proceeds from Pope John Paul II's book sales and foreign donations. Poles' role in Azerbaijan's history The first Polish social organizations in Azerbaijan were created at the beginning of the twentieth century in Baku. Many Poles were living in Azerbaijan at that time. Even earlier, in the 19th century, the Poles were visiting Azerbaijan for various reasons such as political exiles, the tsarist army soldiers recruited from the Polish Kingdom, as well as Poles looking for a good job, especially during the dynamic development of Baku city - the so-called oil boom at the beginning twentieth century. There was then in Baku several Polish organizations - the Council of Polish Organisations, Association "Polish House", the Polish Society of Mutual Aid, "Focus", Polish Benevolent Society, and even the Union of Polish Youth. The Poles have made a major contribution to economic development, scientific, cultural, education areas of the country. There were doctors, teachers, and military engineers among them. The largest contribution to the economic development of Azerbaijan has made by Witold Zglenicki. He was a pioneer engineer Witold sourcing crude oil from the seabed, has developed a project life of these deposits and the invention was of great importance for further economic development in Azerbaijan. He also sponsored a foundation for the development of Polish culture and science which brought him the reputation as the "Polish Nobel". In Azerbaijan, prominent scholars of Polish origin also lived who have made a major contribution to the scientific and technical development. In 1919 Baku State University was established, which was of great importance for the overall development of the whole scientific system in a country that was backward at that time. Among the lecturers there were many professors of Polish origin. In the medical field - prof. Paul Zdrodowski (microbiology), prof. Uszyński, Malinowski, Różanowski, Berłacki, Mizernicki, Zamuchowski, in the social sciences - prof. Alexander Makowielski, Wsewołod Bronisław Tomaszewski, Aleksander Selichanowicz, M. Dabrowski, M. Downar-Zapolski, Associate Professor P. Piłaszewski, in other fields - prof. K. Krasuski (chemistry), Associate Professor P. Michalewski (geophysics) were among them. Stanislaw Despot-Zenovich, who made a great deal for the improvement of the city was Mayor of Baku 16 years (1878–1894). Paul Potocki (1879–1932) was the first who applied the technique of draining the sea bottom for oil in the filling of the bay Bibiheybət. The first rector of the Baku Polytechnic Institute, was Professor Nicholas Dombrowski. In Baku, proceeded musical