Childhood and studies
Ahmad bey Pepinov was born on 11 September 1893 in the village of Bolajur, Akhaltsikhe district. He finished the Tiflis Gymnasium in 1913 and the law faculty of Moscow University in 1918.
1918–1920
He was elected a deputy of the Muslim faction of the Transcaucasian Sejm, sat on the Azerbaijani National Council and took part in the proclamation of independence on 28 May 1918. In parliament he represented the Muslim Socialist Bloc.
From 22 December 1919 to 1 April 1920 he was Minister of Agriculture in the cabinet of Nasib bey Yusifbeyli. He helped draft press laws and took part in founding Baku State University in 1919.
Soviet years and death
After the Soviet takeover he directed cultural and educational affairs in the government of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1930 he moved to Ulyanovsk, then to Alma-Ata; from 1934 he was Deputy People’s Commissar of Education of the Kazakh SSR. He was shot in Alma-Ata on 3 July 1938.
Pen name
In the Moscow press he signed himself “Ahmad Jovdat from Akhalkalaki”.