Putin's special rep: Monuments to Nizami Ganjavi erected in two Russian cities

"Monuments to Nizami Ganjavi were erected in two cities in Russia - in Moscow and St.Petersburg. The time when these monuments were erected was not that easy. But Nizami Ganjavi deserves to be perpetuated in these cities. He is the genius of not only Azerbaijan but also the entire East," Special Representative of the Russian President on International Cultural Cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoi, said speaking at the Nizami Ganjavi International Forum in Baku.

He said the genius poet became a bridge between Central Asian nations and continents.

"I can say that two thinkers never left the area where they lived. They were Nizami Ganjavi and Emmanuel Kant. They understood that the human conscience, the God above them are great values. It is important to declare this year the Year of Nizami Ganjavi. An exhibition of the Azerbaijani carpet is being held at the Hermitage Museum in Russia this year. Nizami Ganjavi embodied the light of enlightenment in the Islamic world. This light is still upon us," Shvydkoi said.