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Timeline: Azerbaijan
BBC News Online
29 September 2005
A chronology of key events:
1828 - Turkmanchay treaty between Russia, Persia divides
Azerbaijan. Territory of present-day Azerbaijan becomes part of
Russian empire while southern Azerbaijan is part of Persia.
1848-49 - World's first oil well is drilled south of Baku.
1879 - Nobel brothers set up oil-production company.
1918 - Independent Azerbaijani Republic declared.
1920 - Red Army invades; Azerbaijan is declared a Soviet Socialist
Republic.
Soviet rule
1922 - Azerbaijan, part of Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Republic,
becomes founder member of Soviet Union.
1936 - Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Republic dissolved ;
Azerbaijan becomes full republic of Soviet Union.
1967 - Heydar Aliyev becomes head of Azerbaijani KGB; becomes head of
Azerbaijani Communist Party in 1969.
1982 - Heydar Aliyev becomes full member of Soviet Politburo and first
deputy chairman of USSR Council of Ministers.
1987 - Heydar Aliyev leaves Politburo and Council of Ministers.
Soviet era ends in violence
1988 - Nagorno-Karabakh region seeks to become part of Armenia. Ethnic
Azerbaijanis begin to leave Karabakh and Armenia and ethnic Armenians
leave Azerbaijan. At least 26 ethnic Armenians and six Azerbaijanis
are killed in violence in Azerbaijani town of Sumqayit.
1990 - Ethnic strife between Armenians and Azeris escalates. Azeri
nationalist Popular Front rallies support amid growing disorder.
Trouble flares along border between Nakhichevan exclave and Iran as
rioters destroy border installations. Tension eases after Soviet and
Iranian authorities agree to ease restrictions on crossing between the
two countries.
Dozens die in interethnic violence in Baku. Popular Front
demonstrators demand resignation of communist authorities. Soviet
troops use force to end unrest, killing at least 100 people. Azeri
nationalists put death toll at several hundred.
Ayaz Mutallibov becomes Azeri Communist Party leader.
Communist Party later retains power in multiparty elections but
parliament has an opposition for the first time.
1991 - After failed coup attempt in Moscow, Azeri parliament votes to
restore independence. In elections boycotted by opposition, Mutallibov
becomes president.
Heydar Aliyev becomes leader of the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan.
Leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh declares the region an independent
republic. Inter-ethnic hostilities escalate.
War over Karabakh, political unrest
1992 - Hostilities develop into full-scale war over Karabakh. More
than 600 Azerbaijanis are killed as they flee an Armenian attack on
Karabakh town of Khodzhaly. Ethnic Armenian forces break through
Azerbaijani territory to create a corridor linking Armenia to
Karabakh, President Ayaz Mutallibov resigns. Abulfaz Elchibey, leader
of nationalist People's Front, becomes president in Azerbaijan's first
contested elections.
1993 - Armenia launches offensive into Azerbaijani territory around
Karabakh.
Rebel army commander Col Surat Huseynov takes control of Azerbaijan's
second city, Gyandzha, and marches on Baku. President Elchibey invites
Aliyev to return to the capital and subsequently flees.
Aliyev assumes leadership. Huseynov becomes prime minister and is
placed in charge of defence and security forces. Referendum indicates
massive loss of public confidence in Elchibey. Aliyev wins
presidential elections boycotted by Elchibey's People's Front.
1994 - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire
accord. Ethnic Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of
Azerbaijani territory around it.
Aliyev cracks down hard on People's Front. Azeri forces mount Karabakh
counteroffensive.
Nineteen people killed in two Baku underground station explosions
described by authorities as terrorism.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire. Ethnic
Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of Azerbaijani
territory around it.
Three members of the special police force are arrested after the
assassinations of the deputy head of parliament and Aliyev's security
chief. Special police units led by Rovshan Javadov storm the
Prosecutor's Office and their colleagues are released.
President Aliyev describes the incident as a coup attempt and declares
a state of emergency. In a separate incident, rebel forces capture key
buildings in second city Gyandzha but are driven out by Aliyev's
forces.
Despite his denial of involvement in rebel activity, PM Huseynov is
dismissed and flees to Russia.
"Contract of the century"
1994 - Azerbaijan signs what it calls the "contract of the century"
with a consortium of international oil companies for the exploration
and exploitation of three offshore oil fields.
1995 - Government troops crush rebellion by Rovshan Jovadov's special
police. He and dozens of other rebels are killed.
Nagorno-Karabakh, now acting as an independent republic, holds
legislative elections. Robert Kocharyan, formerly head of Karabakh's
State Defence Committee, becomes executive president.
The New Azerbaijan Party, led by President Aliyev, wins the majority
of seats in independent Azerbaijan's first multi-party elections,
which, observers say, fail to meet international
standards. Azerbaijan's new constitution is approved in a referendum.
1996 - Incumbent President Robert Kocharyan retains his post in direct
presidential elections in Karabakh.
1997 - Robert Kocharyan leaves Karabakh to become prime minister in
Armenia. Foreign Minister Arkadiy Gukasyan is elected Karabakh
president.
