The Third Republic: The Republic of Azerbaijan

The Third Republic: The Republic of Azerbaijan

In 1988-1990, the national democratic movement in Azerbaijan campaigned vigorously for the restoration of the country's independence. On September 23, 1989 Azerbaijan was among the first Soviet republics to adopt its own decision on Sovereignty.
With a view to suppressing this movement, on January 20, 1990, with the approval of the Soviet leadership under Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet army units were dispatched to. Their reprisals, which were conducted with uncommon savagery, left hundreds of innocent Azerbaijani citizens dead and wounded. A state of emergency was declared in the country and this remained in force until mid-1991. Notwithstanding these setbacks, the untiring struggle for independence by patriotic forces within the Azerbaijani people culminated in the adoption of a declaration of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan on August 31, 1991 on restoration of the State independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The act establishing the State independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which completed its passage on October 18, 1991, set out the foundations for the statehood of an independent Azerbaijan and determined the principles of its political and economic structure. With that act the Republic of Azerbaijan once again, after an interval of 71 years, became an independent subject of international law.
In 1992 Azerbaijan became a member of the United Nations and the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now known as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).