Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijan

• By Josh Vissers

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Where in the world is Azerbaijan?

• Location I didnt even know it existed!
• Climate and Environment Isnt it hot over there?
• Size, Population, and the People Why
  Azerbaijan, you may be asking yourself?

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Location

• Borders
• Caspian Sea
• Russia and Georgia
• Armenia
• Iran

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Climate and Environment

• Nine Climatic Zones
• Dry, Semiarid Steppe
• April October, it is warm and dry
• July August, it is extremely hot
• Cooler and wetter in the winter months

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Physical Landscape

• View of the Greater Caucasus Mountains (North
  Border)
• Contains Mount Bazardyuzyu (14,645 feet)
• Lesser Caucasus Mountains (Western Border)
• Aras and Kura Rivers are important waterways

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Size, Population, and the People
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Size, Population, and the People

• Population 7,798,497 (July 2002 est.)
• Ethnic groups 90 Azeri the remaining 10
  consist of Dagestani, Russian, and Armenian
• Religions Overwhelming Shiite Muslim
  majority, Russian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox
• 97 Literacy rate
• Rich Cultural traditions

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Who is in charge?A brief overview of the..
Government.
President Heydar Aliyev
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.The military.
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.and the Economy.
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The Government

• In late 1921, Azerbaijan, along with Georgia and
  Armenia, was lumped into the TSFSR.
• From 1936-1991, Azerbaijan was known as the
  Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
• Gained independence in 1991
• Now it is the Republic of Azerbaijan
• Three Branch Government
• Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
• Current Chief of State is President Heydar
  Aliyev

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The Military

• Four Military Branches
• Army, navy, air, and air defense
• 121 Million spent annually on defense
• 2.6 of overall GDP
• In comparison to the United States, Azerbaijan
  spends 349,879,000,000 less on defense.
• Available manpower exceeds two million people
• Anyone between 15 and 49 is fit for service

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The Economy

• Its all about the oil.
• GDP US 12.9 billionMajor industries Petroleum
  and natural gas
• - other products include cotton and fruit
• GDP per head US 1550
• Major trading partners
• Many of the former Soviet Republics, EU, Turkey,
  and USA

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The Oil Industry

• Foreign investment desired.
• Largely underdeveloped with great potential.
• A little over one billion barrels of known oil
  reserves of the coast of Baku.
• Projected increases in oil output within the next
  decade after a short decline during the early and
  middle 1990s.

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Seems like a pleasant place, right?

• Well, not exactly.
• Why?
• A conflict with neighboring Armenia that has left
  many people on both sides dead, wounded,
  homeless, and deeply resentful and fearful.

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The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
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What is Nagorno-Karabakh?
Size 1853 sq. miles of mountainous
terrain Population 145,000 Ethnic Makeup Over
95 Armenian, 5 Azeri and Kurdish
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Why does it matter?
Because..
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Thousands Have Died as a result of a time bomb
that eventually went off.

• Created in 1924 by the USSR
• Nagorno-Karabakh was mainly Armenian in ethnicity
• It was inside the boundary of Azerbaijan
• Therefore, under Azeri authority
• By 1960 hostility was already developing.

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What happened?

• In 1988 Ethnic Armenians living in
  Nagorno-Karabakh called for independence from
  Azerbaijan.
• - the Soviet Union denied
• The USSR collapsed in 1991
• Azerbaijan gained independence in October 1991.
• Problems with Armenia escalated further.
• Armenian attacks on Azeri citizens mounted.
• Return attacks from Azerbaijani forces on
  Armenians mounted too.

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More on what happened.

• Armenians demanded control of Nagorno-Karabakh
• Azerbaijani forces mounted a string of defeats
  and forced two Armenian presidents to resign.
• By 1993, Armenia managed to retain much of the
  land lost in battle to the Azeris and now
  occupied almost 20 of Azerbaijani territory.
• By 1994, over a thousand casualties were counted
  and nearly one million refugees were left
  scattered.
• A cease-fire was reached in 1994, but in 1999 the
  conflict was far from over.

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Whos to blame?

• Depends on who you ask?

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Armenian soldiers.
www.helledegn.dk/OSCE/Begivenheder/
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Azeri woman.
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Both sides have committed large scale atrocities.

• Massacres have been committed on both ends.
• Propaganda has been used widely to place the
  blame on the enemy.

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Armenian Propaganda
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Azeri Propaganda

• This is a map of the Karabakh Region citing
  Xankandi, or Khankhandi, as their capital.
• Not Stepanakert, the Armenian capital.

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Khojali Massacre of Azeris, 1992

• Where and when did this occur?
• Who was involved?
• What happened and why?

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Where and when did this occur?

• Strategically placed Khojali City

Population 7000 Along the Lachin Corridor - an
important link between Greater Armenia and the
Nagorno-Karabakh region. February 25-26, 1992
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Who was involved?

• Armenian Armed Forces
• Infantry Guards Regiment 366 from Russia.
• Innocent Azeri civilians living in Khojali city

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What happened?

• Armenians burned the entire city.
• Many people died, were severely beaten, kept
  hostage, and left homeless.
• Why?
• Very strategic city along the Lachin Corridor and
  housed the only airport in Armenias new
  territory.

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What was the end result of the massacre?
A city of rubble from fallen buildings and homes
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people left homeless, wounded, or dead.
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Staggering Numbers on the Khojali Massacre of
Azeris

•   613 people were killed, among them
• - 63 children, 106 women, 70 elders.
• 8 families were killed completely.
• 25 children lost both parents.
• 130 children lost one of the parents.
• 487 people were wounded
• - 76 children
• 1275 people were hostages.
• 150 people were missing
• The damage done to both state and private
  property estimated 5 billion rubles

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The Future of Azerbaijan

• It is up to the President and his people.
• Need to take good care of oil reserves.
• Resolve conflict with Armenia.
• - A negotiation to withdraw Armenians from Azeri
  lands outside of Karabakh would be a good start.

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The End
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