Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a country in West Asia region. It is situated in southwestern Asia, in the Caucasus, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Its capital city is Baku, and the official language is Azerbaijani. Russian is also spoken. Its surface area is 86,600 sq km. This former Soviet Republic got independence in Dec, 1991. It borders on Iran and Turkey. A new currency 'Manat' was introduced in August, 1992 to run parallel with 'Rouble'.

The term Azerbaijan referred to a larger region than the present area of this country when it formed part of Persia. The northern part of it was ceded to Russia in the early 19th century, while the southern part remained in northwestern Iran.

In 1922, the northern part ceded to Russia became part of the Soviet Union. In 1988, an open conflict with Armenia broke out in Azerbaijan because of the issues relating to the predominantly Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan became independent in 1991.

The Azeri autonomous republic of Naxcivan forms an enclave within the Republic of Armenia that also continues to trigger armed conflicts.