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OFFICIAL NAME: Azerbaijan Republic
CAPITAL CITY: Baku
POPULATION: 7,960,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 82,600 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Azerbaijani, Russian, Armenian
RELIGION: Muslims 93%, Russian Orthodox 3%, Armenian Christians 2%, others 2%
COIN: manat
CURRENCY CODE: AZM
ENGLISH NAME: Azerbaijan
INDEPENDENCE: 1991
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Azerbaijanis 89%, Dagestanians 3%, Russians 3%, Armenians 2%, others 2%
GDP PER residents: 3617 $ (2003)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 70 years, women 75 years (2007)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.736
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 99
NATIONALITY MARK FOR CARS: AZ
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .az
Azerbaijan, Azerbaycan, a former Soviet republic, independent
republic in 1991. Azerbaijan is south of the Caucasus and SW of the Caspian Sea
and includes two autonomous areas: The enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies
within Azerbaijan, and eksklaven Nakhchivan, located between Armenia and Iran
and Turkey. In the early 1990's, the country has been embroiled in bloody strife,
partly internally, partly with the Soviet Army and with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, which found a temporary solution with a ceasefire in
1994.
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The historic region of Azerbaijan continues south of the border with
Iran; see Azarbaidjan. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country
has sought contact with Turkey (linguistic community) and in part also with Iran
due to the large Azerbaijani minority there. The result has been a renewal of
the historic competition between the two countries for influence in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan - religion
Almost four-fifths of Azerbaijan's population are Muslims; about
three-quarters of these belong to the Shia Muslim sect, while the rest
are Sunni Muslims. The Armenian minority makes up approximately 8% of the total
population and belong to the Armenian Church under the Patriarchate
of Ethymadzin (see also the Armenian Church). Additional approximately 8% of the
population are Russians and Ukrainians, who for the most part belong to the
Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). The Mosaic faith is also
represented in several places.
Azerbaijan - Constitution
The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan is from 1995. The executive
power lies with a president who is elected by direct election for a five-year
term. The President heads the Government, and he appoints the Prime Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister with the approval of the National Assembly. Legislative
power lies with the National Assembly, Milli Mejlis, with 125 members
elected by direct election for five years in single-member constituencies. In a
referendum in March 2009, incumbent President Ilhám Aliyev, by an overwhelming
majority, was allowed to sit for more than two terms of five years, in effect
for life.
Azerbaijan - literature
With the invasions of the Arabs and Persians in Azerbaijan, a highly
developed poetry arose in Arabic and Persian. The collection of stories in
Turkish from the 1000's, which is attributed to the legendary Dede Korkut,
instead became a model for a national poetry in the Azerbaijani-Turkish
language. The poets rebelled against feudal power in the 1100's. Nizami wrote
world literature with his humanistic poetry in Persian, and the legendary poet
Makhsati described the conditions of women. Opposition to the Mongol horde
in the late 1300's. spawned khurufismen, a mysterious religious and
political movement, which also fought against Islamic fundamentalism. Imadeddin
Nesimi (1370-1417), the creator of the first Azerbaijani-Turkish divan, was
executed for his participation in it.
From the 1500's. the oral poetry received a new flourishing, conveyed by folk
singers, the so-called ashuger, a tradition that has been preserved
throughout the Soviet era up to our time. Contributing to a popular spread of
literature was also Mehmed Füzuli (1498-1556), a role model for many generations
of poets. He wrote in both Arabic and Persian, but especially in the
Arabic-Turkish dialect, which he turned into a literary language. In the
1700's. and 1800-t., especially after the incorporation of northern present-day
Azerbaijan into Russia, critical realism made its breakthrough. Mirza Fath Ali
Akhondzade (1812-78, in Russian Akhundov), founder of Azerbaijani Theater,
influenced comedy poetry in Iran. From 1906, the author and playwright
Mämmädgulzada (1869-1932) published the satirical magazine Molla Nasreddin,
which spread revolutionary ideas. After its incorporation into the USSR, a
socialist Azerbaijani Soviet literature developed.
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