President Ilham Aliyev: "We are committed to all democratic traditions of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and we live these traditions"

In February 1917, the monarchy was overthrown in Russia. Although an interim government came to power in Russia, it did not remain in power for long, and a coup d'etat took place in October of that year. For this reason, the deputies elected to the Assembly of Enterprises in the South Caucasus could not go to Russia. As a result, on February 14, 1918, the deputies established the Transcaucasian Parliament of the Transcaucasian Seym, the highest governing body of the South Caucasus, in Tbilissi (Georgia). The Sejm was attended by 44 deputies who won the votes of more than one million Turkish-Muslim voters in the South Caucasus. As in the State Dumas, the most active members of the Transcaucasian Seym were representatives of Azerbaijan. It was at the request of the Azerbaijani deputies that on April 9, 1918, the Transcaucasian Seym declared the independence of the Caucasus and the united Transcaucasian Republic was established. However, the sharp contradictions of national interests and the arbitrariness of the Armenian representatives did not allow the Transcaucasian Republic to take concrete steps. As a result, on May 25, 1918, the Georgian delegation left the Seimas, and on May 26, Georgia declared independence. On May 27, 1918, the Transcaucasian Muslim Council declared itself the National Council of Azerbaijan or rather the Parliament of Azerbaijan.

The first democratic state in the Muslim East, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established. Founded on May 28, 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic operated in Tbilissi (Georgia) until June 16, 1918, in Ganja from June 16 to September 17, and in Baku from September 17 to April 28, 1920. During the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic  the government consisted mainly of three branches: the Azerbaijani parliament, the government, and the judiciary, which were governed by laws and decisions passed by the state parliament. All peoples living in the territory of Azerbaijan, including a small number of ethnic groups, were represented in the parliament by their deputies.

Paragraph 6 of the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Popular Front at its first meeting on May 28, 1918:

1. “Azerbaijan is a full-fledged independent state. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of the South Caucasus. The supreme power belongs to the people of Azerbaijan.

2. The form of political structure of Azerbaijan is the Democratic Republic.

3. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic will establish neighborly relations with all members of the international community, especially with neighboring nations and states.

4. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic shall grant full citizenship and political rights to all its citizens within its borders, regardless of their nationality, religion, sex or social status.

5. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic will create conditions for the free development of all peoples living in its territory.

6. Until the convening of the Majlis-Establishment, the supreme power in Azerbaijan shall be the National Council elected by the people and the Provisional Government responsible to the National Council.

All this shows that Azerbaijan was still an independent state at that time, as well as a multicultural, tolerant state.

On April 28, 1920, as a result of the military intervention of Bolshevik Russia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic collapsed 23 months later. After the collapse of the Soviet Empire in 1991, the people of Azerbaijan regained their state independence in Northern Azerbaijan, continuing the ideas of the Popular Front and building a new independent Azerbaijani state on this historical heritage. Long live the independent Republic of Azerbaijan!