Former PM Surat Huseynov is extradited from Russia. Following a
lengthy trial for high treason he is eventually sentenced to life
imprisonment.
Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Levon Ter-Petrossian agree to OSCE
proposal for staged Karabakh solution. The Armenian leader is
criticized at home for making too many concessions and subsequently
resigns.
The first oil is produced by the Azerbaijani International Operating
Company under the "contract of the century".
1998 - Opposition activists arrested at protests against what they say
are unfair elections in which Heydar Aliyev is returned as
president. International observers report irregularities.
Death penalty abolished.
Into the new millennium
2000 - Assassination attempt on Karabakh President Arkadiy Gukasyan
fails. Samvel Babayan, Karabakh's former defence minister, is jailed
for 14 years for masterminding attack.
2001 - Azerbaijan becomes full member of Council of Europe, though
council officials criticise it over human rights record.
US-brokered talks on Nagorno-Karabakh, held between Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents, end without result.
US lifts aid ban, imposed during Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, after
Azerbaijan provides airspace and intelligence after 11 September
attacks.
Talks between five Caspian countries on ownership of the sea continue
all year but are inconclusive. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey reach
agreement on oil and gas pipelines linking Caspian fields with Turkey.
Azerbaijan officially shifts to the Latin alphabet for the Azeri
language, the fourth alphabet change in a century.
2002 May - Pope John Paul II makes his first visit to Azerbaijan and
appeals for an end to religious wars.
2002 August - Referendum on amendments to constitution said to get
strong support from voters. Critics allege irregularities, say poll is
ruse to allow president to hand over power to his son.
2002 September - Construction work starts on multi-billion-dollar
pipeline to carry Caspian oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.
Political succession
2003 August - Aliyev appoints his son, Ilham, as prime minister.
2003 October - Ilham Aliyev wins landslide victory in presidential
poll said by observers not to reach international
standards. Opposition protests met with police violence; hundreds
arrested.
2003 December - Heydar Aliyev dies in a US hospital, aged 80. He was
being treated for heart and kidney problems.
2005 March - Thousands mourn after journalist Elmar Huseynov, an
outspoken critic of the authorities, shot dead in Baku.
2005 May - Western diplomats voice concern after police use force to
prevent opposition rally in Baku on eve of opening ceremony for
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipleine.
2005 September - Police use force to break up opposition demonstration
in Baku just weeks before parliamentary elections.
International consortium in huge oil deal; takes the oath of office,
swears to serve the people with dignity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
BBC News Online
29 September 2005
A chronology of key events:
1828 - Turkmanchay treaty between Russia, Persia divides
Azerbaijan. Territory of present-day Azerbaijan becomes part of
Russian empire while southern Azerbaijan is part of Persia.
1848-49 - World's first oil well is drilled south of Baku.
1879 - Nobel brothers set up oil-production company.
1918 - Independent Azerbaijani Republic declared.
1920 - Red Army invades; Azerbaijan is declared a Soviet Socialist
Republic.
Soviet rule
1922 - Azerbaijan, part of Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Republic,
becomes founder member of Soviet Union.
1936 - Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Republic dissolved ;
Azerbaijan becomes full republic of Soviet Union.
1967 - Heydar Aliyev becomes head of Azerbaijani KGB; becomes head of
Azerbaijani Communist Party in 1969.
1982 - Heydar Aliyev becomes full member of Soviet Politburo and first
deputy chairman of USSR Council of Ministers.
1987 - Heydar Aliyev leaves Politburo and Council of Ministers.
Soviet era ends in violence
1988 - Nagorno-Karabakh region seeks to become part of Armenia. Ethnic
Azerbaijanis begin to leave Karabakh and Armenia and ethnic Armenians
leave Azerbaijan. At least 26 ethnic Armenians and six Azerbaijanis
are killed in violence in Azerbaijani town of Sumqayit.
1990 - Ethnic strife between Armenians and Azeris escalates. Azeri
nationalist Popular Front rallies support amid growing disorder.
Trouble flares along border between Nakhichevan exclave and Iran as
rioters destroy border installations. Tension eases after Soviet and
Iranian authorities agree to ease restrictions on crossing between the
two countries.
Dozens die in interethnic violence in Baku. Popular Front
demonstrators demand resignation of communist authorities. Soviet
troops use force to end unrest, killing at least 100 people. Azeri
nationalists put death toll at several hundred.
Ayaz Mutallibov becomes Azeri Communist Party leader.
Communist Party later retains power in multiparty elections but
parliament has an opposition for the first time.
1991 - After failed coup attempt in Moscow, Azeri parliament votes to
restore independence. In elections boycotted by opposition, Mutallibov
becomes president.
Heydar Aliyev becomes leader of the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan.
Leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh declares the region an independent
republic. Inter-ethnic hostilities escalate.
