Azerbaijan (ah-zuhr-bei-JAHN), republic (33,428 sq mi/86,579 sq km; 1989 population 7,021,178; 2004 estimated population 7,868,385), in Transcaucasia; (cap.) Baky (Baku); 40°00'N 48°00'E. Other major cities include Gyandzha and Sumqayit .
Geography
Strategically situated at the gateway to Southwest Asia, Azerbaijan is bounded S by Iran (divided from Iranian Azerbaijan by Aras, or Araks, River), E by the Caspian Sea, N by Russia’s Dagestan Republic, and W by Armenia. Includes the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (separated from Azerbaijan proper by Armenia) and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. Azerbaijan occupies the W ranges of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and the Kura River valley, which is the region’s chief agricultural zone.
Economy
Wheat, barley, corn, fruits, wine grapes, and potatoes are the leading food crops, and cotton, silk, and tobacco the foremost industrial crops. The subtropical Lenkoran lowland supports tea and rice. The Apsheron peninsula was one of the richest oil regions of the world, and oil refining remains an important industry. The republic’s other mineral resources include natural gas, iron, copper, lead, zinc, limestone, pyrites, cobalt, and alunite. Widespread salt springs have enabled health resorts to flourish. Among the republic’s chief manufactures are machinery, electrical and oil-drilling equipment, building materials (especially cement), steel, aluminum, chemicals, and textiles. The old craft of carpet weaving is still practiced. The republic’s educational institutions include Baky University and the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences.
Population
The Azeri, a Turkic-speaking, Shiite Muslim people with a mainly Persian culture, make up over 90% of the population; Dagestani (3.2%), Russians (2.5%), and Armenians (2.3%; almost all live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region) are the largest minorities.
History
The Republic of Azerbaijan comprises the Transcaucasian or N part of the historic region called Azerbaijan. Known to the ancients as Albania, the area was linked to the history of Armenia and Persia, particularly after its conquest (4th century) by Shapur II. Overrun later by Mongols, it was divided after the fall (15th century) of Timur into several principalities (notably Shirvan). The territory of the present Azerbaijan was acquired by Russia from Persia through the treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkamanchai (1828). Soon after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Russian Azerbaijan joined Armenia and Georgia to form the anti-Bolshevik Transcaucasian Federation. After its dissolution (May 1918), Azerbaijan proclaimed itself independent but was conquered by the Red Army in 1920 and made into a Soviet republic. In 1922, Azerbaijan joined the USSR as a member of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Republic. With the administrative reorganization of 1936, it became a separate republic. Immediately after World War II, Azerbaijan was used as a base for Communist rebels in Iranian Azerbaijan. Azeri nationalists still press claims over Iran’s Azerbaijan prov. In 1988, ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region pressed for unification of the region with Armenia, leading to a guerrilla war and then, in 1992, to a large-scale conflict between the two republics still unresolved.
Government
Azerbaijan declared itself independent of the USSR in Aug. 1991, and joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991. Azerbaijan has a popularly elected 350-member parliament, which elects the prime minister. The president is head of state and is elected by popular vote to a five-year term. The last election was held in October 2003. The current President is Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister (head of government) is Artur Rasizade.
