers and sisters fled to Turkey.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, more than 70 years
later, Zuleykha decided to return to Baku to revisit her birthplace.
In all, she made nearly a dozen trips back to Baku, reclaiming
her identity, discovering more about her family's history and
finding ways to contribute to the lives of children and refugees.
Her final visit to Baku was for the June 2002 Oil Show.
Zuleykha passed away in Ankara, Turkey on July 22, 2002. According
to her wishes, she was buried in Amirjan, a suburb of Baku, next
to her grandfather, the great oil magnate Shamsi Asadullayev
(1840-1913).
 Even Zuleykha's closest relatives are
not certain how old she was because she had two passports with
different birthdates - 1907 and 1916. Regardless of her actual
age, she amazed everyone with her boundless energy and spunk.
Photo: (left and below) Zulie dancing with
children from the Bone Tuberculosis Sanatorium. She always loved
to dance whenever she had the opportunity.
"Zulie", as we knew
her by her Westernized name, was undoubtedly one of the most
remarkable people I've ever known. We met in the spring of 1997,
while I was working in Baku for Pennzoil Caspian Corporation.
One morning, she walked into our office and announced that she
was going to help us with our humanitarian, cultural, educational
and social support programs. She was not asking if she could
help; she was telling us that she was going to do so. Of course,
I had already heard about Zulie and knew what she was capable
of doing, so I immediately accepted her assistance. That was
that!
Zulie was always very direct. She knew what she wanted. You always
knew exactly where you stood with her, yet she managed to do
everything with a certain graciousness. I observed that same
style when she was with presidents, ministers, ambassadors, company
executives, taxi drivers, orphans, cooks, refugees, journalists
or children.
Over the years, we worked together closely. Zulie lived part
of the year in Baku and the remaining part near Washington, D.C.
at a retirement center. Whenever she was in Baku, we met or spoke
with each other nearly every day.
Zulie's social agenda was extremely busy because she served as
a living icon Baku's glorious Oil Boom, when the city was at
its zenith of fame and wealth. Everybody wanted to meet her or
entertain her. People clamored for her autograph. And she could
never say no. Her energy seemed inexhaustible. I found her to
be generous to a fault.
Her Personal World
The inner Zulie was even more impressive. When we traveled throughout
Azerbaijan, to the towns of Guba, Husara, Sabirabad or elsewhere,
she revealed more of her inner self. We had our deepest conversations
on those long trips over bumpy roads. She told me about growing
up in the lap of luxury at her grand-father's palatial residence
and about some of the oil barons she had known as a child-their
personal habits, their generosity, their frugality.
She recalled their escape - her mom with the four children -
from Baku to Istanbul in 1922. She told me about her life in
Turkey, in the United States and even for a while in Brazil.
 She shared her pain of being widowed
three times and her misgivings of ever marrying again. She was
strong and did not accept any of the defeats that life had dealt
her. She was always attuned to personal relationships and loved
young people. It wasn't the saccharine type of love exhibited
in flowery, "gushy" words; but rather one of genuine
concern for their well-being and physical, educational and mental
development. Zulie had no children of her own; she considered
all children to be her own. She often would challenge them to
study hard and behave themselves. Then she would compliment them
on their appearance or grades or other achievements.
I remember the holiday parties we hosted at the Children's Bone
Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Zagulba, down by the sea. Of course,
we would all dance - Zulie loved to dance. In fact, many of the
photos left in her own albums show Zulie dancing Azerbaijani
style, her hands raised high in the air.
Many of the buildings that once belonged to Zulie's family are
still standing a century later. The family's residence on Samad
Vurghun Street, was immediately confiscated by the Bolsheviks
and divided into numerous apartments. Today, the Iraqi Ambassador's
residence occupies the third floor. The family's large summer
home in Mardakan was also taken away from them and eventually
provided the basis for the National Cardiology Sanatorium.
When asked about what it felt like to be stripped of so much
wealth, Zulie was always quick to reply: "About our family's
wealth-well, it's gone. I don't really care that it's gone. Let
it be gone. Money is not happiness; happiness comes from relationships
with others, and in what we can do for others, especially when
they're in need. " Zulie's ever-gracious, ever-energetic,
and ever-caring presence is greatly missed.
_______
Igor Effimoff served as President
of Pennzoil Caspian Corporation (now Devon Energy Caspian) in
Baku from 1996-2001.
To read Zuleykha's personal account of her family's flight from
Baku in 1920, see the article "When
the Bolsheviks Came: An Oil Baron's Daughter Revisits Baku"
in AI 7.3
(Autumn 1999). Available in both English and Azeri Latin; Search
at AZERI.org.
Back to Index AI 10.3 (Autumn
2002)
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