Azerbaijan

[[File:Azerbaijan - Location Map (2013) - AZE - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|195px|Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.]]
{{cquote|What American politicians fail to understand (or at least it seems to me) is that today's Azerbaijan is quite a different place than the chaotic, war-torn, nearly failed state that the United States dealt with in its early years of independence.|||Thomas Goltz,  American author and journalist best known for his accounts of conflict in the Caucasus region during the 1990s.<ref>[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Azerbaijan Azerbaijan]. ''Wikiquote.''</ref>}}
{{countrybox|Azerbaijan
|flag = Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg
|pop =10,123,400	
|GDP =41,666
|GDPPC =4,721
|life =72.9
|dev =0.756
|dem =2.75
|cor =30
|edu =0.723	
|rel =39
}}

The '''Republic of Azerbaijan''' (Azeri: ''Azərbaycan''; the end is actually pronounced "John") is a majority [[Shi'a]] [[Muslim]] country in the rugged Caucasus region. It borders [[Turkey]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Russia]], and [[Iran]]. Azerbaijan is also notable for having significant [[oil]] deposits from which [[Russia]] historically benefited.  Its capital and largest city is Baku.

Like the other Caucasus states, Azerbaijan spent much of its early history bounced around between various empires, eventually being seized from Safavid Iran by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. After the Russian Empire collapsed in [[World War I]], Azerbaijan became involved in the [[Russian Civil War]]. During this chaotic period, Azeris and Armenians engaged in ethnic cleansing and civil warring. On the plus side, however, this brief period of independence saw Azerbaijan become the first parliamentary state in the Muslim world and the first majority-Muslim country to grant women equal political rights as men.<ref name="womenwwi">Kazemzadeh, Firuz (1951). ''The Struggle for Transcaucasia: 1917–1921''. The New York Philosophical Library. pp. 124, 222, 229, 269–270. ISBN 978-0-8305-0076-5.</ref> This independence was short-lived because [[Vladimir Lenin]] and the Red Army knew that the nascent [[Soviet Union]] could not survive without access to Azerbaijan's oil deposits. Thus, the Red Army invaded Azerbaijan and established it as one of the Soviet republics. 

Along with being used as a country-sized oil rig by the Soviets, Azerbaijan became embroiled in a territorial dispute with its fellow Soviet Republic, Armenia, over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Although populated with an ethnic Armenian majority, the Nagorno-Karabakh region had been placed under Azeri jurisdiction by the Soviet government. This issue grew in importance and tension, and ethnic civil war began once more in the 1980s and intensified from there. The situation rapidly became uncontrollable, and the Soviets' solution of conducting a huge massacre in Baku only made things worse. The Soviet Union stopped being a Union in 1991, and Azerbaijan almost immediately engaged Armenia in warfare over the land dispute. It ended in 1994 with a cease-fire which solved nothing; much of Azerbaijan's territory would remain occupied by Armenian armed forces until 2023. As you can expect, that had been Azerbaijan's principal foreign policy concern during those thirty-two years.
 
Despite its large Muslim population and [[Middle East|geographic location]], it is a fairly secular state,<ref name="ce">[https://www.counterextremism.com/sites/default/files/Secularism_in_Azerbaijan_June%202015.pdf Secularism in Azerbaijan and the Threat of Radicalisation in the Region]</ref> and only 21% of Azeris consider religion important in their daily lives.<ref>[http://news.gallup.com/poll/114211/alabamians-iranians-common.aspx What Alabamians and Iranians Have in Common]</ref> Compared to its neighbors, it is generally pro-Western and has frosty relations with Russia. The moderately pro-Western and anti-Russian Georgian government has found an ally in Azerbaijan.<ref name="ce"/>

Despite rampant government corruption, Azerbaijan has an HDI on par with most Eastern European countries, and its economy is doing quite well due to the rich oil deposits found there.

Most notably of all, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXnDub9JCfI| they have a national anthem that sounds like something you'd play over Darth Vader storming the Rebel base.]

