AZERBAIJAN

also spelled Azerbaidzhan, officially Azerbaijani Republic, Azerbaijani Azrbayjan Respublikasi, country of eastern Transcaucasia. Occupying an area that fringes the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains, it is bounded on the north by Russia, on the east by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Iran, on the west by Armenia, and on the northwest by Georgia. The exclave of Naxivan (Nakhichevan) is located southwest of Azerbaijan proper, bounded by Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. Azerbaijan includes within its borders the predominantly Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which from 1988 was the focus of intense conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Azerbaijan covers an area of 33,400 square miles (86,600 square kilometres). Its capital is the ancient city of Baku (Baki), whose harbour is the best on the Caspian Sea. In addition to its variegated and often strikingly beautiful terrain, Azerbaijan offers a blend of traditions and modern development. The proud and ancient people of its remoter areas retain many distinctive folk traditions, but the lives of its inhabitants have been much influenced by accelerating modernization characterized by industrialization, the development of power resources, and the growth of the cities, in which more than half the people now live. Industry dominates the economy, and more diversified pursuits have supplemented the exploitation of oil, of which Azerbaijan was the world's leading producer at the beginning of the 20th century. Fine horses and caviar continue as some of the more distinctive traditional exports of the republic. Azerbaijan was an independent nation from 1918 to 1920 but was then incorporated into the Soviet Union. It became a constituent (union) republic in 1936. Azerbaijan declared sovereignty on Sept. 23, 1989, and independence Aug. 30, 1991. also spelled Azerbaidzhan, officially Azerbaijani Republic, Azerbaijani Azrbaycan Respublikasi a country of eastern Transcaucasia, formerly a union republic of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan lies on the southeastern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains and against the Caspian Sea to the east. Its area includes the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and the geographically detached region of Nakhichevan. Its capital city is Baku (Baki). Azerbaijan is the easternmost of the three countries (the others are Armenia and Georgia) that occupy the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains. To the south of Azerbaijan lies the Iranian region of Azerbaijan. Area 33,400 square miles (86,600 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 7,424,000. also spelled Azarbaijan, or Azarbayjan, Persian Azarbayjan, geographic region that comprises the extreme northwestern portion of Iran. It is bounded on the north by the Aras River, which separates it from independent Azerbaijan and Armenia; on the east by the Iranian region of Gilan and the Caspian Sea; on the south by the Iranian regions of Zanjan and Kordestan; and on the west by Iraq and Turkey. Azerbaijan is about 40,000 square miles (100,000 square km) in area. Iranian Azerbaijan was a centre of several ancient civilizations. It formed part of Urartu and later of Media. In the 4th century BC it was conquered by Alexander the Great and was named Atropatene after one of Alexander's generals, Atropates, who established a small kingdom there. The area returned to Persian (Iranian) rule under the Sasanians in the 3rd century AD. The Arabs controlled Azerbaijan from the 7th century until Turkish nomads overran it in the 11th century. Thenceforth the inhabitants of the region were Turkish speakers. The region was overrun by the Mongols in the 13th century, and, under the ruler Hleg, Azerbaijan became the centre of a Mongol empire extending from Syria on the west to the Oxus River (now Amu Darya) on the east. Tabriz, the region's largest city, was the capital of this empire and became a centre of cultural and commercial life. Tabriz was subsequently the capital of the Turkman dynasties of the Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu (13781502). In the early 16th century Azerbaijan was the cradle of the Safavid dynasty, and subsequently the area was fought over by the Ottoman Turks and the Iranians until Nadir Shah expelled the Turks in the 1740s. During the 18th century the Russians gradually encroached on the area, but the Iranians managed to retain control. In the early 20th century Azerbaijan was the cradle of the revolutionary movement that gave Iran its constitution in 1906. The area was briefly occupied by the Turks in World War I