Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Azerbaijani)
Азербайджанская Советская Социалистическая Республика
(Russian)
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
←
1920–1991
→
Flag Coat of arms
Capital Baku
Official language Azerbaijani, Russian, and Armenian (in the Nagorno-Karabakh AO)
Established
In the Soviet Union:
- Since
- Until April 28, 1920
December 30, 1922
August 30, 1991
Area
- Total
- Water (%) Ranked 9th in the USSR
86,600 km²
negligible
Population
- Total
- Density Ranked 6th in the USSR
7,037,900 (1989)
81.3/km²
Time zone UTC + 5
Anthem Anthem of Azerbaijan SSR
Medals
Order of Lenin
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist Respublikası; Russian: Азербайджанская Советская Социалистическая Республика [АзССР] Azerbaydzhanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika [AzSSR]), also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union.
Established on April 28, 1920 as the Azerbaijan SSR. From March 12, 1922 to December 5, 1936, it was part of the Transcaucasian SFSR together with the Armenian SSR and the Georgian SSR. In December 1922, Transcaucasian SFSR became part of the newly established Soviet Union. The Constitution of Azerbaijan SSR was approved by the 9th Extraordinary All-Azerbaijani Congress of Soviets on March 14, 1937. On November 19, 1990, Azerbaijan SSR was renamed into the "Republic of Azerbaijan," remaining in the USSR for another year before its independence in 1991.
History
Establishment
The Azerbaijan SSR was established on April 28, 1920 after the surrender of the government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to local Bolsheviks led by Mirza Davud and Nariman Narimanov and the invasion of Bolshevik 11th Red Army.
In October 13, 1921, the Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed an agreement with Turkey known as the Treaty of Kars. The previously independent Naxicivan SSR would also become autonomous ASSR within Azerbaijan by the treaty of Kars. Borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, like elsewhere in the USSR, were redrawn several times, yet neither side was completely satisfied with the results.
Transcaucasian SFSR
In March 12, 1922, under heavy pressure from Moscow, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenian, and Georgian Soviet Socialist Republics established a union known as the Transcaucasian SFSR. This was the first attempt at a union of Soviet republics, preceding the USSR. The Union Council of TSFSR consisted of the representatives of the three republics - Nariman Narimanov (Azerbaijan), Polikarp Mdivani (Georgia), and Aleksandr Fyodorovich Miasnikyan (Armenia). The First Secretary of the Transcaucasian Communist Party was Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
History of Azerbaijan
This article is part of a series
Antiquity
Ancient history and Roman era
First Persian Empire
and Alexander's conquests
Roman-Parthian rivalry
and Sassanian conquest
Middle Ages
Islamic period
Seljuk dynasty
Atabegs of Azerbaijan
Khwarezmian, Mongol and Ilkhanid rule
Qara Qoyunlu
Aq Qoyunlu
Shirvanshahs
Classical history
Safavid dynasty
Khanates
Qajar dynasty
Russian rule
Early independence
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
March Days
Soviet Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Black January
Modern Azerbaijan
Republic of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Portal
In December 1922, again under pressure from Moscow, TSFSR agreed to join the union with Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, thus creating Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which would last until 1991. The TSFSR, however, did not last long. In December 1936, the Transcaucasian Union was finally dismantled when the leaders in the Union Council found themselves unable to come to agreement over several issues. Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia then became union Republics of the Soviet Union directly.
Economy and Development
In the spring of 1921 a general change-over from revkoms and kombeds to Soviets took place. In order to help the Azeri oil industry the Supreme Council of the National Economy decided in the same year to provide it with everything necessary out of turn. The new oilfields, like Ilyich Bay, Qara-Chukhur, Lok-Batan and Kala have been discovered. In 1929 a great kolkhoz movement have developed and Azerbaijan became the second Soviet tea producer after the Georgian SSR for the first time. On March 31, 1931 the oil industry of the Azerbaijan SSR, which supplied over 60% of the total Soviet oil production at the time, was awarded the Order of Lenin. The republic gained the second Order on March 15, 1935 during the observation of the 15th anniversary. At the end of the second five-year plan (1933–1937) Azerbaijan appeared on the 3rd place in the Soviet Union by the capital investment size.
Soviet-German War
In April, 1940 intelligence flights by the British and French Air Forces did fly over the Absheron Peninsula. In the first year of the Soviet-German War, Azerbaijan produced 25,4 million tons of oil - a record for the entire history of its oil industry. Meanwhile Great Britain and France seriously considered the possibility of bombing the Republic's oil fields. By the end of 1941, thousands of Azeris had joined the People's Voluntary Corps. Mobilization affected all spheres of life, particularly the oil industries. A week after fighting began, the oil workers themselves took the initiative to extend their work to 12-hour shifts, with no days off, no holidays, and no vacations until the end of the war. Meanwhile in September 1942 Hitler's generals presented him with a large decorated cake which depicted the Caspian Sea and Baku. Baku then became the primary strategic goal of Hitler's 1942 Fall Blau offensive. This offensive was unsuccessful, however. The German army was at first stalled in the mountains of Caucasus, then decisively defeated at the battle of Stalingrad and forced to retreat from the area, abandoning all hopes for Reichskommisariat Kaukasus. In 1942 Azerbaijan also became the second largest tea producer of the Soviet Army. By the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in February 1942, the commitment of more than 500 workers and employees of the oil industry of Azerbaijan was awarded orders and medals. Of the estimated 700,000-800,000 Azeris who were recruited into the Soviet Army, 400,000 died.
The post-war period
Apart from the Oil Rocks, Azerbaijan's first offshore field was opened in the early 50s.
An event that greatly impacted Azeris on both sides of the border was the Soviet occupation of Iranian Azerbaijan in the summer of 1941. The Soviet military presence south of the Aras River led to a revival of Pan-Azerbaijani nationalism. During the Soviet occupation a revival of the Azerbaijani literary language, which had largely been supplanted by Persian, was promoted with the help of writers, journalists, and teachers from Soviet Azerbaijan. In November 1945, with Soviet backing, an autonomous "Azerbaijan People's Government" was set up at Tabriz under Jafar Pishevari, the leader of the Azerbaijani Democratic Party. Secular cultural institutions and education in Azerbaijani blossomed throughout Iranian Azerbaijan, and speculation grew rife about a possible unification of the two Azerbaijan's, under Soviet control. As it turned out, the issue of Iranian Azerbaijan became one of the first conflicts of the Cold War, and under pressure by the Western powers, the Soviet army was withdrawn. The Iranian government regained control over Iranian Azerbaijan by the end of 1946 and Democratic Party leaders took refuge in Soviet Azerbaijan. Jafar Pishevari, who was never fully trusted by Stalin, soon died under mysterious circumstances.