Azerbaijan Overview

Country Profile

Azerbaijan, also known as the Republic of Azerbaijan, is located outside the Caucasus, South East of Western Asia. Covering an area of 86,600 square kilometers, its population is 8.27 million, 90% of whom are Azerbaijani, with the rest Armenian, Russians, and so on. Residents are Muslim. Azerbaijan is the official language, though residents are proficient in Russian. The currency is the manat. Baku (Baki) is the capital.

Azerbaijan National Flag

Composed of three parallel rectangles, the flag, from top to bottom, is colored light blue, red, and green. The red section has a curved white center and an octagonal star.

History Summary

Azerbaijani was formed in the 11th-13th century AD. From the 16th to the 18th century, Azerbaijan was ruled by the Yilangsufei dynasty. In the mid-18th century, a feudal split divided Azerbaijan into a dozen countries. In the 1850’s, it was annexed by tsarist Russia. In November 1917, Soviet power was established in Azerbaijan as the Baku Commune. On April 28, 1920, the “Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic” was established. On March 12, 1922, it joined the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Republic of Socialism (the same year, on December 30, it joined the Federation successfully). On December 5, 1936, it fell directly under the rule of the Soviet Union. On February 6, 1991, the country changed its name to the “Republic of Azerbaijan.” In the same year, on October 18, Azerbaijan formally declared independence.

Economy and Culture Overview

Agricultural products include wheat, corn, cotton, tobacco, fruits, and tea. Industries include oil exploration, petrochemicals, and machinery; heavy industries in the more-developed petrochemical and petroleum industry are the pillar of the national economy. Light industry includes cotton, silk, wool-weaving, and carpet-weaving. The grainy black caviar produced by the country is world-renowned.

Virgin Tower in Baku

Located in the old city center of Baku is the twelfth-century palace built by King Khan. The tower adopted an eight-layer, cylindrical layout. Each floor can accommodate fifty people, and the rain collects in wells. The tower’s building design is very clever. The circular part faces north, so the winter’s north wind goes around the tower, while the the south-facing part of the tower of the highlights of each summer, to cool in the southerly direction. After the Bamo tower, Old Town always has Dongnuanxialiang. The tower defense facilities on each floor have windows.

Azerbaijan Map