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.

Considering that border protection is an important factor for state security, the Azerbaijani government enacted a decree on June 22, 1918, assigning the Ministry of Internal Affairs to establish a border checkpoint at the Poylu station to prevent illegal transportation outside the republic. Following this checkpoint, border troops under the Ministry of Internal Affairs were formed in other border regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In the early days, the main task of these checkpoints was to fight against the illegal transfer of national wealth and strategically important material resources of the young republic across the border.

On August 18, 1919, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) adopted the law "On the establishment of border protection in terms of the customs of the Republic of Azerbaijan", and up to 100 additional border checkpoints were established. Additional posts made it possible to organize reliable protection of Azerbaijan's borders.

Having done a lot of work in a difficult field such as border protection in a short period of time, the government of Azerbaijan could form the forces capable of providing effective management of the external borders of the independent republic by strengthening the local state and power structures in the following years. However, the internal struggles and the aggression of Bolshevik Russia on April 27, 1920, led to the collapse of the first independent state of Azerbaijan and interrupted the formation of border troops. On April 28, 1920, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was overthrown, and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was established on its territory. 

In the early 1920s, at the time of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the total area of the republic was approximately 114,000 square kilometers. 97,298 km2 of the area were undisputed, and 16,600 km2 were considered disputed territories. Since the Azerbaijan SSR was established on the territory of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, its area was 97,298 km2 in the beginning. As a result of the subsequent events, Azerbaijan lost a part of its territory, especially in the direction of Goycha, Sharur-Daralayaz, and Zangazur. Thus, the territory of Azerbaijan became 86.6 thousand square kilometers.
 
After Azerbaijan was invaded by Soviet Russia in 1920, Soviet military units and military equipment were deployed on its border with Iran and Turkey.  
After the end of World War II and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran in 1946, there were almost no Azerbaijanis among those who served in the military units stationed on the borders of Azerbaijan with Iran and Turkey. This process continued until the early 1970s and only after the national leader Heydar Aliyev was elected as the head of the Azerbaijan SSR, a change in a positive direction was achieved as a result of his sound policy, in 1969-1982, a lot of work was done in the training of national military personnel.
   
As a result of the national leader's efforts, several high-ranking Azerbaijani officers were trained in the Border Troops. Moreover, young people from the republic were sent to other republics for the training of Azerbaijani officer personnel by the former USSR State Security Committee, and 10-12 places were allocated annually for this purpose. They were sent to special higher education institutions located in Moscow, Almaty, Kiev, St. Petersburg and other cities. All of these played a great role in the protection and strengthening of the borders of Azerbaijan after regaining their independence.
 
After the adoption of the "Constitutional Act on the State Independence" on October 18, 1991, the restoration of the national state building was started. The formation of the armed forces, including the Border Troops, which are the main pillar of the independent state, was one of the main components of the independent state building. On December 9, 1991, the National Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted the Law "On the State Border of the Republic of Azerbaijan". On December 16 of the same year, the State Border Protection Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established. From October 9, 1992, the State Border Protection Committee started to operate as the Main Department of Border Troops of the Ministry of National Security.
   
The first detachment of border troops in the independent state of Azerbaijan was established in Nakhchivan. As a result of the great leader's efforts after being elected as the Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the 1st border detachment of the Border Troops of the Republic of Azerbaijan was formed in the territory of Nakhchivan on September 3, 1991.

Though several government resolutions were issued to strengthen the protection of the state border in 1992-1993, they were not implemented at the proper level. Only after Heydar Aliyev came to power again, the Border Troops entered a qualitatively new phase.

Thanks to the national leader Heydar Aliyev, who returned to power in Azerbaijan in June 1993, significant changes took place in the protection of the state border, as well as in all spheres of public life. Due to the consideration shown to the issues of state border protection, purposeful measures were taken to restore the destroyed border infrastructure on the southern borders, establish border checkpoints on the northern and northwestern borders of the country, and strengthen the material and technical base.

On August 16, 2000, President Heydar Aliyev signed a decree declaring the date of the establishment of the first border guard service of the ADR (August 18) as a professional holiday for the employees of the border services in Azerbaijan. On July 31, 2002, National leader Heydar Aliyev signed a decree on the removal of border troops from the Ministry of National Security and the establishment of the State Border Service (SBS) at its base. This decision led to a qualitatively new stage of the activities of the Azerbaijani border guards.

After the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence, the strengthening of national sovereignty, the organization of reliable protection of the state border, and the defining of its borders with neighbouring countries have been the priority areas of state policy. The national border strategy, which was founded by the national leader Heydar Aliyev and successfully continued today by the President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, has laid the conceptual foundations of the border policy and defined the forthcoming tasks of the state border protection.

Starting from the first day of the Patriotic War, Azerbaijani border guards liberated a large area from the contact line in Fuzuli district to the state border with Armenia, also struck a crushing blow to the enemy at a distance of 105 kilometers within 24 hours. The Azerbaijani flag was hoisted on the ancient Khudafarin bridge and along our state borders on our holy lands, strategic heights on the state border with Armenia were liberated. As a result of the professional use of "Harop", "Guzghun" and "Hermes" unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) by State Border Service, the enemy's strategically important combat equipment, missile systems, anti-aircraft missile complexes, tanks, armoured combat vehicles and other equipment, command control points were disabled, and numerous enemy manpower neutralized, a total of 290 enemy targets were destroyed. After ensuring the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and liberation from occupation of the state border with Armenia, the necessary border defence and protection infrastructure was established in these areas. Comprehensive measures were taken to improve the conditions of service and social security of servicemen, and new military units started their service in these areas.

Today, our country has a State Border Service at the level of the regular army, flexible, organized, highly disciplined, and combat-ready, equipped with the most modern technical means. Every border guard, officer, warrant officer, sergeant, soldier, and sailor who gives true allegiance to Heydar Aliyev's ideas, statehood, and the Azerbaijani people, guards the state borders of our independent country day and night with vigilance.

Recommended literature:

1. Azərbaycan Sərhəd Mühafizəsi-95: 1919-2014: Azərbaycan Sərhəd Mühafizəsinin 95 illiyinə həsr olunur /Azərb. Resp. Dövlət Sərhəd Xidməti ; [red. E. Məmmədov ; məsləhətçilər: R. Sadiqov, E. İbrahimov ; tərtibat X. Əliyev ; fotoqraf: N. Nağıyev, Z. Zeynalov]. - Bakı: [s. n.], 2014. - 283 s.
2. Sərhədlərimizin təhlükəsizliyinin təminatçısı/Azərb. Resp. Dövlət Sərhəd Xidməti ; baş red. və tərtibatçı E. Məmmədov ; foto: N. Şəfiyev [və b.] ; dizayn A. İsayev. - Bakı: Dövlət Sərhəd Xidməti, 2015. – 373 s.
3. Şüküroğlu, Lətif. (Babayev Lətif Şükür oğlu). Azərbaycanın sərhəd mühafizəsi tarixindən/Şüküroğlu, Lətif; Məsləhətçi və ön sözün müəllifi: A. Novruzov; Red.: F. İsgəndərov. - Bakı: Şirvannəşr, 1999. - 96 s.