An expanded meeting of the Academic Council dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of Valery Kokov was held at KBSU

October 14 at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov, an expanded meeting of the Academic Council of the university was held, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of the first President of the KBR Valery Mukhamedovich Kokov. Welcoming the audience, Chairman of the Academic Council of KBSU, Acting Rector of the university Yuri Altudov recalled that October 18 is the birthday of one of the most authoritative politicians in our country, the first president of the KBR Valery Kokov, who left a good memory in the hearts of citizens with his creative activities for the good of the republic and Russia as a whole. «The person can pass away, but the memory of him, his deeds, his friendship, his statements remains. Each of our honored guests worked, communicated, and made friends with Valery Mukhamedovich. I want to invite you, dear friends, to recall the moments associated with the first President of the KBR, the most interesting, warmest and dearest for you, — said Yuri Kambulatovich.

About Valery Mukhamedovich as a wise leader and an outstanding statesman, his friends and associates shared their memories with those present — the Commissioner for Human Rights in the KBR Boris Mustafayevich Zumakulov; Deputy Chairman of the Public Chamber of the KBR Lyudmila Mikhailovna Fedchenko; member of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Kabardino-Balkarian Reference Center of Rosselkhoznadzor», President of the International Circassian Association Khauti Khazritovich Sokhrokov; Chairman of the Board of the Association «Council of Municipal Formations of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic» Maxim Azmatgerievich Panagov; as well as university staff — d. phil. Doctor of Science, Professor, Head of the Department of Russian Language and General Linguistics of KBSU Svetlana Bashiyeva, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Physics of Nanosystems Alexey Savintsev, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Ethnology, History of the Peoples of the KBR and Journalism of KBSU Kashif Unezhev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Electronics and Digital Information Technologies of KBSU Ruslan Teshev.

Muslim Tamazov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Director of the Social and Humanitarian Institute of KBSU, spoke about the significant milestones in the life and work of Valery Mukhamedovich Kokov, emphasizing that in the most difficult years for the country and our republic (early 1990s) his wise decisions largely determined the further peaceful development of Kabardino-Balkaria. «Thus, at the session of the Supreme Soviet of the KBASSR, the deputies, under the influence of euphoria caused by the «parade of sovereignties», almost unanimously voted for the division of Kabarda and Balkaria. The chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Kokov, was categorically opposed. He ended his speech like this: «I think today we have turned not the best page in the history of Kabardino-Balkaria.» Later, the Supreme Council of the KBR will cancel the adopted resolution. Valery Kokov did everything possible for the complete rehabilitation of the Balkar people. He initiated a package of normative legal acts for the rehabilitation of victims of political repression. The merit of Valery Mukhamedovich was the apology to the Balkar people, which President Yeltsin brought on the day of the 50th anniversary of the deportation of the Balkar people. In January 1992, residents of the republic elected Valery Kokov as their president. On January 12, 1997 — for a second term, and in January 2002 — for a third, which speaks of a high level of people’s trust in their leader», — stressed the director of the State Property Management Committee of the KBSU.

Boris Zumakulov recalled V.M.Kokov as an internationalist and a reliable friend with whom he had a chance to communicate and work for four decades. It was Valery Kokov who initiated the establishment of the Day of Revival of the Balkar People. On the day of the holiday, he expressed his attitude towards the Balkars as a fraternal people, whose history is inextricably linked with the Kabardian and Russian peoples, — said the Commissioner for Human Rights in the KBR. Lyudmila Fedchenko drew the attention of those present to the fact that Valery Kokov was not only the first president of the KBR, but also the deputy chairman of the Federation Council and enjoyed great authority in this position. The Russian government treated Kabardino-Balkaria very well, because it appreciated Valery Kokov for his wisdom, flexibility and endless love for his people. In the formation of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic within the Russian Federation, a huge role belongs to him, — said the Deputy Chairman of the Public Chamber of the KBR.

According to ICA President Khauti Sokhrokov, young people should know people who have contributed to the preservation and development of the republic. Thanks to the wisdom, perspicacity, diplomatic gift of Valery Kokov, in the most dramatic period of modern Russian history, when the country’s state system was undergoing transformation, there was no prolonged armed confrontation in our republic, as happened in some other regions. The inhabitants of the republic are grateful to their leader for the preservation of peace, interethnic harmony, the unity of the republic’s territory, which has become the basis of today’s economic transformations and social achievements of the region. Valery Kokov knew how to listen and correctly place accents. Thus, during an unauthorized rally on the square near the Government House in 1991, he took responsibility for maintaining peace in the republic. By the way, at the meeting of the KBR Government members, the only one who opposed the dispersal of the rally was Yuri Altudov. Now Yuri Kambulatovich heads the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Berbekov, and at that time he served as deputy chairman of the republican government. Social tension was removed by peaceful, diplomatic methods, — said Hauti Sokhrokov. The ICA President also noted that Valery Kokov was very fond of our university: «This is not only an institution where they receive education, it is a temple of culture, where we communicate with the entire world science, he believed.» Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Svetlana Bashieva told about how the first President of the KBR interacted with KBSU: the 1990s were difficult not only for the republic, but also for the education system. During these years, Valery Mukhamedovich often came to our university both as a president and as a grateful graduate of KBSU. As unemployment began, the head of the region ordered that every applicant who passed the exam for a positive mark should be enrolled in the university. This was long before the USE was introduced. In August 1995, a lyceum for gifted children was opened at KBSU. In 1996, the university began to hold the «Student Spring in the North Caucasus» festival, and Valery Mukhamedovich communicated with students with interest. With his support, an Internet center was opened at the university. Professor of physics Alexei Savintsev spoke about how Valery Kokov did not let the Baksan Neutrino Observatory be sold out and suggested that one of the KBSU auditoriums be named after the first President of the KBR. KBSU professor, a specialist in the history of KBR Kashif Unezhev noted that the time has come to prepare and publish a collection of memoirs about a bright man and talented politician Valeria Kokov. Ruslan Teshev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, spoke about the active participation of the first President of the KBR in the life of the university and the annual financial support of the teaching staff from the personal fund. Valery Mukhamedovich was very worried about the situation in the neighboring regions. For example, in the city of Terek, 14 meetings were held to resolve the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. The President of our republic held many meetings with the leaders of Chechnya and Dagestan. Ensuring peace in the North Caucasus is a great merit of Valery Kokov, — said Maxim Panagov. He also recalled a typical case when, during the next visit of the head of the region to the Tersk District, workers who were engaged in landscaping the territory thanked Valery Mukhamedovich for maintaining peace in the republic, for the fact that they have in their hands peaceful tools, and not military weapons. The meeting participants also noted that, a graduate of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University, Valery Kokov paid close attention to the development of higher education in the republic, actively contributed to the formation of an agromeliorative institute, created on the basis of the agricultural faculty and the agricultural mechanization faculty of KBSU. Today the Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University proudly bears the name of Valery Mukhamedovich Kokov. These days, the friendly staff of the Agrarian University celebrates the 40th anniversary of the founding of the university. We sincerely congratulate our colleagues and wish them further major scientific achievements, creative talented students, the implementation of new educational projects that are significant for the republic, — the wishes of the participants of the extended meeting of the Academic Council of KBSU were voiced.

Guests, staff and students of the university examined the exposition dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of V.M. Kokov, which included storage items from the fund of the university museum — photographs, books and other materials telling about the participation of the first President of the KBR in the development of KBSU, about his communication with staff and students. On the screens of the museum these days, films about Valery Mukhamedovich Kokov are broadcast.