and was held by the Soviet Union during World War II. In 1945 the Soviets set up the short-lived Kurdish Republic in western Azerbaijan and the communist-dominated Sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan in western Azerbaijan, but Iranian forces regained control of the region in 194647 once the Soviet armed forces had withdrawn back across their border. Iranian Azerbaijan is composed of high plateaus with elevations from 5,000 to 6,000 feet (1,500 to 1,800 m) and lower-lying depressions averaging from 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900 to 1,500 m) in elevation. The eastern part of the Zagros Mountains run north-south through Azerbaijan, and the overall effect is of a stair-step topography, with fault scarps defining a number of basins and lowland depressions. Large volcanic cones, such as Sabalan (15,787 feet ) and Sahand (12,172 feet ), dot the high plateau, and the region is subject to earthquakes. Rainfall is relatively heavy over much of the plateau, and perennial streams have cut gorgelike valleys in places. The average annual precipitation varies from 12 to 35 inches (300 to 900 mm). Azerbaijan is thus one of the few regions in Iran that receives enough rainfall to permit farming without the use of irrigation. The major rivers are the Aras in the north, with its tributary, the Qareh Su; the Qezel Owzan in the east, with its tributaries, the Qaranqu and Aidughmish; and the Zarrineh (Jaghatu). The climate is extreme, with hot, dry summers alternating with cold, snowy winters. In western Azerbaijan is Lake Urmia, a shallow, highly saline lake that covers anywhere from 1,750 to 2,300 square miles (4,500 to 6,000 square km), depending on the season. The population consists mainly of Azeri-speaking Turks who use an Arabic script and are Shi'ite Muslims. There are also some Kurds and Armenians. The Kurds are Sunnites, and the Armenians are Christians. Agriculture is the principal occupation of the people. The most fertile agricultural lands are around Lake Urmia. Crops include barley, wheat, rice, indigo plants, potatoes, sugar beets, walnuts, almonds, fruits, and vegetables. Sheep and goats are also raised. Industries, concentrated mainly in Tabriz, produce tractors, factory machinery, cement, textiles, electrical equipment and tools, animal fodder, turbines, motorcycles, clocks and watches, processed foods, and agricultural implements. Elsewhere in the region are sugar mills, textile mills, and food-processing plants. Coarse carpets and rugs are woven, and metalware is produced on a small scale. Copper, arsenic, kaolin, coal, salt, lead, and building stone are mined. A network of roads links the region's main cities, including Tabriz, Orumiyeh, Ardabil, Mahabad, and Maragheh, with each other, and an oil pipeline runs from Tabriz to Tehran. Additional reading The geography, economy, culture, and history of the region are explored in Glenn E. Curtis (ed.), Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Country Studies (1995). The Turkic-speaking Shi'ite Muslims of Azerbaijan are discussed in Shirin Akiner, Islamic Peoples of the Soviet Union, 2nd ed. (1986). A broad analysis of the social and political situation is presented in Audrey L. Altstadt, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule (1992). The incorporation of the Azerbaijani region into the Russian Empire as a result of the wars between Russia and the native peoples of the Caucasus is studied in Muriel Atkin, Russia and Iran, 17801828 (1980); and John F. Baddeley, The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus (1908, reprinted 1969). The prerevolutionary years are surveyed in Jeyhoun Bey Hajibeyli, The Origins of the National Press in Azerbaijan, The Asiatic Review, 26:757765 (1930). Coverage of the revolutionary years is offered in Firuz Kazemzadeh, The Struggle for Transcaucasia, 19171921 (1951, reprinted 1981); and Richard Pipes, The Formation of the Soviet Union: Communism and Nationalism, 19171923, rev. ed. (1964); and the informative article by Richard G. Hovanissian, The Armeno-Azerbaijani Conflict over Mountainous Karabagh, 19181919, The Armenian Review, 24(2):339 (Summer 1971). Gerald J. Libaridian (ed.), The Karabagh File: Documents and Facts on the Region of Mountainous Karabagh, 19181988 (1988), provides documentary background to the conflict and in particular to the decision to attach the region first to Armenia and then to Azerbaijan. Ronald Grigor Suny, The Baku Commune, 19171918: Class and Nationality in the Russian Revolution (1972), examines the labour and nationalist movements during the first years of revolution. Tadeusz Swietochowski, Russian Azerbaijan, 19051920: The Shaping of National Identity