Azerbaijan celebrates Republic Day

The residents of Azerbaijan are celebrating Azerbaijani Republic Day or the day of regaining state independence today.

 

This festival has a long history. Until 1918, Azerbaijan was a part of the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution and the collapse of the Empire, the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic was the first democratic republic to be established in the East. ADR was a parliamentary state, with all the associated attributes. It had a flag, an anthem and an army.The Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, Senator from Dagestan, Ilyas Umakhanov, expressed his wishes to Azerbaijan and its people in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza. "There is a catchphrase of Leonid Brezhnev, he once said: "Azerbaijan marches widely." That was almost 30 years ago. I want our fraternal Azerbaijan to continue to walk well, not to swerve from the path, the path of sovereignty, national dignity and prosperity," Umahanov said.Russian President Vladimir Putin has also congratulated his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on this occasion.

This festival has a long history. Until 1918, Azerbaijan was a part of the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution and the collapse of the Empire, the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic was the first democratic republic to be established in the East. ADR was a parliamentary state, with all the associated attributes. It had a flag, an anthem and an army.

The Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, Senator from Dagestan, Ilyas Umakhanov, expressed his wishes to Azerbaijan and its people in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza. "There is a catchphrase of Leonid Brezhnev, he once said: "Azerbaijan marches widely." That was almost 30 years ago. I want our fraternal Azerbaijan to continue to walk well, not to swerve from the path, the path of sovereignty, national dignity and prosperity," Umahanov said.

 

Ingush Leader Yunus-bek Yevkurov, in his turn, addressed Azerbaijan and its citizens with best wishes. "I wish Azerbaijan the most sincere kindness, peace and prosperity. Azerbaijan today is one of the post-Soviet states which are confidently moving forward, leading in all directions. I wish for the friendship between the Azerbaijani and Russian peoples never to stop. I wish health, happiness and success to all the people of Azerbaijan," Yevkurov said.

 

According to the vice-president of the Russian Council on International Affairs, the former head of North Ossetia, Alexander Dzasokhov, "we can say that Azerbaijan of the 21st century is a successful sovereign state, which is consistently pursuing the policy of national leader Heydar Aliyev. Russia is pleased that the leadership of Azerbaijan is building not only good-neighborly relations with Russia, but also friendly ones," he stressed.

 

A member of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, Maxim Shevchenko, wished "peace, prosperity, the restoration of territorial integrity and the return of all the people to the places from which they were expelled" to Azerbaijan and its people.

 

The deputy head of the Editorial Council of Vestnik Kavkaza, the Director General of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation, Sergey Mikheyev, joined the congratulations and wished Azerbaijan all-round prosperity, further development and strengthening of good-neighborly relations with key regional states.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also congratulated his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on this occasion.

"I note with satisfaction the high level of Russian-Azerbaijani relations, which are based on strong traditions of friendship, good neighbourliness and mutual respect. I am confident that through joint efforts we will ensure further expansion of constructive political dialogue, development of productive cooperation in all areas. This is in the vital interests of the people of our countries, and serves the strengthening of international stability and security," the president said.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also congratulated Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people. 

"I heartily congratulate you and the people of Azerbaijan whom you represent on my own and my people's behalf on the national holiday of fraternal Azerbaijan – Republic Day. We are very pleased and proud to witness the great achievements of Azerbaijan in the short time since independence. Thanks to wise policy, today Azerbaijan has become an important center of power and attraction in the region," he said.