The Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan was celebrated in Moscow

By Vestnik Kavkaza

The Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been celebrated in Moscow. This has a long history. Azerbaijan was a part of the Russian Empire until 1918. After the October Revolution and the collapse of the Empire, the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established on May 28, 1918, which was the first democratic republic in the East. Its flag, emblem and anthem were approved, as well as a parliamentary form of government being established. Despite the fact that the first Democratic Republic in the East existed for only 23 months, it laid down the foundation of Azerbaijani statehood. Since 1990, Republic Day has been celebrated as a national holiday.

On this occasion the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Russia organized a grand reception. The opening ceremony of the event was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu, and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigory Karasin.

"First of all I want to congratulate all my fellow Azerbaijanis and those who love Azerbaijan, our friends, on the happy 97th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is a light and joyful celebration for us, which is impossible to remember without the name of our national leader, the outstanding politician and statesman, the architect of today's Azerbaijan – Heydar Aliyev," Polad Bulbuloglu said.

"This is a celebration not only for citizens of Azerbaijan, it is a celebration for all the friends of Azerbaijan, we celebrate it with you. We are proud that our countries cooperate in order to develop our economies, cooperate in international and regional affairs. We have such close ties between the peoples of Russia and Azerbaijan. Nowadays, we are developing, updating and renewing our relations. Bilateral relations have reached the level of strategic partnership and its interaction is built on the basis of equality and respect for each other's interests and good neighborliness," Grigory Karasin said

The guests of the event spoke about the successful development of Russian-Azerbaijani relations, the active growth of cooperation between the two countries, as well as the upcoming Baku 2015 European Games, which are to start in June in Baku.

Grigory Karasin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia:

Friendly prosperous Azerbaijan is a very important neighbor. We see how actively and rapidly the economy of Azerbaijan is developing. We understand how difficult it is to defend independence and sovereignty in international and regional affairs. Russia and Azerbaijan are always allies. In general, our relations can be proud to be called a strategic partnership. Now we look forward to the opening of the European Games. It will be a really significant event. Russians will watch these events that take place in Baku. We wish a successful games, as well as wish our teams to win there.

Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots:

Azerbaijan has many friends in Russia. Prosperous Azerbaijan. Baku is a capital of culture, sports, intelligence. It attracts more and more thinking people, young people. Extremely interesting events take place in Baku, such as the Humanitarian Forum. The Baku 2015 European Games are to start in Baku on the 12th of June.

Alexander Dzasokhov, vice-president of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, ex-president of North Ossetia:

Our Azerbaijani friends can be proud that they meet their holiday when the country is moving forward in all directions: in economic terms, which is extremely important in the sense of caring about the citizens of Azerbaijan.

Tatiana Moskalkova, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots:

We have never had such strong and trusting relations in contemporary history as we have today. Trade turnover has increased. Humanitarian contacts are at a very high and serious level. The Russian Center in Baku works great. It develops Rossotrudnichestvo. The Azerbaijani diaspora in Moscow feels very comfortable. Relations between our states should be evaluated primarily on the human, interpersonal level.

Yefim Pivovar, Academician, rector of the Russian State University for the Humanities:

Indeed, the first democratic public education appeared here. Azerbaijani democracy takes the count of its history from this fact.  It is the first case of a democratic polity on the territory of the Islamic East. Of course, it is very significant that it was within the territory of the post-Soviet space, which we personally study and which we will promote on the world stage in every possible way. Azerbaijan is celebrating this anniversary with incredible success and its recognition as an independent international player. Even this fact of the first European Games explains a lot of things.

Vladislav Tretyak, President of the Russian Hockey Federation:

I would like to take this opportunity and congratulate everyone on the national holiday – Independence Day. First of all, I wish peace, kindness, happiness and love. And, of course, being an athlete, I would like to wish health, because when people are healthy they can solve all the problems in their lives. Moreover, the European Games are to start soon. I also was invited. I would like to wish good luck in the organization of these games.

The holiday evening continued, accompanied by an interesting concert program with the participation of representatives of culture and art of Azerbaijan.