==Historical overview==
[[File:Baku ShirvanshahsBurialVault 004 1365.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Shirvanshah mausoleum in Baku.]]
===Early history===
Human settlement in Azerbaijan dates back to at least the Stone Age. Between 900 and 700 BCE, ethnic Persians rose to power in Central Asia, and they eventually formed the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BCE.<ref>H. Dizadji, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.C (2010). ''Journey from Tehran to Chicago: My Life in Iran and the United States, and a Brief History of Iran.'' USA: Trafford Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 9781426929182.</ref> The Persians spread [[Zoroastrian]]ism throughout the Azerbaijan region until they were conquered by Alexander the Great. After that interruption, however, Azerbaijan remained under Persian rule until the spread of Islam.{{efn|Persian rule would return with the Safavids, however. Centuries after the introduction of Islam to Azerbaijan.}}

===Islam and invasions===
This prolonged period of Persian rule ended in the mid 600s CE with the Rashidun Caliphate's decades-long conquest of the Sassanian Persian Empire.<ref>{{wpa|Muslim conquest of Persia|}}</ref> Along with Arab conquerors, the Islamic religion arrived and received many converts. After a time, however, the age of Arab caliphates ended with the Abbasid dynasty, and the Azerbaijan region was then invaded and conquered by Turkic speakers from Central Asia.<ref name="introislam">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/5.htm Azerbaijan: The Introduction of Islam and the Turkish Language]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> These Turks established the Seljuk Empire, which introduced Turkish culture and was the most significant influence on the modern Azeri nation.

Under the leadership of Hulegu Khan, the Mongols invaded Azerbaijan in the early 1200s; the Mongol Empire ruled Azerbaijan as part of the Ilkhanate.<ref name="introislam"/> The Mongol Empire fell apart, but that wasn't the end of Azerbaijan's Mongol troubles. Timur Lenk, an Uzbek Mongol warlord, decided to start his own Mongol Empire by invading Central Asia and Persia.<ref name="timurlenk">[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Timur Timur]. ''Britannica.''</ref> Timur then became a powerful Mongol leader who declared himself the "defender of Islam" and launched genocides against Indian Hindus, Egyptian and Turkish "usurpers", and Middle Eastern Christians.<ref>[https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/news/why-hamilton-doesnt-live-up-to-the-hype/ Tamerlane’s Reign of Terror] ''History Answers UK''</ref><ref>[http://listverse.com/2018/01/15/10-terrors-of-the-tyrant-tamerlane/ 10 Terrors Of The Tyrant Tamerlane] ''Listverse''</ref> Azerbaijan was also swept up in this wave of conquest, and the region's ruling Shirvanshah dynasty became a vassal state of the Timurid Empire. The Shirvanshas maintained a high degree of autonomy and presided over one of the cultural high points of Azerbaijan.<ref>{{wpa|Shirvanshah|}}</ref> This era has left great architectural heritage like the Shirvanshah palace and mausoleum.

===Safavid era===
[[File:Shah soleiman safavi.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Court of Safavid Shah Suleiman I, 1670.]]
In Azerbaijan, the Safavid dynasty arose after the collapse of the Timurid Empire, and they reunited the Persian region and took Azerbaijan as one of its client states.<ref>{{wpa|Safavid dynasty|}}</ref> The Safavids became perhaps the most important dynasty in Iranian history, responsible for converting the entire area to Shia Islam rather than Sunni Islam.<ref>Akiner, Shirin (5 July 2004). ''The Caspian: Politics, Energy and Security''. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203641675.</ref><ref name="shiacon">{{wpa|Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|}}</ref> The Safavids simultaneously converted Azerbaijan to Shia Islam as well.

The Safavids accomplished this by harshly persecuting Sunnis.<ref name="shiacon"/> The rationale behind this was largely political, as the Safavids wanted to make Persia as distinct as possible from their Ottoman Empire rival. Methods of forced conversion included massacres, destruction of Sunni mosques, and confiscation of property.<ref name="shiacon"/> The imposition of Shia Islam was especially harsh in Azerbaijan, where various massacres occurred,<ref>{{wpa|History of Azerbaijan|}}</ref> just in case you were tempted to think of Islam as a religion of peace. Later in the dynasty's history, wars escalated rapidly between the Safavids and the Ottomans. Dozens of wars ensued between the two empires; many were fought in the Caucasus region and caused devastation throughout places like Armenia and Azerbaijan.<ref>Herzig, Edmund; Kurkchiyan, Marina (2004). ''The Armenians: Past and Present in the Making of National Identity.'' Routledge. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-135-79837-6. </ref>

Starting in the 18th century, [[Russia]] also started expanding into the Caucasus region, bringing all three of the region's empires into constant warfare. Azerbaijan was home to Baku, a significant port city on the Caspian Sea, making the area desirable to the Russian Empire, which lacked many warm-water ports. Russia proved to have better staying power than the other two empires, and by 1812, they forced Persia to cede much of the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, to Russian rule.<ref>Michael Axworthy. Ir''an: Empire of the Mind: A History from Zoroaster to the Present Day''. Penguin UK, 6 nov. 2008 ISBN 0141903414</ref><ref>Cornell, Svante (2001). ''Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus''. Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1162-7.</ref>

===Russian rule===
[[File:Neft.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Cossack patrol in Baku, 1905.]]
At first, Russian rule was fairly light-handed since the Russians were only concerned with Azerbaijan's ability to serve as a port. However, towards the late 19th century, oil became very valuable, and prospectors discovered a shitload of it in Azerbaijan. Suddenly, Azerbaijan became the black jewel in the Russian imperial crown (to match the cold black heart of the Tsarist government), and ethnic Russians started flooding into the region to get a piece of the oil industry.<ref name="boomtown">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/7.htm Russian Influences in the Nineteenth Century]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> The population of Baku increased from 13,000 in the 1860s to 112,000 in 1897 and 215,000 in 1913, making Baku the largest city in the Caucasus.<ref name="boomtown"/> By this point, about a third of Baku's population was Russian. 

In 1905, however, revolutionary unrest in Russia also gave rise to inter-ethnic tension in Azerbaijan between Azeris, Armenians, and Russians. This situation exploded into a series of riots and massacres across the entire Caucasus region, in which all sides killed thousands of people until the Russian military regained order in 1907.<ref>{{wpa|Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–07|}}</ref> 

[[File:Army of Azerbaijan in 1918.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Soldiers of Azerbaijan in Baku, 1918.]]

Urbanization and industrialization in Azerbaijan also contributed to social radicalism, with [[social democracy]] and [[nationalist]] parties forming to push for a different kind of Azerbaijan.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/8.htm Azerbaijan: The Spirit of Revolution]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Many of these people would later be absorbed into the [[Bolshevik]] faction during the [[Russian Civil War]]. As happened elsewhere in the Russian Empire, racial tensions and political radicalism fully boiled over in [[World War I]]. After the [[October Revolution]], Bolshevik-aligned leaders declared Azerbaijan a Soviet Republic. However, Muslim Azeri nationalists separately and simultaneously declared the "Azerbaijan People's Democratic Republic" and formed the "Army of Islam" to defend it.<ref name="revolution">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/9.htm Azerbaijan: World War I and Independence]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> 

The Army of Islam proceeded to forcibly occupy Baku, oust the Bolsheviks, and set up its own government. During this time, Azerbaijan became the first Muslim-majority country to create a parliamentary republic and the first Muslim-majority country to grant women legal equality with men.<ref name="womenwwi"/> However, all was not well, as political struggles between the nationalists and Bolsheviks and racial tensions led to a mass slaughter of about 25,000 people, mostly Azeris.<ref>{{wpa|March Days|}}</ref>

Things got even worse when it became clear that the Soviet Red Army was preparing to invade Azerbaijan. Although this was technically an act of [[imperialism]], Vladimir Lenin [[hypocrisy|justified]] the attack by stating that the Red Army couldn't win the ongoing Russian Civil War without access to Azerbaijan's oil fields.<ref name="revolution"/> With Azerbaijan too busy dealing with Armenian separatists and other internal threats, the Azeri army couldn't mount a successful defense. The Azeri soldiers were tenacious, but the situation was hopeless for them, and they suffered about 20,000 deaths during the short war of reconquest.<ref>Pope, Hugh (2006). ''Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world.'' New York: The Overlook Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-58567-804-4.</ref> Azerbaijan became part of the new [[Soviet Union]].

===Soviet rule===
In mid-1920, the Red Army occupied Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijani enclave between Armenia and northwestern Iran; in 1921, a referendum confirmed that its residents wished to be a part of Azerbaijan.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/10.htm Azerbaijan: Within the Soviet Union]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> When you look at the map on the top of this page, there's a chunk of Azerbaijan floating by itself. That's Nakhichevan.

