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Administrative Department of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

P R E S I D E N T I A L L I B R A R Y

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GENERAL INFORMATION

CONTENTS

I. General information about the country ............................................................................................ 2 National Holidays ................................................................................................................................... 3

II. AZERBAIJAN STATE SYMBOLS ................................................................................................. 4 1. (Constitution article) Article 23 ........................................................................................................ 4 2. National Flag ...................................................................................................................................... 5 3. National Emblem ................................................................................................................................ 6 4. National Anthem ................................................................................................................................ 7

III. STATE STRUCTURE AND POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................... 8 1. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan .......................................................................................... 9 2. The Legal System of the Republic of Azerbaijan .......................................................................... 10 3. The Legislative Power ...................................................................................................................... 11 4. The Executive Power ....................................................................................................................... 12 5. Judicial Power .................................................................................................................................. 14 6. Municipalities ................................................................................................................................... 17 7. Sources of Law ................................................................................................................................. 18 8. Political parties. ................................................................................................................................ 19

IV. TERRITORY .................................................................................................................................. 21 1. Location............................................................................................................................................. 22 2. Administrative Division ................................................................................................................... 23

V. NATURE ........................................................................................................................................... 24 1. Climate .............................................................................................................................................. 24 2. Caspian Sea ....................................................................................................................................... 26 3. Rivers................................................................................................................................................. 28 4. Flora .................................................................................................................................................. 30 5. Fauna ................................................................................................................................................. 34 6. National parks and natural reserves .............................................................................................. 35

VI. POPULATION................................................................................................................................ 40 VII. DIASPORA. ................................................................................................................................... 41 VIII. AZERBAIJANI LANGUAGE ................................................................................................... 43

1. The Laws and other acts of the Republic of Azerbaijan .............................................................. 48 on the State language and the Languages' rights .............................................................................. 48 2. Law of the Azerbaijan Republic on the renewal of the Azerbaijani alphabet with Latin

graphic................................................................................................................................................... 49 3. Decree of the National Board of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan.............. 50 4. The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the State .................................................................... 52 Language in the Republic of Azerbaijan. .......................................................................................... 52 5. The Decree of the National Assembly of the Azerbaijan Republic .............................................. 54 6. The Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan ......................................................... 55

IX. RELIGION ...................................................................................................................................... 58 X. SCIENCE .......................................................................................................................................... 60 XI. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ......................................... 61 XII. LITERATURE .............................................................................................................................. 62

XIII. MEDIA ......................................................................................................................................... 64 XIV. SPORTS ........................................................................................................................................ 65



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I. General information about the country

Official name: Republic of Azerbaijan

Location: South Caucasus, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, bordering Russia, Iran, Turkey,

Georgia, and Armenia

Climate: dry, semi-arid steppe

Natural resources: oil, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, aluminum

Political system: democratic, constitutional, secular, unitary republic

Capital: Baku

Territory: 86, 6 sq.km.

Population: 9593,0 thousand people (as of beginning of 2015)

Official language: Azerbaijani

Time: GTA+4 hrs (****)

Number of administrative units:

Autonomous Republic 1

Regions 66

Towns 78

Urban districts 14

Settlements 261

Rural territorial units 1727

Rural settlements 4249

Sources of the name of the country - Azerbaijan - go back to ancient times. Earliest of known written

sources which mention it is the Syrian 6th century chronicle of Karki De Bet Seloh. However, there is a

reference to a much earlier source of the 8th century BC about Azerbaijan.

It is said in the chronicles: “...Arbak had built the fortification wall that is Adubad in the Median empire

named after him the Adorbaigan land “. “Ador Bad Agan” means “a place protected by a deity of fire”. Arabs

who came in the region for conquest and to spread Islam named the country “Azer-Baigan“. The further genesis

of the word is clear. Azerbaijan is a country with unique geographical, climatic and geopolitical characteristics.



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National Holidays

January 1-2 - New Year

March 8 - Women's Day

March 20-24 - Novruz bayramı (Celebration of Spring)

May 9 - Day of Victory over Fascism

May 28 - Republic Day

June 15 - National Salvation Day

June 26 - Armed Forces Day

October 18 - National Independence Day

November 9 – National Flag Day

November 12 - Constitution Day

November 17 - National Revival Day

December 31 - Day of Solidarity of Azerbaijanis throughout the World

Qurban bayramı (Thanksgiving-Offering Day) and Ramazan bayramı (End of Fasting) - 2 days -

The dates of celebration of these religious holidays are changed every year in accordance with the lunar

calendar.

Memorable Days:

January 20 - Day of Shehids' (Martyrs) Remembrance

February 26 - Day of Khojali Remembrance

March 31 - Genocide of Azerbaijanis'



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II. AZERBAIJAN STATE SYMBOLS

1. (Constitution article) Article 23.

I. State symbols of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be: the Republic of Azerbaijan Flag, the Republic

of Azerbaijan Emblem, and the Republic of Azerbaijan National Anthem.

II. The Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall consist of three wide stripes. The upper stripe shall be

of blue colour, the middle stripe shall be red and the lower one shall be green. There shall he a white crescent

and eightpointed star in the middle of the red stripe on both sides of the Flag. The proportion of the width to the

length shall be 1 by 2. III. The design of the Republic of Azerbaijan Flag and the Republic of Azerbaijan State

Emblem, the music and the text of the Republic of Azerbaijan National Anthem shall be defined by the

Constitutional Law.



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2. National Flag

On November 9th, 1918 government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic adopted resolution on national

three-color flag. After the fall of ADP on April 28, 1920 and establishment of

Soviet power in Azerbaijan this flag was rejected.

On November 17, 1990 three colored flag was for the second restored in

its rights by the resolution of Supreme Majlis of Nakhichevan Autonomous

Republic and accepted as national flag of Autonomous Republic. At the same

session Supreme Majlis of Nakhichevan solicited Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan

SSR for recognition of three colored flag as a national symbol of Azerbaijan.

On February 5, 1991 Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan Republic considered a solicitation for recognition of

three-color flag as a National Flag of Azerbaijan.

National Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of three equal in length horizontal stripes. The

upper stripe is blue, middle is red, lower is green colored. Blue color has meaning of Turkic origin of

Azerbaijani nation, red color has reflects the heading to modernization of society and development of

democracy, and the green color shows belonging to Islamic civilization. In the center of red stripe on both sides

of flag there is white crescent and eight-angled star. Proportions of width of the flag to the length is 1:2



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3. National Emblem

On January 30, 1920 government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic adopted resolution on

announcement a competition of the best National emblem of republic. It was mentioned in the resolution that

adoption of the emblem will be on May 28. But in the result of fall on April 28, 1920 of Azerbaijan Democratic

Republic emblem wasn't adopted.

On November 17, 1990 Supreme Majlis of Nakhichevan AR, after having

discussed question on National emblem solicited Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR

on announcement a competition for processing the National emblem of Azerbaijan.

Competition was announced on February 5, 1991 according to resolution of

Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan Republic. During 1991-1992 there were tens of

projects of new National emblem, on discussions there were also suggestions on

adoption on the projects designed in 1919-1920.

On January 19, 1993 Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan passed

Constitutional Law according to which project of National emblem of 1919-1920

with some changes was adopted.

National emblem of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the symbol f sovereignty of Azerbaijan state. National

emblem represents an image of oriental escutcheon, placed on the arch composed of oak branches and ears. On

the escutcheon in background of colors of National flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan there is image of eight-

angled star and in the center of star there are tongues of flame.

Convex image of National flag (emblem) is represented:

at the residence and office room of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

on the wall of parliament building, in the session hall and office room of the chairman of parliament of the

Republic of Azerbaijan;

on the walls of buildings of all courts, military tribunals, in the halls of court sessions, in the office rooms

of chairmen of Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

in cases provided by legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the walls of buildings of state

structures;

on the walls of buildings of diplomatic and trade representatives of consular offices of the Republic of

Azerbaijan .



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4. National Anthem

(Listen)/ Read lyrics in Azerbaijani

On January 30, 1920 government of Azerbaijan Democratic

Republic adopted resolution on working-out the National Anthem of

republic. With this aim it was announced a competition of the best

National Anthem. But in the result of fall on April 28, 1920 of

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Anthem wasn't adopted.

On May 27, 1992 Milli Majlis adopted the law "About the

State Hymn of the Republic of Azerbaijan", according which the

"Azerbaijani march" of the great composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov and the

poet Ahmed Javad, which was created in 1919, was approved as the

State Anthem of Republic of Azerbaijan.

Music by Useyir Hajibeyov

Words by Ahmed Javad

Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!

You are the country of heroes!

We will die so that you might be alive!

We will shed our blood to defend you!

Long live your three-colored banner!

Thousands of people sacrificed their lives

You're become the field of battles.

Every soldier fighting for you,

Has become a hero.

We pray for your prosperity,

We make sacrifice our lives to you

Our sincere love to you,

Comes from the bottom of our hearts.

To defend your honor,

To hoist your banner,

All the young people are ready.

Glorious motherland,

Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!

http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/music/AudioPages/arealaudio/az_hymn_independence.ram

http://www.azerbaijan-un-geneva.az/content.php?subaction=showfull&id=1101802280&archive=&start_from=&ucat=44&



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III. STATE STRUCTURE AND POLITICAL SYSTEM

The Azerbaijan Republic (Azərbaycan Respublikasi) is a legally constituted, secular republic. The state

administration is conducted through the principle of the division of powers: legislative, executive and judicial.

The President is the Head of State and implements the policies decided democratically for the exercise

of executive power. The President is elected by direct vote for a period of five years. Legislative power is

implemented by the Milli Mejlis (National Assembly) which is a single-house parliament consisting of 125

deputies elected for a period of five years on the basis of a combined system of first-past-the-post and

proportional representation. Following the Soviet period, democracy developed over time, with a plethora of

political parties to start with (over 60 at one time) to around 30 at the present time. The names of some of the

main parties are: «New Azerbaijan», «Istiqlal» (Party of the National Independence of Azerbaijan), «Musavat»

(a revival of the ruling party in independent Azerbaijan of 1918-1920), «Party of the Popular Front of

Azerbaijan», «Social- Democratic Party of Azerbaijan» and others. A Prime Minister heads the Cabinet of

Ministers, an appointed body which has the main tasks of executive power. Judicial power is implemented by

the three independent courts of the Azerbaijan Republic: the Constitutional Court, High Court and Economic

Court.

The official language of the Azerbaijan Republic is the Azerbaijani language which is a member of the

southwestern, Oguz family of Turkic languages. Informally, other languages are also used such as Russian and

English.

Furthermore, the constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic guarantees the free use and development of the

languages of all ethnic groups which can be taught in schools and used in all publications. Freedom of religion

is also enshrined in the constitution. The religion of the majority in Azerbaijan is Islam. Not much difference is

made between Shia and Sunni in Azerbaijan, but formally two thirds are considered Shia and one third are

Sunni. There are also centers of worship for the Russian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Gregorian Church,

three Jewish synagogues, one Georgian Orthodox church, thirteen Old Believers Russian churches (locally there

are those known as «Malakan»), one Lutheran, several Baptist, one Bahai and one Hare Krishna organization.

Civil legislation for marriage, divorce and those elements concerned with the establishing of civil

society are being drafted to reflect the secular character of the Azerbaijani state.



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1. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev

Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev was born in December 24, 1961, in Baku.

He attended a secondary school in Baku from 1967 till 1977. In 1977,

he entered the Moscow State University of International Relations (MSUIR).

In 1982, upon his graduation, Mr. Aliyev had continued his education as a

postgraduate student in MSUIR. In 1985, he finalized his research works and

received a PhD degree in history. During the years of 1985-1990, he

gave lectures at the Moscow State University of International Relations. From

1991 to 1994, he led a group of private industrial-commercial enterprises. In

1994-2003, he was the vise-president, and later the first vise-president of the

State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). He had been

actively involved in the implementation of Heydar Aliyev’s oil strategy.

He is an author of numerous research works on geopolitical aspects of

oil strategy of sovereign Azerbaijan. He holds a degree of doctor of political

sciences.

In 1995 and 2000, he was twice elected to the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In

2003, he stopped his activity as a Member of Parliament due to his appointment to the post of Prime minister of

the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Since 1997, Mr. Ilham Aliyev is the President of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. For his

great contribution to the development of sports and Olympic movement, Mr. Aliyev was awarded the highest

order of International Olympic Committee and “Grand Cordon” Order of Merit of International Military Sport

Council.

He has been elected deputy chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party in 1999, first deputy chairman in 2001,

and the chairman of the Party in 2005. From 2001 to 2003, he was the head of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary

delegation to Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE). In January 2003, he was elected as

Deputy-Chairman of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe and member of the PACE bureau. In

August 4 2003, following the approval of the Milli Majlis (Parliament), he was appointed as the Prime minister

of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In October 15, 2003, he was elected as the President of the Republic of

Azerbaijan. More than 76% of voters supported Ilham Aliyev’s candidacy during the elections. He assumed his

post on 31 October, 2003.

In April of 2004, Mr. Aliyev was awarded a medal and diploma of honorable member of PACE for his

active participation in PACE events and commitment to European values.

Ilham Aliyev was elected to the second term of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, after

acquiring 88% of votes of electorate in the elections, held on October 15, 2008. He started to execute the Office

of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 24, 2008.

Ilham Aliyev was elected to the third term of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan gaining 84,54%

of votes in the elections held on October 9, 2013.

Mr. Aliyev is fluent in Azerbaijani, English, Russian, French, and Turkish.

Mr. Aliyev is married, has three children.



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2. The Legal System of the Republic of Azerbaijan

a. Background information

The Republic of Azerbaijan was created on May 28, 1918. As a result of the intervention of the 11th

Red Army, Azerbaijan lost its independence in April 1920 and in December 1922 became a part of the former

USSR. Azerbaijan re-established its independence with The Constitutional Act on Restoration of the State

Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 18, 1991.

The Azerbaijani law system is based on civil law system. The Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic has

the highest legal force in the territory of Azerbaijan and acts directly. The Constitution of the Azerbaijan

Republic is the basic foundation of the Legislative system in the Republic. The Constitution created the system

of presidential republic with a separation of powers among the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The

Constitution provides an adequate legal basis for the domestic implementation of International Law in general

and International Human Rights Law in particular. The International Treaties, to which Azerbaijan is a Party,

are recognized as an constituent part of the internal legal system (Art. 148(II)) and given a higher hierarchical

status in the case of a conflict with a national law (Art. 151). While expressly stipulating that an international

treaty may not contravene the Constitution and laws adopted by referendum (Art. 151), see also Art. 130(III(6)),

The Constitution at the same time implicitly, as a lex specialis rule, provides for the primacy of international

human rights over the appropriate constitutional provisions (Art. 12). Thus Art. 12(II) of the Constitutions

empowers domestic courts to apply International Human Rights treaties to which Azerbaijan is party. This is a

very progressive statement which needs to be corroborated and developed by the judicial practice, particularly

by the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court.

b. Separation of powers

Azerbaijan Republic is a democratic, legal, secular, unitary republic.

In terms of internal problems state power in the Azerbaijan Republic is limited only by law, in terms of

foreign policy-by provisions resulting from international agreements, wherein the Azerbaijan Republic is one of

the parties.

State power in the Azerbaijan Republic is based on a principle of division of powers:

Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic exercises legislative power;

the executive power belongs to the President of the Azerbaijan Republic;

law courts of the Azerbaijan Republic exercise judicial power.

Legislative, executive and judicial powers interact and are independent within the limits of their

authority.

c. Legislative system

The legislative system consists of the following normative-legal acts:

Constitution;

acts accepted by referendum;

laws;

orders;

decrees of Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Republic;

normative acts of central executive power bodies.

International agreements wherein the Azerbaijan Republic is one of the parties constitute an integral

part of legislative system of the Azerbaijan Republic.



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3. The Legislative Power

Legislative power in the Republic of Azerbaijan is implemented by Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the

Republic of Azerbaijan. Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of 125 deputies. Deputies of Milli

Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan are elected based on majority voting systems and general, equal and direct

elections by way of free, individual and secret voting. Term of authority of each calling of Milli Majlis of the

Republic of Azerbaijan is 5 years. Every citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan not younger than 25 may be

elected the deputy of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan in an established order. Accuracy of results of

elections is checked and approved by Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan as specified in the law.

The deputy of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan looses his/her mandate in the following cases:

whenever during the elections there was falsification in calculation of votes;

on giving up the citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan or accepting other citizenship;

on commitment of crime and whenever there is valid verdict of law court;

on taking position in state bodies, post in religious organizations, involvement in business,

commercial or other paid activity (except scientific, pedagogical and creative activity);

on a voluntary basis;

Right of legislative initiative in Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan (right to submit for

consideration by Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan drafts of laws and other questions) belongs to

deputies of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme

Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ali Majlis of

Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.



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4. The Executive Power

a. President

Executive power in the Republic of Azerbaijan belongs to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan not younger than 35, permanently living on the territory of the

Republic of Azerbaijan longer than 10 years, possessing voting right, without previous conviction, having no

liabilities in other states, with university degree, not having double citizenship may be elected the President of

the Republic of Azerbaijan. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is elected for a 5-year term by way of

general, direct and equal elections, with free, personal and secret ballot.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is elected by the majority of more than the half of votes.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan enjoys the right of personal immunity. Honor and dignity of the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan are protected by law.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signs the laws within 56 days after their presentation. If the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan has objections against a law he may return it to Milli Majlis of the

Republic of Azerbaijan within specified term without signing, together with his comments. Should the President

of the Republic of Azerbaijan fail to sign Constitutional laws they will not come into force. If Milli Majlis of the

Republic of Azerbaijan accepts by majority of 95 votes laws that have been accepted previously by majority of

83 votes, and by majority of 83 votes the laws that have been accepted previously by majority of 63 votes, said

laws come into force after repeated voting.

Establishing general procedures the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issues decrees, as per all

other questions - he issues orders. Decrees and orders of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan they

become valid from the day of their publication.

b. Cabinet of Ministers

For the implementation of executive powers the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan establishes

Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the

highest body of executive power of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan is subordinate to the President of the Republic

of Azerbaijan and reports to him.

