Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a Turkic country located in Transcaucasia, between Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. It borders Iran to the south, Armenia to the west, Georgia to the North-West, and the Union of Caucasian Republics to the North.

# **History**

Azerbaijan had, for over 100 years been under Russian occupation, and before that being under Persian occupation. For some time, it was believed that Russia might collapse in 1917 due to the change of Russian government, but quickly order was restored throughout the country and tensions recessed. However, in 1925 it became crystal clear that the Russian state was collapsing. Although the Caucasus stayed loyal to the Russians as long as they could, immense pressure by the South Caucasian people pushed and eventually succeeded in independence in March of 1926. The call for independence was met with no blood, as sometime later Russia signed peace agreements with the South Caucasus by August, but not the north Caucasus rebels.

Despite the relief of many in Azerbaijan that fighting wouldn’t occur against Russia, tensions heightened very quickly with Armenia. When Azerbaijan declared its independence, it wasn’t able to have control over Nakhichevan which they long claimed to have, as the population was over 60% Azeri. On the other side, Armenia long claimed the mountainous Karabakh region as it had a minority of Armenians and a strong history of Armenian culture along with Azeri coexistence. Despite many on both sides wishing to avoid conflict, by October, Armenia had declared war to legitimise their claims on those territories. Armenia also declared war on Georgia for the Lazistan and Javakheti regions.

## **The Caucasus Conflict**

As Armenia was fighting both Georgia and Azerbaijan, negotiations between Azerbaijan and Georgia broke down, unable to agree on thorny issues like the status of Zaqataly and the Kura River Valley. The Georgians for their part repulsed the Armenians thanks to supplies stolen from the White Russians shortly before Georgian independence. The Armenians were suffering from supply shortages and rebellions in eastern Anatolia, so sustaining the war effort was time consuming and more costly than they could have imagined. And while the Azeris immediately ascended into the world through their oil fields, they were unable to maintain control of their western territories nor were able to push into Armenian territory. They secretly wanted to annex not only Nakhichevan and Karabakh but also Goycha Daira and Zangezur, fulfilling the nationalist dream of greater Azerbaijan.

These plans were thwarted by the Armenians and their offensives. The Armenian populations of those areas resisted Azerbaijani occupation, fighting against the local Muslim Azerbaijani populations as well. While Azerbaijan had to quickly assemble poorly trained and equipped divisions to meet the Armenians the Armenian army was already advancing into western Azerbaijan. Elisabethpol and several other cities were vulnerable after a month of offensives. Armenians had taken Shushi while the Georgians were advancing into northern Armenia and even the Armenian held Lazistan.

By late May (almost 2 months into war) the Armenians had stalled their offensive as Kurdish and Turkish separatist activists were increasing, sabotaging and destroying buildings, cathedrals and churches. While the Azerbaijanis thought it would be the perfect opportunity to push the Armenians back Iranian troops flooded into the Azeri border in Lankaran, completely throwing the Azeri war effort off. Azerbaijani troops sprinted from the West to the South, defending the north from the Aras River from an Iranian offensive. While they were pushing into Georgia the Azerbaijanis were extremely fearful, as war against Iran risked annihilation of their whole country. Azerbaijan was the first country to sign for an armistice.

Armenia, fearing a full on rebellion in their eastern provinces decided to sign for peace as well. Georgia had recently also entered into another war with the Caucasian Republic over control of Abkhazia. While they wanted to continue the war effort it would be futile to try to win a war against all their neighboring country and decided to sign for peace too. For the next week Iranian offensives we’re stalling as Azerbaijan enacted mass conscription on its population and received equipment from the Caucasus Republic, halting Iran. After pressure from all three nations for peace Iran reluctantly agreed to peace.

## **Caucasus Conference**

In the province of Dagestan, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian and Iranian delegates were invited to make peace agreements and bring stability back to the Caucasus. In the end, Azerbaijan was forced to give up all lands south of the Aras River to Iran (the province of Lankaran), and had to give up all control of Nakhichevan, Karabakh and Zangezur, while Baku gained not only all of Zaqataly and the Kura River Valley but they also gained Hereti, lands they already occupied and were pretty stubborn on keeping. While Georgia took control of Lori but not Lazistan and Armenia couldn’t occupy Javakheti and Samtskhe. No one was happy with the conference, but it guaranteed indefinite peace in the region, something every nation couldn’t wait for.