During the harsh rule of [[Joseph Stalin]], Azerbaijan suffered alongside the other Soviet republics from purges, massacres, and the consequences of forced collectivization.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/11.htm Azerbaijan: Stalin and Post-Stalin Politics]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> However, like the other Soviet republics, this period saw Azerbaijan make impressive gains in literacy and industrialization. It was just too bad that so many people didn't live to see these improvements.

When [[Nazi Germany]] invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Azerbaijan became one of the most critical places in the entire world. Throughout the 1930s, Azerbaijan produced more than half of the Soviet Union's oil.<ref>[https://ww2db.com/country/Azerbaijan Azerbaijan in WWII]. ''World War II Database.''</ref> Since the USSR was heavily dependent on this oil to fuel its war machine and since the Germans were looking for their own sources of oil, it was only natural that [[Hitler]]'s armies would target the region for conquest. Hence Operation ''Fall Blau'', the Wehrmacht's name for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia, had the ultimate goal of seizing Azerbaijan's oil fields.<ref>[https://ww2days.com/blue-operation-fall-blau.html BLUE, OPERATION (FALL BLAU) (JUNE–NOVEMBER 1942)]. ''Daily Chronicles of World War II''.</ref> This operation led to the Battle of Stalingrad, where the Soviets won a decisive victory that turned the tide of the eastern war.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad Battle of Stalingrad]. ''Britannica.''</ref>

After the war, though, Azerbaijan's importance to the Soviet Union started to decline. Soviet oil production moved on to other regions, and the region's economic growth thus slowed down considerably starting in the 1960s.<ref>{{wpa|Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|}}</ref> With the economy going into the toilet (a situation that only got worse during the Brezhnev stagnation period), Azeris and Armenians had no better activities than returning to inter-ethnic conflict. Hoo-boy. The main stressing issue this time was, as ever, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a majority Armenian population but had been placed under the administration of the Azerbaijan SSR (while the equivalent on the other size, Nakhichevan, was ''not'' placed under Armenia). Ethnic clashes escalated rapidly throughout the decades, peaking in the 1980s.<ref name="lastsoviet">[http://countrystudies.us/armenia/14.htm Armenia: The New Nationalism]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> The Soviet government, weakened by decades of stagnation and weakened again by the liberalization reforms of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], proved unable to manage the situation.

===Independence and war===
[[File:Azerbaijani soldiers during Nagorno Karabagh war.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Azeri soldiers during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, 1992.]]
In this atmosphere of race war and government inaction, radical Azeris launched multiple pogroms of ethnic Armenians, killing many thousands of people.<ref>{{wpa|Sumgait pogrom|}}</ref><ref>{{wpa|Baku pogrom|}}</ref><ref>{{wpa|Maraga massacre|}}</ref> In 1990, the situation had become so bad that Gorbachev ordered a direct intervention. Soviet tanks and troops stormed the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, killing between 130 and 300 people.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/Blogs/News-from-Arye-Gut/Black-January-became-the-starting-point-for-independence-of-Azerbaijan-537065 Bloody "Black January" became the starting point for independence of Azerbaijan]. ''Jerusalem Post.''</ref> Soviet troops reportedly shot people at point-blank range, ran over cars with tanks, bombarded hospitals, prevented the medical personnel from helping the wounded, and literally bayoneted the survivors. This event completely broke any remaining loyalty Azeris had to Moscow.

In 1991, Azerbaijan didn't hesitate to make a break for the door alongside Armenia and the other disloyal Soviet republics. The Soviet Union had collapsed, but that wasn't the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Azerbaijan wanted to keep its old Soviet borders, while Armenia wanted to annex Nagorno-Karabakh in the name of [[irredentism]]. This situation escalated into a full war in 1991. 

Although Azerbaijan, on paper, had superior military forces, they were fatally weakened by the need to deal with Armenians who already lived within their borders. For this reason, they were unable to prevent Armenia's invasion and occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territory. As is often the case in wars based on ethnic hatred, the Nagorno-Karabakh War was exceptionally violent and featured atrocities by both sides. For instance, in the village of Maraga, Azeri soldiers indiscriminately murdered civilians and burned the entire village.<ref>{{wpa|Maraga massacre|}}</ref> In Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city, Azeri forces besieged the city and bombarded it with artillery, killing and injuring many thousands of people.<ref>''Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh''. Human Rights Watch, 1992. ISBN 1-56432-081-2, 9781564320810, p. 32</ref> The Armenians weren't much nicer. In Garadaghly, Armenian troops killed about 20 civilians to "avenge" the death of one of their fallen comrades.<ref>{{wpa|Capture of Garadaghly|}}</ref> In the Khojaly massacre, Armenian troops committed a mass murder of between 200 and 600 Azeri civilians.<ref>de Waal, Thomas (2004). ''Black garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war.'' ABC-CLIO. pp. 172–173. ISBN 0-8147-1945-7.</ref>

