International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis () is an annual

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

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 ...

celebrating the worldwide

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and unity of

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

. The day was inspired by the dismantling of border fences between

Soviet Azerbaijan The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent re ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in December 1989 and the

collapse of the Berlin Wall Collapse or its variants may refer to: Concepts * Collapse (structural) * Collapse (topology), a mathematical concept * Collapsing manifold * Collapse, the action of collapsing or Telescoping (mechanics), telescoping objects * Collapsing user ...

in the same year.

History

In 1989 the local residents took down the Soviet–Iranian border in then- Nakhichevan ASSR to reunite with

Iranian Azerbaijanis Iranian Azerbaijanis (; ) are the largest ethnic minority of Iran. They are primarily found in and are native to the Iranian Azerbaijan region including provinces of (East Azerbaijan, Ardabil Province, Ardabil, Zanjan Province, Zanjan, West ...

. On the same day, the first World Congress of Azerbaijanis took place in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The day was first promoted on 16 December 1991 by then-Chairman of the

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

Supreme Assembly

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 ...

. The various governments that have been in power since Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union have all marked that day. Aliyev raised the issue before the

Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR, later renamed as the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Republic from 1991 until its abolition in 1995, was the Supreme Soviet, supreme soviet (main Legislature, legislative institution) of the Azerbaijan ...

to declare that date a holiday at state level. The holiday eventually gained a state status in 1992, with Abulfaz Elchibey's presidential decree. The day was entered into the Labor Code of Azerbaijan as a non-working day, coinciding with

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, and is celebrated by Azerbaijani diaspora across the world.

References

{{Public holidays in Azerbaijan Culture of Azerbaijan Public holidays in Azerbaijan December observances Unity days 1992 establishments in Azerbaijan Winter in Azerbaijan

History

See also

References