Azerbaijan

For the region in northwest Iran, see Iranian Azerbaijan

Azərbaycan Respublikası Republic of Azerbaijan
Flag Coat of arms of Azerbaijan Coat of arms
Motto: None
Anthem: Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Himni
Capital and largest city	Baku
Official languages	Azerbaijani
Government	Representative democracy
Independence
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2005 estimate	7,911,974 (91st)
• 2000 census	N/A
GDP (PPP)	2004 estimate
• Total	$37,841,000,000 (87th)
• Per capita	$4,500 (112th)
HDI (2003)	0.729 high (101st)
Currency	Manat (AZN)
Time zone	UTC+4
• Summer (DST)	UTC+5
Calling code	994
ISO 3166 code	AZ
Internet TLD	.az

The Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan or Azərbaycan Respublikası) is a country in the Caucasus, at the crossroads of Europe and Southwest Asia, with a coast on the Caspian Sea. It has frontiers with Russia in the north, Georgia in the northwest, Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the west, and Iran in the south. The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (it is an exclave of Azerbaijan because it is historically Armenian territory put under Azeri administration during Soviet rule) borders Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest.

Azerbaijan is a secular state, and has been a member of the Council of Europe since 2001. A majority of the population are Shi'a Muslim and of Western Turkic descent, known as Azerbaijanis, or simply Azeris. The country is formally an emerging democracy, however with strong authoritarian rule.

Etymology

There are several hypotheses regarding the origins of the name "Azerbaijan." The most common theory is that it is derived from "Atropatan." Atropat was the satrap at the time of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, and gained independence after Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenids. The region was known as Media Atropatia or Atropatene at the time.

There are also alternative opinions that the term is a slight Turkification of Azarbaijan, in turn an Arabicized version of the original Persian name Âzarâbâdagân, made up of âzar+âbadag+ân (âzar=fire; âbâdag=cultivated area; ân=suffix of pluralization); that it traditionally means "the land of eternal flames" or "the land of fire", which probably implies Zoroastrian fire temples in this land. Some Azeri historians contend that the name is made up of four Azerbaijani components: az+er+bay+can, which means "the land of the brave Az people" or "an elevated place for the wealthy and exalted."

Historically, a large part of the territory of the present-day Azerbaijan Republic has been called Arran, named after Arran, a legendary founder of Caucasian Albania. However, the precise location identified by this name has shifted somewhat over time, currently referring to the lowland Karabakh plains situated between the Kura and Araks rivers.

Some opponents of the name Azerbaijan assert that it is anachronistic to use it in a historical context before 1918, because, they say, the term was first introduced by the national intelligentsia in early 20th century and later was endorsed by the Bolsheviks, with intention of claiming the northern province of Persia. To substantiate this claim they state that until the early 20th century the population of present-day Azerbaijan had no clear ethnic identification and referred to themselves primarily as "Muslims."

History

Main article: History of Azerbaijan

The earliest known inhabitants of what is today Azerbaijan were the Caucasian Albanians, a Caucasian-speaking people and the Armenians, who appear to have been in the region prior to the host of peoples who would eventually invade the Caucasus. Historically Azerbaijan has been inhabited by a variety of peoples, including Armenians, Persians, Romans, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Greek Empire, and Russians.

The first state to emerge in the territory of present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was Mannae in the 9th century BC, lasting until 616 BC when it was overthrown by the Medes. The satrapies of Atropatene and Caucasian Albania were established in the 4th century BC and included the approximate territories of present-day Azerbaijan and southern parts of Dagestan.

Islam spread rapidly in Azerbaijan following the Arab conquests in the 7th–8th centuries. After the power of the Arab Khalifate waned, several semi-independent states have been formed, the Shirvanshah kingdom being one of them. In the 11th century, the conquering Seljuk Turks became the dominant force in Azerbaijan and laid the ethnic foundation of contemporary Azerbaijanis or Azeri Turks. In the 13–14th centuries, the country experienced Mongol-Tatar invasions.

Azerbaijan was part of the Safavid state in 15th–18th centuries. It also underwent a brief period of feudal fragmentation in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries, and consisted of independent khanates. Following the two wars between the Qajar dynasty of Persia and the Russian Empire, Azerbaijan was acquired by Russia through the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828.

