The 1918 declaration established the first democratic republic in the Muslim world and later provided the legal basis for Azerbaijan's restored independence in 1991.
Key Facts
- Date adopted
- 28 May 1918
- Adopting body
- Azerbaijani National Council
- Republic's lifespan
- 23 months (collapsed April 1920)
- Original languages
- Azerbaijani (Arabic script) and French
- Documents held at
- National Museum of History of Azerbaijan, Baku
- Modern Independence Day
- 28 May, non-working public holiday
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A century of Russian imperial rule was followed by the October Revolution, which toppled the Tsarist government. Caucasian peoples briefly united in the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, but the federation dissolved within six weeks when Georgia declared independence, prompting Armenia and Azerbaijan to act similarly.
On 28 May 1918, the Azerbaijani National Council, meeting in Tiflis, adopted the Declaration of Independence, formally proclaiming the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The document, written in Azerbaijani using the Arabic script and in French, announced the sovereignty of the Azerbaijani people after decades of imperial rule.
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic survived only 23 months before the Soviet invasion of April 1920 replaced it with the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Decades later, following the USSR's collapse, Azerbaijan's parliament invoked the 1918 declaration as the legal foundation for the Constitutional Act on State Independence adopted on 18 October 1991.
Political Outcome
Azerbaijan declared independence from the dissolving Transcaucasian federation, establishing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on 28 May 1918.
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic / Russian imperial successor state
Independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic