Pages from history

Day of the Azerbaijani alphabet and the Azerbaijani language

Language is one of the important factors characterizing the face of a nation, it is its national wealth. The elevation of the national language to the status of the state language is a historical event, a golden page in the history of national statehood. Language is one of the most powerful means of preserving, developing, and transmitting the tangible and intangible heritage of any nation. Like all other national elements of Azerbaijan - a country with a rich heritage, ancient history and culture that has made an invaluable contribution to the development of mankind, our native language is also a source of pride for our people and a sign of our spiritual existence.

Day of Azerbaijani Cinema

After two years since the first cinema show in France, August 2, 1898, Alexander Mishon, publisher and photographer, secretary of scientific-photo of Baku, who lived and worked in Baku for more than 25 years had arranged independent demonstrations of plots “The Oil Gush Fire in Bibiheybat”, , “Ceremony of send-off of His Majesty Emir of Bukhara”, “The Caucasian dance” newsreel – documentary and “You are caught” feature plots. The given plots were demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and kept there. Two of them – “The Oil Gush Fire in Bibiheybat” and “The Oil Gush in Balakhany”, were returned from French film archive in 2001 to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan Naval Forces Day

According to the Decree signed by the national leader Heydar Aliyev in 1996, August 5 is celebrated annually as Naval Forces Day in Azerbaijan.The Navy of Azerbaijan was established during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Thus, after the British left Azerbaijan in August 1919, the Naval Forces of Azerbaijan started to form. Until then, British warships had taken on the task of defending the western coastline of the Caspian Sea. The ships of the Caspian Fleet were re-directed to Port-Petrovsk when Baku was liberated and returned only when the British arrived in Baku in November 1918.

International Youth Day

In 1999, in its resolution 54/120, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) that 12 August be declared International Youth Day. The Assembly recommended that public information activities be organized to support the Day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth, adopted by the General Assembly in 1995 (resolution 50/81). International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12 August.

Day of the Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is considered as the largest closed water body on the surface of the Earth. Due to its unique characteristics, the Caspian Sea is considerably fragile against climate changes in recent years. As a result, the population living along the coast of the Caspian Sea has been more exposed to the negative effects of serious climate changes, sea level fluctuations, floods and droughts. Fluctuations in the water level of the Caspian Sea, in addition to environmental challenges, narrow the balance of its transit channels and threaten the geo-economics and environmental security of the Caspian Sea.

Professional holiday of the employees of border protection agencies of the Republic of Azerbaijan

August 18 is a professional holiday for employees of the border protection agencies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After the declaration of state independence by the National Council on May 28, 1918, one of the most important issues faced by the government of Azerbaijan, which took office in Ganja on June 17 of that year, was to take urgent measures to establish the military departments of the young republic, strengthen the state borders, and ensure the defence of the country against external and internal threats.

International Day of Azerbaijani Mugham

Music is an integral, arguably necessary, part of the human experience. Mugham is the main genre of classical folk art music of the Eastern countries, which has always attracted people’s attention. Originally, the word Mugham comes from Turkish, Persian and Arabic word Maqam, which means a curtain on stringed instruments. This name was given to each Mugham as its main note (Maya, tune) is on one degree of the instrument. Until the XIV century, it was a single musical genre of the peoples of the Middle East, but due to the socio-political changes that took place later, this single musical genre was divided in accordance with the Peoples.

Liberation of the city of Lachin from occupation

Lachin district - is one of the charming corners of the Republic of Azerbaijan - is located in the south-western part of the Minor Caucasus. It neighbors with Kalbajar district in the north, Gubadli district in the south, disctricts of Khojali, Shusha and Khojavand in the east and Armenia in the west. The area of Lachin district is 1835 km2 and its envisages a city, a settlemet and 125 villages. The territory was included in the Karabakh Khanate and Zangezur district from the time of Tsarist Russia until it was organized as an independent administrative district in 1930.

International Day of the Disappeared

International Day of the Disappeared is held annually on the 30th August. On 21 December 2010, by its resolution 65/209 the UN General Assembly expressed its deep concern about the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world, including arrest, detention and abduction, when these are part of or amount to enforced disappearances, and by the growing number of reports concerning harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of persons who have disappeared.

Mirza Adigozal bey Garabaghi

Mirza Adigozal bey Garabaghi, originally from the Gazakh region, was born in the city of Shusha in 1780. He received his primary education in Shusha. While studying at school in Shusha, Agha Mahammad Shah entered Karabakh with his troops and besieged the Shusha Castle. Nevertheless, he was unable to capture the city and headed for Georgia. When the troops of Agha Mahammad Shah approached, his father left Karabakh with his family and the nomads who lived in the "Twenty-four" district on the banks of the Araz river and fled to Georgia.