The procedure of activity of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan is defined by the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan includes Prime-minister of the Republic of

Azerbaijan, his deputies, ministers and heads of other central bodies of executive power.

On a day when the newly elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan comes into his rights and

begins carrying out his powers Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan resigns.

As a rule, the Prime-minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan takes chair at the meetings of the Cabinet of

Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Prime-minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan is appointed by the President of the Republic of

Azerbaijan on consent of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The proposed candidature for the post of Prime-minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan is submitted for

consideration to Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan not

later than one month from the day when the President begins carrying out his powers, or not later than two

weeks from the day of resignation of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan:

prepares draft of state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan and submits it to the President of the

Republic of Azerbaijan;

provides implementation of state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan;



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provides implementation of financial-credit and monetary policy;

provides implementation of state economic programs;

provides implementation of state social programs;

carries out control over ministries and other central bodies of executive power, annuls their acts;

solves other questions delegated to it by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Establishing general procedures the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan issues decrees,

as per all other questions - it issues orders.

Decrees and orders of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan become valid from the day of

their publication.



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5. Judicial Power

a. Background

The judicial power in Azerbaijan is implemented by law courts.

The judicial power is implemented through the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Courts of Appeal of the Republic of Azerbaijan, ordinary and

specialized law courts of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The judicial power is implemented by ways of constitutional, civil and criminal legal proceedings and

other forms of legislation provided for by law.

In the criminal legal proceedings, the Procurator's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan and lawyers

take part.

The judicial system and legal proceedings in the Republic of Azerbaijan are determined by law.

Use of legal means aimed to change the authority of law courts and establishment of extraordinary law

courts which are not envisaged by the law are prohibited.

Judges shall be citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan not younger than 30, having voting rights, higher

juridical education and at least 5-year working experience in the sphere of law.

Judges are independent, they are subordinate only to Constitution and laws of the Republic of

Azerbaijan, and they cannot be replaced during the term of their authority.

Judges are immune. A judge may be called to criminal responsibility only in accordance with law. The

authority of judges might be stopped only based on reasons and rules envisaged by the law.

b. Constitutional Court of the Azerbaijan Republic

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of 9 judges.

Judges of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan are appointed by Milli Majlis of the

Republic of Azerbaijan on recommendation by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan based on inquiry of the President of the

Republic of Azerbaijan, Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of

Azerbaijan, Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Procurator's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

Ali Majlis of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic takes decisions regarding the following:

correspondence of laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan, decrees and orders of the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, decrees of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, decrees

and orders of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, normative-legal acts of central bodies

of executive power to Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

correspondence of decrees of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, decrees of

Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, normative-legal acts of central bodies of executive

power to the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

correspondence of decrees of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan and

normative-legal acts of central bodies of executive power to decrees of the President of the Republic of

Azerbaijan;

in cases envisaged by law, correspondence of decisions of Supreme Court of the

Republic of Azerbaijan to Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

correspondence of acts of municipalities to Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan, decrees of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, decrees of

Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan (in Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic - also to

Constitution and laws of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and decrees of Cabinet of Ministers of

Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic);



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correspondence of interstate agreements of the Azerbaijan Republic, which have not yet

become valid, to Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan; correspondence of intergovernmental

agreements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

correspondence of Constitution and laws of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic,

decrees of Ali Majlis of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, decrees of Cabinet of Ministers of

Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan; correspondence of

laws of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, decrees of Cabinet of Ministers of Nakhichevan

Autonomous Republic to laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan; correspondence of decrees of Cabinet of

Ministers of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to decrees of the President of the Republic of

Azerbaijan and decrees of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

settlement of disputes connected with division of authority between legislative,

executive and judicial powers.

The Constitutional Court of the Azerbaijan Republic gives interpretation of the Constitution and laws of

the Republic of Azerbaijan based on inquiries of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Milli Majlis of the

Republic of Azerbaijan, Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Court of the Republic of

Azerbaijan, Procurator's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ali Majlis of Nakhichevan Autonomous

Republic.

Everyone claiming to be the victim of a violation of his/her rights and freedoms by the decisions of

legislative, executive and judiciary, municipal acts set forth in the items 1-7 of the Para III of this Article may

appeal, in accordance with the procedure provided for by law, to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of

Azerbaijan with the view of the restoration of violated human rights and freedoms.

In accordance with the procedure provided for by the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan the courts may

file the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan a request on interpretation of the Constitution and the

laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan as regards the matters concerning the implementation of human rights and

freedoms.

The Ombudsman of the Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with the procedure provided for by the

laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan for solving the matters indicated in items 1-7, para III of the given Article

shall apply to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan in cases where the rights and freedoms of a

person had been violated by legislative acts in force, normative acts of executive power, municipalities as well

as the court decisions VIII. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan exercises also other

authorities envisaged in the present Constitution.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan takes decisions as regards the questions of its

competence. Decisions of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan are obligatory all over the territory

of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Laws and other acts, individual provisions of these documents, intergovernmental agreements of the

Republic of Azerbaijan cease to be valid in term specified in the decision of Constitutional Court of the

Republic of Azerbaijan, and interstate agreements of the Republic of Azerbaijan do not come into force.

c. Supreme Court of the Azerbaijan Republic

The Supreme Court of the Azerbaijan Republic (see English decisions) is the highest judicial body

on civil, criminal, administrative and other cases directed to general and specialized law courts; it, via the

cassation procedure, shall administer the justice; gives explanations as per practices in activity of law courts in

an order envisaged by legislation;.

Judges of Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan are appointed by Milli Majlis of the Republic of

Azerbaijan on recommendation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

d. The Courts of Appeal of Azerbaijan Republic

http://www.supremecourt.gov.az/az/index.shtml



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The Courts of Appeal of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be the higher courts considering the issues

falling within their competences according to the legislation.

Judges of the Courts of Appeal of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be appointed by the Milli Majlis of

the Republic of Azerbaijan upon the recommendation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

e. The Economic Court

The Economic Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the highest legal body deciding economic

disputes. Judges to the Economic Court are appointed in the similar manner to the other high courts.

f. Procurator's Office of the Azerbaijan Republic

Via procedure and in cases specified by legislation, Procurator's Office of the Republic

of Azerbaijan exercises control over fulfillment and application of laws; in cases envisaged by

legislation it undertakes prosecution and carries out investigation; supports state incrimination in the

law court; brings in an action in the law court; remonstrates against decisions of law court.

The Procurator's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan is an integral centralized body

based on subordination of territorial and specialized procurators to General Procurator of the Republic

of Azerbaijan.

The General Procurator of the Republic of Azerbaijan is appointed to his post and

dismissed from it by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on consent of Milli Majlis of the

Republic of Azerbaijan.

Deputies of General Procurator of the Republic of Azerbaijan, procurators supervising

specialized republican procurator's offices, procurator of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic are

appointed to their posts and dismissed from their posts by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

on recommendation of General Procurator of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Territorial and specialized procurators are appointed to their posts and dismissed by

General Procurator of the Republic of Azerbaijan on agreement with the President of the Republic of

Azerbaijan.



17

6. Municipalities

Local self-government is carried out by municipalities. Municipalities are formed based on elections.

The foundations of the status of municipalities shall be determined by given Constitution. The regulations of

elections to the municipalities shall be determined by law.

The activity of municipalities is carried out by way of meetings, permanent and other commissions.

Meetings of municipalities are summoned by their chairmen.

The following questions are settled at the meetings of municipalities:

recognition of authority of municipality members, loss of their authority and termination of their

authority according to legislation;

approval of in-house regulations of municipality;

elections of the chairman of municipality, his deputies, permanent and other commissions;

establishment of local taxes and duties;

approval of local budget and reports on its implementation;

possession of municipal property, use and disposal thereof;

acceptance and implementation of local programs of social protection and social development;

acceptance and implementation of local programs of economic development;

acceptance and implementation of local ecological programs.

Municipalities may be given additional authorities of legislative and executive power. To implement

these authorities respective financing is required.

Implementation of such authorities will be controlled respectively by legislative and executive power

bodies.



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7. Sources of Law

On the base of Article 148(I) of the Constitution the legislative system of the Republic of Azerbaijan

consists of the following normative-legal Acts:

The Constitution

Acts adopted via referendum

Laws

Decrees

Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Normative Acts of central executive bodies: International Treaties, of which the Azerbaijan is a

party, are constituent part of the Legislative system of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Local Executive bodies within their competence can take decisions and instructions of the normative

character, other Acts, which do not contradict Acts included in the Legislation system.



19

8. Political parties.

Party of National Independence of Azerbaijan – est. 1992

Party of Resurrection and Progress of Azerbaijan – est. 1992

The People's Democratic Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1992

Party Ana Veten – est. 1992

Party of National Democratic Cognition – est. 1992

Peasants' Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1992

Party of Civil Solidarity – est. 1992

Musavat Party – est. 1992

Party Birlik – est. 1992

Party of New Azerbaijan – est. 1992

Party of National Unity of Single Azerbaijan – est. 1993

Party of Single Azerbaijan – est. 1993

Party of Democratic World of Azerbaijan – est. 1993

Party of Independent Azerbaijan – est. 1993

Party of the National Salvation – est. 1993

Compatriot Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1993

Party of Hope of Azerbaijan – est. 1993

Qorqud Party – est. 1993

Party of the National Movement of Azerbaijan – est. 1994

Communist Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1994

Party of the National Government of Azerbaijan – est. 1994

Patriots' Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1994

Democratic Party of Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan – est. 1994

Alliance Party for Azerbaijan – est. 1995

Azerbaijan Democratic Enlightment Party – est. 1995

Azerbaijan Party of Social Welfare – est. 1995

Liberal Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1995

Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1995

Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1995

Single Communist Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1995

Party for Social Justice – est. 1998

National Congress Party – est. 1998

Party Vehdet – est. 1998

Republic of Azerbaijanan Party - est. 1999

People's Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1999

Liberal Democratic Party of Azerbaijan – est. 1999

Democratic Party of Azerbaijan – est. 2000

Fighters' Party of Azerbaijan – est. 2000

Party Adalet – est. 2002

Party of the National Unity of Azerbaijan – est. 2002

Modern Musavat Party – est. 2002

Azerbaijan Free Republican Party – est. 2002

Pan-Azerbaijani Popular Front Party – est. 2005

Evolution Party – est. 2005

Azerbaijan Political Party for Democratic Reformes – est. 2005

Liberty Party – est. 2005

Progress Party – est. 2005



20

Great Azerbaijan Party – est. 2005

Great Qurulush Party – est. 2005

Citizen Unity Party – est. 2005

Azerbaijan Classic Popular Front Party – est. 2007



21

IV. TERRITORY

Extract from the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Article 11 Territory

(1) The territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is sole, inviolable and indivisible.

(2) Internal waters of the Republic of Azerbaijan, sector of the Caspian Sea (lake) belonging to the

Republic of Azerbaijan, air space over the Republic of Azerbaijan are integral parts of the territory of the


(3) No part of territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan may be estranged. The Republic of Azerbaijan

will not give any part of its territory to anybody; state borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan might be changed

only by free decision of its peoples made by way of referendum declared by the Parliament [Milli Majlis] of the




22

1. Location

Azerbaijan is located in the south-eastern part of the Caucasian isthmus, with a coast of 825 kilometers

along the Caspian Sea. Much of the country is mountainous. The Greater Caucasian range rises to the north, and

Bazarduzu (4,480 m) is the highest peak. Below the mountains lies the Kura-Araz lowland. The Republic of

Azerbaijan is 86,000 square kilometers in area, including the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Azerbaijan's northern border with the Russian Federation is 390 kilometers long. The longest border is

with the Republic of Armenia to the west, 1,009 kilometers long. To the north-west the border with Georgia

stretches to 480 kilometers. To the south-west, in Nakhchivan, the border with the Turkish Republic is only

twelve kilometers long. To the south, Azerbaijan, including Nakhchivan, lias a 765 kilometer-long border with

the Islamic Republic of Iran.



23

2. Administrative Division

Azerbaijan is located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, in the east of South Caucasus. The

northern frontier of the state with Russia (Daghestan) stretches from the coast of the Caspian to the Greater

Caucasus Mountains; the northwestern boundary with Georgia being formed by complicated configuration of

the mountains; the boundary with the Islamic Republic of Iran to south runs alongside the Nakhchivan

Autonomous Republic and the Araz river to the Caspian coast with its humid subtropical climate. Azerbaijan is

bordered by Turkey to the southwest and by Armenia to the west.

The territory of the state as a whole can be pictured as a giant tray tilted towards the Caspian Sea. This

causes all the rivers of Azerbaijan to flow into that sea. Some of them join the major river Kura, some flow into

Araz, the largest tributary of the Kura.

There are about 250 lakes in Azerbaijan. Geigel Lake, a pearl of exceptional beauty framed by wooded

mountains, is located in the foothills of the Kapaz Mountains at a height of 1,556 meters above sea level.

Caspian Sea, the largest lake in the world (378,400 square km water surface), is unique at its origins and

has a rich biodiversity. Its fauna comprises 1,332 species. 111 fish species live in the Caspian including

sturgeon, salmon, Danube bleak, bream, herring and other fish. There are many seals near the Azerbaijani

coastland, which, being the only mammal in the Caspian, are under the protection of the Absheron reserve.

Azerbaijan is divided into into 76 administrative districts (65 rural rayon and 11 cities), and the

President appoints the governors of these units. Local Executive power in these administrative districts is

implemented by the Heads of the Local Executive power. Heads of Executive power are appointed to and

removed from their positions by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Towns in Azerbaijan that have the formal status of cities of the Republic are Baku, Ganja, Sumgait,

Shirvan (former Ali-Bayramli), Lankaran, Mingechevir, Naftalan, Khankendi, Sheki, Kuba and Shusha.



24

V. NATURE

1. Climate

In the plains the summer is hot and dry, autumn is warm and rainy, winter is cool and in spring the

weather is irregular. In the mountains there are strong contrasts between wind-free slopes and those exposed to

sun and wind. These are the general climatic characteristics of Azerbaijan, which is basically transient to

subtropical.

Most of the territory of the Republic has either dry, subtropical plains or humid regions in the Alazan-

Agrichay valley and the Lenkoran lowlands where subtropical crops can be grown. These climatic features are

affected by the geographical location of Azerbaijan, the diversity of the soils that cover it and its weather

patterns.

Atmospheric circulation over Azerbaijan is typical of a subtropical zone. One of the main features is the

way air masses move, especially in the cold periods of the year. During warm periods there is usually less cloud

and the weather can be markedly hot. At such times of the year winds from the mountains blow into the valleys

and sometimes reach high speeds. In the plains they form light winds which become coastal breezes when they

reach the sea. In summer, there is drought and the weather is hot and dry. Hot and dry winds come from

continental tropical air carried from Central Asia by anti-cyclones or from the south and south-west on variable

high pressure systems and these cause damage to agriculture as much as drought.

The dynamics of what is happening in the atmosphere in the cold period of the year are quite different.

The territory of Azerbaijan is affected by cold fronts, which start off almost imperceptibly but which become

intensively cold with Arctic air which alternates with that of more temperate latitudes.

There are polar anti-cyclones, which extend to all of Europe and the Caucasus. When these reach the

subtropics they create favorable conditions for the formation of polar high-frontal zones. There is also a variable

southern cyclonic weather pattern that appears in the Mediterranean and moves towards the southern Caucasus.

Frontal zones bring tropical air masses from the Atlantic and warm fronts are created in the mountains

of Azerbaijan which gives a high rate of rainfall during the period between autumn and winter. Rainfall is also

increased when cold fronts and anticyclones and southern cyclones reach the region.

The mountain system of the Caucasus has a strong influence on the general weather processes in

Azerbaijan. The Greater Caucasus range stands as a natural barrier between the cold air masses from the north,

and the hot tropical air from the south. This creates favorable conditions for a warm and mild climate.

Simultaneously, the complex interaction of the atmosphere with the mountain system of Azerbaijan and

the Caspian Sea causes differences in the distribution of rainfall. This explains why there are different levels of

rainfall in the different regions of the Republic. The intrusion of cold air masses causes unfavorable weather

conditions with snowstorms and drifts and strong frosts that inconvenience the population at large. North winds

can also reach hurricane strength in Baku and in the Absheron peninsula there are also strong south-westerly

winds.

The highest average temperature during the year is observed in the plains of Azerbaijan, in the Kura-

Araz and Lenkoran lowlands, where temperatures exceed 41°C. In the mountains the temperature drops to

between 4.5°C and 6.6°C at heights of 2,000 meters. When the altitude is above 3,000 meters it can fall to -

10°C.

The average temperature in January in the plains and in the foothills usually exceeds 0°C, but some falls

of temperature are accompanied by strong frosts when, in the Lenkoran lowlands, the temperature can reach -13

to -17°C and elsewhere even -20°C. One can usually guess the temperature in the mountains since the

temperature drops 0.5°C for each 100 meters of altitude. In this way, in both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus an

altitude of 2,000 meters would indicate that the average temperature in January is close to -5°C to -10°C at

3,000 meters.

The air gets dramatically warmer in the plains and foothills in the spring because of the dry warm winds

from the Talysh Mountains and the arrival of tropical air.



25

The hottest months are July and August. The average temperature in July is 25-27°C in the Kura- Araz

plain, in the foothills to the south and west of the Absheron peninsula and in the foothills of Nakhchivan. The

moderate influence of the Caspian Sea extends only to the coastal line. At different times the arrival of tropical

air from the south can cause heat waves both in the lowlands and along the Caspian. In Nakhchivan the

temperature can reach 40-43°C degrees. At an altitude of 2,000 meters the average temperature in July is close

to 15°C degrees; above 3,000 meters it is 3-9°C degrees and on the highest peaks can drop even below 0°C.

It is interesting that despite the proximity of a water source as large as the Caspian Sea, the main

sources of humidity are the Atlantic air masses and not those of the Caspian. For example, rainfall is higher in

the southeastern end of the Greater Caucasus compared to the central region near the Kura basin.

This relationship exists despite the fact that on the Caspian coastline some monsoon circulation is

observed.

