chemistry

Izzet Orujova

Izzet Orujova is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Izzet Orujova rather than just read about it. In short: Izzet Khanim Mirzaaga Orujova (Azerbaijani: İzzət Xanım Mirzəağa Orucova; 16 September 1909 – 22 April 1983) was an Azerbaijani chemist and actress. She was the first Azerbaijani film actress, starring in the film Sevil (1929), and an important figure in the Azerbaijani women's rights movement for her portrayal of a liberated young woman in the film.

Key takeaways

Izzet Orujova belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Izzet Orujova to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Izzet Orujova from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Izzet Khanim Mirzaaga Orujova (Azerbaijani: İzzət Xanım Mirzəağa Orucova; 16 September 1909 – 22 April 1983) was an Azerbaijani chemist and actress. She was the first Azerbaijani film actress, starring in the film Sevil (1929), and an important figure in the Azerbaijani women's rights movement for her portrayal of a liberated young woman in the film. She later enjoyed a distinguished academic career, being one of the first female chemistry students in Azerbaijan and the country's first female oil engineer. Her research on improving motor oils was important to the war effort of the Soviet Union in World War II and earned her the Order of the Badge of Honour. Throughout her scientific career she authored hundreds of works, held talks internationally, and was awarded numerous other awards.

Early life Izzet Khanim Mirza-Age Orujova was born in Baku on 16 September 1909. Orujova's father was a gardener named Mirza Agha. She was the eldest of five children and had sisters and brothers.

Acting

At the age of 19, Orujova was noticed while on a walk in Baku by film director Ismail Idayatzadeh and playwright Jafar Jabbarly. At the time, Idayatzadeh and Jabbarly were searching for actresses suitable for portraying the main role in the film Sevil (1929), based on a play of the same name by Jabbarly. Sevil is about themes such as freedom and equality, the struggle for women's rights, and the disappearance of the old world and its traditional customs. The main character in the film was an Azerbaijani girl named Sevil, who is kicked out by her husband Balash and takes fate in her own hands, studying in Moscow and removing her hijab as a statement of liberation and emancipation. Although her husband Balash attempts to return to Sevil after she returns from Moscow, she refuses him after having realised that she does not need him. Though Azerbaijani women had long not been allowed to appear in films and there were already several Armenian girls considered for the role, Jabbarly was adamant that an Azerbaijani girl had to play the role, both to stay true to his source material and as a bold challenge to society. The challenge was made especially daunting since Orujova filmed without a hijab. To ensure her safety, Jabbarly personally drove Orujova to and from filming. Although Orujova's father at first forbade her from appearing in the film, he was convinced after repeated meetings with Idayatzadeh and Jabbarly. Following the filming of Sevil, Orujova and her sisters were among the first Azerbaijani women to remove their hijab. The premiere of the film, which was attended by Orujova's entire family, convinced more women to throw off their hijab, including Orujova's mother. Orujova was the first Azerbaijani film actress and Sevil was the first Azerbaijani film with sound. Orujova's performance as a liberated young woman had a significant impact on the evolving women's rights movements in the country. After the premiere of Sevil on 3 September 1929, Orujova's successful performance in the film inspired Jabbarly to write a further film script with her in mind for the main role, Almaz. The death of Jabbarly in 1934 meant that he was not involved in the film's production. Almaz was eventually filmed and released in 1936, produced by Jabbarly's friends and with Orujova starring in the film. In Almaz, Orujova portrays the teacher Almaz who arrives in a village and struggles with the ignorance and illiteracy of the locals.

Academic career Orujova was one of the first female students of chemistry in Azerbaijan and the country's first female oil engineer. While a student, she also worked as a typist to help support her family. In 1932, Orujova graduated from the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University in Baku as a petrochemical technologist. As a scientist, Orujova developed new methods for producing oil additives, which improved the quality of motor oils. She worked at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University from 1932 to 1959. Her improvements to motor oils were important for the war effort of the Soviet Union in World War II and she worked continuously on oils throughout the war. Orujova defended her doctoral thesis in 1947, becoming a Doctor of Technical Sciences. From 1959 to 1967, she worked as a laboratory director at the Institute of Petrochemical Processes in Baku. In 1972 Orujova became a professor and the director of the Institute of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. She was one of the first Azerbaijani women to work as an academic at the Academy of the Sciences, working there until 1971. From 1971 to 1983 she worked as the head of the additive composition preparation laboratory at the Institute of Additive Chemistry. As a scientist, Orujova represented chemistry in Azerbaijan internationally and gave talks in countries such as Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Canada. She was a chairman of the German-Azerbaijani Friendship Society and was on the editorial board of the Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia (1976–1987). In total, she authored more than 300 scientific works. Orujova was awarded with the State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1970. Throughout her scientific career she was awarded numerous other awards, including the Order of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and the Order of the Badge of Honour. The Badge of Honour was awarded to her for her contributions to the Soviet war effort in World War II.

Personal life Orujova's husband, Movsum Ismayilzade, was arrested by the Bolsheviks as an enemy of the people in 1937 and only narrowly avoided execution. He divorced Orujova in anticipation of his arrest to save her from repressions, which could have included exile to Siberia. After having been forced into exile for several years, Ismayilzade was allowed to return to Azerbaijan but he was forbidden from seeing Orujova and from living in Baku. As a consequence, Orujova raised their son, Yilmaz, alone. Orujova died in Baku on 22 April 1983 at the age of 73. The additive composition preparation laboratory at the Institute of Additive Chemistry was renamed in her honour. On 7 October 2009 a memorial evening was hosted in Orujova's honor at the Museum Centre of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to mark the 100th anniversary of her birth. She may have been the basis of the Statue of a Liberated Woman in Baku, which was inspired by Sevil.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Izzet Orujova

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Izzet Orujova claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Izzet Orujova before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Izzet Orujova ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Izzet Orujova

In research: Izzet Orujova appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Izzet Orujova in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Izzet Orujova is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1909 births, 1983 deaths, 20th-century Azerbaijani actresses, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Izzet Orujova outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Izzet Orujova” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Izzet Orujova in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Izzet Orujova means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Izzet Orujova out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Izzet Orujova in simple terms?

Why does Izzet Orujova matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Izzet Orujova?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Izzet Orujova.