Some Soviet monuments have managed to survive however, most notable a giant statue of Soviet statesman Nariman Narimanov. The Narimanov Statue was erected by Heydar Aliyev in 1970, then the Secretary of the Azerbaijan SSR Central Committee, later the president of Azerbaijan. Some other Soviet monuments that we found were a bust of Soviet general Azi Aslanov who led tank units during many important battles of World War II, Jafar Jabbarly an Azeri influenced by 1920s communist propaganda and Samad Vurgun, first People’s Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR. Lenin may have disappeared from the streets of Baku but his void is filled with monuments and portraits dedicated to Heydar Aliyev the former president of Azerbaijan who is now the subject of a new leader cult.