In summer, the cold air from the sea is drawn into the area of low pressure above the hot plains, and in

winter the wind blows from the land towards the ice-free seas. But here the summer 'monsoon', as it is called,

does not bring rainfall as in the Far East and South Asia.

Although the Caspian produces humid air it does not always result in high levels of precipitation.

Humidity levels above the sea vary from a monthly average of eighty per cent to eighty-five per cent in the

winter and drop to seventy per cent or seventy-five per cent in the summer. In the mountains the humidity index

is barely seven per cent. In the regions away from the sea, relative humidity in summer is also much less than in

coastal regions (average twenty per cent). Evaporation from the surface of the Caspian Sea is blown by the wind

which creates humidity in the sea air along the coast and which is cold in winter.

Rainfall is unequally distributed over the territory of Azerbaijan. South of the Absheron peninsula

yearly precipitation is never more than 200 mm, whereas in the south of the Lenkoran lowlands, for example,

there is an annual rate of more than 1,600 mm. Most of the Kura-Araz lowlands, the Nakhchivan plain

bordering the Araz, the high mountain zone in Talysh and northern Absheron all receive 200-300 mm of

precipitation annually. Dew provides additional moisture in the Kura-Araz lowlands. In the sloping plains below

the foothills there is an average of 300-400 mm, in the foothills in much of Nakhchivan 400-600 mm, and from

600 mm to 900 mm in central areas of the Lesser Caucasus. In the mountains of the central area of the Greater

Caucasus, however, the annual index can reach 600 mm to 1,200 mm. The range's southern slopes and the

centre of Lenkoran both have levels higher than 1,200 mm, and up to 1,700 mm in the far south of the Lenkoran

lowlands.

Snow cover in many parts of Azerbaijan appears irregularly and in varying quantities. In all the

lowlands and foothills snow does not remain long, on average less than 10-15 days per year.

Snowfall stabilizes only in altitudes exceeding 1,400-1,500 meters above sea level, sometimes lasting

from fifty to one hundred days and for more than half a year in some places. In Nakhchivan snow remains for a

long time at altitudes of 900 to 1,000 meters and above.

Occasionally there are hailstorms that damage vineyards, gardens and plantations, especially in the

middle and upper mountain zones in both Caucasian ranges and in Nakhchivan.

There are between five and ten hailstorms every year in these regions.

On average every thirty to forty-five days there are thunderstorms in the mountains and every five to

fifteen days along the coastal plains and the Kura-Araz lowlands.

The semi-deserts and dry steppes of the Araz River zone of Nakhchivan have a cold climate in winter

and hot dry summers. The climate of the forest-covered areas on the southern and north-eastern slopes of the

Greater Caucasus is moderately warm with regular precipitation. Higher up, above 2,700 meters, there are cold

and dry winters, as well as in the Lesser Caucasus at altitudes between 1,400 meters and 2,700 meters. There is

also plenty of moisture and a moderately warm climate most of the year in the subtropical areas of the Lenkoran

lowlands and the Talysh foothills. A cold climate with dry summers is typical for Nakhchivan, especially up to

1,000 meters. However, towards Zengezur and high up, between 2,700 and 3,000 meters, there is a cold and

humid climate all year round.



26

2. Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest salt lake in the world. But its size, hydrologic characteristics and origin

also provide the reasons for it to be called a sea. It is thought that in the past, the Caspian was linked to larger

seas in the west and the north. The past connection with northern seas can be seen through the paleontological

data of some types of animal forms preserved in the Caspian (up to fifteen types of Crustacea and fishes and

other representatives of cold water fauna).

The total area of the Caspian is 394,000 square kilometers and therefore larger than some seas. The

volume of water is 76,000 cubic kilometers. The length of the coastline is approximately 6,380 kilometers of

which 800 are in Azerbaijan. The northern coast of Azerbaijan borders the Middle Caspian and the Southern

Caspian in the south-east.

These two areas are divided by a marine ridge which is a continuation of the mountain system of both

Caucasian mountain ranges and the Absheron peninsula. In 1862 the expedition of N Ivashnikov came to the

conclusion that the Caspian's shallower part was 185 meters deep and the depths adjoining to the north were

500-600 meters deep. The deepest section in the Derbent trough of the Middle Caspian was 760 meters, whereas

the Lenkoran trough was 1,020 meters deep. Surface and underground outflows, together with atmospheric

precipitation, fill the Caspian Sea with water at an annual rate of approximately 417 cubic kilometers. The same

amount evaporates from the surface. The sea level changes when this balance is not achieved. The present level

of the sea is 28 meters lower than mean sea level, but this fluctuated greatly in the past. There is evidence for

this from historical documents, archaeological ruins and coastal terraces.

The level of the Caspian Sea is changing at present, as well. This affects the development of many of

branches of the economy, for example, maritime transport, the oil industry and fishing. During the past forty

years the level of the Caspian Sea has fallen by 2.5 meters. One reason for this is global warming; there is also

the increase in the use of river water for industrial needs and some changes may have been due to tectonic

factors. Annual variations are between 0.5 meters and 0.6 meters. The level rises despite strong evaporation in

summer. The Bay of Baku can be affected through the differences in pressure affecting the winds over the sea

giving variations of 0.7 to 0.8 meters.

The temperature of the water also changes significantly according to the season and the area of the sea.

The average temperature in summer varies from 22°C degrees along the north coast of Azerbaijan to 26°C

degrees in the south. In winter the water can fall to 5°C degrees in the north to 8°C degrees in the south. Salt

levels in the Middle and Southern Caspian vary between 11-13 per cent and drop to nearly 0 per cent near river

estuaries.

The color of water changes from blue-green in the open seas to dark brown near the coast and especially

near the rivers, which also affect the degree of clarity. Currents depend on wind speeds and they can reach 1.5 to

2 meters per second.

Storms in the north cause waves of 9 to 10 meters high and 14 to 15 meters where there is no influence

from the land mass. The Absheron coast with its frequent storms is often thought to be among the most difficult

for navigation and hydro-technical construction work. Only the northern part of the Caspian Sea freezes in

winter and this does not affect Azerbaijan except sporadically at the end of winter (February). But in abnormally

cold years, ice is driven from the north by winds and currents up to Absheron and they threaten the oil fields and

platforms in the sea. The formation of local ice 20-25 cm thick has been also observed here.

Azerbaijan's north-eastern sea coast is almost straight, with hardly any indentations at all. Only the

Absheron peninsula stands out into the sea for approximately 70 kilometers and with a width of around 35

kilometers.

Further south the coast is more indented. Capes, bights, bays and archipelagos have been formed

because the coastline was susceptible to tectonic changes. Mud volcanism is active here too. The coast sinks

into the water and again islands and even ruins of human settlements arise from the waters. There are ancient

legends of sunken cities in the Caspian Sea and about a neck of land which once connected the western and

eastern sea coasts. Yunan-Sheher ('City of the Greeks') was the name given to a supposed city close to Baku and



27

now popularly presumed to be submerged under the Caspian waters. Another city which is described in ancient

times is on an island off the Kura River estuary, 'Devil's Settlement', mentioned by the Arab geographer Istakhri

(951-1000 AD). This name also appeared on an 1825 map for a nearby island. In May 1861 an island appeared

near Kumani shoal as a result of an eruption. It had disappeared by the beginning of 1862 and research indicated

it arose again as a shoal in 1869. It arose and disappeared again, even in the past ten years. Could this have been

the legendary sunken island? Even today fishermen and navigators call this area Kharaba-Shekher ('Rums of the

City'). In the Caspian Sea there is evidence of permanent tectonic activity with underwater mud volcanoes and

earthquakes (for example, that of 27 January 1963), which may partly explain some of its history. 30

The Caspian Sea is crucial to Azerbaijan as a transport route and a source of different salts and, of

course, the oil and gas from the seabed.



28

3. Rivers

Rivers of Azerbaijan can be divided into the three main groups regarding their water flow

specifications:

1) perennial rivers;

2) seasonal rivers that flow only during the melting of snow in spring.

3) episodic rivers that flow in episodes after a downpour of rain of flash flood.

These three groups differ from each other for the volume of underwater supply to their streams.

Perennial rivers are fed by a constantly flowing base flow (groundwater). Seasonal rivers are fed by an elevated

water table during the rainy period, while episodic rivers are not at all dependent on base flow.

Like in all other countries, rivers have different feeding sources in Azerbaijan. Most rivers are fed by

snow, rainfalls and ground waters. Snow is the predominant feeding source for the rivers of the Major Caucasus,

while ground waters contribute the most to water supply of rivers in the Minor Caucasus. The Kur and Araz

rivers pass Azerbaijan in their lower and middle courses.

The Kur River is the largest river of Azerbaijan. It stretches for 1,515 kilometers and covers an area of

188 thousand sq. km. The Kur originates from the Hel River in Turkey, passes through Azerbaijan and flows

into the Caspian Sea in south-eastern part of the country. The Araz River covers an area of 86 thousand sq. km

until its junction with the Kur River. It originates from the Bingol mountains in Turkey at the altitude of 3300

meters. On the whole, the Araz River forms Azerbaijan's border with Turkey and Iran. It passes through

Azerbaijan in its lower 80 kilometers and joins the Kur River near Sabirabad. These two rivers belong to the

group of rivers, flowing at full under the influence of snow and rainfalls in spring and rainfalls in autumn.

Weather produces the greatest impact on the river flow in Azerbaijan. Intensive rise in temperature

causes melting of snow at heights of over 1500. The melting of snow further intensifies after heavy rainfalls of

April and May. Snow melts more intensively in the high altitudes (over 2500-3000 meters) from early April

through May until June. The melting process influences river flow even in summer time. Thus, melted snow

water, absorbed by soil, emerges on the surface and raises water level in rivers. Low river basins (except for

those of the Talysh region) are less influenced by the precipitation in spring and summer periods. Winter and

autumn rainfalls account for the most part of precipitations in the Talysh region. Rivers are less full of water in

summer in Azerbaijan. Heavy rainfalls that may from time to time occur in July and August, lead to floods,

causing agricultural damages. Severe floods have been registered in the rivers of southwestern slopes of Major

Caucasus Zengezur part. Rivers of the Major and Minor Caucasus mainly flow in hot seasons, while rivers of

the Talysh regions flow in colder seasons of year. Rivers, flowing in hot seasons account for most part of all

rivers (60-80%).

Such seasonal flows are difficult for industrial use. On the whole, rivers of the Azerbaijan Republic are

divided into two groups, according to their water regime: 1) rivers of full-flowing regime; 2) rivers of flood

regime. Flood Rivers are the Lenkoran Rivers and episodic rivers of Gobustan. Other rivers are included into the

first group of rivers.

Complex topography and other natural factors cause a non-standard flow across the country. The flow

increases with altitudes and reaches its top at a certain height (2800, on the north-eastern slope of the Major

Caucasus, 2000-2200-on its southern slope and 2200-2400 on the Minor Caucasus). The flow starts to decline

from above the indicated height. Due to the orographic specifications of the Talysh Mountains, the flow is

inconsistent with the average height. It decreases with the increase of altitude in the Talysh Mountains, while in

Peshteser and Burovar mountains it raises with the altitude.

The full-flowing rivers of the Republic of Azerbaijan mainly flow on the southern slope of the Minor

Caucasus. The average flow of such rivers exceeds 45 l-cm. The flow falls to 5 l-cm till the Alazan-Ayrichay

lowland. The flow module of rivers of the north-eastern slope of the Major Caucasus 18 l-cm. The increase of

flow with the increase of altitude is relatively uniform in this part of the Major Caucasus. The intensive increase

in the module of flow is registered on the area between the Yah mountain chains and the Major Caucasus



29

Mountains. (upper Qusar, Qudyal and other rivers.). The Average annual module of flow is from swings

hesitates from 10 to 20 l-cm.

The flow of rivers, originating in the slopes of the Yah Mountains, differs from that of the rivers,

flowing from the Major Caucasus. The flow increases intensively and reaches from 6 to 18 l-cm at a height of

1000-2000 meters, due to high level of precipitation. The flow gradually decreases till the Caspian Sea shore

down to 0.5 l-cm. the flow decreases beginning from the north-west of till south east of the seaside lowland and

reaches zero level on the Apsheron peninsula. Compared with the Major Caucasus, the flow in the Minor

Caucasus is more complicated, due to its geographic complexity and differing location of mountain chains. The

highest flow has been registered in the rivers flowing from the slopes of Gamish and Qapidjic mountains (over

28 l-cm).

In the Karabakh plateau precipitation is absorbed by soil rocks, thus turning the region into the arid

area, while in some places it bursts onto the surface thus increasing the water level in the rivers. That is typical

of the upper Terter, Hekeri and other regions as under water provides 70-80% of water to them. The flow

fluctuates from 0.8 to 22 l-cm in south east of the Minor Caucasus (rivers, originating in the Caucasus

Mountains) and from 0.5 to 10 l-cm in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The flow gradually decreases to

the level even lower than 0.5 l-cm on the plains on the side of Araz. In the Talish region the flow increases in

the direction from the north to south and from the west to east. The flow reaches its peak (over 25 l-cm ) in

Tengerud and Astara river basins in the central part of the region, while it reaches its minimum north of the

Vilesh river, as well as in the Lankaran and Vilesh rivers. Gobustan, Nakhchevan and Kur-Araz plains account

for the lesser part of water system in Azerbaijan.

Rivers of Azerbaijan carry large quantity of sediment, the result of erosion in the river basins. The rivers

in Azerbaijan are the most polluted rivers in the world. Their average annual pollution rate changes from 0.07 to

9 kg-1 cubic mete per region. It reaches its top on the north slope of Major Caucasus and minimum-on the

Karabakh plateau. The surface erosion is intensive in the north slope of the Major Caucasus (100-6800 t/sq/km)

, and it becomes weaker on the Karabakh plateau (5-10 t/sq.km). The surface erosion in the rivers of the Major

Caucasus (0.53 mm) is by 13 higher from that of the Minor Caucasus (0.03 mm per year) and Talish Mountains

(0.04 mm per year).

Hydrological system and its importance

The hydrological system of the Republic of Azerbaijan contains 10.3 billion cubic meters of water

reserves. These water reserves together with those, entering Azerbaijan from neighbor countries (20.6 billion

cubic meters) make up 30.9 billion cubic meters. Each square meters of the country receives 90 thousand cubic

meters of reserves, while the annual per capita volume of water reserves total 1270 cubic meters. The basin of

the river Kur accounts from most part of the water reserves. The nonuniformal distribution of water reserves

across the region and around the year hammers the utilization of these reserves and as a result of that the

reserves are not able to meet constantly growing demands for fresh water. The situation requires the regulation

of water flow. 60 water reservoirs of the country with the capacity of over 1 million cubic meters account for 21

billion cubic meters of water reserves. Most part of these reserves are used in different spheres (irrigation, water

supply, industry, fishery, etc). The establishment of water reservoirs of the Middle Kur plays the important role

to meeting demands for water. Currently, serious measures are undertaken to preserve pure water reserves and

to prevent their polluting with communal and industrial wastes.

Canals

The Canals of the Republic of Azerbaijan are the main source of irrigation. The canals used for the said

purpose extend to 47058.8 kilometers. with canals, used by several farms, accounting for 8580.3 kilometers and

those, used only by one farm-for 38478.5 kilometers. The amount of 11 billion cubic meters of water is used in

irrigation each year. Irrigated area of Azerbaijan totals 1.4 million hectares.



30

4. Flora

The Republic of Azerbaijan has a very rich flora. There are more than 4,500 species of higher plants

here. The flora of Azerbaijan is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the

South Caucasus. Sixty-six per cent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.

The richness of Azerbaijan's flora and the variety of its vegetation results from the variety and richness

of its physical-geographic and natural-historic conditions and from its compound history influenced by the

remote floristic regions.

Relict genera of the tertiary period can be frequently found in all the zones of Azerbaijan, especially in

Talysh. They are the iron tree (Parrotia persica), the Lenkoran acacia (Albizzia julibrissin), the basket oak

(Quercus castaneifolia), the Caucasian persimmon (Diospyrus lotus), the evergreen shrub of Ruscus hyrcana,

the box tree (Buxus hyrcana), etc. There are 240 endemic species of plants in Azerbaijan.

In the flora of Azerbaijan there are representatives of all the types of floristic areas, e.g. ancient wood,

boreal, plain, xerophytic, desert, Caucasian and accidental. The representatives of the ancient wood type are

most widely spread in the region of Talysh, and the boreal type is spread in the high mountains of the Minor and

Great Caucasus and a little in the lower areas. Meanwhile, the xerophytic, Caucasian, plain and desert types are

spread on the lowlands, foothills, the Steppe Plateau and, most of all, on the Kura-Araz lowland. The accidental

type of floristic areas is represented inconsiderably. In the Kura-Araz, Near Caspian and other lowlands there

are many lakes, pools and bogs rich in vegetation.

Cosmopolite-like thickets of reed (Phragmites communis) are widely spread along rivers and irrigation

canals, in boggy places and, locally, in the lowland districts. In them one can find Alopecurus myosuroides,

Cynanchum acutum, Cressa cretica, Typha sp., Echinochloa, Calamagrostis, etc. Here Erianthus purpurascens of

obviously savanna type has been preserved.

In the ditches of the Kura-Araz plain Cynodonetum (Cynodon dactylon), Glycyrrhizetum (Glycyrrhiza

glabra) and Bolboschoenus maritimus is spread more or less widely. In the Karabakh plain more often occur

Limonium scoparium, Polygonum patulum, Stachys palustris, Lythrum salicaria, Iris, etc. They form thickets

and also occur in those produced by other species.

In the dead water and estuaries (especially the Agzibirchala estuary) an abundance of Typha species

occurs. Rather typical are Nelumbium caspicum, Nymphaea alba, Nymphoides peltatum, Utricularia vulgaris

occurring here and there. Widely spread is Salvinia natans and other aquatic plants. They also often occur in the

Kura-Araz lowland. The thickets of Arundo donax are also typical of the lowlands.

