Today, Azerbaijan is celebrating Independence Day.
106 years have passed since the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic secular state in the Muslim East, on May 28, 1918.
Independence Day has been celebrated in the liberated lands for already three years.
The Russian Empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917. The national movement of the peoples that were oppressed by the Tsarist state in the country began. On May 28, 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920) - the first secular democratic state founded in the Muslim East.
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, founded by Mammad Amin Rasulzade, was the example of the first parliamentary republic in the Turkic and Islamic world and the first democratic, legal, and secular state.
The first head of the temporary government of Azerbaijan was Fatali Khan Khoyski. The National Council moved to Ganja after working for ten days in Tbilisi. Only in September 1918, when Baku was cleared of the Dashnak-Russian forces with the leadership of the Turkish army, the national government moved from Ganja to Baku.
The independent Azerbaijan Republic has achieved great successes and victories during its short life. Among the critical accomplishments of the ADR was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan one of the first countries in the world, and the very first majority-Muslim nation, to grant women equal political rights with men.
ADR created its national army, national currency, a national bank and carried out economic reforms.
The Ottoman Empire was the first state that officially recognized the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. That historic event took place on June 4, 1918. On November 9, 1918, based on the proposal by Mammad Amin Rasulzade, the three-color flag of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was accepted. Until then, the flag of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was red.
The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan operated in a tense and complicated socio-political situation for only 23 months. The Soviet Union invaded Azerbaijan on April 28, 1920. However, the idea of independence was not defeated, and in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, Azerbaijan again declared its independence.
A monument to the Declaration of Independence was erected in Baku in honor of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Independence Day was called Republic Day from 1991 to 2021. The Azerbaijani Parliament adopted a new bill "On Independence Day" on October 15, 2021. On the same day, President Ilham Aliyev approved the bill "On Independence Day." Thus, May 28 – Republic Day was renamed Independence Day.
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