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Republic of Azerbaijan
Azərbaycan Respublikası
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday

OTL equivalent: most of Azerbaijan
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of Azerbaijan
Location of Azerbaijan
Capital Agsu
Largest city Mingachevir
Other cities Shirvan, Shaki, Yevlakh, Lankaran
Language Azerbaijani
Religion Shia Islam
Ethnic Group Azerbaijani
President Panah Huseynov
Prime Minister Eldar Azizov
Area approx. 50,000 km²
Population approx. 4.6 million 
Established December 29, 1985
Currency Azeri ruble

The Republic of Azerbaijan is a republic in the Caucasus that became independent on Doomsday. It borders Armenia to the west, Iran to the south, Georgia to the Northwest and Dagestan to the north. Much of the territory that it actually claims is currently under occupation of Armenia, or under nominal independence in the case of Nakchivan. But, with the exception of the Baku region, the rest of the territory is under their control.

History[]

Pre-Doomsday[]

During Median and Persian rule, many Azerbaijanis adopted Zoroastrianism and then switched to Christianity prior to the coming of Islam and more importantly the Muslim Turks. The Turkic tribes are believed to have arrived as small bands whose conquests led to the Turkification of the population as the largely native Caucasian and Iranian tribes adopted the Turkic language of the Oghuz and converted to Islam over a period of several hundred years.

After more than 80 years of colonization under the Russian Empire in the Caucasus, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established in 1918. The state was invaded by Soviet forces in 1920 and remained under Soviet rule until Doomsday in 1983.

Doomsday[]

Azerbaijan was hit hard as its capital city, Baku, and the surrounding region, were destroyed by nuclear strikes. The city of Ganja was also hit. After Baku was destroyed a tsunami from a missile that had been slightly off course and landed in the Caspian destroyed even more in the immediate area. Later radioactive rain storms affected all the country and an influenza epidemic attacked the country like most of the former USSR. The majority of the military present in the republic, being stationed in the area of Baku, was also destroyed in these strikes. Later on the 29th of December 1985, the Republic of Azerbaijan was established with the capital in Agsu.

Post-Doomsday[]

Due to the warfare with Armenia, as well as the destruction of Doomsday in general, the exclave of Nakchivan was forced to become de facto independent, though still a nominal part of the nation-state.

Also, in recent years, there has been an upswing in Radical Islam in the region, likely funded by Iran in some manner. These radicals call for some kind of extreme solution to the war with Armenia, and are increasingly gaining support with the citizens.

For unknown reasons, those who have explored the ruins of Ganja have somehow come into contact with a narcotic substance in the air. It is unknown as to why this is occurring.

Nagorno-Karabakh War[]

The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1992 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet Republics, entangled themselves in a protracted war in the mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh and prevent its cession to Armenia. Azerbaijan was aided by Nakchivan in the struggle, and some fighting occurred there as well. The enclave's parliament had voted in favor of uniting itself with Armenia and a referendum was held, and the vast majority of the Karabakh population voted in favor of independence. The demand to unify with Armenia, which proliferated in the late 1980s, had began in a relatively peaceful manner; however, in the following months, it gradually grew into an increasingly violent conflict between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis, resulting in claims of ethnic cleansing by all sides.

Inter-ethnic fighting between the two broke out shortly after the parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to unify the region with Armenia on February 20, 1988. The declaration of secession from Azerbaijan was the final result of a territorial conflict regarding the land. Low-level warfare soon began. And, with much of the military resources in Azerbaijan having been in and around Baku at doomsday - and thus having been destroyed - they fared much worse in these engagements than their Armenian foes, despite their advantage in numbers.

Full-scale fighting erupted in the late winter of 1992. In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself, threatening the involvement of other countries in the region. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently control a sizable portion of Azerbaijan's territory outside the of enclave, as well as portions of Nakhchivan.

As many as 220,000 Armenians and 950,000 Azeris have been displaced as a result of the conflict. Finally Nagorno-Karabakh formally seceded and then was united with Armenia. A ceasefire was signed in May 1994 when it was realized that the war was a stalemate at that point, and peace talks have been held ever since by Armenia, Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan, with no end in sight. It is hoped that the LoN will eventually intervene and aid the talks, but no offer has occurred as of yet.

As a net result, much of southwestern Azerbaijan and portions of Nakhchivan have passed to Armenian control as well, with the populace slowly being expelled and replaced by Armenians.

Encounter with Georgia[]

In 1998, Georgian forces were encountered around the old border. That area had been in much more chaos than in in Azerbaijan and Armenia, even in spite of their war. It did, however, have a stable government, and as a result, diplomatic relations were established. By the end of 1999, postal services were up and running between the two.

Present[]

The Azerbaijan team placed the worst at the 2010 Europa Games, winning no medals. This has caused great concern in the nation, and it is believed that heads may well literally roll at the Ministry of Sport.

Geography[]

Azerbaijan is in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flat-lands at the country's center.

