Moscow: Alla Akhundova, an acclaimed screenwriter, poet, and translator recognized for her significant contributions to Azerbaijani cinema and literature, has died, APA reports. Abuzar Baghirov, head of the Moscow branch of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers, confirmed her death to APA.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Akhundova was born in Moscow in 1939 and graduated from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in 1964. She furthered her education by completing the screenwriting department of the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors in 1967. Her screenwriting work includes the well-known Azerbaijani film "Shared Bread (Sharikli Chorak)," which depicts the lives of children in Baku during World War II. Additionally, she was the screenwriter for the Azerbaijani film "Like Apple, Like Apple (Alma Almaya Banzar)."

Akhundova's contributions to cinema earned her the State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1970, and in 1988, she received the honorary title of Honored Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR. Since 2003, she had also been a recipient of an individual presidential pension in Azerbaijan. In addition to her cinematic achievements, Akhundova translated works by prominent Azerbaijani literary figures into Russian, broadening the reach of Azerbaijani literature to a Russian-speaking audience.

Prominent Russian literary critic Stanislav Lesnovsky identified Akhundova in the 1970s as one of the three leading figures of contemporary women's poetry in the Soviet Union. Her legacy in both the literary and cinematic fields continues to influence and inspire future generations.