Always topical

Azerbaijan’s ethnic

Nurida Guliyevaminorities PhD in History

Caucasus is one of the world’s multiethnic regions and is home to over 50 indigenous ethnicities. In the past, Caucasus has repeat- edly been part of various states and empires, including Media, the Achaemenid state, Parthia, the Sassanid state, the Arab caliphate, the Seljuk Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Safavid state, the Ottoman Empire. his list is crowned by the the first significant state in the Cau- Russian Empire which ruled the casus, the Mannean kingdom (9-7th TCaucasus for over 200 years. centuries BC), three millennia ago. The administrative division into Other Azerbaijani states emerged provinces existing at the time did afterwards, including Media and the not take into consideration the eth- Caucasian Albania. In the middle nic, confessional and geographical ages, the territory of was factors, which is why the regions in- home to the states of Ildenizids, Safa- habited by local ethnicities were ar- vids and . tificially dismembered. This is exactly In the latter half of the 18th and what happened to the . early 19th centuries, there were 20 in- Azerbaijani ancestors established dependent khanates on Azerbaijani

28 www.irs-az.com soil. Until the first third of the 19th century, when Azerbaijan was di- vided between the Russian Empire and Persia, this was the only region with a single nation. However, the people of Azerbaijan and their lands have been developing along two different scenarios since then. In 1918, after the break-up of the Russian Empire, the first secular state www.irs-az.com 29 Always topical

Mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan

in the Muslim East was proclaimed in Northern Azerbaijan – the indepen- dent Azerbaijan Democratic Repub- lic (1918-1920). In April 1920, follow- ing the arrival of the red army of Rus- sian Bolsheviks in , Azerbaijan lost its independence again and was made part of the USSR. Since 1991, this has been an independent and sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan, while Southern Azerbaijan continues to be part of Iran. The main ethnicity, the Azerbai- janis, constitute over 8 million peo- ple, or 90 per cent of the country’s population. According to estimates, there are around 50 million Azerbai- janis in the world. Of these, 36 mil- lion live in their native country – in Representatives of Azerbaijan’s German community Azerbaijan. The rest live outside the

30 www.irs-az.com republic, including 2 million in Rus- The Udis are Christians. They are Christians. sia, 1 million in the USA, 500,000 • Kryzes (1,000 people), Khi- • Juhur appeared in Georgia, 110,000 in Kazakhstan, nalugs (2,000 people) and Bu- in the country in the 5th century. 250,000 in Germany, 150,000 in dugs (1,000 people) are also Most of them have been living in France, 1 million in Iraq, 50,000 in the descendants of Alban tribes Krasnaya Sloboda, a settlement Canada, 20,000 in Kyrgyzstan, 10,000 currently living in Gusar District. near Guba, for over 270 years. in Austria, 20,000 in Sweden, 20,000 They are Muslims. They follow Judaism. in the United Kingdom, and 150,000 • Ingiloys (8,000 people) are the • European Jews Ashkenazi ap- in Turkey. descendants of one of the Al- peared in the country in the Azerbaijan is a country populated ban tribes living in Zagatala re- mid-19th century and are living by many ethnicities. The biggest of gion. They follow both Christi- predominantly in Baku. them are Azerbaijanis, a Muslim peo- anity and Islam. • Russians appeared in Azerbaijan ple living in their historical home- • are the descendants in the late 18th century. A century land. Azerbaijanis have their own of the Alban tribe of Legs living later, there were 100 Russian vil- history and self-consciousness, ma- predominantly in Gusar District. lages in Azerbaijan. Now there terial and spiritual culture, traditions They are Muslims. are 141,000 Russians in the coun- of statehood. They are the biggest • Pontian Greeks (700 people) are try. They are Christians. indigenous ethnicity in the Cauca- the descendants of the Greeks • Ukrainians appeared in Azer- sus and the second biggest Turkic- that inhabited settlements in the baijan in the 19th century and are speaking nation. Caucasus over 2,500 years ago. living mainly in Baku. There are The Republic of Azerbaijan has a They are Christians. 29,000 Ukrainians in Azerbaijan. population of 9 million people. In ad- • Germans appeared in Azerbaijan They are Christians.

dition to Azerbaijanis, the country is in 1819 and established nine resi- • Belorussians appeared in the home to 20 ethnic minorities which dential settlements here, the big- country in the 19th century and have preserved their language, mate- gest of which were Yelenendorf are living in Baku. There are rial and spiritual culture. These include: (currently the town of Goygol) 15,000 Belorussians in the coun- • Udis are one of 26 local Alban and Annefeld (currently the town try. They are Christians. tribes that established the Alban of Shamkir). They are Christians. • Armenians appeared in the state (3rd century BC – 8th cen- • New Assyrians are the descen- country in the early 19th century tury AD). Their central region is dants of the Syrians who ap- in the aftermath of the Russian Karabakh – the area between peared in Azerbaijan in the 4th Empire’s policy of resettlement. the Kura and Aras. There are century and spread Christianity Now there are 120,000 Arme- 6,000 Udis living predominantly in the Caucasus. There are 700 nians living in Nagorno-Kara- in the Nij village which is men- New Assyrians in Azerbaijan liv- bakh and Baku. They are Chris- tioned by ancient Greek authors. ing in Terter and Tovuz Districts. tians. www.irs-az.com 31 Always topical

• are the descendants of the tribes that appeared in Azerbaijan together with the Mongols in the 13-14th centu- ries. They live in Baku. There are 30,000 of them. They are Mus- lims. • Talyshes live in , Astara, Lerik, Jalilabad and Masalli Dis- tricts. They are Muslims. • Kurds have been living in Azerbaijan since the 5th cen- tury mainly in Lachin, Kalbajar, Zangelan, Terter and Gubadli Districts. They are Muslims. • Georgians live in Baku and are Christians. • and Tsakhurs moved to Azerbaijan in the 17th century due to a lack of lands in their his- torical homeland of Dagestan. They are Muslims. • Tats appeared in Azerbaijan in the 5th century and are living on the Absheron Peninsula, in Shabran and Devechi Districts. • Ahiska Turks were deported from their historical motherland in Georgia to Central Asia in 1944. After political rehabilita- tion in 1956 some of them set- tled down in Azerbaijan. There

32 www.irs-az.com are 100,000 of them in the coun- senting ethnic minorities. Since 2006, social affiliation. try now. They live predominantly there has been a dedicated program, Ethnic minorities are taking an in Saatli and Sabirabad Districts. Ethnic Minorities, on Public TV. active part in the political, economic, There are religious institutions of A Presidential Decree “On the pro- scientific, cultural and public life of all represented faiths in the country tection of the rights and freedoms, the country. They are represented in – Islam, Christianity and Judaism. In state support for the development the government, other state bodies total, there are 1,300 shrines in Azer- of languages and culture of ethnic and the Milli Mejlis, Azerbaijan’s par- baijan. Most of these are mosques, minorities, indigenous peoples and liament. but there are also Christian temples ethnic groups living in the Republic The Republic of Azerbaijan ad- and synagogues. In 2004, a new of Azerbaijan” was adopted in 1992. heres to the 1948 Universal Decla- catholic church was established in The 1995 Constitution of Azerbaijan ration of Human Rights, has joined Baku with the participation of John guarantees the equality of rights the Final Act of the OSCE (Helsinki, Paul II, the Pope of Rome. and freedoms of all individuals re- 1975) and adopted its 10 funda- At the same time, there are nu- gardless of race, nationality, religion, mental provisions; has signed docu- merous religious, cultural and edu- language, sex, origin, property and ments that guarantee the rights and cational communities representing public status, convictions, affiliation freedoms of people and citizens, as ethnic minorities. They learn their to a political party, trade union and well as the Framework Convention languages in the elementary grades another public organization. It is on the protection of ethnic minori- of comprehensive education schools prohibited to restrict or prejudice ties of the Council of Europe (Stras- and have various teaching aids, cur- the rights and freedoms of people bourg, 1995). ricula, radio and TV programs in their and citizens on the basis of their respective languages. There are state race, nationality, religion, language, theaters and amateur studios repre- sex, origin, convictions, political and www.irs-az.com 33