In 1994, both sides agreed to a cease-fire, effectively a peace of exhaustion, that froze the war and the issue.<ref>{{wpa|Bishkek Protocol|}}</ref> This "troubled peace" ended in September 2020, when Azerbaijan attacked again with an enhanced military and began the worst bout of fighting yet, leaving hundreds dead and cities on both sides bombed.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/russia-azerbaijan-archive-armenia-army-a517562831a5aa3995c6652f610c934a Azerbaijan, Armenia report shelling of cities despite truce]. ''Associated Press.''</ref> The war ended with Azerbaijan getting the upper hand. At this point, [[Putin]] stepped in and brokered a peace in which Azerbaijan got a lot of territory around Nagorno-Karabakh, but not Nagorno-Karabakh itself, and Russian troops would guard the rest of the place. This was a win-win for him—he gained brownie points with Azerbaijan but kept Armenia dependent on Russia.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/10/nagorno-karabakh-peace-deal-turkey-russia-reshapes-regional-geopolitics Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal reshapes regional geopolitics]</ref> The Russians only planned to stay for five years, although Russia being tied up in their [[Ukraine#Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]] would lead to another conflict nearly three years after that in September 2023, with Azerbaijan again emerging victorious. Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself, with nearly the entire Armenian population fleeing to Armenia.

==Government==
===Authoritarianism===
Although Azerbaijan is secular and ostensibly a [[democracy]], it has become a one-party state at this point, with the authoritarian New Azerbaijan Party being the only party with any real chance of taking power. The former president of Azerbaijan and the person who started the NAP, Heydər Əliyev, has a significant cult of personality that extended to his son (the current president) upon his death. The government of Azerbaijan has made arbitrary arrests and taken political prisoners,<ref>[http://www.businessinsider.com/azerbaijan-political-prisoner-adnan-hajizade-goes-to-reddit-2012-7 What It's Like To Be A Political Prisoner For 17 Months In A Third World Country]</ref> and the conditions within prisons are awful.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-warms-up-for-eurovision-by-torturing-musicians-7580619.html Azerbaijan warms up for Eurovision by torturing musicians]</ref> Elections tend to use the same tactics as [[Vladimir Putin]], ensuring that the New Azerbaijan Party stays in power.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2010/11/2010118152810836488.html Monitors criticise Azeri elections]</ref> [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Sound familiar?]]

==Foreign relations==
[[File:Nagorno-Karabakh Map2.png|thumb|right|275px|Azeri territory (as recognized internationally) occupied by Armenia until 2023.]]
===Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute===
Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ, Azeri: Dağlıq Qarabağ) is a disputed territory in western Azerbaijan. Although Azerbaijan currently controls it and is internationally recognized as the rightful owner,<ref>[https://www.un.org/press/en/2008/ga10693.doc.htm General Assembly Adopts Resolution Reaffirming Territorial Integrity of Azerbaijan, Demanding Withdrawal of all Armenian Forces]</ref> until 2023 the ''de-facto'' owner of most of the territory was the {{wpl|Republic of Artsakh||,}} a primarily Armenian (ethnically and linguistically) state with limited international recognition. Armenia had aided Artsakh in its secession from Azerbaijan,<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/WR95/HELSINKI-01.htm Armenia - Human Rights Developments]</ref> with some considering it to be a territory of Armenia,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131002055014/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=armenia-expects-russian-support-in-karabakh-war-2011-05-20 Armenia expects Russian support in Karabakh war]</ref> despite Armenia keeping its distance from the idea of uniting the two. During its existence, several US states and subdivisions of other countries recognized Artsakh, but no [[United Nations|UN]] member states recognized it as independent, not even Armenia, though an attempt was made.<ref>[https://news.am/eng/news/325703.html Armenia government approves bill on recognition of Karabakh independence]</ref> Prior to Artsakh's dissolution, there had been no compromise, though not for lack of trying.<ref>[http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/politics/news/18270/ No Progress at Kocharian-Aliyev Meeting in Bucharest]</ref>