in a Muslim Community (1985), is a major study of the intellectual and social sources of national identity and nationalism, with the principal focus on the pre-Soviet period and the impact of Russian conquest on the society, economy, and culture. G. Melvyn Howe Ronald Grigor Suny Administration and social conditions Government Azerbaijan has not adopted a new constitution to replace its 1978 Soviet-era constitution, although this document has been revised or superseded by the 1991 Act of Independence and by presidential and parliamentary decree. The head of state is a directly elected president, whose authority was expanded in 1993. The 450-member Supreme Soviet was abolished in 1992 and replaced with a 50-member National Assembly (Milli Majlis). Azerbaijan experienced political instability after independence: its first two elected presidents were deposed, partly as a result of popular protests over Azerbaijan's military failures in Nagorno-Karabakh. Major political parties include the pro-Turkish, nationalist Azerbaijan Popular Front, the Social Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Azerbaijan (banned in 1991 but relegalized in 1993), the Muslim Democratic Party, and the Azerbaijani Movement for Democratic Reforms. In 1992 Azerbaijan joined the United Nations, and in 1993 it formally became a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Armed forces and security Azerbaijan formed a national military in 1991, including an army (consisting partly of personnel and matriel from the Soviet 4th Army), navy, and air force. Russian forces completed their withdrawal from Azerbaijan in 1993. Azerbaijan's navy serves under the command of the CIS. A conscription law requires at least 17 months of service from adult males. The conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh dominated Azerbaijani military planning during the 1990s. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is responsible for internal security and general police work, was reorganized in 1993. Crime rates in Azerbaijan rose during the 1990s, exacerbated by the social dislocation that accompanied the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Cultural life In the course of its long history, Azerbaijan has given the world a number of outstanding thinkers, poets, and scientists. Among the medieval scientists and philosophers, Abul Hasan Bakhmanyar (11th century), the author of numerous works on mathematics and philosophy, and Abul Hasan Shirvani (11th12th centuries), the author of Astronomy, may be noted. The poet and philosopher Nezami, called Ganjavi after his place of birth, Ganja, was the author of Khamseh (The Quintuplet), composed of five romantic poems, including The Treasure of Mysteries, Khosrow and Shirin, and Leyli and Mejnun. The people of Azerbaijan have retained their ancient musical tradition. For example, the art of ashugs, who improvise songs to their own accompaniment on a stringed instrument called a kobuz, remains extremely popular. Mugams, vocal and instrumental compositions, are also widely known, the town of Shusha being particularly renowned for this art. Azerbaijan's cultural institutions, including museums, theatres, and public libraries, are located in Baku. Many of them were established after World War II. The city has museums devoted to the art, history, and literature of Azerbaijan. In Nagorno-Karabakh there is a museum with material on the history and archaeology of the Armenian people of the region. The opera and ballet are widely attended. Some of Azerbaijan's composers, notably Uzeir Hajjibekov (the operas Ker-Ogly and Leyli and Mejnun and the operetta Arshin Mal 'Alan) and Kara Karayev (the ballets Seven Beauties and The Path of Thunder), have international reputations. The latter's symphonic music is also well known abroad. Throughout the Soviet period Azerbaijani literature was controlled by a system that saw mortal danger in even a modicum of creative freedom. Azerbaijani writers and other intellectuals were closely supervised and subjected to varying degrees of persecution. Azerbaijan has no private publishing; several government firms publish scientific books and magazines as well as books and magazines about art and literature in Azerbaijani, Russian, and other languages. In 1992 the Azerbaijani government switched from the Cyrillic to the Roman alphabet. The magazines Literaturny Azerbaydzhan (in Russian), Azerbaijan Gadn (Azerbaijan Woman, in Azerbaijani), and Azerbaydzhanskoye neftyanoye khozyaystvo (Azerbaijan Petroleum Economy, in Russian) have the highest circulation. Baku has several radio stations, a television studio, and a film studio. Evgeny Dmitrievich Silaev Edward Allworth G. Melvyn Howe