100TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR REPUBLIC (25.05.2018)
An event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of ADR has been held at the Baku College of Food Industry. The event was opened by the Deputy Director for Educational Affairs of the College O.Suleymanzadeh, who informed about the establishment of ADR. Then the floor was given to the director of the college Vilayat Ismayilov. He congratulated the academic staff and students and expressed his heartfelt words. Hasanova Khatira, a history teacher at the college, gave a detailed report on the history of the ADR. The artistic part began. The artistic part was opened by the chairman of TUC Sharifova Sevinj. Then the students said poems and sang songs dedicated to the Republic Day. At the end, certificates were presented to the winners of the test competition held at the college on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the ADR.
May 28, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the first parliamentary republic in the Muslim East – Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
The people of Azerbaijan, with its ancient and rich traditions of statehood, were forced to join the great empires in certain periods of its history. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic emerged at a time when the political order of the world was being re-established, as a logical result of the brilliant cultural rise of Azerbaijan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The radical socio-political and cultural changes that have taken place in Azerbaijan since the first half of the 19th century with the spread of enlightenment ideas have paved the way for the realization of national self-consciousness by ensuring the creation of a new type of theater, school and press. Hasan bey Zardabi, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Ali bey Huseynzadeh and other prominent personalities continued this path, which began with Abbasgulu aga Bakikhanov and Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh, at a new historical stage and had a significant impact on the formation and development of national ideology. At that time, the oil city of Baku, where a strong class of entrepreneurs was formed, also became the center of socio-political thought, where a generation of national-spirited intellectuals grew up. Azerbaijanis elected to the State Duma and the Constituent Assembly of Russia was ready to create a free, democratic state system.
At the same time, after the fall of tsarism in Russia, the Bolsheviks seized power, creating a complicated geopolitical situation in the territory of the former empire. In such a situation, when the interest of the world’s leading countries in Baku oil intensified political conflicts, the progressive political elite of Azerbaijan united for the establishment of an independent national statehood.
On May 28, 1918, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, declaring the independence of Azerbaijan. The newly established Azerbaijan Democratic Republic has honorably fulfilled its difficult historical task by working to the best of its ability. The first Parliament and Government of Azerbaijan, the state apparatus were organized, the country’s borders were defined, the flag, anthem and coat of arms were created, the mother tongue was declared the state language, and serious measures were taken in the field of state building. The country’s territorial integrity and national security were ensured, high-capacity military units were established in a short time, state bodies were established in accordance with national requirements and democratic principles, special attention was paid to the development of education and culture, Azerbaijan’s first university was established. Prepared the ground for, exceptionally important work has been done in terms of the history of public opinion.
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From the first days of its existence, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, based on the principles of people’s power and equality of people, has eliminated racial, national, religious and class inequality by giving equal rights to all citizens of the country. The laws adopted by the Republican Parliament during the year and a half have allowed strengthening the independence of the nation-state, political and economic development, and rapid progress in the fields of culture and education. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic has always pursued a peaceful policy and tried to establish mutual cooperation with all countries and build relations based on the principles of respect for each other’s rights. Thanks to the activities of the world-renowned People’s Republic, the fact that Azerbaijan was a subject of international law prevented Azerbaijan from being erased from the political map of the world as a state after the Bolshevik occupation in April 1920.
Although the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic failed due to aggression and failed to achieve its goals, the idea of independence, which it established in the minds, was not forgotten. The people of Azerbaijan have been able to preserve many attributes of national statehood over the past period. The policy successfully pursued by national leader Heydar Aliyev in the republic has restored the historical and cultural memory of our people, developed a sense of national identity, strengthened the desire for independence in the light of the Azerbaijani ideology and laid the groundwork for its realization in the near future.
When it regained its independence in 1991, the modern Republic of Azerbaijan showed its commitment to the ancient traditions of statehood, and as the political and spiritual successor of the Democratic Republic, adopted its tricolor flag, coat of arms and anthem. Our people have been celebrating May 28, the day of the Republic’s independence, as the Republic Day.