Following the transfer of power from Serzh Sargsyan to Nikol Pashinyan as PM, Pashinyan said he would make Nagorno-Karabakh part of Armenia.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/europe/armenia-nikol-pashinyan-prime-minister.html He Was a Protester a Month Ago. Now, Nikol Pashinyan Leads Armenia.]</ref> He expressed interest in three-way diplomatic discussions between Artsakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, but Azerbaijan was opposed to Artsakh being part of the discussions.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-armenia-azerbaijan/armenias-new-pm-signals-continuity-on-karabakh-seeks-talks-with-azerbaijan-idUSKBN1IA2VK Armenia's new PM signals continuity on Karabakh, seeks talks with Azerbaijan]</ref>

These tensions were destined to erupt. Open warfare resumed on 27 September 2020, when Azerbaijan launched an offensive against Artsakh, regaining all of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and capturing one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, including Shusha and Hadrut, two hugely important cultural areas for both nations. <ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/27/heavy-fighting-erupts-in-disputed-nagorno-karabakh-region "Fighting erupts between Armenia, Azerbaijan over disputed region," Al Jazeera]</ref>In the 2020 Azerbaijan-Artsakh war, Turkey started airlifting [[Syrian]] [[mercenaries]] into Artsakh to fight on behalf of Azerbaijan. The Azeris proceeded to use the Syrians as cannon fodder to minimize Azeri casualties.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-55238803</ref> On 10 November 2020, [[Russia]] stepped in to mediate a trilateral ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was successful, but at a cost. Many Armenians felt betrayed by Russia, who ensured (alongside Armenia's Pashinyan, who saw the writing on the law) all the remaining occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh were formally returned to Azerbaijani control. The Republic of Artsakh became an isolated rump state connected with Armenia only by a narrow Russian-controlled corridor. <ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54885906 "Nagorno-Karabakh: Russia deploys peacekeeping troops to region," BBC]</ref>

In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched another offensive against Artsakh.<ref>[https://archive.ph/20230919182727/https://worldview.stratfor.com/situation-report/armenia-azerbaijan-baku-launches-military-operation-nagorno-karabakh "Armenia, Azerbaijan: Baku Launches Military Operation In Nagorno-Karabakh," Stratfor]</ref> It only lasted one day. The Armenian government of Artsakh surrendered to Azerbaijan. <ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230928-nagorno-karabakh-to-dissolve-ending-independence-dream "Karabakh separatists to disband after surrender to Azerbaijan," France24]</ref> <ref>[https://apnews.com/article/azerbaijan-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-5488386cb18c4333d00721365730cdf9 "Russia says Armenian separatists surrender arms after Azerbaijan reclaims Nagorno-Karabakh," Avet Demourian, Associated Press]</ref> Facing potential extermination, or at the very least due to fears of potential extermination, almost the entire population of Artsakh fled to Armenia by October 2023. <ref>[https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20230930-nagorno-karabakh-almost-empty-as-most-of-population-flees-to-armenia "Nagorno-Karabakh almost empty as most of population flees to Armenia," RFI]</ref>

To complete Azerbaijan's humiliation of Armenia, Artsakh president Samvel Shahramanyan signed a 28 September decree dissolving all of Artsakh's institutions by 1 January 2024.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nagorno-karabakh-republic-will-cease-exist-jan-1-2024-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-28/ "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will cease to exist from Jan 1 2024 - Nagorno-Karabakh authorities," Reuters]</ref> Before that date was reached, Azerbaijani [[Dictator|President Ilham Aliyev]] visited the region on 15 October and officially raised the flag of Azerbaijan at the building that was previously used as the Artsakh Presidential Palace. <ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20231015-azerbaijan-president-raises-national-flag-in-nagorno-karabakh-capital "Azerbaijan's president raises national flag in Nagorno-Karabakh capital," France24]</ref>