Marshy territories are widely spread in the territory of the Talysh plain. There are marshes with

predominant Potamogeton pectinatus, Myriophyllum spicatum, Trapa hyrcana, Ceratophyllum demersum, Iris

pseudocorus, Sparganium erectum, Heleocharis eupalustris, and others. In drying marshes scattered all over the

plain typical are short plants. Among them the most widely spread are Ranunculus ophioglossifolius, Buschia

lateriflora, Lippa nodiflora, Mentha aquatica, Polygonum minus, Alisma plantago, etc.

Water-boggy plants occur also in foothills and in mountainous zones of different heights. They are

especially numerous in sub-alpine zones, where more than 100 marshes and marshy habitats are represented.

Vast areas of the Kura-Araz, Near Caspian and other plains are covered with desert and semi-desert

vegetation. Halocnemetum is most developed in the saline deserts. Short bushes of Halocnemum strobilaceum

contribute to formation of hummocks. Especially large hummocks are observed in the saline places of Lokbatan,

Mugan and East Shirvan. Kalidietum is developed mainly on the Near Caspian plain and in the Kura-Araz

lowland.

The Halostachydetum desert is also spread in these zones. As compared with the above-mentioned

desert formations, up to 5 or 6 ephemeral and sub-ephemeral species are observed among the Halostachydetum.

The Suaedetum desert occurs in East Shirvan and partly in foothills. Three kinds of Salsoletum create vast and

fruitful semi-deserts in the Kura-Araz lowland. Especially Salsola nodulosa creates deserts, or semi-deserts on

developed soils, independently or with the Artemisia fragrans wormwood. The Salsoletum dendroides desert

formation coincides with slightly saline soils and contains dozens of ephemeral and sub-ephemeral species.



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These communities produce semi-desert thickets with wormwood, Alhagi and Glycyrrhiza. There are 22 species

of Salsola in Azerbaijan, most of them creating formations. In the Sheki plateau region thickets of these species

are observed in slightly saline habitats, being very bright and colorful while bearing fruit.

Wormwood formations (Artemisietum) are the most widely spread type of desert vegetation. It is

mainly developed on fine-earth alkaline gray soils of low salinity. They often form semi-desert formations with

Salsola species or perennial cereals. All the kinds of Artemisietum include 30-35 or even 50-55 species of

ephemeral and sub-ephemeral plants. E.g., Poa bulbosa, Bromus japonicus, Lolium rigidum, Eremopyrum

orientale, Erodium cicutarium, Medicago minima, Medicago coerulea, etc. are believed to be constant members

of wormwood formations. Low shrubs also occur in those communities. The littoral and sandy coastal soils are

habitats for Artemisia arenaria, Artemisia scoparia, Convolvulus persicus, Melilotus caspius, Astragalus

hyrcanus and dozens of ephemeral plants. The rare species richly represented in the coastal vegetation of

Apsheron are mainly observed in spring, when they are biologically active. Then they fade soon.

As for the semi-steppe and steppe vegetation, it mainly includes copiously spread cereals, such as

Festuca, Stipa, Agropyrum cristatum, and also Medicago Transcaucasia, Centaurea reflexa, Gypsophyla steveni,

Teucrium polium and other perennial and annual species. Mountainous xerophytic vegetation often mixes with

steppe formations, producing particular communities.

In the torrid regions of the republic (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Jabrayil, Zanghelan, Steppe

Plateau, Zuvand) a specific mountainous xerophytic vegetation is developed, forming communities known

under the names of Phrygana, Shiblyak, Tragakanth, Acantholimon, juniper, pistachio and other formations, etc.

The Phrygana of Nakhchivan is very diverse at 1,000 to 1,500 meters above the sea level, with more than 300

species represented. The species of thyme (Thymus) are very typical of those arid habitats. The following

species are often observed there: Lactuca, Berberis, Zygophyllum atriplicoides, Astragalus szovitsii, Salvia

dracocephaloides, Pyrethrum, Marrubium, Achillea, Phlomis, etc.

In the republic the Shiblyak vegetation occupies small areas, as compared to Phrygana. Well-preserved

are in some places of the Nakhchivan Autonomy such representatives of the Shiblyak as communities formed

by Paliurus spina-christi, Rhamnus pallasii, Cotoneaster racemiflora, Amygdalus fenzliana, Caragana

grandiflora, Spiraea crenata, etc. Those formations are represented well in mountainous xerophytic vegetation.

The formations of Pistacia mutica, Juniperus, Cotinus, Celtis, etc. are also typical of the republic and create

particular communities.

In the arid Eldar Oyugu range located in the northwest of Azerbaijan there is an isolated spot of typical

thin forest formed by Pinus eldarica, which is an endemic relict of the tertiary period. The natural thin forest

includes such higher plant species as juniper, pistachio, Paliurus spina-christi and 30-35 others. These

communities obviously belong to the mountainous xerophytic type.

Along the major rivers (Kura, Araz, Ganikh, Gabirri) as narrow interrupted lines stretched are Tugai

forests with southern willows, mulberry trees, elms, pomegranates, hybrid-type poplars, Elaeagnus, Tamarix,

etc. A considerable number of shrubs sometimes form a mixed forest along the banks of mountainous rivers or

in river valleys, e. g. Hippophae rhamnoides, Elaeagnus, willows (Salix), Rhus coriaria, Tamarix, mulberries,

pomegranates, wild roses, blackberries, etc. Hippophae rhamnoides is most widely spread in the valleys of the

Shin, Kish, Damiraparan, Turyan, Geychay, Agsu, Velvele and Terter rivers. Along the rivers of Talysh grow

Pterocarya pterocarpa and Alnus subcordata, sometimes forming considerable plantations. Another species of

alder, Alnus barbata, is typical of boggy woods in Talysh. In the coastal forests of Talysh typical are local

endemic species of fig (Ficus hyrcanica), Humulus lupulus, Smilax excelsa, Sambucus ebulus, Carex of many

species, Cardamine, Poa, etc. In the marshes the species of Juncus form the marshy communities of Juncetum.

Local-type lowland forests can be found in Guba-Khachmas and Karabakh and also in the Alazan-

Ayrichay valley. They mainly include such trees and shrubs as Quercus longipes, Ulmus, Crataegus sp. div.,

Mespillus germanica, etc. The Alazan-Ayrichay valley forest also includes Acer velutinum, Tilia caucasica,

Fraxinus excelsior, Pyrus caucasica and several other trees and shrubs. Here occur such creeping plants as

Smilax excelsa, Hedera helix, Clematis vitalba, Vitis silvestris. There are various forms of the long-stalk oak

(Quercus longipes) in the lowland forests.



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As for the lowland forests of Talysh, Parrotia persica and Quercus castaneifolia are the most typical

species of trees there. Besides those relict species, the Talysh lowland forests are rich in Carpinus caucasica,

Zelkova carpinifolia, Zelkova hyrcana, Ulmus elliptica, Prunus caspica, Populus hyrcana. At the lower layer of

the wood occur the evergreen shrubs of Ruscus hyrcana and Danae racemosa.

The Caucasian persimmon (Diospyrus lotus) forms groves usually on more shadowy and humid

hillsides. Gleditschia caspica is the major species of tree in Talysh. It forms autonomous forests in the Talysh

foothills, with Albizzia julibrissin, Tilia and others admixed to them on the hillsides facing the sea. At

somewhat higher level above the sea Acer velutinum occurs, and Fagus orientalis occurs on the northern

hillsides, forming high forests. Taxus baccata, box trees (Buxus) and Danae form the lower layer of the wood.

In the Great and Minor Caucasus Mountains broad-leaved forests occur at 600-1,800 meters above sea

level. Quercus iberica, Fagus orientalis and, in the higher zones, Quercus macranthera are the main species

there. Fagetum is a very productive forest rich in species. Besides beeches (Fagus) and oaks (Quercus), there are

lime trees (Tilia), hornbeams (Carpinus), 5-6 species of maples (Acer), and especially Acer trautvetteri growing

together with the Eastern oak (Quercus macranthera). No grass cover can normally develop in thick beech

forests, but if they are lighter to a certain extent, then shrubs and grasses grow. E. g., holly, ferns, blackberries,

Rhododendron, Sambucus, Fragaria vesca and numerous cereals are spread in the lower layer of the wood.

Quercus iberica and Carpinus caucasicus form a wide strip in the medium mountain belt, with rowan trees

(Sorbus) widely spread.

In the alpine belt (1,800-2,000 meters) Quercus iberica is replaced by Quercus macranthera, which

forms forests of park type. In this belt there are also sub-alpine meadows and high grasses located close to park-

type forests. Quercus macranthera, Betula litwinowii, Betula pendula, Acer trautvetteri are spread on the sides

of high mountains, forming woods there. Birch (Betula) trees are often stooped on the northern slopes because

of snowy avalanches. The Caucasian rowan tree (Sorbus caucasigena) is typical in thin forests.

Among the conifers two species of pine trees (Pinus eldarica and Pinus kochiana) are spread in

Azerbaijan. Pinus eldarica occurs on the Steppe Plateau at 600 m above sea level, while Pinus kochiana occurs

at 1,600 m above sea level in the region of Gyok-Gyol (the Minor Caucasus) and in the medium mountain belt

in the Bulanig river valley of the Belokan region in the Great Caucasus. Pinus kochiana and birch trees form

mixed groves on the large rocks near Gyok-Gyol. Besides, such representatives of conifers as Taxus baccata

occur in forests, and juniper species occur everywhere. Among the evergreen shrubs Rhododendron caucasicum

forms small thickets in the sub-alpine belt of the northwest of the Great Caucasus, particularly in the Zakatala

and Belokan districts.

At 1,800-3,200 m above sea level sub-alpine and alpine meadows and meadow-steppes are spread. True

sub-alpine meadows include dozens of formations depending on the relief of the high mountains and the

macroclimatic peculiarities. High grasses also create a peculiar formation in the sub-alpine zone, with the

structure and composition being very various. High grasses and most of the sub-alpine plants are post-wood

species. The high grasses mainly include Heracleum, Achillea, Cephalaria gigantea, Filipendula ulmaria,

Calamagrostis arundinacea, Brachypodium silvaticum, Agrostis capillaris, Poa nemoralis, Koeleria gracilis,

Vicia, Melilotus, clover (Trifolium), Verbascum, Aconitum, Delphinium, Dactylis glomerata, various species of

the Rose family, etc. The sub-alpine belt includes more or less mesophytic meadows and drier meadow-steppes

up to xerophytic formations. Those meadows include various species of cereals and clover, Geranium, Inula,

Cephalaria, Scabiosa, Galium, Tragopogon, Betonica, Primula, Plantago, Rumex, Urtica, Cirsium, etc. Some

1,000 species are spread in sub-alpine meadows.

The alpine belt vegetation is widely spread at 2,400 to 3,200 m above sea level and is represented by the

elements of meadows and carpet grass. Vegetation is formed at these altitudes mainly on sloping hillsides,

cupola-like peaks, mountain passes, saddles, etc. The alpine vegetation is not so rich in species as the sub-alpine

vegetation, but it forms very bright and colorful meadows and carpets, which are of certain economic

importance. The alpine vegetation of Azerbaijan is represented by two versions - alpine meadows and carpet

grasses. Short-grass alpine meadows are represented by sedges, cereals, such as Carex, Festuca ovina, Zerna,

Elyna, Kobresia, etc. Myosotis alpestris, Veronica gentianoides, Taraxacum stevenii, Trifolium ambiguum,

Alchimilla caucasica, Potentilla, etc. are very frequent here. Meanwhile, carpet grasses also include two types of



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formations: 1) typical alpine carpet grasses on the fine earth substrate (caraway, Alchimilla, Plantago, etc.); and

2) stony carpet grasses on the stony substrate (Sibbaldiae, Campanulae, Macrotomiae).



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5. Fauna

The diversity of various types of animals, which inhabit and populate a defined ground or water area, is

the animal kingdom. The first reports on the richness and diversity of animal life in Azerbaijan can be found in

travel notes of Eastern travelers. Animal carvings on architectural monuments, ancient rocks and stones

survived up to the present times. The first information on the animal kingdom of Azerbaijan was collected

during the visits of naturalists to Azerbaijan in 17th century. Unlike fauna, the concept of animal kingdom

covers not only the types of animals, but also the number of individual species.

The animal kingdom of Azerbaijan is very rich, partly due to diversity of its natural complexes. There

are 97 species of mammals, 357 species of birds, 67 species of reptiles and amphibians, 97 species of fish and

over 15 thousand species of invertebrates in Azerbaijan.

People use the animal kingdom resources for food, as well as for raw materials in industries and

working power in field works. Vertebrates are used to produce meat, eggs, feather, leather, horns, as well as

butter and technical oil. Their products are used to produce drugs, perfumes, fertilizers and fodder. The natural

habitat of various types of animals is very different within the country. Some species populate special restricted

areas (lakes, parts of mountainous areas) while others are spread throughout the country. For example,

passerines can be found anywhere in the territory of Azerbaijan. Protozoa parasites are also registered in all

areas of the country, depending on natural habitat of carrier animals (cattle, poultry, etc.). Among mammals,

jeyran gazelles populate plain areas, Caucasian goat inhabits the Major Caucasus areas, most species of birds

can be found in forests, some in water basins. Pest insects occupy different agricultural fields, while others

populate defined biotopes only.

The Red Book of the Azerbaijan Republic includes 108 species of animals, including 14 species of

mammals, 36 species of birds, 13 species of reptiles and amphibians, 5 species of birds and 40 species of

insects.

A number of natural preserves have been created and the hunting rules were brought into effect for

protection of fur and hoofed animals in Azerbaijan.

The golden eagle inhabits mainly mountainous areas. The Caucasus tetra occupies the sub-Alpine areas

of the Major and Minor Caucasus, while the green head duck populates the Caspian Sea coast and inland water

reservoirs. Goats and West Caucasus moufflons inhabit Nakhichevan, jeyran gazelles can only be found in

Shirvan natural preserve, Bendovan and Korchay regions of Azerbaijan. The Caucasus goat populates western

slopes of the Major Caucasus in Balakan, Qabala, Zaqatala and Ismayilly regions.

The country's fresh water basins and the Caspian Sea account for 30 species of fish. They are fished in

the Kur River, surrounding lakes, as well as in the Mingechevir reservoir. Most of fish are anadromous or semi-

anadromous (the young grow up in salt water and migrate to fresh water to breed after they reach maturity). The

most valuable of anadromous fish are salmon, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon and beluga. Aspius, Chalcalburnus and

eel are also anadromous fish. Sturgeon meat and caviar are highly valuable. Beside, the water basins of

Azerbaiajn contain such valuable fish species as bream, sazan, rutilus kutum and others. Such fish species as

herring are fished in the Caspian Sea. Due to the construction of a number of hydrotechnical plants on the Kur

river after 1959, the regulation of the river water flow, as well as the Caspian water pollution led to the

significant reduction in the number of valuable fish species. Three hatcheries (Kuragzi, Alibayramli and Kur

experimental sturgeon hatchery) for melioration and fish-farming purposes were launched to restore the fish

reserves and to increase the number of fish in species. Azerbaijan's fish-farming establishments and hatcheries

account for breeding of 20 million sturgeons, 600 thousand salmons, over 800 thousand. A new hatchery with

the capacity of 20 million sturgeons was put in commission in Khyly in 2000.



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6. National parks and natural reserves

A network of protected areas has been established in Azerbaijan in order to preserve areas of natural

importance from the negative of human activities. These protected areas are recognized as having ecological,

scientific, cultural and aesthetic values, and fall under the following categories:

state natural reserves, including biosphere reserves

national and natural parks

ecological parks

natural monuments

state natural restricted areas

zoological parks

botanic and dendrological parks

health spas and resorts

There are also special buffer zones around these areas, and other natural areas such as rivers and water

sources. The level of protection given to different protected areas depends on their significance – be it

international national, regional or local.

The protected areas are not evenly distributed across the country, but the main landscapes of ecological

importance are represented within the protected areas system. The types of protected area in the network include

National Parks, Natural Reserves (designated for the protected of the natural environment, and scientific

purposes), Restricted Areas, and other sites (table). The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources manages

protected areas of biological importance, including two National Parks, the State National Reserves, State

Restricted Areas and natural monuments. A range of individual trees are also protected as national monuments,

however a number of important trees have been lost as a result of a number of factors, including the direct and

indirect impacts of the Armenian conflict and occupation of territory. The number of protected ancient trees has

declined from 2,083 to 1,810, whilst the total area of protected forest declined from 15,097 to 6,944 hectares.

The number of protected areas established in Azerbaijan.

Type of reserve Number of reserves

National parks 3

State natural reserves 16

State restricted areas 22

Protected trees (over 100 years) 2 038

Protected geological and paleontological sites 37

Coastal national park (Baku) 1

Historical natural state reserve (Gobustan) 1

In 1988 the government published a plan for the future development of the national protected areas

system up to 2010, with a target for covering a total of 954,000 ha. To date the area covered five of the

protected areas has been increased by 36,600 ha, and they now cover a total area of 70,700 ha. In addition, a

Presidential Decree established Ordubad National Park (12,131 ha), Shahbuz State Natural Preserve in

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (3,139 ha), Gakh State Natural Restricted Area (36,836 ha), Shirvan

National Park (54,373 ha) and Ag-Gol National Park (17,924 ha). Future expansions are still planned.

Shirvan National Park

Established with the purpose of protection and breeding of jeirans and waterfowls. Several types of

vegetation are developed in the reserve. It is prevailed sweet absinthium. There are many gramineous plants.



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From Amphibious there can be found Syrian green toad, tree-frog and lacustrine frog; from reptiles there are

marsh, Caspian and Mediterranean turtles, striped lizards, ordinary and water snakes, lizard snakes - giurza and

etc. Bustard, Turach, Little Bustard, Erne, Rock Egle, Falcon, Baloban, Black-belly Sandgrouse inhabit in the

reserve. In winter lot of migratory birds stay on reservoirs: Grey Ducks, Mallards, Pintails etc. From rare species

of mammals here there are jeiran, wild boar, wolf, jackal, fox, badger, cane cat, grey hare and etc.

