Nia S. Amira
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Azerbaijan is a country in the Transcaucasian region, situÂated at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and SoutheastÂern Europe. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short border with Turkey in the north west.
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its indepenÂdence in 1918 and became the first Muslim-majority democratic and secular republic. It was also the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theaters and modern universities. The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proÂclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, before the official dissolution of the USSR. In September 1991, the Armenian majorÂity of disputed Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous region declared its secession from Azerbaijan Republic to create a separate state as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Ensuing hostilities between Armenians and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno Karabakh eventually lead to full-scale war.The region and seven adjacent districts outside it became de facto independent since the ending of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, are internationally recogÂnized as part of Azerbaijan until a final solution to status of the Nagorno-Karabakh is found through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE
