republic · Caucasus
Azerbaijan SSR
Origins
In April 1920 the Red Army entered Baku, and the Bolsheviks overthrew the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, proclaiming the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1922 it joined the Transcaucasian SFSR, which became part of the Soviet Union, and in 1936 it became a full union republic.
Rule and society
Baku's oil fields were vital to the Soviet economy, especially in the Second World War. The republic included the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the Nakhchivan ASSR. Soviet rule brought industrialisation, mass literacy and a switch from Arabic to Latin and then Cyrillic script, but also collectivisation and Stalin's purges. Heydar Aliyev led the republic's Communist Party from 1969 to 1982.
Decline and legacy
From 1988 the Karabakh movement led to war with Armenians, and Soviet troops killed over a hundred civilians in Baku in January 1990. Azerbaijan declared independence in August 1991, and the USSR's dissolution in December 1991 created the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Azerbaijan SSR was part of Transcaucasian SFSR1922 CE – 1936 CE
- Azerbaijan SSR was part of Soviet Union1936 CE – 1991 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Azerbaijan SSR. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/azerbaijan-ssr
- MLA
- “Azerbaijan SSR.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/azerbaijan-ssr. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Azerbaijan SSR.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/azerbaijan-ssr.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Azerbaijan SSR’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/azerbaijan-ssr (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