Ag-Gol National Park

Area – 17924 hectares. It encloses Lake Ag-Gol area of water. Preserved Lake Ag-Gol (White Lake)

can be named "ornithological oasis" - this is not only a preserved area but one of the important wintering places

in the republic.

20 species of fishes inhabit in the reserve. Green toad, lake and ordinary frogs are to be met out of

amphibians in the reserve. Out of reptiles - there are Caspian and marsh turtles, ordinary and water snakes. 134

species of birds are included in ornithofauna. There are Marble-teal, Pink and Curly Pelicans.

22 species are presented out of mammals. Wild boar, coypu and cane cat are to be often found. Unique

colonial nests of waders and long-legged birds were preserved here.

Zagatala reserve

Zagatala state nature reserve organized on the area of 25218 hectares from which 48 hectares - is

occupied by reservoirs.

Present-day flora of the reserve counts more than one thousand species. From ancient plants there can

be found yellow rhododendron, cherry-laurel herb, Caucasian bilberries, yew-berry (Taxus baccata), velvety

maple, fern, eastern beach, also pale maple, Georgian oak. Fauna of the reserve is rich as well. Here there

inhabit dagestani tur, chamois, deer, roe deer, wild boar, brown bear, badger, fox, weasel, stone and forest

marten, lynx, forest cat, squirrel, etc.

Fauna of birds includes 104 species, among of which there are several big birds of prey: Eared Owl,

Kestrel, Egyption Vulture, White-head Vulture, Black Vulture and etc. Amongst rare, particularly protected

birds there are Golden Eagle, Falcon, Caucasian Heath-cock and Ular. Eight species of amphibious are spread in

the reserve: comb triton, Caucasian garden-spider, green and ordinary toads, lacustrine frogs, Transcaucasian

and Asia Minor frogs. From reptiles there can be found aesculapius and Transcaucasian runners, water snakes,

grass-snakes.

Ilyisui reserve

Ilyisui state nature reserve organized in 1987 on a space of 9.2 thousand hectares. Favorable climatic

conditions (mild winter, cool summer, warm spring and autumn, abundance of precipitation, absence of long

droughts and strong frost) assist in formation of lavish vegetation, and particularly forest.

Around 300 species of plants are to be found on the reserve territory. There are herbs (about 50),

endemic and rare disappearing species in the reserve flora, such as berry, birch. 93% of the territory is occupied

by deciduous forests. Beech, oak and hornbeam are prevailing. Lime, nut-tree, chestnut, ash-tree, maple and etc.

are growing.

From fauna there are tur, deer, chamois, roe deer, bear, wild boar, marten and etc. There are a lot of

river trout, eastern bistryainka, and barbel. From amphibious there are frogs, green and ordinary toads,

Caucasian and Minor Asia frogs. Reptiles are presented by 12 species in the reserve. There more than 91 species

of birds in fauna: Black Hawk, Black Kite, Goshawk, Golden Eagle, Lammergeyer, Vulture, Falcon, Caucasian

Heath-cock, Scops Owl, Eagle Owl, Eared Owl, Hoopoe, Woodpecker, etc.



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Ismailly reserve

Ismailly state nature reserve organized on a space of 5778 hectares and preserves mainly natural oak

and chestnut forests. About 170 species of vertebrates inhabit in the reserve. River trout, khramuli, eastern

bistryanka and barbel are found in rivers. There are 6 species of amphibious; rare in Azerbaijan comb triton

inhabits in forest zone. In the reserve 17 species of reptiles are to be found: turtles - Caspian, marsh and

Mediterranean, runners - yellow stomach, olive, four-lane and patterned, snakes - Caucasian cat snakes, grass-

snakes.

104 species of birds are found in the reserve. So rare birds such as Golden Eagle and Caucasian Heath-

cock, Lammergeyer are nestling here. Brown bear, wolf, jackal, marten, badger, wild cat, notably deer, roe deer,

wild boar, chamois, Dagestani tur and etc. inhabit here.

Pirkulli reserve

Pirkulli state nature reserve organized in 1968 with the purpose of protection of characteristic natural

complex and landscapes Samakhly plateau - one of the beautiful regions of the south-east part of the Greater

Caucasian range. Area of the reserve is 1521 hectares, most part of it - forest tract where 45 rare and endemic

species are to be found such as yew berry (Taxus baccata). From predator mammals brown bear, wolf, jackal,

fox wild cat, lynx, badger, forest and stone marten, weasel, raccoon inhabit in forests. Striped hyena is also to be

found - rare species for all Caucasian fauna. Wild boar and roe deer, notably deer live here.

Turinchay reserve

60 species of arboreous and shrubs grow on the reserve territory. These are: pistachio-tree, three sorts

juniper, Georgian oak, ordinary ash-tree, Caucasian carcas, ordinary pomegranate etc. 24 species of mammals

and 112 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles and 3 species of amphibious inhabit in the reserve. From birds

there can be met Keklik, Rock Pigeon, Turtle-dove, Kestrel, White-head Vulture, Black Vulture etc. From

mammals there are wild boars, brown bear, badger, stone marten, lynx, jackal, wild cat, hare etc.

Bastuchay reserve

Bastuchay state nature reserve is organized on area of 107 hectares with the aim of protection of unique

platan groves. Plane-trees are approx. 107 years old, but real giant trees are also to be found, aging 1200-1500

years.

Geygel reserve

Geygel state nature reserve is the first nature reserve in Azerbaijan. Here is the only grove of Eldar

pine-tree in the world.

Geygel - is the biggest and the most beautiful mountain lake in Azerbaijan. The water is fresh,

transparent and seems blue due to which the lake got its name - Geygel - that means blue (in Azeri) in

translation. Totally there are eight lakes on the reserve area surrounded by mountains and the landscapes of each

lake are quite diverse.

The animal kingdom of the reserve is represented by such species of animals and birds as Caucasian

notably deer, roe deer, badger, eastern Caucasian tur, brown bear, stone and forest marten, Lammergeyer, Black

Vulture, Caspian ular and others. More than 50 species of birds nestle in the reserve. Flora consists of 420 sorts

of plants. Around 20 sorts of flora - Caucasian endemics of dogrouse Nizam, cuff astragalus, carnation,

geranium Ryprskh etc.

Karayazy reserve



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The main protected objects are the largest massifs of tugai forests. It is specific the animal kingdom of

the reserve. Khramuli, kari, wild carp, bream, pike-perch, murtsa, sheat-fish, pike, trout and others are to be

found in the river Araz. In the reserve there are distinguished 6 species of amphibians, 10 species of reptiles,

birds - more than 70 species. There can be met wild boar, notably deer, wolf, jackal, cane and forest cat, fox,

weasel, stone marten, badger. Out of birds interesting are White-tail Sea Eagle, Black Stork and Pheasant.

Kizilagach reserve

Kizilagach state nature reserve is situated on the south-west coast of Caspian Sea. The whole area of the

reserve is an important holiday and wintering place for migratory birds in Caspian region. 248 species of birds

are to be found in the reserve including Turach, Sultanka, Little bustard, kara-vayka, kolnina, Egyptian and

Yellow Herons, Swans, Flamingo, Grey and White-head Geese, Kazarka, Falcon, Rock Eagle, Ducks, Pelicans,

Coot, and etc. Out of mammals jackal, cane cat, badger, otter, fox and others inhabit in the reserve. 54 species if

fish live in reservoirs there: chub, wild carp, kutum, grey mullet, salmon, sturgeon, etc.

Gobustan reserve

There are many mud volcanoes including active ones on its territory. The biggest is Turagay, height of

which reaches 407m. Gobustan land is rich in archeological monuments. At present about 20 halting places and

settlements of ancient human beings are explored.

But a wide fame has been brought to Gobustan by petroglyphs hewed by our distant ancestors. Totally

there are more than 6000 rock paintings in the reserve with images of primitive people, ritual dances, towns

with armed and unarmed oarsmen, and images of the sun in the fore part, warriors with spears, etc. Age of the

most ancient image is more than 10000 years. A comparatively big book draws attention amongst stone

"books". It is enough to touch it with a stone and it gives melodious sounds of various height-rhythms. This is

the "Gaval dash" (tambourine stone) letting out sounds "tam tam".

Natural monuments

Natural monuments on the territory of Azerbaijani Republic are specific and well-preserved small areas

of most typical landscapes, scenic corners of special aesthetic value, definite areas with endemic, relic and

disappearing fauna, aged trees, examples of horticultural art, waterfalls, caves, lakes with unique genesis and

morphology, original geological rock formations, the sites with paleontological finding, other sites having great

historical, cultural-educational significance and other picturesque places.

There are 2083 trees with age over 100 years, 37 geological and paleontological sites and over 15

thousand hectares of standard original, endemic and rare types and valuable forest areas. All these sites are

under protection and the State Committee of Ecology issued passports for each natural monument, and local

powers are providing their protection.

Special care is given to forest areas and natural environments.

There are 30 such protected sites including:

Pisttachio grove in Barda district - unique botanic object of mesophilic forest formation with trees 370-

450 years old.

Boxwood grove in Astara district is a representative of oldest Girkanian flora, relict grove of tertiary

period. Very precious are 200-300 years old evergreen boxwood, Girkanian yew, other trees

Eldar pine grove on the border with Georgia (Ellaroglu Ridge, branch of Geigol Reserve)

Plane tree grove in Basutchai Reserve - the largest plane-tree formation in Basutchai River meadow



39

Araz oak in Zangilan district is disappearing type and can be found only in forests at the shores of Araz

River.

There are 37 geological (paleonthological) natural monuments under state protection including:

9 caves, including Azykh cave with Neolithic settlement of prehistoric man and rock paintings

Unique geological formations like Mount of Baku storey with classical cuts of lower anthropogenic

deposits 70 meters thick - 400-600m. deep and consisting of marble originated by limestone metamorphoses

4 mud volcanoes: Lokbatan with maximal number of registered irruption (20) is situated at the altitude

of 130m above the sea and differs from other volcanoes by absence of griphon stage. It is one of most

interesting bastion-shaped volcanoes of Gobustan is situated at the southwest projection of Alyat Ridge border

of Kur lowlands, as well as peculiar mud Kyanizadaq and Dashqil volcanoes of Gobustan

Afurjin waterfall at Velvelichai River where water falls vertically from the height of 60 meters

Paleonthologic objects like Binagadin Asphalt Lake is a site of quartentiary flora and fauna thanks to

their diversity and good preservation belongs to richest deposits of the world. There are 243 types of fossil flora

and fauna - huge collection of remains of sea animals, whales, sea turtles, fish, insects and plants belonging to

Maikop deposits and presented by clay soil, shale, etc.

http://www.cac-biodiversity.org



40

VI. POPULATION

Population of Azerbaijan has been estimated at 9593,0 thousand people as of beginning of 2015, with

its high majority being in the productive age of between 15 and 64 years. With the population age averaging at

27.7 Azerbaijan has quite young, vibrant and dynamic population. Positive population growth rate of 0.66% (as

of 2010), with birth rate being 20.74 births/1,000 population and death rate at the level of 9.75 deaths/1,000

population for the same period help to offset net migration rate of -4.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population.

Azerbaijan is known for rather low infant mortality despite the social and healthcare issues unresolved

due to the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which still is burdening the statistics.

National minorities.

Ethnic groups

Azeris 91,6%, Dagestani peoples 2,0%, Russians 1,3%, Armenians 1,3%, Other (Jews, Georgians,

Kurds, Talyshs, Tatars, Tats, and Ukrainians) 2,2%

Note: Almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region

Azerbaijan is also home to numerous smaller groups, such as Georgians, Kurds, Talysh, Tatars and

Ukrainians. Some people argue that the number of Talysh is greater than officially recorded, as many of them

are counted as Azerbaijanis. Around the town of Quba in the north live the Tats, also known as the Mountain

Jews, who are to be found in Dagestan as well. Many Tats have immigrated to Israel in recent years, though this

trend has slowed down and even reversed more recently. The country’s large Armenian population mostly

emigrated to Armenia and to other countries with the beginning of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. 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. Virtually all of Azerbaijan’s Armenians now live

in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.



41

VII. DIASPORA.

The term Azerbaijan Diaspora' today means Azerbaijanis settled in foreign countries. The definition of

the notion "Azerbaijanis living in foreign countries" is given in the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "About

the state policy on the Azerbaijanis living in foreign countries". It says that "Azerbaijanis living in foreign

countries" are the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan and their children living abroad the Republic of

Azerbaijan, former citizens of Azerbaijan SSR or the Republic of Azerbaijan living abroad the republic of

Azerbaijan and their children, and individuals relating themselves to Azerbaijan on ethnic, language, cultural or

historical ground.

Migration of Azerbaijanis to foreign countries was more intensive in early 20th century. Anti-Muslim

and anti-Turk policy of tsarist Russia aimed at weakening the dominant position of Azerbaijanis in the

Caucasus. The genocide carried out by Armenians during 1905-1906 and in 1918 and the policy of ethnic

cleaning had the same strategic purpose.

After establishment of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan in 1918 the migration to the foreign

countries lessened. The collapse of the Democratic Republic formed new situation. Serious persecutions of

founders and supporters of the Democratic Republic by the Bolsheviks made them leave the country. This

period is characterized by mass migration of Azerbaijanis to foreign countries.

The first attempt towards organization of Azerbaijan Diaspora was establishment of "Azerbaijan

Culture Circle" in Ankara, Turkey on February 1, 1949. Saleh bey Sheykhzamanli, the son of Nagi bey

Sheykhzamanli, the Minister of National Security of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, established in

1956 the 'Azerbaijan society of America' in the USA. Today the society is led by the granddaughter of Saleh

bey, Ms. Tomris Azeri. Thus, establishment of Azerbaijan Diaspora started in the middle of the last century. We

don't have any earlier facts evidencing establishment of the communities and unions uniting Azerbaijanis.

After World War II new period in the history of Azerbaijan Diaspora started. Number of compatriots

living in foreign countries during the war and peace increased. Those were Azerbaijanis taken hostages in the

war and those who for various reasons left for Europe after the war. Cruel and merciless punishment

mechanisms and bloody repressions of the Soviet regime prevented their return.

For years after World War II hard border regime applied by the Soviet Government prevented general

flow abroad the USSR. But dissident movement was becoming greater in numbers. Soviet Azerbaijan was not

an exception.

Since early 1970s national revival, development of economy, culture, science and education, perfection

of moral values stimulated national self-consciousness. In 1970-80s Heydar Aliyev did his best to preserve the

historical memory of the people, spurring development of culture and making Azerbaijan more popular in the

world.

The Diaspora issues were driven backstage because of the existing political realities. Nevertheless,

serious attempts were made to develop culture, art, and science. Intensification of cultural relations in foreign

countries, development of translation, and establishment of the Azerbaijan Cultural Relations Society with the

help of the Azerbaijanis living abroad «Veten» society served the unification of compatriots and strengthened

their relations with the Motherland. The thorough development of our country awoke the feeling of national

pride and increased the interest and bounds of Azerbaijanis to their homeland.

Heydar Aliyev paid particular attention to intensification of scientific and intellectual potential. More

than 15,000 Azerbaijanis got the opportunity to get education in leading educational institutions of the USSR.

Majority of the professional community returned to Azerbaijan and served its development. Another part settled

in the cities they were studying in.

The events of the January 20, 1990 remained in the history as great example of the national unity of

Azerbaijani people. The tragedy united them and revealed the power of world Azerbaijanis. Heydar Aliyev’s

statement in Moscow in the aftermath of January 20th expressed the political will of the people, stimulating

nationalistic feelings.



42

There still is a need to find out a more favorable solution for the problems and difficulties in formational

processes of the national Diaspora living in foreign countries. About 300 communities and organizations

function in the majority of the world countries today.

Common purpose united many societies and associations functioning separately, such as All-Russia

Azerbaijani Congress, the Congress of Ukrainian Azerbaijanis, Federal National - Cultural Autonomy of

Azerbaijanis in Russia, German Federation of Azerbaijan Societies, Sweden-Azerbaijan Federation, 'Turan'

congress of Azerbaijanis from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan and Social Association "Azeri" in

Kyrgyzstan. As a result of concerted efforts, about 40 new Azerbaijani communities were established in 2004 in

Europe, Northern America, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium,

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Poland, United Arabian Emirates, Arabic Republic of Egypt,

Turkey, the US.

The State Committee on the Affairs with Azerbaijanis living Foreign Countries follows the main

objective of achieving unification of Diaspora organizations in foreign countries. The committee aims to gather

all the Azerbaijanis living in foreign countries in communities and associations.

«Azerbaijan. Information Digest.2007», Baku, 2007, page 57-59.



43

VIII. AZERBAIJANI LANGUAGE

Azerbaijani language is the state official language of Azerbaijan and the mean of linguistic

communication of the 9 million population of the country (2010).

Besides, Azerbaijani is also spoken by 30 million Azerbaijanis residing in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Several millions of Azerbaijanis reside in Russia, USA, Turkey and Western Europe. Regardless of their current

country of residence, Azerbaijanis still can understand each other easily. There are over 50 million speakers of

Azerbaijani at present.

Genealogically, Azerbaijani language belongs to the Turkic group of languages and, together with

closely associated Turkish, Turkmen and Gagauz languages, forms the southwestern group of Turkic languages.

From the traditional-morphological and typological point of view, the Azerbaijani language belongs to

the group of agglutinative languages. Unlike inflexional languages, all words of Azerbaijani as well as other

agglutinative languages are lexically and grammatically independent units: grammatical meanings and

grammatical relations are built by monosemantic inflexions which follow the stem and the root of a word.

The Turks who make up the ethnic foundation of the Azerbaijani people appeared in the territory of the

present Azerbaijan long before our century and in the early first millennium along with other numerous tribes

were the ancient residents of these lands. The appearance of a nation of Turkish origin and speaking Azerbaijani

language and the transformation of this language to a means of communication was a long process, covering

several centuries.

