Day of Republic

On May 28, Azeris widely celebrate the Day of Republic, the establishment of the first ever democracy in the east. On that day in 1918, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was set up in Northern Azerbaijan stretching from Nakhchivan in the south to Derbent in the northeast and covering a territory of 114,000 square kilometers.

The first session of the Azeri Parliament consisting of 120 members was opened on December 7 by M. A. Rasulzadeh. A. M. Topchubashov was appointed Speaker, while Fatali Khan Khoyski assigned with formation of the government. Its initial measures were aimed at keeping the country's economy, the oil industry in particular, thriving.

Azerbaijani was declared the state language and the first secular University, Baku State University, was opened in 1919. A national army was set up under Defense Minister, General Samad Aga Mehmandarov to protect Azerbaijan from Russian Denikin in the north, Armenian attacks in Zangezur in the southwest and from the so-called Soviet Republic of Mugan in the southeast. In early 1920, the army of Azerbaijan consisted of 10,000 cavalrymen and 30,000 infantrymen.

The Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference de-facto recognized Azerbaijan on January 11, 1920 in the country's most important diplomatic victory. Consequently, many countries opened their embassies and consulates in Baku.

However, the nation's major democratic achievement, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, lived for only 23 months before it was occupied by the Soviet Russia on April 28, 1920. Though short-lived, the Democratic Republic gave the Azeri nation the sovereignty and national awareness, something that helped the present-day independent Azerbaijan reach progress in terms of liberty and democracy.