## **A new government**

With peace finally established, the front lines falling silent and thousands of soldiers returning home from war the provisional government in July put out a statement announcing new elections in September to occur. It was a highly anticipated event in Azerbaijani history as the first government would be elected in modern Azerbaijani history. At the same time, the country was struggling. Thousands of refugees poured in from Armenian held Karabakh and Zangezur, while Azerbaijanis stuck in Nakhichevan crossed the Aras River into Iran. Hundreds of refugees similarly flooded into Azerbaijan from Iranian Lankaran. Thousands of people were displaced and cities were bombarded with refugee camps. For the next 2 months the refugee problem remained with no real solution. On September 14th, the elections were counted and it resulted in the Musavat Party being victorious and Mahammad Amin Rasulzade being elected. The Musavat Party had turned from pan-Turkish beliefs towards Azerbaijani nationalism, while embracing civil liberties and liberalization policies as with pan-Islamic beliefs.

Mahammad would be very popular in his time as president. Mahammad would enforce secular laws especially in education as well as implemented pro-Western policies. However he was criticized for promoting harmful Azerbaijani nationalism which forced hundreds of Georgians and Armenian civilians to flee to their respective countries, while their homes and businesses were seized. Towns and villages were given huge funds to expand themselves in order to provide enough room for the refugees to be settled. Around 30,000 Azeris were refugees in Azerbaijan, and after 4 years all refugees were settled across the country, sometimes by forced means. The Musavat Party still held large portions of power in the government even when the second elections began.

With the second elections taking place in September 1930, Mahammad won his reelection campaign but more troubles came about in the country. With the Great Depression tanking world economies it soon entered into Baku. The price for oil fell and it soon became much less profitable than what it once was just a few weeks before. The economy fell while thousands were laid off of their jobs in late 1927. Mahammad in early 1928 created what he called his “Land Deal” to alleviate the consequences of the depression, one of which was to turn Azerbaijan’s economy away from just oil producing and exporting. More money was given to Azerbaijani industry which spurred industrial growth while coastal cities along the Caspian Sea were developed into sprawling places. During the elections, radical leaders of the Musavat Party finally broke apart and formed their own party, known as the Worker's Coalition, made up of moderate socialists, unionists and communists, who decided to join with the Musavat Party in the early month's of Azerbaijan's independence to avoid full persecution by Baku by masquerading as liberals. As negotiations broke down between who to support, the fragile alliance in the Musavat Party collapsed, and the Worker's Coalition is a small but growing party, and is expected to gain a sizeable vote in the 1937 elections should they participate.

2 months before the Erevan Coup, Rasulzade controversially reached out to Armenia, asking them to help build a railway and oil pipeline that could connect Sivas with Baku. In Ganja, Armenian and Azerbaijani delegates made various propositions, but eventually the idea was agreed upon. This was a surprising victory for the pacifist movement in Transcaucasia, and many hoped that this meant Azerbaijan and Armenia would strive towards peace even though the Musavat Party was an Azerbaijani nationalist party. Mahammad himself did not want war to continue after the defeat of the Caucasus Conflict, but just 2 months later military leader Garegin Nzhdeh toppled the Armenian government in a coup. Thereafter he severed all ties with Georgia and Azerbaijan, which included an immediate stop to the railroad and pipeline which was now in construction. Instead, Azerbaijan and Georgia decided to continue the pipeline, which would connect Baku to Batumi. The pipeline is near completion, and is expected to be done by mid-1936.

# **Culture**

Azerbaijani culture has flourished without the Russians occupying their country. Literacy rates have gone up, as have the amount of people receiving a general education, and the Azerbaijani people enjoy relative prosperity and tranquility in an otherwise unstable and unforgiving world.