Centenary of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on BBC Azerbaijani
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) was founded on 28 May 1918. One of the Muslim world’s very first democratic republics, which also proclaimed equal suffrage for women ahead of many other democracies, ADR was crushed by Soviet Russia two years later.
Published: 28 March 2018
We are proud to bring to our audience unique testimonies of the days that have been crucial to the Azerbaijani history and identity
In the run-up to the short-lived democracy’s centenary, BBC Azerbaijani (BBC Azərbaycanca) has started a major digital project - ADR-100 - which will help to re-discover and re-live some of the key episodes of its history, with a special focus on Britain’s position towards the ADR.
In a series of weekly essays, the BBC will bring together unique archive material, photography, testimonies, historical analysis as well as animation and infographics to recreate the atmosphere, the conditions and the overall drama of the key events in the history of the republic.
Looking at the role of Britain in Azerbaijan's independence 100 years ago, the BBC has uncovered documents revealing some degree of political support for Azerbaijan and attempts by British companies to engage with the budding independent state and to take a share of the country’s wealth of oil.
ADR-100 will culminate with the documentary produced by Tural Ahmedzade, featuring unique archive documents and video shot on location, following the journey of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Paris Peace Conference – from their stop-over in Istanbul to eventual arrival in Versailles. The documentary will use their correspondence as a window to the events unfolding at the time in Azerbaijan and the wider Caucasus, and the private correspondence of various diplomats to see how the Western powers perceived Azerbaijan’s efforts to gain nationhood.
Konul Khalilova, BBC Azerbaijani News Editor, says: “With this major project, using new formats and platforms, we are shedding more light on life in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918-1920. A big part of the content has not been previously seen while some of the archive material we have dug out was not available to public until the 1960s. We are proud to bring to our audience unique testimonies of the days that have been crucial to the Azerbaijani history and identity.”
BBC Azerbaijani is part of the BBC World Service. In addition to the website bbc.com/azeri, BBC Azerbaijani connects with its social-media audiences on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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