With the increase in the number of Turkish tribes as well as their economic, political and cultural

influence the language was enriched and thus ethnic groups, that manage to preserve their ethnic and

anthropological peculiarities even nowadays, united into a nation with a unique culture and language.

The Azerbaijani language is one of the languages that had passed a long path of development.

Regarding the epos Kitabi Dede Gorgut as the unwritten pattern of our literature, the age of the language serving

the people as a means of communication can exceed 1300 years. Some materials point out that the history of

written literary language of Azerbaijan commences with 13th century.

Through the 800 years of its development, the Azerbaijani literary languages had passed through two

main periods. The old period covers the 13th up to 18th century, while that one referred to as a new one started

since 18th century and continues up to present times.

The first stage is notable for a vast area of the usage of the Azerbaijani language. The palace and

military Azerbaijani language used by Djelairids, Qaraqoyunlus, Aggoyunlus and Sefevi states was the literary

language of the Asia Minor. The Azerbaijani language of this period differed from that of the new period not by

its extra linguistic and linguistic properties.

The vocabulary of the language of the first period was distinguished by the predominance of words of

Arabic and Persian origin. The styles of the language of that period, especially the predominant genre of poetry

and various stylistic devices caused the inflow of a great number of loan words in the literary Azerbaijani

language. The establishment of schools of realism and realistic literary method and the formation of the latter as

a leading creative caused disappearance of the loan words that did not join the vocabulary of the language.

Moreover, the words of the Azerbaijani language, derived from the Osmanly language (shimdi (now),

shoyle (such), shu (this, that), kendi (oneself) abandoned the language in the new period. That resulted from the

full completion of the process of Turkish languages differentiation.

The language of two periods differs by its phonetics. Thus, the new period was marked by the

stabilization of the system of phonemes in the literary Azerbaijani language. The interchange of vowels o//a,

and consonants h//q//x peculiar of the first period resulted in winning of the first (o and h) in the second period.

The similar processes occurred in grammar. The interchange of inflexes of accusative case -yi, -yı, -yu,

-yü///-ni, -nı, -nu, -nü typical of the literary language of the first period disappeared in the second period.The

inflex of the future tense of the verb -isər was replaced by the inflex -acaq//-əcək.

In the old Azerbaijani language word combinations mainly built on Arabia and Persian syntactic

models: fəsli-gül (gül fəsli, blossoming season), tərki-təriqi-eşq (eşq təriqinin (yolunun) tərki, abandonment of



44

the path of love), etc. In such constructions the attribute preceded the determinate. The second period is

characterized by quite opposite process: the determiner is always used before the defined.

In the first period the complex composite sentences with a subordinate clause, placed within the

principal one, while in the second period such kinds of sentences were replaced by participle constructions.

Both periods are themselves divided into a number of stages

The first period of the development of Azerbaijani language passed two stages:

1) formation of the literary language(13th-14th cc)

2) flourish of the classical language of poetry (15th-18th cc)

The second period covers three stages:

1) nationalization of the literary language (18th century)

2) establishment and development of the national language (19th-early 20th cc)

3) present-day stage (20th-early 21st cc)

New period. The second period was marked for the flourishing of the Azerbaijani language especially

within the stage of the establishment and development of the national language. Along with poems the language

was used in creating literary works, publishing newspapers and magazines and even in a number of official

documents and scientific research. At that time foreigners, Russian and Germans displayed a great interest to

this language and some of them started learning it. These were Russian poets Lermontov, Bestujev-Marlinski,

German oriental scientist Bodonshtedt. The latter learned Azerbaijani language from the Azeri poet Mirza Shafi,

translated his poems to German and published them in a separate book. Though the dictionaries of the old

Azerbaijani language were compiled and grammatical researches were conducted in the Middle ages, the

scientific works and text-books began to appear in the 19th century. Most famous of them is the work "General

grammar of Turkish-Tatar language" by Mirza Kazymbey. The text-books by M.Vezirov, L.Buqagov, Q.

Makarov, M.L.Mamedov, and S.M. Ganiyev related to the Azerbaijani language were also written in Russian.

L.Budaqov also compiled a dictionary in two volumes (Сравнителный словар турецко-татарских языков).

The valuable work "Fənni-sərfi-türki" ("The grammar of Azerbaijani language") by M.Ashrafly is also written

in Azerbaijani.

The 20th century was the flowering as well as the problematic period in the development of Azerbaijani

language. At that very time Azerbaijani language faced a great problem. Since the beginning of the century

three trends emerged in the literary Azerbaijani language. These are mainly related to the language of literary

creations and press.

1. The first trend attempted to bring the literary language as closer to the colloquial language as

possible. This is proven by creative activity of Molla Nasreddin magazine and its collaborators (Dj.

Mamedguluzade, A.Haqverdiyev and others). These creations do not differentiate between literary language and

colloquial language and dialects. Such language is more understandable to ordinary people.

2. the trend mainly focusing on the establishment of a literary language resting on the traditions of oil

Azerbaijani language and the language of Osmanly Turks. This trend was mainly adhered by a number of

magazines and newspapers as Fyuzat and Heyat and mainly by their collaborators (A.Guseynzade, Sabribeyzade

and others). Yet, the people do not find it easy to understand such a language. This language almost did not

differ from the old Turkish language.

3. the trend, which propagandized the establishment of a literary language based on the norms of a

literary language and understandable by everyone. This language was one not influenced by any dialect. It was

created by such writers and poets as A.Shaig, Dj.Djabbarly, S.Guseyn, A.Sahhat. This situation lasted from

early century till the 1930th.

The third stage of the development of Azerbaijani language was marked by the attachment of the status

of the state language to it.

The national leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev played a great role in the declaration of

Azerbaijani language the state language of the country. It is well known that Heydar Aliyev commenced his

activity in the sphere of the state language with his first day of ruling the country (1969)

Heydar Aliyev who had a profound knowledge of literary and colloquial Azerbaijani language, of its

rich vocabulary and easily used its grammatical capacities, delivered brilliant speaker at a number of meetings



45

as the celebration of the 50th jubilee of the Baku State University, the party conference of the same higher

school and at other meetings held at a high level, thus gaining a great respect and love.

He was perfectly aware of the fact that the respect and love he gained excited love and respect to the

state language of Azerbaijan. All that created the atmosphere leading to the establishment of a state language.

In 1977-1978 the leadership of the country faced a number of problems. As we know the new

Constitution of USSR was approved in 1977. That very Constitution had to be an example to the new

constitutions of all the countries and in fact it did. Yet the constitution did not contain an article on a state

language. The newly approved constitutions of different republic did not cover this issue either.

The situation in Azerbaijan was quite different. Heydar Aliyev continued his struggle for the

Azerbaijani language to be declared the state language. The country leader could not bear the fact that the

language is not incorporated into the constitution. Attracting the intellectuals and the entire population to the

struggle, he put all efforts into it and overcame all obstacles with brevity.

Heydar Aliyev, making a report at the seventh session of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR,

devoted to the draft constitution of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (the basic law) and the results of the

national discussion, proposed the following amendment to the 73rd article: "Azerbaijani language is the state

language of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic".

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic provides for the use of the Azerbaijani language in the State and

social bodies, educational institutions and other establishments of Azerbaijan and promotes its comprehensive

development.

The constitution of 1978 proves that Heydar Aliyev really cared about his nation and his native land.

The Constitution of independent Azerbaijan, accepted through national voting confirmed Azerbaijani

language as the state language of the country: Article 21, The State Language.

The state language of the Azerbaijan Republic is Azerbaijani language. Azerbaijan provides for the

development of the Azerbaijani Language.

Heydar Aliyev, who always attached a great importance to his native language and had a profound

knowledge of it, considering the situation, created at the turn of the new period of the state language

development, signed a decree "On perfection of measures for the use of the state language" on June 18, 2001.

The said decree, along with reflecting the achievements of the language through the history of its

development also determined existing problems of the language and pointed out the ways of their resolution.

Some of these ways have already implemented successfully. The decree of President of the Azerbaijan

Republic Ilham Aliyev signed on January 12, 2004 "On the publishing of mass media in Latin alphabet in

Azerbaijani language will, undoubtedly, settle all the problems connected with the alphabet.

Each of the three stages of the second period had its own peculiarities. As mentioned above, at present,

the Azerbaijani language is used not only in Azerbaijan but also in Iran and Iraq. Folklore creations testify that

the languages used by Azerbaijanis residing in these countries, do not differ much. However, the difference lies

in literary languages and it's mainly reflected in printed literary creative works, newspapers and magazines,

radio and TV programs. The difference is caused by historical and social reasons.

A war between Iran and Russia resulted in signing two agreements Gulustan (1818), Turkmenchay

(1827) which divided Azerbaijan in two parts. Thus, for nearly 200 years, two parts of one nation live separately

and in quite different conditions and environment. Both Iran and Russia did not admit the relations between the

two parts of the nation. Though Azerbaijan established definite relations after gaining independence, yet the

difference is too deep especially in languages.

Like other spheres, the difference lies also in literary language. The language of independent Azerbaijan

still contains traces of Russian language, while the language of South Azerbaijan is influenced by the Persian

language. At present, literary language of North and South Azerbaijan still differ in vocabulary, phonetics and in

some way grammar (especially, in syntax)

These differences are caused by some extralinguistic factors. Though Azerbaijan has been the part of

Russia till 1991, the Azerbaijani language has been taught in secondary schools, institutes and universities for

76 years. The researches in the sphere of Azerbaijani language, its history and dialects were conducted

intensively and hundreds and even more creative works were devoted to this topic in Azerbaijani language. It's



46

possible to say that the most famous literary creations of all the nations beginning from the literature and

philosophy of Ancient Greece up to present-day literary and scientific creations have been translated in

Azerbaijani language. At present the text-books on all subjects (mathematics, physics, chemistry, medicine, etc)

are written in Azeri or translated from other languages.

Except for one or two newspapers and magazines, Azerbaijani language almost is not used in South

Azerbaijan.

The 3-4 centuries gap between Azerbaijanis and Iraq Azerbaijanis, remoteness of areas and

disconnection caused the literary language to step on quite different paths. The literary language of Iraq

Azerbaijanis is much influenced by the language of the present-day Turks.

In recent years the formation and development of language of those residing in different countries is

much influenced by the attempt to bring it closer to the literary language of Azerbaijan and the process is hoped

to be successful.

Modern Azerbaijani Language as one of the Turkish languages has a specific grammatical and phonetic

properties. Due to the existence of the law of harmony in this language, front vowels (i,ü,e,ə,ö) and back vowels

(I, u, a, o), differing by the place of formation can not be used within the same word. (except for words like işıq,

ildırım beginning with vowel i): at the same time the front vowels can not be used with velar consonants

(k,q,ğ,x), while back vowels can nor follow dorsal consonants (g, k).

The Azerbaijani language consists of 15 vowel and 25 consonant phonemes. These 40 phonemes are

marked with 32 letters of the

Azerbaijani alphabet.

There are 9 short

(i,ü,e,ö,ə,a,o,u,ı) and 6 long (i:,e:,ö:,ə:,

a:,u:) vowels in Azerbaijani language.

Long vowels are not typical of this

language and are mainly found in loan

words.

As a rule, phonetic accent falls

on a last syllable. Phonemic accent does

not depend on the lexical meaning of a

word: 'alma (an apple)-alma' (don't

take).

The vowel ı and consonant ğ are

not used at the beginning of a word in

Azerbaijani language.

The morphological system of

Azerbaijani language includes notional

parts of speech (nouns, adjectives,

numerals, pronouns, adverbs, verbs) and

secondary (postpositions, conjunction,

particles, modal words, interjection).

Nouns are characterized by the

categories of number, possession, case

and can be used as a predicate. These

categories are typical of other

substantiated parts of speech.

The category of case consists of 6 cases (nominative, possessive, dative, accusative, ablative,

prepositional). The verb has five tenses (the past indefinite tense, past declarative tense, present tense, future

suppositional tense, future complete tense) and 6 forms of mood (order, wish, condition, necessity, importance,

predicate).



47

Depending on the relations between subject, object and predicate, verbs can be used in five grammatical

voices (active, passive, reflexive, causative, interaction).

According to the syntactical rules of Azerbaijani language, subject is used at the beginning of a

sentence, predicate at the end, while attribute precedes the word it modifies.

In Azerbaijani language words are forming by using morphological methods: (dəmirçi (a blacksmith),

üzümçü (Vine-grower), təbliğatçı (propagandist); dəmirçilik (the profession of blacksmith), üzümçülük (vine-

growing), təbliğatçılıq (propaganda); dolça (a can), qazança(a pan) otluq(grassland), meşəlik (woodland)

qaldırıcı (lifting), endirici (drawoff) ; sevinc (joy), gülünc (smile); yavaşca (slowly, carefully), indicə (just) and

syntactical ones (otbiçən (hay-maker), vaxtamuzd (time work), boyunbağı (necklace), gündoğan (east),

sarıköynək (oriole), əlidolu (with the hands full (of), adlı-sanlı (celebrated, famous), qırxayaq (centipede),

beşaçılan (rifle having five charges), etc).

To date Azerbaijan uses the Azerbaijani alphabet, established on the basis of Latin letters.

Depending on the areas of usage of literary Azerbaijani language, it combines four main styles: official

style, publicistic style, belles-letters and the style of scientific prose. To date all the styles are on highly

developed.

Great changes occurring in political, scientific, cultural life of the country caused the rapid increase of

terms in the vocabulary of Azerbaijani language. This process is observed in all styles, especially in official and

scientific styles and in some way in the publicistic style.

The dialects of the Azerbaijani language consist of four groups: 1) eastern group (Baku, Quba,

Shamakhi, Lenkeran , Mugham dialects; 2) western group (Ganja, Qazakh, Karabakh and Ayrym dialects); 3)

northern group (Sheki, Zagatala-Qakh dialects); 4) southern group (Nakhichevan, Ordubad dialects).

http://www.affa.az

Azərbaycan Milli Ensiklopediyası. 25 volumes. Volume “Azərbaycan”. Baku, 2007, p. 151-152



48

1. The Laws and other acts of the Republic of Azerbaijan

on the State language and the Languages' rights

The Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic

(November, 12, 1995)

Article 21. State Language.

The Azerbaijan language shall be the State language of the Azerbaijan Republic. The Azerbaijan

Republic shall ensure the development of the Azerbaijan language. The Azerbaijan Republic shall guarantee the

free use and development of other languages spoken by the population.

Article 25. Right to Equality.

Every Person shall be equal to the Law and Court. Men and Women shall have equal Rights and

Freedoms. Every Person shall have equal Rights and Freedoms irrespective of race, nationality, religion, sex,

origin,property status, social position, convictions, political party, trade union organization and social unity

affiliation. Limitations or recognition of Rights and Freedoms because of race, nationality, social status,

language origin, convictions and religion shall be prohibited.

Article 45. Right to Use Native Language.

Every Person shall have the right to use Native language. Everyone shall have the right to be raised and

get an education, be engaged in creative activities in Native Language. No one can be deprived of the right to

use Native Language.

Article 127. Principles of Justice.

10. Legal proceedings in the Azerbaijan Republic shall be conducted in the official language of the

Azerbaijan Republic or in the language of the population which constitute the majority in the area concerned.

Persons - participants of court examination who do not know the language in which legal proceedings are held

shall be guaranteed via the interpreter the right to get fully familiarized with the materials of the case, participate

in legislative enactments and speak in the native language in the court.

http://www.geocities.com



49

2. Law of the Azerbaijan Republic on the renewal of the Azerbaijani alphabet with Latin graphic

As a result of large discussions and scientific disputes and under the recommendation of the first All-

Union Turkic congress held in Baku in 1926 Azerbaijan people together with Turkic people accepted the

alphabet with Latin graphic. Corresponding to the phonetic structure of Azerbaijan language and making an

opportunity for the simplification of the orthographic rules, allowing to eliminate the illiteracy by mass order in

a short time and extend scientific, cultural ties between the people Azerbaijan alphabet contrary the will of

people and under the pressure of the Center was replaced with Cyrillic alphabet in 1939. This act being the logic

continuation of mass repression of 30-s pursued an object to cut short the process of national self-consciousness

of Turkic people and to achieve their gradual estrangement and disconnection.

Eliminating this historic injustice the National Board of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan

Republic decrees:

1. That Law of Azerbaijan SSR "On the transfer of Azerbaijan written language from Latin into Russian

alphabet" of July, 11 1939 to be considered from this day as becoming invalid.

2. That the Azerbaijan alphabet including 32 letters with Latin graphic used in Azerbaijan until 1940 to

be restored.

Baku, December, 25, 1991




50

3. Decree of the National Board of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Regarding the regulation of coming into force the

Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the renewal of the Azerbaijan alphabet with Latin

graphic".

In accordance with the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "About the renewal of the

Azerbaijan alphabet with Latin graphic "National Board of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan

decrees:

1. Azerbaijan alphabet with Latin graphic containing 32 letters with some changes shall be formed up as

the following:

2. Renewal of the Azerbaijan alphabet with Latin graphic shall be carried out under the following

stages:

In 1992 year:

To carry out the lessons on the new

alphabet in the primary classes of secondary

schools from September1.

To organize optional lessons on the new

alphabet with Latin graphic in high forms of

secondary schools, technical colleges, secondary

special and high schools .

To organize lectures on the study of the

alphabet with Latin graphic for teachers and

other workers in all educational institutions.

To take measures on providence the

learning of the alphabet with Latin graphic by

typists, proof - leaders, printing - house workers,

newspapers and magazines workers, publish -

houses workers.

Republican newspapers and magazines

along with the Russian alphabet shall use the

alphabet with Latin graphic. To provide the

conclusion of treaties with plants preparing the

printing equipment units, purchasing and

erection of such units. To reconstruct gradually

the prints in books and newspapers printing -

houses and also in polygraph points of the

ministries, institutions and other organizations

.To start reconstructing of shops producing the

stamps, blanks and also renew stamps and

blanks of all organizations. To carry out the new edition of maps, to begin the preparing of new sign - boards of

towns, districts, villages, streets, ID cards, statistics and other documentation. To organize lectures on the

republican TV propagandizing the alphabet with Latin graphic and its training. Give the names of telecasts,

titles, advertisements in a new writings also. To open the courses for those who want to learn the alphabet with

Latin graphic.