After the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, Azerbaijan declared independence and established the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. This marked the first time in history that a sovereign nation called Azerbaijan came to exist. This first republic lasted only two years, from 1918 to 1920, before the Soviet Red Army invaded Azerbaijan. Subsequently, Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union, after which the Armenian territories of Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabagh were put under the administration of Soviet Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan re-established its independence upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Simultaneously, the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union as well, in conformance with the Soviet laws on secession from the U.S.S.R. Notwithstanding the legal right of Nagorno-Karabagh to declare its independence and the fact that Nagorno-Karabagh had never been a part of an independent Azerbaijani republic, Azerbaijan declared war against the separatist republic to reinstate Azerbaijan's "territorial integrity". Despite some initial losses, the Nagorno-Karabagh army was successful in defending its territory and delivered a crushing defeat to Azerbaijan, which lost control of 16% of territory it had occupied during the Soviet era.

Despite a cease-fire in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia and refuses to recognize the de-jure independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which enjoys de-facto independence. Azerbaijan also refuses to permanently resettle about half a million internally displaced persons caused by the conflict fearing that it would assert that Azerbaijan has abandoned its claim to control over the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Azerbaijan

File:Ilham aliyev.jpg

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a presidential republic. The head of state and head of government are separate from the country’s law-making body. The people elect the president for a five-year term of office. The president appoints all cabinet-level government administrators. A fifty-member national assembly makes the country’s laws. The people of Azerbaijan elect the National Assembly. Azerbaijan has universal suffrage above the age of eighteen.

After the presidential elections of October 15, 2003, an official release of the Central Election Committee (CEC) gave Isa Gambar — leader of the largest opposition bloc, Bizim Azerbaycan ("Our Azerbaijan") — 14% percent of the electorate and the second place in election. Third, with 3.6%, came Lala Shevket Hajiyeva, leader of the National Unity Movement, the first woman to run in presidential election in Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, Human Rights Watch and other international organizations, as well as local independent political and NGOs voiced concern about observed vote rigging and a badly flawed counting process.

Several independent local and international organizations that had been observing and monitoring the election directly or indirectly declared Isa Gambar winner in the 15 October election. Another view shared by many international organisations is that in reality a second tour of voting should have taken place between the two opposition candidates Isa Gambar and Lala Shevket.

• Human Rights Watch commented on these elections: "Human Rights Watch research found that the government has heavily intervened in the campaigning process in favor of Prime Minister Ilham Aliev, son of current President Heidar Aliev. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote. As the elections draw nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of Ilham Aliev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events. In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours—on one occasion, even declaring Sunday a workday—to prevent participation in opposition rallies." (source: HTML format)

• OSCE’s final report (source: HTML format or PDF format)

Azerbaijan held parliamentary elections on Sunday, 6 November 2005.

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is divided into:

• 59 raions (rayonlar; rayon – singular),
• 11 cities (şəhərlər; şəhər – singular),
• 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika), which itself is divided into:
  • 7 raions
  • 1 city

Geography

Map of Azerbaijan

Main article: Geography of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has an arid climate, except in the southeast. Temperatures vary by season. In the southeast lowland, temperatures average 6°C (43°F) in the winter and 26°C (80°F) in the summer — though daily maxima typically reach 32°C (89°F). In the northern and western mountain ranges, temperatures average 12°C (55°F) in the summer and –9°C (20°F) in the winter.

Annual rainfall over most of the country varies from 200 to 400 millimetres (8 to 16 in) and is generally lowest in the northeast. In the far southeast, however, the climate is much moister and annual rainfall can be as high as 1300 millimetres (51 in). For most of the country, the wettest periods are in spring and autumn, with summers being the driest.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Azerbaijan

