The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium was built in 1951. Its construction started before World War II in 1939, but was suspended. When its construction resumed, it was finished by German prisoners of war. Initially the stadium was named after Joseph Stalin and built in form of C (Cyrillic: Cтaлин). After the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956 it was renamed after Vladimir Lenin as a part of de-Stalinization. In 1993, the stadium was named after the famous football referee Tofiq Bahramov who died in the same year.