Prior to the 2023 war, Azerbaijan imposed a blockade on Artsakh, intending to squeeze the population as much as possible before launching another counteroffensive. Now, around 100,000 people are refugees from Artsakh. People displaced from Artsakh have been granted the status of "temporary protection, rather than citizenship or refugee status." Only after "receiving a document confirming this status" along with temporary registration "can forcibly displaced people receive their pensions or child benefits." <ref>[https://armenianweekly.com/2024/01/03/from-scratch-the-forced-displacement-and-new-lives-of-artsakh-refugees/ "From Scratch: The Forced Displacement and New Lives of Artsakh Refugees," Siranush Sargsyan, Armenian Weekly]</ref> Now, the "underequipped and unprepared" Armenians lost whatever faith they had in their government, forever embittered at the loss of Artsakh. <ref>[https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/live-die-artsakh-armenians-glendale "To Live and Die for Artsakh," Marten Weiner, Tablet Magazine]</ref>

On 22 December 2023, Shahramanyan said that there was no official document stipulating the dissolution of government institutions, implying that Artsakh may continue as a government in exile. <ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20231222-nagorno-karabakh-dissolution-not-valid-says-armenian-separatist-leader "Nagorno-Karabakh dissolution not valid, says Armenian separatist leader," France24]</ref> However, this statement was called out by Armenian government and state-affiliated media, who accused him of sabotaging the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The following day, Shahramanyan's former advisor clarified that the statement was not official.<ref>[https://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=81082&lang=3 "Arminfo: Vladimir Grigoryan leaves post of adviser to Artsakh president"]</ref>

==Armenophobia==
{{cquote|Our goal is the complete [[Armenian genocide denial|elimination of Armenians]]. You, [[Nazi]]s, already eliminated the [[Jew]]s in the 1930s and 40s, right? You should be able to understand us.|||Hacıbala Abutalıbov, mayor of Baku, while in [[Germany|Bavaria]] (2005)}}
{{wpl|Armenophobia}} (anti-Armenian sentiment) is prevalent in Azeri society, with [[hate speech]] and [[stereotypes]] about Armenians being commonplace.<ref name="arm">[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921073055/http://hudoc.fcnm.coe.int/XMLEcri/ENGLISH/Cycle_02/02_CbC_eng/02-cbc-azerbaijan-eng.pdf ECRI Report on Azerbaijan] (pp. 19 {{--}} 20)</ref> This is primarily due to ethnic Armenians being used as a scapegoat for the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, and virtually all Armenians have fled Azerbaijan as a result.<ref name="arm"/> At the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute in 1988, the problem was even worse: an extremely violent [[pogrom]] took place in Sumgait in late February, and at least 53 people were killed (exact counts vary) while others identified as Armenians were raped and tortured.<ref>[http://www.nkrusa.org/nk_conflict/sumgait_massacre.shtml A Genocide Gone Unpunished - Pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait]</ref><ref name="pgrm">[http://100years100facts.com/facts/massacre-armenians-sumgait-soviet-azerbaijan-began-february-27-1988/ Massacre of Armenians in Sumgait]</ref> Soviet authorities were slow to react to the massacre, while Azerbaijani officers were even worse at responding.<ref name="pgrm"/> In 2004, an Azeri army lieutenant [[murder]]ed an Armenian lieutenant in his sleep at a NATO program in [[Hungary]]; he was given a presidential pardon, ''promoted to major'', and given all of the pay that he lost.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19463968 Azeri killer Ramil Safarov: Concern over Armenian anger]</ref> People may be turned away from Azerbaijan for having Armenian-sounding names,<ref>[https://cpj.org/2011/07/citing-ethnicity-azerbaijan-bars-photojournalist.php Citing ethnicity, Azerbaijan bars photojournalist]</ref> even if they aren't actually Armenian.<ref>[https://www.haberler.com/soyadi-ermeni-diye-azerbaycan-a-sokulmadi-6089254-haberi/ Soyadı 'Ermeni' Diye Azerbaycan'a Sokulmadı] (in Turkish)</ref>

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Baku city at night.jpg|Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city.
File:Food Gechresh Azerbaijan 03.jpg|Azeri meat dish.
File:Azerbajiani landscape - Another version.jpg|Azerbaijan's rugged landscape.
File:Azerigirls.JPG|Azeri girls in traditional garb.
File:Baku Bibi-EybatMosque 004 8705.jpg|Bibi-Heybat Mosque, originally built by the Shirvanshahs.
</gallery></center>

==See also==
* [[Authoritarianism]]
* [[Secularism]]
* [[Turkey]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
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[[Category:Asian countries]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Authoritarian regimes]]

Categories: Asian countries, European countries, Authoritarian regimes