AZERBAIJAN
[internet resources]

Located in the Caucasus, on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, the modern Republic of Azerbaijan occupies a crossroads between East and West. The largest country of the South Caucasus, it is home, along with ethnic Azeris, to more than 70 different ethnic groups, including Kurds, Jews, Russians, Armenians, Lezghis and many others. Located at the heart of ancient civilizations, Azerbaijan has been invaded and fought over by many empires and rulers, including Alexander the Great, the Roman general Pompey, the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, and Russia’s Peter the Great.

Since the mid – 19th century the oil industry has been flourishing in Azerbaijan. The first industrial oil well was drilled in 1848. In the late 19^th - early 20^th centuries, Baku was producing 95% of the Russian Empire’s and about 50% of the world's oil production. Westerners such as the Nobels and Rotchshilds were among the oil magnates of Baku. It was also at that time that the Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayov wrote his “Leyli and Majnun,” the first opera in the Muslim world.

When the Czar’s rule ended in Russia at the end of World War I, Azerbaijan seized the opportunity to declare its independence. On May 28, 1918 - a date still celebrated today as the Republic Day - the Azerbaijani people established their own independent state. Within two years of declaring independence, however, Russia again asserted its rule over Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union and for the next 70 years, was governed under Communist rule.

On August 30, 1991, Azerbaijan’s Parliament adopted the Declaration on the Restoration of the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and on October 18, 1991, the Constitutional Act on the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan was approved.

November 1991 marked the beginning of international recognition of Azerbaijan’s independence. In 1992, the country became a member of the United Nations and Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now known as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Information and maps above taken from Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Fact Book. Unless otherwise specified, images sourced from Wikimedia Commons.