Invoking public opinion, several Azerbaijani deputies, including members of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party say that the Republic of Azerbaijan should be renamed Northern Azerbaijan in order to reflect the fact that large segments of Azerbaijani territory were transferred to and incorporated into other states as a result of treaties concluded without regard to the opinions of Azerbaijanis and that millions of ethnic Azerbaijani live on these territories to this day. On February 1, Siyavush Novruzov, a Milli Majlis deputy from the ruling party, said that “there are the examples of Nort...

No culture, according to Mahatma Gandhi, can live if it attempts to be exclusive; but at the same time, culture stands behind every statehood and defines national identity.  When a nation’s greatest desire for independence finally comes about, what happens to its culture?  How and why does culture affect and impact a country’s foreign policies?  During the past twenty years, I have witnessed the evolution of Azerbaijani culture as “an insider”—as a musician studying and performing around the world in various countries, before coming to London where I currently re...

After the sovietization of Azerbaijan, the return of Russians to the Caucasus became a reality.  Therefore, the new Ankara government at its very first session on May 5, 1920, decided to send a delegation to Moscow to conduct official talks with the Bolsheviks.  Bekir Sami-bey, the foreign minister in the new government, was named its head.  Economics minister Yusif Kemal-bey and Osman-bey, a deputy from Lazistan, were also members.  The Bekir Sami-bey delegation left on July 11, 1920, via the Black Sea and on July 19 arrived without difficulty in Moscow.  Howeve...