History UsefulNotes / Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris, ergo they were not originally part of the 1918-1920 Azerbaijani Republic which the current Azerbaijani state officially declared its predecessor.]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee, while the Armenian minority in the rest of the country was forced to flee into Nagorno-Karabakh to avoid pogroms. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admission of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war.

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), a semi-independent exclave of Azerbaijan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. While under Soviet rule the majority Azeri population voted for Nakhchivan to be part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule (he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran. Azerbaijan's relations with Iran have become rather unstable as of late because Azerbaijan has shown itself to be pro-U.S. and Azerbaijan is angry at Iran for having good relations with Armenia, causing more problems for Nakhchivan.

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris, ergo they were not originally part of the 1918-1920 Azerbaijani Republic which the current Azerbaijani state officially declared its predecessor.]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee, while the Armenian minority in the rest of the country was forced to flee into Nagorno-Karabakh to avoid pogroms. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war.

Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians' long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that Azerbaijan as a country was virtually [[NewerThanTheyThink nonexistent until around 1918.]] Because their history doesn't go back as far as they'd like, Azerbaijan often claims both Iranian and Armenian monuments, literature, music, food etc. to be uniquely Azerbaijani when in fact they aren't.

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), a semi-independent exclave of Azerbaijan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. While under Soviet rule the majority Azeri population voted for Nakhchivan to be part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule (he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran. Azerbaijan's relations with Iran have become rather unstable as of late because Azerbaijan has shown itself to be pro-U.S., causing more problems for Nakhchivan.

Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that Azerbaijan as a country was virtually [[NewerThanTheyThink nonexistent until around 1918.]] Because their history doesn't go back as far as they'd like, Azerbaijan often claims both Iranian and Armenian monuments, literature, music, food etc. to be uniquely Azerbaijani when in fact they aren't.

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee, while the Armenian minority in the rest of the country was forced to flee into Nagorno-Karabakh to avoid pogroms. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war.

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), a semi-independent exclave of Azerbaijan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. While under Soviet rule the majority Azeri population voted for Nakhchivan to be part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule (he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran. It's relations with Iran have become rather unstable as of late because Azerbaijan has shown itself to be pro-U.S., causing more problems for Nakchivan.

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars.

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that Azerbaijan as a country was virtually [[NewerThanTheyThink nonexistent until around 1918.]]

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), a semi-independent exclave of Azerbaijan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. While under Soviet rule the majority Azeri population voted for Nakhchivan to be part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule (he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran.

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that Azerbaijan as a country was virtually [[NewerThanTheyThink nonexistent until around 1918.]]

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was [[NewerThanTheyThink nonexistent until around 1918.]]

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire, not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Skirmishes along the border are rather common. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around 1918.

Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The Azeri refugees were then forced into refugee camps where even to this day they live in horrible conditions and poverty, though the Azeri government is more to blame for this; they refuse to let the refugees integrate because they see that as an admittance of defeat. The war itself ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around 1918.

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), an semi-independent exclave of Azerbaijan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. While under Soviet rule the majority Azeri population voted for Nakhchivan to be part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule (he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran.

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), an semi-independent exclave of Azerbaijan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. While under Soviet rule the majority Azeri population voted for Nakhchivan to be part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule(he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran.

That little piece of Azerbaijan on the other side of Armenia you see on the map is called Nakhchivan. The reasons that bit of land belongs to Azerbaijan are [[UnderStatement a bit complicated]], but it's mostly due to the fact that the Armenians that used to live there were all eventually killed or driven out during and after WorldWarOne and the wars in the region that followed, leaving Azeris the majority. This gave Stalin the justification needed to put it under Azerbaijan's rule once the Soviet Union conquered the entire area (he also did this to placate Turkey, same as with his decision to give the Azeris Nagorno-Karabakh). The region is rather impoverished today since Armenia has blockaded its border with it, in response to Turkey and Azerbaijan both blockading their borders with Armenia. This means to get to the rest of Azerbaijan its citizens have to go through Iran.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region, [[hottip:*: the archeological site of Tigranakert in Karabakh, for example, was founded by the Armenian king Tigran the Great in 70 B.C., after all]] and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region (the archeological site of Tigranakert in Karabakh, for example, was founded by the Armenian king Tigran the Great in 70 B.C., after all), and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region in their propaganda, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish, Caucasian Albanian and Iranian, and likely their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region in their propaganda, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish and Iranian, and likely their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks in the 1200's and intermixed with native Persians; before the founding of Azerbaijan the Azeris were commonly referred to as Caucasian Tartars. Azerbaijan's foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region in their propaganda, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1918.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish and Iranian, and likely their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks and intermixed with native Persians. Its foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region in their propaganda, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1920's.

Azerbaijan, like neighbouring Armenia, is one of the clutch of former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, where Russia and Turkey meet. "Where Russia and Turkey" meet applies well to the country, as it has long been under Russian rule, but speaks a language which is very close to Turkish. This can be seen in names like Aliyev ("Ali"-"ev", a typical Middle Eastern name with a Russian suffix). The country is mostly Shia Muslim, but the state, like Turkey, is strictly secular. Turkey in general acts as a sort of "big brother", as they share ethnic and religious ties, as well as enemies. The people of Azerbaijan themselves are a mixture of Turkish and Iranian, and likely their ancestors came into the region from Central Asia along with the Turks. Its foreign relations are dominated by the result of the 1992-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War which has left the mostly-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh [[hottip:*:which ''itself'' was only transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin, for various reasons; this was around the same time that Nakhchivan was also handed to the Azeris]] occupied by Armenian troops and local militia and its considerable Azeri minority forced to flee. The war ended in a ceasefire. Not that you'd be able to tell or anything, though - the Azeri side is more than willing to violate the ceasefire whenever they feel like putting the pressure on Armenia and the international community. Since the ceasefire Nagorno-Karabakh has declared independence and has its own democratic government in place, though every country is too afraid to recognize its independence, including Armenia itself, for fear of starting another war. Since losing the war Azerbaijan has been desperately trying to lay historical claim to Karabakh, resulting in much DisContinuity of the Armenians long history in the region in their propaganda, and disregard for the fact that the country was nonexistent until around the 1920's, before that being occupied by Armenians and the Caucasian Albanians.