SUMMARY
The Azerbaijan Popular Front (Azerbaijan Khalg Jabhasi, APF; alternatively Popular Front of Azerbaijan, PFA) was an umbrella group comprised of several informal public organizations that pursued independence for Azerbaijan from the Soviet Union (see Russia (Soviet Union): Azerbaijan). The APF originated from mass protests that occurred in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) in 1988 and 1989. The protests were centered on the issue of whether the region Nagorno-Karabakh should belong to the Azerbaijan SSR or the Armenian SSR, and Azeri dissatisfaction over how the issue was treated by the Soviet government in Moscow. APF was created by the leaders of the various organizations participating in the protests, based on the need for a unified national movement.
The initial ideological motivation of the APF was to create an independent, democratic, and secular Azerbaijan; the factions within the APF to varying degrees also emphasized Turkic identity and nationalism. The APF was inspired by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic that existed 1918-1920, and by the pre-Soviet Müsavat (“Equality”) party. By 1989, APF also included members from the Azerbaijan Communist Party, pan-Turkists, Islamic radicals, Azeri nationalists, Azeri refugees expelled from Armenia, and various militant groups; the leaders of the organization struggled to control these various forces. This led to internal fragmentation over the proper cause of action to achieve the organization’s goals; one faction favored an evolutionary and peaceful path, while the other faction favored immediate and forceful secession.
An escalation of the intraparty disagreement was however prevented by the decision by the Armenian SSR to annex Nagorno-Karabakh on 1 December 1989 (for more on this, see Russia (Soviet Union): Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan: Nagorno-Karabakh). In late 1989, the more extremist factions within the APF, led by individuals like Nemet Panakhov, had nevertheless obtained significant influence over actions on the ground; the more moderate factions retained central control over the organization. As anti-Armenian sentiments in Azerbaijan increased in December 1989, the ideological differences within the APF became more evident. For example, despite the official policy of the APF to protect civilian Armenians from persecution, many of its more radical rank-and-file members partook in the anti-Armenian riots in Baku 13-14 January 1990.
The APF used tactics such as strikes to issue pressure against the Communist Party authorities in the Azerbaijan SSR, and to cripple the economy. These tactics allowed the APF to be recognized by Azeri authorities as an official organization in October 1989. In December 1989, militant factions within the APF engaged in rioting and sabotage against border control stations along the Iranian and Turkish borders; other factions, such as the social democratic and moderate nationalist wings, did not approve of this. The radical wing of the APF also began organizing volunteers into paramilitary groups in late 1989. Following the failure of the Azeri Communist Party to react to the Armenian annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh in December 1989, the APF replaced state authorities in several parts of the Azerbaijan SSR; this was made possible by an increasing popular loyalty to the APF.
Abulfaz Elchibey, a university history professor, was chosen as APF’s leader at its founding congress in July 1989. APF’s leadership was mainly composed of various moderate Azeri intellectuals, but also more militant individuals like Nemet Panakhov, a highly popular and charismatic metalworker. The Government of Russia (Soviet Union) jailed many APF leaders after the crackdown on Baku on 20 January 1990; this temporarily weakened the organization. In 1992 – a year after the country gained its independence – the APF was transformed into a political party. Following a largely non-violent coup on 15 May 1992, APF seized government power and its leader Abulfaz Elchibey became Azerbaijan’s first democratically elected president on 7 June that year (for more on this, see Government of Azerbaijan).
