SUMMARY
The Azeris, or Azerbaijani Turks, are an ethnic group inhabiting an area reaching from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau. The majority of the Azeris, about 16 to 23 million, are living in Iran while 7 to 8 million Azeris are living in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Within Azerbaijan, Azeris are the dominating ethnic group with a share of about 90% of the total population. Moreover, a considerable number of Azeris is living across the Caucasus region, Central Asia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia. Prior to the outbreak of violence between Armenians and Azeris in the late 1980s, a significant Azeri minority, about 160 000 in 1979, was living in Armenia. Diasporas can also be found in Turkey, the US and some countries of Western Europe. Unlike Armenians and Georgians, they are predominantly Shia Muslims. Yet, as a heritage from the Soviet period, the majority of Azeris in Azerbaijan are secularized. Due to the different political and socio-economic developments over the past two centuries, there are today major differences between Azeris living in Azerbaijan and Iran. However, they share the same language.
The origins of the Azeris date back to Caucasian Albanian peoples. In modern history, the Azeri people were under influence of the Safavids who established the modern Iranian state and who spread Shia Islam, which until today is an important feature of Azeri identity. After a brief period of Ottoman rule and the Russo-Persian wars in the late 18th and early 19th century, the Caucasian region of the Azeri homeland became part of the Russian Empire. After the end of the Russian Empire and the First World War, Azerbaijan briefly formed the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. In 1920, it became the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan and two years later, Azerbaijan was merged with Georgia and Armenia and became part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. After its demise in 1936, Azerbaijan became a Soviet Socialist Republic until independence was achieved in late 1991.
Although Armenians were the dominating ethnic group in Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s, there was a significant Azeri community of almost one quarter living in the enclave. The share of Azeris in Nagorno-Karabakh had been growing especially during the 1980s, a development both due to a higher rate of population growth and a slower migration rate from rural areas to urban centres among Azeris compared to Armenians. Moreover, and despite the Armenian majority in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azeris also regard the region as a part of their traditional homeland. The ancestors of the Azeris, nomadic herdsmen, settled in the mountainous regions of Karabakh during the summers, which is why Azeris claim a historical right to Nagorno-Karabakh. The nomadic lifestyle and seasonal migration of Azeri herdsmen continued until the 1930s when they increasingly started to settle in the area and only a small minority continued the nomadic lifestyle.
In Azerbaijan, a nationalist opposition movement called the Popular Front of Azerbaijan slowly emerged in late 1988 as a pro-Gorbachev reformist movement aiming at furthering perestroika. However, the movement had only very limited impact in the beginning as the government in Baku did not tolerate any opposition. In 1989, the Popular Front held a first congress and Abulfaz Elchibey became the first chairman. The goal of the Popular Front was to gain autonomy from Moscow and protect Azeri culture and language. The Front also vigorously opposed the special administration of Nagorno-Karabakh. The movement gained influence in August and September 1989 when it organised mass protests and sponsored strikes and a railway blockade that nearly isolated Armenia from the Soviet Union. The railway blockade against Armenia was a major success for the Popular Front as neither the troops from the Soviet Interior Minister nor the Azerbaijani leadership were able to stop the blockade. Instead, concessions were made and in October, the Popular Front was recognized as a legal organisation. Nevertheless, the Popular Front became increasingly radical in their demands and tactics during 1989. However, it is unclear to what extend the Popular Front was involved in or even steered the violence between Azeris and Armenians.
The Azeris have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
