Ilham Aliyev visited monument to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

Independence Day ( az, Müstəqillik Günü) honours the date on which the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian Az ...

(ADR) was founded as the first secular democratic state in the Muslim East: 28 May 1918. Since 1990, Republic Day is celebrated as a

national holiday National holiday may refer to: * National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment *Public holiday, a holiday established by law, usually a day off for at least a portion of the workforce, ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. 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 and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

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 ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

democratic state in the Muslim East was proclaimed. The

, founded by

Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh Mahammad Amin Akhund Haji Mulla Alekber oghlu Rasulzade ( az, Мәһәммәд Әмин Ахунд Һаҹы Молла Әләкбәр оғлу Рәсулзадә, italic=no, Məhəmməd Əmin Axund Hacı Molla Ələkbər oğlu Rəsulzadə, ; tr ...

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

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

and

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

world.

Flag of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918)

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- Muslim 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 Empire, 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 ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

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 The Transcaucasian Seim (February 23, 1918 – May 26, 1918) was a representative and legislative body of state power in the Transcaucasus, convened by the Transcaucasian Commissariat in Tiflis on February 23, 1918. Consisted of members of the Al ...

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 The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

Transcaucasian Muslims The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

, and

Caucasian Turks Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

, officially became Azerbaijanis.

Tadeusz Swietochowski Tadeusz Świętochowski (; 28 April 1932 – 15 February 2017) was a Polish- American historian and Caucasologist, Professor Emeritus of Columbia University and Monmouth University. Biography Świętochowski was born in France into a family o ...

''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 soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

on the site of the

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum ( az, Azərbaycan Milli Xalça Muzeyi, formerly called the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum) is a museum located in Baku that displays Azerbaijani carpets and rugs with historical and modern weaving techniques and mater ...

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 ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azer ...

on 30 January 1998. On 26 May, President

Aliyev Aliyev (sometimes spelled Aliev; az, Əliyev, kk, Áliyev, russian: Алиев), Aliyeva for females, is a surname originating from the Caucasus and Central Asia. The surname is derived from the Arabic male given name Ali and literally means ''Ali ...

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 rep ...

and a day later, he delivered a gala speech in honor of the occasion. In 2001,

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, russian: link=no, Патриарх Алексий II; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger russian: link=no, Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ри́дигер; 23 February 1929 – 5 December ...

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 in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saint ...

of the Republic. A general ceremony is held at the

Buta Palace The Buta Palace is one of the principal performing arts centers and music venues of Baku. Facilities It consists of two event halls and adjacent parking lot for 800 cars. The greater hall is a caravanserai-stylized venue, capable of accommoda ...

. A formal ceremony is held at

Istiglaliyyat Street Istiglaliyyat Street ( az, Istiqlaliyyət küçəsi) is an arterial road in the central uptown part of Baku, Azerbaijan. It begins at Gulustan Palace, located on the southern hillside part of Baku, and continues north, then northeast, terminat ...

near the stele with the text of the Declaration of Independence.

Locations

In honor of this day the station of the Baku underground is named. Initially, it was called "April 28", since on 28 April 1920,

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

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. In honor of this day a street in Baku was named, the Istiglaliyyat Street (Independence Street). On the Istiglaliyyat Street, a stele with the text of the Declaration of Independence (in Arabic and Latin) was installed. On the wall of the hall of the former palace of the governor in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, where the republic was proclaimed, a memorial plaque with an inscription in

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group **Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three script ...

and

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

s was installed. 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 events Public holidays in Azerbaijan May observances

Spring (season) events in Azerbaijan