Note: This material was originally prepared in Azerbaijani. This English version was translated using artificial intelligence. The credible version is the Azerbaijani version.
On October 27, President Ilham Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan had not been independent for the past two centuries during his speech at the opening of the 7th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, held in Baku under the theme “Dialogue for a Shared Future.”
“Fakt Yoxla” investigated whether this claim was accurate.
Azerbaijan proclaimed its first independent state on May 28, 1918. On that day, the Declaration of Independence announcing the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was adopted. The first article of the Declaration of Independence states:
“From this day onward, the Azerbaijani people possess the right to sovereignty, and Azerbaijan, comprising southeastern Transcaucasia, is a fully sovereign and independent state.”
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was not merely declared a state on paper. It possessed the institutions necessary to function as an independent state. For example, on November 19, 1918, a decision was adopted to establish a 120-member Parliament, which held its first session on December 7, 1918.
In June 1918, the Azerbaijani (Turkic) language was declared the official language. On November 9, 1918, Azerbaijan's tricolour flag was adopted.
During its 23 months of existence, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic formed five governments, three headed by Fatali Khan Khoyski and two by Nasib Bey Yusifbeyli. In 1920, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic received formal de facto recognition at the Paris Peace Conference.
Furthermore, the official title of the Declaration of Independence adopted in 1991 was “Declaration of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Restoration of State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan.” Thus, from a legal perspective, Azerbaijan declared the restoration of its independence in 1991 and proclaimed itself the successor to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which existed between 1918 and 1920.
President Ilham Aliyev himself has repeatedly made positive statements in his speeches about Azerbaijan's independence in 1918. For example, during his concluding remarks at a Cabinet of Ministers meeting in 2011, Ilham Aliyev confirmed that Azerbaijan's history of independence began in 1918:
“This year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the restoration of our independence. For twenty years, Azerbaijan has existed as an independent country. Naturally, the restoration of our independence resulted from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan and all the other Soviet republics became independent. Azerbaijan, however, restored its independence because the history of our independence begins not in 1991, but in 1918. That is precisely why May 28 is celebrated with special solemnity in Azerbaijan.”
Therefore, Azerbaijan's existence as an independent state between 1918 and 1920 is an established fact supported by both historical and legal documents. Ilham Aliyev himself has previously made statements acknowledging this fact.
“Fakt Yoxla” concludes that Ilham Aliyev's claim is false.
