Murtuza Mukhtarov

Murtuza Mukhtarov (Azerbaijani: Murtuza Muxtarov; 1857? – April 1920) was an Azerbaijani oil industrialist and millionaire who built the Mukhtarov Palace in Baku and the Mukhtarov Mosque in Vladikavkaz. He was born into a poor family in a village of Amirjan near Baku. Mukhtarov managed to become one of the most reputable drilling experts in Baku through his ability and many years of experience. He set up his own drilling company in 1890 and then diversified into oil production. The company specialized in manufacturing machinery for derricks and in drilling oil wells. He was the author of several patents on drilling equipment - unique feat amongst oil industrialists of the time.

A business-savvy and enterprising millionaire, he funded schools and built mosques in Baku and the surrounding areas. Together with his wife, he sponsored the young singer Fatma Mukhtarova, who would later become a star of the Baku opera stage. In 1911–1912, he had a magnificent Gothic Revival mansion built for his wife, Liza Mukhtarova, designed by architect Józef Plośko. This residence, a celebrated example of Baku’s oil boom architecture, now functions as the Palace of Marriage Registrations. Mukhtarov committed suicide in his residence on April 28, 1920, after killing several Red Army soldiers during the Bolshevik takeover of Azerbaijan.