To implement the alphabet with Latin graphic in the cultural centers. The scientific - research institutes

shall turn gradually to the new alphabet. To prepare and print by Latin graphic orthographic dictionary of



51

Azerbaijani language. To create domiciliary training centers on education the alphabet with Latin graphic. To

provide gradually writing of street names, advertisements, institutions and plants names by Latin graphic.

In 1993:

To print on the alphabet with Latin graphic the books for the secondary and high schools .To start the

training of the alphabet with Latin graphic in the primary classes of the secondary schools.

To fulfill the implementation of the alphabet with Latin graphic in all spheres of educational system.

To accept the complex of measures in printing houses in accordance with the alphabet with Latin

graphic: change the materials, fulfill reduction of the photo and computer systems, technical means of books

and newspapers printing - houses in accordance with the new graphic. To provide the printing of all republican

newspapers, magazines, fictions, technical and public and other literature on the alphabet with Latin graphic.

3. To charge to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan to take the necessary

organizational measures on the renewal the Azerbaijan alphabet with Latin graphic.

Baku, December 25, 1991




52

4. The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the State

Language in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Republic of Azerbaijan considering the usage of the Turkic language as the state language one of

the conditions of its sovereignty cares about appliance, perseverance and development, maintains Azeris living

abroad to get the education in their native language and the usage of their national - cultural necessities.

This law establishes the legal status of Turkic language.

This law does not regulate the use of any other languages in interpersonal informal communications.

I. General conditions

Article 1. The state language of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the Turkic language. All governmental

establishments run their work in the Turkic language. The Turkic language as the state language of the republic

is used in all spheres of political, economic, public, scientific and cultural life and functions for international

communication on the territory of the republic. The learning of the Turkic language by the representatives of

other nationalities is appreciated and they get support for it.

Article 2. The legal status, the sphere of language usage in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the

principles of the adoption of languages spoken by peoples living on its territory are determined by the supreme

bodies of state power of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

II. The right of citizens to choose the language

Article 3. The citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan are guaranteed the right to choose the language for

education.

Nationalities and ethnic minorities, living on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan have the right

by means of governmental bodies of the republic to organize the pre - schools, secondary schools or separate

classes, groups in their native language.

In the educational establishments with the study on any other language, the learning of the Turkic

language which is the state language, as necessary subject is provided.

Article 4. The replies to the proposals, applications and complains of the citizens of the Republic of

Azerbaijan are given in the state language of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Article 5. Jurisdiction matters and notary actions are run in the Turkic language. Persons, participating

in the case, who do not know the language have the right to invite the translator and to participate in the court

through the interpreter and take part on their native language.

Article 6. Official documents, ID cards or the information about it (passport, labor book, military book,

graduation diplomas, certificates of birth, marriage, death, etc. are filled up in the Turkic language.

Article 7. Workers of service spheres ( trade, medical aid personnel, transport, international

communication and etc.) shall use state language of the Republic of Azerbaijan during working hours . The

evasion of service under the pretext of the lack of language knowledge is forbidden.

III. The language used by the state bodies, organizations

Article 8. The sessions Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be carries out in the Turkic

language. The deputies of the Republic of Azerbaijan of other nationalities in case of not knowing the state

language of the Azerbaijan Republic have the right to make statements in their language.

The law drafts and other legal documents submitted to the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan Republic,

its commissions shall be in the state language of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Article 9. The Laws and other legal documents adopted by the National Assembly of the Azerbaijan

Republic, its commissions, by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan are published in the Turkic language.

Article 10. The official publications of acts of the state power bodies and authorities of the Azerbaijan

Republic and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are published in the state language of the Azerbaijan

Republic.

Article 11. The electoral documents for the elections of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, to the

Supreme Council and local boards shall be prepared in the state language and in this language submitted to the

central election committee.



53

Article 12. The activities of the Azerbaijan Republic state enterprises and organizations shall carry out

in the Turkic language.

The texts of the forms, stamps and sign - boards with the name of the ministries, institutions,

enterprises, and organizations of the Azerbaijan Republic and of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic shall be

formed in the Turkic language.

Article 13. For the purpose of providing the uninterrupted work of energy and transport systems (main

railroad transport, air, marine, pipeline transport) during the dispatcher talks, preparing of the documents,

reference information the Turkic language and the adopted international language shall be used.

Article 14. In the armed forces, internal troops and frontier-guards of the Azerbaijan Republic the state

language of the Azerbaijan Republic shall be used .

IV. The language of information and the proper names

Article 15. On the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic and in the mass media besides the state language

other languages can be used.

Advertisements, reports, and other visual information can be designed in the state language and if

necessary simultaneously on the applicable international language.

The labels of the goods produced in the Azerbaijan Republic, the names of the industrial and food

products, their instructions shall be written in the Turkic language and in required cases in the applicable foreign

language.

Article 16. The names of populated points, administrative units and other geographical objects on the

territory of the Azerbaijan Republic shall be written on the state language, the writings on the maps shall be

established by state adopted information publications.

Article 17. The name of the state power bodies, ministries, state committees, institutions,, organizations

and their branches shall be written in the Turkic language.

Article 18. The proper name of the citizen of the Azerbaijani nationality of the Azerbaijan Republic

consists of his first name, father's name and surname. The father's name shall used along with the words "ogli"

and "gizi" . Every citizen has the right to get the surname relating to his nationality.

The writing of the names and surnames of the representatives of other nationalities, living on the

territory of the republic do not determined by this law.

V. The responsibility for the breaking the law on the state language

Article 19. The authorized persons of all state bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations are

called to account determined by the legislature of the Azerbaijan Republic in case of breaking the law on the

state language.





54

5. The Decree of the National Assembly of the Azerbaijan Republic

On implementation of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan

"On the State Language in the Republic of Azerbaijan".

The National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan decrees:

1. To implement the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the state language of the Republic of

Azerbaijan" from the day of its publication.

2. To determine, that until the accomplishment the republican legislature in conformity with the Law of

the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the state language in the Republic of Azerbaijan", the existing legal acts of the

Republic of Azerbaijan which do not contradict to this law are used.

3. To assign the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan to bring the resolution of the

government of the Republic of Azerbaijan in conformity with the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the

state language in the Republic of Azerbaijan".

4. To charge the control for the execution of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the state

language in the Republic of Azerbaijan" on the commission on education, science, religion and culture issues of

the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan.





55

6. The Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

On defense of the rights and liberties of national minorities, small numbered peoples

and ethnic groups living in the republic of Azerbaijan and on rendering state assistance

to the development of their languages and cultures

Taking into consideration the presence of national minorities, small numbered peoples and ethnic

groups in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the necessity of creating favorable conditions for their free

development,

further improvement of inter-national relations in the republic, declaring the aim of raising them to the

level of requirements of the legal state which is in the process of formation,

basing on the Article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan on state sovereignty,

having in mind the necessity of realization personal liberty, legal equality of all the citizens irrespective

of their properties, races and religions I decree;

1. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, ministries, organizations and heads of local

executive bodies:

Consider thoroughly the tasks connected with national relations arising from the present decree within

the frame of activities of ministries and organizations for taking an active part in the defense of political,

economic, social, cultural rights and liberties of the representatives of the national minorities, small numbered

peoples and ethnic groups living in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and their realization defined by

the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In accordance with the professional training of the representatives of national minorities, small

numbered peoples and ethnic groups, having in mind the legal rights that they enjoy without any discrimination

create all conditions for the realization of these rights, bar action or inertness aimed at violating these rights,

increase attention to the examination of their oral and written applications and complaints connected with these

issues.

2. To charge the apparatus of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Cabinet of Ministers of

the Republic of Azerbaijan, the ministries and organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, heads of local

executive bodies as a task with the mission of the state assistance and government policy in the following

directions;

to safeguard and develop the cultural, linguistic and religious specification of the nations in minority,

small numbered peoples and ethnic groups, to perform religious rituals and ceremonies in complete freedom,

to develop independently national crafts, professional and amateur arts, national trades;

to protect historical and cultural monuments of all nations;

to protect and preserve lands, reservations, parks and other objects of nature which are important for the

population.

3. To charge the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the ministries of culture, people's

education, finance and justice, heads of executive bodies of cities and districts with the errand:

to organize cultural and religious institutions and societies of all nations and to create conditions for

providing their legal functioning and to take all measures for them in accordance with the legislation of the

republic of Azerbaijan;

to render state assistance to these institutions, societies and unions, including the suit ability of

providing them with buildings and financial support.

4. To commission the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan to prepare the law draft of the

rights of the national minority, small numbered peoples and ethnic groups living in the Republic of Azerbaijan

and introduce it to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in a one month.

5. To commission the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Frontiers

Protection Committee to prepare the law draft simplifying passages of frontiers for the representatives of all



56

nations in order to meet their compatriots freely in territories of other states and introduce it to the President of

the Republic of Azerbaijan in a one month.

To commission the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

and other corresponding bodies to prepare proposals for concluding bilateral and multilateral treaties with the

interested states.

6. To commission the Ministry of People's Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan to implement

measures providing the learning of languages and literatures of national minorities on the basis of secondary

school curriculum in the areas of their compact residence and in the form of optional lessons in the cities of

Baku and Sumgayit.

Taking into account the transformation of the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages

into the Azerbaijan State Institute of Languages to create there a department of philology of the small numbered

peoples and a corresponding chair.

To prepare professional specialists for the Daghestani Turks, local population and small numbered

peoples in Guba branch of the M. A. Aliyev Azerbaijan State Institute of Arts, in Gusar branch of the

M. A. Sabir Pedagogical School after.

To prepare and introduce corresponding proposals for concessive admission to higher educational

institutions and secondary special schools the youth from the mountainous parts of the republic, small numbered

peoples and our compatriots living abroad.

7. To found chairs and departments of Semitilogy, antique languages, Caucasian studies in the Academy

of Sciences of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the M. A. Rasulzade Baku State University providing the learning

of the ancient roots of the peoples living in the Azerbaijan (including the South Azerbaijan), their historical

evolution, languages and literatures and on the level of requirements of world standards, to prepare skilled

specialists able to study and investigate the historical heritage of Shumers, Elam, Manna, Medea, Albania,

Sanscrit, Hunns, Khazars and other ancient ethoses. To invite foreign specialists and to send students, post-

graduates, scientists to well-known research centers and educational institutions for this purpose at the expense

of the state budget.

8. The ministries of people's education and culture of the republic of Azerbaijan render assistance to

enliven crafts and arts, amateur arts, ancient trades of the small numbered peoples, to create libraries, shops of

craftsmanship studying.

9. To charge the State Committee of Press and Poligraphy of the republic of Azerbaijan pay attention to

the publication of educational literature, reference books and fiction in the languages of small numbered

peoples.

Taking into account the absence of periodicals on national relations of the republican importance to

publish a weekly newspaper by name of "Elin sasi" ("The Voice of People") attached to the counselors’ service

on the international relations of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in order to enlighten the lives and

activities, labour and spiritual world of peoples, to develop their languages and cultures.

10. The State Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation organize tele-radio programs for

enlightening the literatures, folklores, labour and lives of the small numbered peoples and ethnic groups living

in Azerbaijan, provide broadcasting of the ''Republican News'' in the Lezghi, Talish and Kurdish languages,

broadcast daily programs through local radios in the languages of less numerous peoples.

11. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan provides the financing of measures

providing the rendering of state assistance for the development of languages and literatures of peoples under this

decree.

12. The heads of executive bodies of Baku, Sumgayit, Lankaran, Zagatala and Gabala shall provide the

national cultural centers of the Jewish, Slavic, Lezghi, Talish, Avar, Udin and other small numbered peoples and

ethnic groups with buildings or service rooms.

13. To commission the Counseling Board on inter-national relations of the President apparatus of the

Republic of Azerbaijan to prepare corresponding measures and proposals for improving inter-national relations,

as well as the realization of the authority of president and the solution constructive problems arising from the

present decree.



57

14. To commission the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of National

Security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of the Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the

Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan prevent any action aimed at racial discrimination, national

exclusive ness and national priority, at stirring up national hatred enmity and make the culprits answerable for

these actions in accordance with the law.

Baku, September 16, 1992




58

IX. RELIGION

a. State and religion

The relations between state and religion are regulated by the State Committee for the Work with

Religious Associations of Azerbaijan established by the decree of President Heydar Aliyev in 2001.

The constitution of Azerbaijan provides for freedom of religion, and the law does not allow religious

activities to be interfered with unless they endanger public order. Cases of anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan are rare,

and the Government of Azerbaijan maintains good relations with its Jewish community.

b. Zoroastrism, Christianity, and Islam – the way to religious tolerance

The ancient cults (animism, ancestors’ cult, etc.) in Azerbaijan were replaced by Zoroastrian religion by

the middle of 1 millennium BC. One of the most ancient religions on the planet, it contains the concept of

duality ruling the world (Good and Evil, Ahuramazda and Ahriman) and providing for its development through

the conflict of the opposites. Therefore one of the main spiritual duties of Zoroastrian worshipper was the

concept of CHOICE.

Founder of this spiritual concept, ancient prophet Zoroaster (Zaratushtra) lived and taught in what is

now southernmost part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. His teachings constituted The Avesta, wholly book of

fire-worshippers, inscribed, according to legend, on thousands of calf skins, later to be burnt, presumably during

Alexander the Great’s conquest.

One of the main holidays became the Novruz translated as “New Day “and meaning the new day

approaching with the victory of Good over Evil. Novruz lost the meaning of a Zoroastrian holiday while

centuries passed by, and nowadays is considered in Azerbaijan the holiday of spring in the day of spring

equinox, on March 21. It is a cheerful holiday that is celebrated for several weeks. People had kept recipes of its

ritual dishes and sweets through millennia.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Religious Organization of Transcaucasus Muslims headed by

akhund Allanshukur Pashazade (elected sheyhulislam in 1980) intensified its operations and spread its influence

to the entire Caucasus under the new name of the Caucasus Muslims Department. Opening of CMD

representations in Georgia and Daghestan was one of the significant steps in this field.

The chair of CMD ensures contacts with Islamic organizations and establishes close relations with

neighboring Muslim countries. To date CMD coordinates the Islamic communities of Azerbaijan, oversees

proper fulfillment of the rules of Sharia, educates clerics through the Islamic University of Baku, founded in

1991. The faculty of theology of the State University of Baku has been training Islam and theology scientists

since 1992.

Islam spread rapidly in Azerbaijan following the Arab conquests in the 7th–8th centuries. Islam is

represented by such trends as Shi'ism, Sunnism and Shafi'ism in Azerbaijan.

Through the years of independence the worshipping of holy shrines strengthened in Azerbaijan.

Bakhaism created its own assembly and expanded considerably.

Ramazan and Kurban bayrams are holidays celebrated in Azerbaijan.

The influence of non-traditional religions strengthens in the country. Though not typical for Azerbaijan

the International Society of Krishna has been operating in the country for already 10 years. A number of

protestant religious communities registered by the Government of Azerbaijan in the 1990s spreads their

religious views.

There are three communities of Jews - Mountain Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, and Georgian Jews. Nearly

16,000 Jews reside in the country. Of them, 11,000 are Mountain Jews, with populations of 6,000 in Baku and

4,000 in Guba. Ashkenazi Jews number 4,300 thousand in number, most of whom live in Baku and Sumgayit.

Georgian Jews number roughly 700.



59

In the 4th-5th centuries Christianity became established in Caucasian Albania, and this led to a

rapprochement with Byzantium and a corresponding cooling-down in the relationship between Albania and

Sassanid Persia. In a battle that took place in 451 AD in the Avarayr field, the allied forces of the Albanian and

Iberian kings, devoted to Christianity, suffered defeat at the hands of the Sassanid army. Many of the Albanian

nobility ran to the mountainous regions of Albania that became a center for resistance to Sassanid Iran. The

religious center of the Albanian state also moved here. In 498 AD (in other sources, 488 AD) in the settlement

named Aluen (Aguen) (present day Agdam region of Azerbaijan), an Albanian church council convened to

adopt laws further strengthening the position of Christianity in Albania.

Christianity is represented by Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism as well as a number of

sectarian communities in Azerbaijan.

Orthodoxy is currently represented in Azerbaijan by the Russian and Georgian Orthodox churches. The

Russian Orthodox Churches are grouped in the Eparchy of Baku and the Caspian region.

Azerbaijan also has eleven Molokan communities following the old rituals of orthodoxy. These

communities do not have any church; their dogmas are fixed in a special book of rituals. They oppose the

church hierarchy to have a special power.

c. Albanian shrines in Gabala and Sheki

Though the number of people belonging to the Albanian-Udi Christian religious community differs

from that of others yet it's distinguished for its nature, content, religious and political importance. To date of

6000 of 10 000 people of Udi ethnic community live in Azerbaijan including 4400 people compactly residing in

the Nij village of Gabala district.

The Udis who resided on the territory of Karabakh and on the shores of Caspian, later accepted

Christianity and spread this religion in the Caucasian Albania. The church of Kish (the Kish village of Sheki

district)-the first Christian church-was considered the forefather of the Christian churches.

Tsarist Russia, incited by of Armenians resettling to Karabakh signed a decree which abolished the

Albanian church in 1836 and transferred Albanian praying-houses, all equipment and documents, belonging to

the church to Armenian apostolic church. Under such conditions the Udis would either accept the Gregorian

religion thus losing their identity or become lonely dervishes. However, they had remained truthfully devoted to

their faith, traditions and historical motherland through displaying great courage for over 160 years. With the

restoration of Albanian-Udi Christian community the rights of Udis were partially restored.

Restoration of a church in Nij in 2006 became yet another sign of ethnic and religious re-awakening of

Udis supported by the state in Azerbaijan, long-standing policy, which has been emphasized during Pope John

Paul II’s visit to Baku in May 2002.

The only shrine where Muslims and Christians worship together: in Gakh rayon

In the vicinity of the provincial administrative center of Gakh (circa 2 km distance) a shrine known as

Kyurmouk is located. Since the year 300 AD it has been known as a place of worship, now visited by Ingiloi,

descendants of Albanians, and other ethnic groups. Thus, it is a unique place of worship for both Christians and

Muslims. In the immediate vicinity Christian church of St. George was erected in the 19th century.




60

X. SCIENCE

National Academy of Sciences was established in 1945. Its supreme body is the General Assembly

consisting of all full members (60), corresponding members (107) and foreign members. On the daily basis it is

directed by the Academy Board.

The Academy employers over 10,000 people and comprises 6 departments: Physics, Mathematics, and

Technical Sciences; Chemistry; Natural Sciences; Biology; Humanitarian and Social Sciences; regional

Nahchivan Department.

After the restoration of independence in 1991 the Academy of Sciences entered a new stage. Following

1997 meeting of President Heydar Aliyev with the Academy leadership, reforms of the institution have been

initiated, which embraced both forms and methods of activity and its legal basis. The new charter of the

Academy was confirmed in 2003, two years after its status’ elevation to National Academy.

The Academy’s role in implementing President Ilham Aliyev’ s decrees on National encyclopedia, new

and alternative energy sources, introducing new information technologies to schools, etc. has been

indispensable.

Special place among the centers of research in Azerbaijan belongs to the T. Ismaylov National Aero-

space Agency. The Agency concentrates on scientific research in several major areas of knowledge, including

basics for defining characteristics of objects based on their radiation levels, creating comprehensive monitoring

of Azerbaijan’s ecology based on aero-space technologies, methods and technologies for aero-space geographic

information, etc.

Specificities of regional climatic models have been studied intensively by the Agency, which

contributed considerably to the environmental research in the South Caucasus.

Achievements of the Agency have been widely employed by the Russian Mir and Salyut orbital

stations.

«Azerbaijan. Information Digest.2007», Baku, 2007, page 158.



61

XI. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

One of the positive outcomes of the Soviet period was extensive educational system which resulted in

99% literacy. Yet, with Azerbaijan’s proclaimed policy of European integration new approach to the educational

process was crucial. Thus, the key idea was to preserve positive accomplishments from the Soviet time, while

combining them with new elements from Western educational methods.

Currently, Azerbaijani educational process is multi-stage. Starting with pre-school educational facilities,

of which there are nearly 1,800 in the country with over 110,000 kids ages 2-5, it goes on to include further

stages. The latter are basic schooling (ages 6-9); middle schools (ages 10-14); higher schools (15-16), which

combine to form the so-called general education cluster. Schooling within those stages is provided by 4542

schools (11 of them private) with over 1,600,000 pupils and almost 170,000 teachers.

In addition to the main-stream general education, there are about 200 technical schools, sort of Soviet

left-over, providing specialized education to over 80,000 students.

Strong influence exercised by the state decreases considerably on the university level. Education at this

point is divided into two courses ending in the students obtaining bachelors’ and masters’ degree respectively.

Overall, there are 26 universities in Azerbaijan with over 100,000 students and faculty numbering almost 12,

000. With the ratio of roughly one professor per 10 students Azerbaijan is among the most advanced nations in

the post-Soviet space. The situation is comparable in private university education where 16 schools number

slightly over 23,000 students and almost 2,000 faculties.

Almost 3,500 foreign students representing over 40 countries receive university education in

Azerbaijan. Majors vary from the fields where Azerbaijani faculty’s expertise is traditionally strong, like oil

processing, petrochemistry, etc., to relatively new ones – medicine, international relations, and law. Over 3,000

young Azerbaijanis study abroad, bringing back with them best knowledge and practices.

Professional training is provided by another 26 establishments, where up to 20,000 per year increase

their professional level.

Quite naturally, Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan inflicted considerable damage upon national

educational system as well. Armenian forces destroyed 1 university, 3 university-level regional departments,

616 schools, 242 pre-school institutions, etc., with overall damage in this field totaling 1.5 bln USD.

«Azerbaijan. Information Digest.2007», Baku, 2007, page 159.



62

XII. LITERATURE

If one puts aside the Kitab-i Dede Korkud, whose first composition is ascribed to the 11th century,

although the text was probably not written down before the 14th century, the first great name in Azeri Turkish

literature is that of Shaykh Izz ad-Din Asfarayini, a renowned 13th century poet from Khorasan who wrote

under the pen name of Hasan-Oghlu.

Two important poets of the 14th century who played an important role in the development of

Azerbaijani literature were Kadhi Burhan Ad-din and Nasimi. Nasimi, a master of Persian and Arabic literature,

as well his native Azerbaijani, used his poetic talent to propagate the Hurufi doctrine. The themes and lyricism

of his poetry had their influence on later Azerbaijani poets.

In the 15th century, Azerbaijani literature was dominated by Black Sheep (Qara Qoyunlu) and White

Sheep (Aq Qoyunlu), dynasties who ruled in parts of Iran. This period boasts such literary figures as Jahanshah

Qaraqoyunlu (pen name Haqiqi), Habibi, and Shah Qasim Enver.

The simplified Azeri style introduced by Nasimi was developed further by Habibi, Shah Ismail Safawi

and Fizuli. The 16th century poet, Muhammed Fizuli produced his philosophical and lyrical Qazals in Arabic,

Persian and Azerbaijani. Benefiting immensely from the fine literary traditions of his environment, and building

upon the legacy of his predecessors, Fizuli was destined to become the leading literary figure of his time. His

major works include The Divan of Ghazals and The Qasidas.

In the 16th century, Azerbaijani literature began to flourish — folk literature grew and minstrels and

bards began developing Ashiglar poetry. This was also the period when, under the pen name Khatai, Shah

Ismail I produced his famous work Divani Khatai. A unique literary style known as “Qoshma” was introduced

in this period, developed by Shah Ismail and later on by his successor Shah Tahmasp.

Azerbaijainis also celebrate life and deeds of Koroglu, a legendary hero. The Epic of Köroğlu is shared

by the Azerbaijanis, Turks, and the Turkmens. Most of the characters in the epic were historical persons,

including Koroglu, Giziroglu Bey, Kosa Safar, Jafar, and Hasan Pasha. Many poems telling of Koroglu’s

exploits are kept in the Institute of Manuscripts of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

In the span of the 17th century and 18th century, Fizuli's unique poetic works as well as Ashigh poetry

were taken up by prominent poets and writers such as Qovsi of Tabriz, Shah Abbas Sani, Aqa Mesih Shirvani,

Nishat, Widadi, Vaqif, Amani, Zafar and others.

The country's literature in the 20th century was profoundly influenced by political events that took place

early in the 19th century — Russia, winning the Russo-Persian Wars gained control over Caucasian territories,

which included the territory of the present day Republic of Azerbaijan.

Under Russian rule, Azerbaijani writers who did not conform to the Communist party line were

persecuted, particularly while Joseph Stalin was in power. Stalin and the Bolsheviks sought to destroy the

intellectual foundation of Azerbaijan by turning intellectuals and writers into mouthpieces for propaganda.

Accordingly, much of the Azerbaijani writings of the around World War II was primarily propagandistic. The

writers that refused to comply were disciplined — many were seized during Stalin's purges.

An influential piece of post World War II Azerbaijani poetry, Heydar Babaya Salam (Greetings to

Heydar Baba) was written by Iranian poet Mohammad Hossein Shahriar who had already established himself as

a notable Persian poet. This poem, published in Tabriz in 1954 and written in colloquial Azerbaijani, became

popular among Iranians and the people of Republic of Azerbaijan. In Heydar Babaya Salam, Shahriar expressed

his identity as an Iranian Azerbaijani attached to his homeland, language, and culture. Heydar Baba is a hill near

Khoshknab, the native village of the poet.

When Nikita Khrushchev came to power in 1958 following Stalin's death, the harsh focus on

propaganda began to fade, and writers began to branch off in new directions, primarily focused on inspirational

prose that would be a source of hope to Azerbaijanis living under a totalitarian regime.

Persian and Arabic literature have greatly influenced Azerbaijani literature, especially in its classical

phase. Amongst poets who have written in Persian and influenced Azerbaijani literature, one can mention

Ferdowsi, Sanai, Hafez, Saadi, Attar and Rumi. Arabic literature, especially the Quran and Prophetic sayings,



63

have also played major role in influencing Azerbaijani literature. Amongst poets who have written in Arabic and

have influenced Azerbaijani literature, one can mention Sufi Manur al-Hallaj.

Restoration of national independence in 1991 brought national culture to another climatic stage, with

Azerbaijani fine arts such as works of literature and music, paintings and many other becoming more and more

popular abroad. Only the recent months count such significant events as Hajibayov’s “Arshin Mal Alan”’s

staging in Vienna in 2006, this year’s February events (exposition of Azerbaijani painters in the Geneva Palace

of Nations, Amirov’s ballet premiere in Cairo), concert of Hajibayov’s and Karayev’s music in New York and

numerous others.




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XIII. MEDIA

The media scene has become increasingly diverse and professional since the independence of the State

from the USSR and the emergence of stability under the late of President Heydar Aliyev. The fact that Baku is

an international energy hub and a major regional center in a strategically-important zone has also contributed to

the vibrancy of the media scene in the country.

Newspapers: There are 2,561 newspapers and magazines registered in Azerbaijan (as of July 10, 2006),

including both Government-and opposition-published, with the overwhelming majority being independent.

Leading printed media are published in Azerbaijani and Russian, with the number of English language

publications growing constantly.

Such newspapers as Echo, Ayna – Zerkalo, Bakinskiy Rabochiy, Express, 525-ci Qazet, Kaspi, Azeri

Times and magazines including Region plus, Paritet, and others are among the most popular. A number of

publications, including the Baku Sun, are exclusively tailored to the needs of expatriate readers and tourists

visiting Azerbaijan. London-based CBN International publishes the English-language weekly, Caspian Business

News, which circulates in the Caspian littoral countries, including Azerbaijan. I-lingual Russian-English

Caspian World is aimed at readers with more than passing interest in Azerbaijan’s policy and economy.

News agencies: There are more than 15 news agencies (including those operating exclusively through

the Internet) in Azerbaijan. Along with the sole State news agency, the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency, or

Azertac, providing official coverage of national and international events, related to both Azerbaijan and the

region, and maintaining websites in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian at www.azertag.com, independent news

agencies function widely in the country.

Most major international news agencies are represented in Azerbaijan.

Radio, television, and internet: There are 18 TV channels (six national and 12 regional) and 11 radio

stations in Azerbaijan. The 2005 establishment of Public Television and

Public Radio, in full accordance with Azerbaijan’s obligations before the Council of Europe, made the

country’s media scene more diverse and provided for a greater variety of programming. Numerous foreign

television channels, including Russian and Turkish, can be received in Azerbaijan without adapting TV sets

and/or antennas. There has also been a broad development of cable and satellite television, as well as

unrestricted access to the internet, coupled with a high level of computer literacy in the country.


http://www.azertag.com/



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XIV. SPORTS

Traditions of sport are deep-rooted in the Azerbaijani society. Traditional national festivities have

always included wrestling, horse-riding, etc. With the progress of urbanization, the priorities have shifted

considerably and such games as basket-ball, soccer, and chess have become increasingly popular in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan State Physical Culture and Sport Academy was established in 1930 (first as Azerbaijan State

Institute of Physical Culture, renamed Academy in 1999) and continues to be the only high school of its kind in

the South Caucasus. The education is 4-year.

Popularity of mass sports inevitably leads to engagement in international competitions, of which the

supreme obviously are the Olympics. Azerbaijan first sent out its athletes to the Olympic Games back in 1952 as

part of the Soviet team. Having competed till 1988, Azerbaijani representatives have gained 10 gold, 11 silver,

and 7 bronze medals, becoming one of the major contributors to the Soviet Union’s notable Olympic successes.

Despite sending out only 5 athletes (within the CIS joint team) to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics,

Azerbaijan has scored its first considerable success with 2 gold medals.

On the same year, National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan was established, chaired by President

Ilham Aliyev.

1996 Atlanta Olympics were the first to be attended by Azerbaijani team of 23, which finished 61st

among 197 participants.

President Ilham Aliyev’s decree dated February 20, 1998 opened up perspectives for further improving

the activities of the NOC, also affecting the Government’s policies aimed at the development of facilities for

mass engagement into sports. Through the years new Olympic sports centers have been built in 11 of

Azerbaijan’s regions. Another 7 will open in 2007.

Since 1997 culture commission has been functioning within NOC and on the same year Azerbaijani

kids were among the winners of the International Olympic Committee - organized "Olympic Games in the eyes

of children" contest.

Government’s policy of support to sports movement in Azerbaijan bore fruit at the 2000 Olympics in

Sidney, when the national team placed 34th among 199 participants. 2004 Athena Olympic games found

Azerbaijani team in a good shape again finishing 37th among 202 with 1 gold and 4 bronze medals.

Azerbaijan’s growing prominence in the world of sports is well-documented by the fact that through its

brief independence period it has hosted a number of

prestigious international tournaments, 2 European

championships and 2006 Gymnastics World

Championship.

Azerbaijani athletes returned home with a clutch of

10 medals from the London Summer Olympic Games in

2012.

The 53-strong Azerbaijani team competed in 16

sports to clinch two gold, two silver and six bronze

medals. Freestyle wrestlers Toghrul Asgarov (60kg) and

Sharif Sharifov (84kg) claimed Olympic crowns, while

Khetag Gazyumov (96) took bronze. In the Greco-Roman

wrestling, Rovshan Bayramov (55kg) and Emin Ahmadov (74kg) won silver and bronze respectively.

Female wrestlers Mariya Stadnyk (48kg) clinched silver, and Yuliya Ratkevich (55kg) took bronze.

Boxers Teymur Mammadov (91kg) and Magomedrasul Medzhidov (+91kg) both won bronze medals,

with Valentin Hristov (56kg) also claiming bronze in the weightlifting event. Azerbaijan bettered their medal

count by three against a record of seven medals won four years ago at the Beijing Olympics and reached the

30th place among 204 countries participating in the Olympics.

At the London 2012 Paralympic Games the Azerbaijani athletes won 12 medals - 4 gold, 5 silver, and 3

bronze. Among participating countries Azerbaijani national team took the 27th place.



66

This achievement is a result of the government`s support of and attention to sport in Azerbaijan.

On December 8 2012, at the 41st General Assembly of the European Olympic Committee in Rome, it

has been decided to hold the first ever European Games in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.

1952 – 1988

As part of the Soviet team

Gold

Silver

Bronze

10 11 7

There are currently 36 Olympic Sports Complexes in Azerbaijan.

On December 8, 2012, General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees voted to hold the

inaugural European Games in Azerbaijan in 2015.

On April 26, 2015, accompanied by chairperson of the Baku-2015 First European Games Organizing

Committee Mehriban Aliyeva and president of the European

Olympic Committees Patrick Hickey, President Ilham Aliyev

lit the Olympic flame in Ateshgah Temple, State Historical

Architectural Reserve in Surakhany district of Baku. The head

of state handed over the Baku-2015 torch to first torchbearer,

Olympic champion Rafiga Shabanova, marking the beginning

of the journey of the Olympic flame. Over 1,000 torchbearers

have been involved in the torch relay. Flame festival is held in

each region where the torch arrives. On the ground, the flame

will be transported by bus, cable car, and bicycle; under the

ground it will travel by Baku Underground, on water, by a boat,

and in the air, by an airplane.

On June 8, the flame will be carried at sports arenas of the capital Baku and, on June 9, it will be carried

in the Inner City. June 10th will be the final day of the flame programme, and it will have travelled about 5,500

kilometres before coming back to Baku. The torch measures 660mm high, and its body features a pomegranate

tree, echoing the Baku 2015 brand. The copper head that protects the flame is also in the form of a pomegranate

– its 50 pips representing the number of nations participating in the Games.

Flame of the First European Games will travel across each

region of Azerbaijan within 47 days to finally arrive in the Opening

Ceremony in Baku Olympic Stadium.

Azerbaijan competed at the XXXI Summer Olympic Games

in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Azerbaijan was

represented by a record number of sports and athletes in 2016

Summer Olympics.

Azerbaijan was represented at Rio 2016 in 18 sports, four of

which were new (triathlon, archery, cycling and canoe slalom).

Azerbaijan’s Olympic team which represented by 56

sportsmen included six freestyle wrestlers, eight Greco-Roman wrestlers, eleven boxers, six judoists, five



67

oarsmen, four athletes, four taekwondo fighters, three gymnasts, three cyclists, two swimmers and one athlete

per each in fencing, triathlon, archery and shooting.

Thirty six athletes participated in Olympic Games for the first time.

During the Olympiad, the Azerbaijani team was accompanied by 34 coaches, six doctors,

physiotherapists and technicians.

The Azerbaijani athletes won 18 medals, including a gold, seven silvers and ten bronzes at the Rio

Olympics, ranking 39th in the overall medal table. The gold medal came from taekwondo fighter Radik Isaev.

Azerbaijani wrestlers Kheytag Gazymov and Togrul Asgarov , female wrestler Mariya Stadnik, boxer

Collazo Lorenzo Sotomayor, canoe sprinter Valentin Demyanenko and judo fighters Elmar Gasimov and

Rustam Orujov have won a silver medal at the Rio 2016.

Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers Sharif Sharifov, Jabrayil Hasanov and Haji Aliyev, Greco-Roman

wrestlers Rasul Chunayev and Sabah Shariati, female wrestler Natalia Sinishin, taekwondo fighter Milad Beigi

Harcheegani, female taekwondo fighter Patimat Abakarova, boxer Kamran Shahsuvarli and female canoe

sprinter Inna Osipenko-Radomska have claimed bronze of the Rio Olympics.

Gold Silver Bronze

BARCELONA, 1992 2

ATLANTA, 1996 1

SIDNEY, 2000 2 1

ATHENS, 2004 1 4

BEIJING, 2008 1 2 4

SINGAPORE, 2010 5 3

LONDON 2012 2 2 6

RIO de JANEIRO, 2016 1 7 10

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