The economy is largely based on industry. Industries include machine manufacture, petroleum and other mining, petroleum refining, textile production, and chemical processing. Agriculture accounts for one-third of Azerbaijan’s economy. Most of the nation’s farms are irrigated. In the lowlands, farmers grow such crops as cotton, fruit, grain, tea, tobacco, and many types of vegetables. Silkworms are raised for the production of natural silk for the clothing industry. Azerbaijan’s herders raise cattle, domestic sheep and goats near the mountain ranges. Seafood, including caviar and fish are caught in the nearby Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan has a highly dynamic economy, mainly because of oil, and has a GDP growth rate of up to 11% a year.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has population of roughly 7,911,974 (July 2005 est.), 90.6% of whom are ethnic Azerbaijani (also called Azeris; 1999 census figures). Azeris also form about 24% of the population of Iran, predominating in the northern regions of the country. Most of Armenia’s Azeri minority have left since independence and the Nagorno-Karabakh war. The second largest ethnic group are Russians, who now form roughly 1.8% of the population, most having emigrated since independence. The Talysh, an Iranian people, predominate in the southernmost regions of the country around the Talysh mountains and across the border into Iran. Some people argue that the number of Talysh is greater than officially recorded, as many of them are counted as Azerbaijanis. Numerous 'Dagestani' peoples live around the border with Dagestan. The main peoples are the Lezgis, Avar and the Tsakhur. Smaller groups include the Budukh, Udi, Kryts and Khinalug/Ketsh around the village of Xinaliq. Around the town of Quba in the north live the Tats, also known as the Mountain Jews, who are also to be found in Dagestan. Many Tats have emigrated to Israel in recent years, though this trend has slowed and even reversed more recently. The country’s large Armenian population mostly fled to Armenia and to other countries with the beginning of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. During the same period, Azerbaijan also received a large influx of Azerbaijanis fleeing Armenia and later Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent provinces occupied by the Armenians. Almost all of Azerbaijan’s Armenians now live in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan also contains numerous smaller groups, such as Kurds, Georgians, Tatars and Ukrainians.

Most Azerbaijanis (about 60–70%) are Twelver Shia Muslim. Other religions or beliefs that are followed by many in the country are the orthodox Sunni Islam, the Armenian Apostolic Church (in Karabakh), the Russian Orthodox Church, and various other Christian and Muslim sects. The Tat in Quba, as well as several thousand Ashkenazim Jews in Baku, follow Judaism. Adherence to religious dogmas is nominal for the majority of the population and attitudes are secular. Traditionally, villages around Baku and the Lenkoran region are considered stronghold of Shi‘ism, and in some northern regions populated by Sunni Dagestani people, the Salafi sect has gained a following. Folk Islam is widely practiced, but an organized Sufi movement is absent.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Azerbaijan

The official language of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani, a member of the Oguz subdivision of the Turkic language family, and is spoken by around 95% of the republic’s population, as well as about a third of the population of Iran. Its closest relatives in language are Turkish and Turkmen. As a result of the language policy of the Soviet Union, Russian is also commonly spoken as a second language among the urbane. There are also speakers of Persian and Kurdish in the state. Azerbaijan’s culture has long cultural roots with Iran and Iranian peoples.

• Music of Azerbaijan
• Islam in Azerbaijan
• Azerbaijani literature

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Azerbaijan
• Transportation in Azerbaijan
• Military of Azerbaijan
• Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
• Public holidays in Azerbaijan
• List of Azerbaijanis
• Scout Association of Azerbaijan
• Nagorno-Karabakh

References

• Forrest, Brett (Nov. 28, 2005). "Over a Barrel in Baku". Fortune, pp. 54–60.

External links

• CIA World Factbook: Azerbaijan
• BBC Country Profile: Azerbaijan
• Open Directory Project: Azerbaijan directory category
• Library of Congress Portals to the World: Azerbaijan directory category
• Azerbaijan from A to Z
• Azerbaijan International world's largest website about Azerbaijan
• Encyclopedia of Nations — Azerbaijan
• Democratic Youth Movement New Idea
• Virtual Azerbaijan Republic
• Caucaz.com: Weekly online magazine publishing articles and reports about Azerbaijan and South Caucasus. Available in English and French.
• Baku Today
• Independent newspaper Azadliq
• State Statistical Committee of the Azerbaijan Republic
• United Nations Office in Azerbaijan with a country report
• IFEX: Press Freedom in Azerbaijan