Ilham Aliyev visited monument to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

Independence Day () is a national holiday in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

marking the anniversary of the founding of the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

(ADR) on 28 May 1918. Since 1990, Republic Day is celebrated as a national holiday in

. Until 2021, it was marked as Republic Day. In October 2021, it was renamed and became Independence Day.

History of Republic Day

The

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. The national movement of people who were trampled by the tyranny existed in the country started. On 28 May 1918 the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918–1920), the first

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

democratic state in the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

East was proclaimed. The

, founded by

Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh Mahammad Amin Akhund Haji Molla Alakbar oghlu Rasulzade (31 January 1884 – 6 March 1955) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani politician, journalist and the head of the Azerbaijani National Council. He is mainly considered the founder of Azerbaija ...

, was the first parliamentary republic and the first democratic, legal and secular state in the Turkic and

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

world. Among the important accomplishments of the ADR was the extension of suffrage to women, making

one of the first countries in the world, and the very first majority-

nation, to grant women equal political rights with men. The first state, which officially recognized the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the Ottoman Empire. That historic event took place on 4 June 1918.Michael G. Smith. Anatomy of a Rumour: Murder Scandal, the Musavat Party and Narratives of the Russian Revolution in Baku, 1917–20. Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 211–240 On 9 November 1918 on the basis of the proposal by

the three-color flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was adopted. Until then the flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was red. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was able to operate in a tense and complicated socio-political situation for only 23 months. The Soviet Union invaded Azerbaijan on 28 April 1920. Though the idea of independence was not defeated, and in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan again declared its independence.

Declaration of Independence

Azerbaijan declared independence from

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

on 28 May 1918. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was founded by the Azerbaijani National Council in

on 28 May 1918 after the collapse of the

that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Muslim representation in the defunct Transcaucasian Seim had constituted itself into the Azerbaijani National Council, and on 28 May 1918 proclaimed that a new nation was born. So far only a geographical reference, Azerbaijan now became the name of a state, and some 2 million people, called variously

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

, Transcaucasian Muslims, and Caucasian Turks, officially became Azerbaijanis. Tadeusz Swietochowski
''Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition''
New York: Columbia University Press, 1995. , p. 129

Celebrations

One year after the founding of the ADR, a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

on the site of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum took place on Republic Day. The first jubilee celebrations in honor of the holiday took place in 1998. This events were widely celebrated in accordance with the decree “On the Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan” that was signed by President

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

on 30 January 1998. On 26 May, President Aliyev delivered a speech to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

and a day later, he delivered a gala speech in honor of the occasion. In 2001, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow visited the country for the first time to attend the Republic Day celebrations. In 2008, a postage stamp was issued in connection with the 90th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

of the Republic.

Locations

In honor of this day the station of the

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

underground is named. Initially, it was called "April 28", since on 28 April 1920,

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

power was established in Azerbaijan, and the ADR ceased to exist. However, after the Republic gained independence for the second time, the name, reminiscent of the Soviet past, was replaced by "May 28". It was enough to rename only letters, the numbers remained the same.''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. File:Plaque commemorating the establishment of the First Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.jpg, Plaque commemorating the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic File:Stamp of Azerbaijan 827.jpg, Stamp of Azerbaijan

References

{{Public holidays in Azerbaijan 1918 in Azerbaijan 1918 in international relations Modern history of Azerbaijan May 1918 Public holidays in Azerbaijan May observances

Spring (season) in Azerbaijan

History of Republic Day

Declaration of Independence

Celebrations

Locations

See also

References