The three mountain ranges are the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains, together covering approximately 40% of the country. The highest peak of Azerbaijan is mount Bazardüzü (4466 m), while the lowest point lies in the Caspian Sea (−28 m). Nearly half of all the mud volcanoes on Earth are concentrated in Azerbaijan.

The main water sources are the surface waters. However, only 24 of the 8,350 rivers are greater than 100 km (62 mi) in length. All the rivers drain into the Caspian Sea in the east of the country.The largest lake is Sarysu (67 sq km), and the longest river is Kur (1515 km), which is trans-boundary. Azerbaijan's four main islands in the Caspian Sea have a combined area of over 30 sq km.

Azerbaijan

Mt. Bazardusu

Azerbaiyan

Absheron region

Fauna and Flora[]

The first reports on the richness and diversity of animal life in Azerbaijan can be found in travel notes of Eastern travelers. Animal carvings on architectural monuments, ancient rocks and stones survived up to the present times. The first information on the animal kingdom of Azerbaijan was collected during the visits of naturalists to Azerbaijan in 17th century. Unlike fauna, the concept of animal kingdom covers not only the types of animals, but also the number of individual species.

There are 106 species of mammals, 97 species of fish, 363 species of birds, ten species of amphibians and 52 species of reptiles which have been recorded and classified in Azerbaijan.

The symbol of Fauna in Azerbaijan is the Karabakh horse which is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse which can only be found in Azerbaijan. The Karabakh horse has a reputation for its good temper, speed, elegance and intelligence. It is one of the oldest breeds, with ancestry dating to the ancient world. The horse was originally developed in the Azerbaijani Karabakh region in the 5th century and is named after it.

Azerbaijan has a very rich flora, more than 4500 species of higher plants have been registered in the country. Due the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus.

Karabakh-horse-today

Karabakh horse

800px-Ziegen unbekannt

Caucasus goat

Economy[]

Much of the Azeri economy was ruined on Doomsday, having been centered in Baku. However, what was left had largely escaped unscathed.

Despite the war between the two, the limited market for oil has led to it even being sold to their enemies in Armenia.

Rebuilding has gone on fairly well throughout much of the territory, despite fighting a hard war with Armenia. It has gone along well enough so some are considering taking another crack at Armenia, though it is believed that they would still lose - and worse this time. This is a major factor in delaying peace.

Azerbaijan has ample energy resources, including major hydroelectric generating capacity and offshore oil reserves in the Caspian Sea, as well proven natural gas reserves of two trillion cu m, and a much larger amount is present in association with offshore oil deposits.

The major agricultural cash crops are grapes, cotton, tobacco, citrus fruits, and vegetables. The first three crops account for over half of all production, and the last two together account for an additional 30 percent. Livestock, dairy products, and wine and spirits are also important farm products.

The Soviet-era Azerbaijan Oil Machinery Company (Azneftemash) company controls virtually all of Azerbaijan's oil equipment industry. In 2010 the largest share of Azerbaijan's industrial output was contributed by the food industry, followed by light industry (defined to include synthetic and natural textiles, leather goods, carpets, and furniture), fuels, and machine building.

Military[]

Although lacking in newer equipment, the battle hardened troops of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have proved time and time again their ability to protect their country no matter the threat.

The Azerbaijani Land Forces number 90,000 strong, half of which is reserves. In addition, there are 300,000 former service personnel who have had military service in the last fifteen years. Other paramilitary agencies consist of Interior Ministry Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, 12,000 strong, and the land component of the State Border Service, 8,000 strong.

The Azerbaijani Air and Air Defense Force is a single unified service branch. Some 5000 men serve in the air force and air defense force and has around four aircraft and two helicopters. The Azeri Air Force uses MiG-21 and Su-24 aircraft, though these are almost always grounded due to a lack of spare parts. The helicopter forces consist of a pair of Mi-2 helicopters. Most of the aircraft it had once possessed were destroyed in the Baku strikes, and today most of the personnel in this organization are involved with air defense.

The navy has about 2000 personnel in seven units including the Caspian Flotilla and a Border Coast Guard. It consists of seven patrol boats, which remains docked most of the year, although the growing power of the Muslim Liberation Army in the region has forced them to conduct more frequent patrols off the coast of Azerbaijan, in part due to grumblings from Dagestan.

Foreign Relations[]

Azerbaijan not a member of the League of Nations because the Siberians are blocking their application.

As a result of the war between the two, they have no relations with Armenia, and only a truce keeps them from each others throats. No ceasefire or anything has been done between the two, and all contact between the two states goes through Georgia. Azerbaijan is attempting to find a third party to act as a neutral location for peace talks, but the two cannot agree upon a site nor a mediator, and likely never will.

They look forward to Sultanate forces arriving in the area, for they feel it will make talks easier to come by, though they are a bit nervous as to what their intentions may be in the region.

Azerbaijan is an allied partner of Interim Republic of Bati-Turkestan (1983: Doomsday).

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