Azerbaijan

*"Azerbaijan may not border the gulf of bothnia, but it has a win here"*

*--Cam Cain*

## Eulogy 1

*By Gregory Severin*

The Republic of Azerbaijan is a small country south of the Caucasus Mountains

Historically it has been a part of several empires, including the Safavids, the Afsharids, and finally the Russian Empire from the 19th century until its dissolution in 1917

Azerbaijan was very briefly an independent republic in the late 1910s, and then the Soviets arrived

Despite being almost 90% Shi'a Muslim, the country has no official religion and all major institutions are secular

Azerbaijan is a part of GUAM. No, not the US Territory, the economic development partnership that also comprises Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova

Azerbaijan has no national sport but freestyle wrestling is generally regarded as such; four of the country's seven gold medals have been won in the wrestling category

## Eulogy 2

*By Cam Cain*

Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region of the world. It is officially classified as being in both Europe and Asia, just like its neighbors Armenia and Georgia

Azerbaijan has a weird little exclave on the opposite side of Armenia called Nakhchivan. It is self-governed, and the reason for it is very complicated. But the very simple summary is that this area was invaded by Arabs and was predominantly Muslim, so when the Soviet Union became a thing it decided to become part of the Muslim Azerbaijan SSR instead of the neighboring Christian Armenian SSR. Also apparently Iran has a whole region called Azerbaijan which connects Nakhchivan with mainland Azerbaijan

On the opposite side of the spectrum, it has a weird little enclave called Artsakh, which is technically under Azerbaijani control but is ethnically Armenian and wants to be independent

Novruz, a holiday celebrating the Persian New Year and beginning of Spring, is a huge deal in Azerbaijan. Celebrating the holiday was banned under Soviet rule, but now workers get five days off for the holiday. Traditions include spraying each other with water to wash off the old year and serving dishes beginning with the letter s.

Azerbaijan was one of the first countries in the world to do cinema. The first Azerbaijani film was the 30-second silent film The Oil Gush Fire in Bibiheybat, which depicted an oil gush fire in Bibiheybat. It has a 3.1 on Letterboxd.

Azerbaijan is a powerhouse in world chess. The nation was European team chess champion in 2009, 2013, and 2017. Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest chess players of all time, hails from Baku. Apparently he is named after Harry Truman, which is kinda funny

The nation of Azerbaijan was the jersey sponsor for Atletico Madrid from 2013-2015

## Tournament

Azerbaijan was defeated by Denmark in Round 2 Matchup 56 of FlagVote after previously defeating Cameroon. As the 226 seed, it was defeated by Kenya in Round 2 Matchup 121 of FlagVote 2 after previously defeating Ehime. As the 245 seed, it was defeated by Småland in Round 2 Matchup 114 of FlagVote 3.

## Results

### FlagVote

**Round 1:** Win over Cameroon 6-2

**Round 2:** Loss to Denmark 6-1

### FlagVote 2

**Round 1:** Win over (287) Ehime 6-1

**Round 2:** Loss to (31) Kenya 4-1

### FlagVote 3

**Round 1:** BYE

**Round 2:** Loss to (268) Småland 7-4