War over Karabakh, political unrest
1992 - Hostilities develop into full-scale war over Karabakh. More
than 600 Azerbaijanis are killed as they flee an Armenian attack on
Karabakh town of Khodzhaly. Ethnic Armenian forces break through
Azerbaijani territory to create a corridor linking Armenia to
Karabakh, President Ayaz Mutallibov resigns. Abulfaz Elchibey, leader
of nationalist People's Front, becomes president in Azerbaijan's first
contested elections.
1993 - Armenia launches offensive into Azerbaijani territory around
Karabakh.
Rebel army commander Col Surat Huseynov takes control of Azerbaijan's
second city, Gyandzha, and marches on Baku. President Elchibey invites
Aliyev to return to the capital and subsequently flees.
Aliyev assumes leadership. Huseynov becomes prime minister and is
placed in charge of defence and security forces. Referendum indicates
massive loss of public confidence in Elchibey. Aliyev wins
presidential elections boycotted by Elchibey's People's Front.
1994 - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire
accord. Ethnic Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of
Azerbaijani territory around it.
Aliyev cracks down hard on People's Front. Azeri forces mount Karabakh
counteroffensive.
Nineteen people killed in two Baku underground station explosions
described by authorities as terrorism.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire. Ethnic
Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of Azerbaijani
territory around it.
Three members of the special police force are arrested after the
assassinations of the deputy head of parliament and Aliyev's security
chief. Special police units led by Rovshan Javadov storm the
Prosecutor's Office and their colleagues are released.
President Aliyev describes the incident as a coup attempt and declares
a state of emergency. In a separate incident, rebel forces capture key
buildings in second city Gyandzha but are driven out by Aliyev's
forces.
Despite his denial of involvement in rebel activity, PM Huseynov is
dismissed and flees to Russia.
"Contract of the century"
1994 - Azerbaijan signs what it calls the "contract of the century"
with a consortium of international oil companies for the exploration
and exploitation of three offshore oil fields.
1995 - Government troops crush rebellion by Rovshan Jovadov's special
police. He and dozens of other rebels are killed.
Nagorno-Karabakh, now acting as an independent republic, holds
legislative elections. Robert Kocharyan, formerly head of Karabakh's
State Defence Committee, becomes executive president.
The New Azerbaijan Party, led by President Aliyev, wins the majority
of seats in independent Azerbaijan's first multi-party elections,
which, observers say, fail to meet international
standards. Azerbaijan's new constitution is approved in a referendum.
1996 - Incumbent President Robert Kocharyan retains his post in direct
presidential elections in Karabakh.
1997 - Robert Kocharyan leaves Karabakh to become prime minister in
Armenia. Foreign Minister Arkadiy Gukasyan is elected Karabakh
president.
Former PM Surat Huseynov is extradited from Russia. Following a
lengthy trial for high treason he is eventually sentenced to life
imprisonment.
Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Levon Ter-Petrossian agree to OSCE
proposal for staged Karabakh solution. The Armenian leader is
criticized at home for making too many concessions and subsequently
resigns.
The first oil is produced by the Azerbaijani International Operating
Company under the "contract of the century".
1998 - Opposition activists arrested at protests against what they say
are unfair elections in which Heydar Aliyev is returned as
president. International observers report irregularities.
Death penalty abolished.
Into the new millennium
2000 - Assassination attempt on Karabakh President Arkadiy Gukasyan
fails. Samvel Babayan, Karabakh's former defence minister, is jailed
for 14 years for masterminding attack.
2001 - Azerbaijan becomes full member of Council of Europe, though
council officials criticise it over human rights record.
US-brokered talks on Nagorno-Karabakh, held between Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents, end without result.
US lifts aid ban, imposed during Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, after
Azerbaijan provides airspace and intelligence after 11 September
attacks.
Talks between five Caspian countries on ownership of the sea continue
all year but are inconclusive. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey reach
agreement on oil and gas pipelines linking Caspian fields with Turkey.
Azerbaijan officially shifts to the Latin alphabet for the Azeri
language, the fourth alphabet change in a century.
2002 May - Pope John Paul II makes his first visit to Azerbaijan and
appeals for an end to religious wars.
2002 August - Referendum on amendments to constitution said to get
strong support from voters. Critics allege irregularities, say poll is
ruse to allow president to hand over power to his son.
2002 September - Construction work starts on multi-billion-dollar
pipeline to carry Caspian oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.
Political succession
2003 August - Aliyev appoints his son, Ilham, as prime minister.
2003 October - Ilham Aliyev wins landslide victory in presidential
poll said by observers not to reach international
standards. Opposition protests met with police violence; hundreds
arrested.
2003 December - Heydar Aliyev dies in a US hospital, aged 80. He was
being treated for heart and kidney problems.
2005 March - Thousands mourn after journalist Elmar Huseynov, an
outspoken critic of the authorities, shot dead in Baku.
2005 May - Western diplomats voice concern after police use force to
prevent opposition rally in Baku on eve of opening ceremony for
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipleine.
2005 September - Police use force to break up opposition demonstration
in Baku just weeks before parliamentary elections.
International consortium in huge oil deal; takes the oath of office,
swears to serve the people with dignity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress